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The Problem in Gaza Is Hamas, Not How to Provide Aid

(JNS) Jonathan S. Tobin - After months where media outlets seemed to only highlight the suffering of Palestinians since Hamas started a war on Oct. 7, President Joe Biden felt he had to respond with a tangible demonstration of his sympathy for Gaza civilians - to build a floating port from which food and other supplies would flow to alleviate the shortages that have produced a steady stream of appalling images of conditions there. Yet there remain unanswered questions about how the food will actually reach needy Palestinians without being stolen by Hamas. But the real problem in Gaza isn't about aid or its distribution. The main issue in Gaza is Hamas itself. As long as the terrorist group is still armed and in charge of any part of Gaza - and still able to use parts of the tunnel system it built with international aid intended to help ordinary Palestinians - all talk about humanitarian concerns there is essentially a diversion. The only reason residents in Gaza continue to suffer is precisely because the international community, the media, and the U.S. government have been persuaded to treat the impact on Palestinians of the war that began on Oct. 7 as more important than its cause. The only way it will truly end is by Hamas' complete defeat. A ceasefire now would essentially reward Hamas for its assaults on Jewish communities in Israel. It would make the repeat of that spree of murder, rape, torture and kidnapping a virtual certainty; Hamas has said as much. All the suffering in Gaza and the casualties on both sides is the fault of Hamas alone. It started the war with cross-border attacks and unspeakable atrocities. And by not releasing the men, women and children it took as hostages, it must accept the responsibility for the inevitable consequences. Hamas is counting on the images of Palestinian anguish, which they caused, to bail them out. They see the focus of the international community and the U.S. on the aid question, rather than on demanding that Hamas end its futile resistance. By acting as if the priority is to push aid into Gaza, regardless of the fact that most of it is being stolen by Hamas, they are prolonging the war and increasing rather than alleviating the pain of Palestinians. The only way to ease Palestinian suffering is to help Israel to complete the defeat of Hamas and end its control of any part of Gaza. Once that happens, the problem of feeding and caring for Palestinians becomes simpler. Pressure on Israel to agree to a ceasefire before the terrorists are finished will only mean more privation for Palestinians as well as more blood spilled by Hamas.
2024-03-15 00:00:00
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