AS famine is declared in Gaza, a dozen Jewish people who escaped the Nazis have made an urgent plea to help the stricken enclave’s hungry, the UK’s Daily Mirror reports.
In a powerful open letter, the 12 survivors ‘implore all those responsible to feed the vulnerable and prevent the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza’.
Children are among hundreds already said to have perished from malnutrition-related deaths as the stricken enclave stands in ruins after nearly two years of bombardment by Israel. But the declaration of famine, by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, as highlighted on the front page of yesterday’s GDN, marks a significant step in the humanitarian crisis.
The Holocaust survivors’ words include: “Every human life – Jewish, Palestinian, or any other – has equal value. We support Israel’s right to defend its people. But that defence must not result in the slow death of Palestinian children from hunger. We know too well what it means to feel hunger, watch the young grow thin and weak and to see neighbours waste away.
“Today, the aid that enters Gaza is far too little. It is the weakest – children, the elderly, the disabled – who are most unable to reach help. We call on everyone with power over the flow of food, water, medicine and fuel into the Gaza Strip to act immediately and decisively to prevent famine and to protect civilians.
“For the sake of our shared humanity, we implore all those responsible to feed the vulnerable and prevent the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza. If you will not feed the hungry for any other reason, do it in our name. It is the lowest standard to which any of us should expect to be held.”
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