Humanitarian Catastrophe or Con?

"Foreign Reporters’ Group Fights Israeli Prohibition on Entering Gaza"
A12, Wednesday 11/19/08
By Isabel Kershner

In a generally neutral manner, this article describes Israel's decision to bar the local Foreign Press Association from entering Gaza during this latest flare-up in violence, and the corresponding opposition of the reporters who seek to reverse this policy. Israel, which has closed Gaza's border crossing in response to Palestinian rocket fire, is only allowing movement in and out of Gaza for "essential humanitarian cases."

Kershner positively reports that Israel has "allowed 33 trucks carrying basic food and medical supplies to enter" into Gaza and that "a number of Gazans in need of medical treatment had been allowed to leave." Nevertheless, she uncritically accepts the positions of international aid organizations that "[warn] that the lack of supplies was jeopardizing their operations in Gaza." It is somewhat unclear what the statement exactly means but would logically relate to the pronoucements international aid organizations have made, such as Oxfam, that have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe if Israel were to continue its closre of the Gaza Strip.

Given that Hamas has theatrically exploited such closures in the past to create the impression of a grave humanitarian crisis, such information would be of value in this article. This is particularly true given the intricate networks of tunnels Hamas operates that are constantly funneling tons of goods from Egypt into Gaza. Even the Palestinian Authority has accused Hamas of staging a new series of blackouts in order to win over international sympathy and support.

Such valid skepticism should be highlighted.