Gaza Needs Lifesaving Action, Not Rhetoric

Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III (left) and Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa (centre) visited Gaza for four days.

As reports mount of staggering atrocities in Gaza—including the killing of over a thousand aid seekers since last May, the obstruction of humanitarian relief, and the deepening famine—the silence and inaction of the international community grows ever more deafening.

Recent witness accounts from European Church leaders following their visit to the Strip, as well as analyses published by the BBC and other global outlets, underline the pattern of human rights violations accumulating within the records of Israel’s allies. Yet the mechanisms for relief and accountability remain paralyzed.

The troubling revelation that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by U.S. interests and operated by Israeli forces, is failing its mission and instead occupying aid facilities with poultry animals in caverns of neglect is symbolic of the absurdity and cruelty of the current situation. Aid seekers are not merely denied sustenance—they are endangered by the very conditions created by those entrusted to serve them.

Israel’s rejection of UN aid agencies on the grounds of security concerns about Hamas rings hollow when the alternative amounts to starving and shooting civilians at checkpoints. Entrusting the lives of Gazans to parties engaged in military offensives against them is morally bankrupt. No entity should be judge, jury, and executioner—and certainly not provider of last meals.

The United Nations must reclaim its authority and moral responsibility to deliver aid directly. Egypt and neighboring states have a crucial role to play—not just in voicing disapproval, but in acting. The Rafah crossing must become the artery of life again, with neighboring nations forming a coalition to guarantee the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid.

History will not forgive silence when action is possible. The bottom line is clear: to save lives, aid must flow—freely, securely, and with integrity.

Sincerely, 

Rejowan Hossain

Mirpur 11, Dhaka 1216.