We do not know the entirety of the circumstances in hospitals in Gaza. We do know this: As recently as two weeks ago, Palestinian rioters vandalized the border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
This is the crossing through which humanitarian aid from Israel (yes, Israel regularly supplies humanitarian aid to Gaza) and from other countries enters Gaza.
At the Kerem Shalom border crossing, Palestinians set fire to the pipes that carry gas and oil from Israel to Gaza, and set fire to offices and buildings at the crossing.
We do not know whether medical supplies were among the items that could not enter Gaza due to the Palestinian attacks, but needless to say it takes more than medical supplies to run a hospital. It takes, for example, energy, and, as we say, the pipes bringing gas and oil were set afire.
It also takes concrete or other building materials to build hospitals. Most of these building materials are commandeered by Hamas for the purpose of constructing terror tunnels that burrow under Israel, all the better to attack Israelis.
In the leadership calculus of Hamas, the welfare of the Palestinian population in Gaza takes a distant second place to mounting attacks against Israel.
This is, alas, nothing new. It is, however, important to stress at this difficult time of border protests that include a large number of methods and incidents of violence. Even the non-violent protesters are not merely standing in protest; they too are trying to break through the border fence and erase it, thereby beginning the erasure of Israel — a long stated, explicit goal of Hamas.
Amidst all the bad publicity Israel is getting for defending itself at the Gaza border, you will not likely read that hundreds of trucks of merchandise, food and equipment have entered Gaza every week for years.
Consider also that while there is a terrible, tragic loss of life and many injuries at the Israel-Gaza border, there are also fake injuries and the exploitation of women and children by Hamas in order to disguise its terror activities, including the hurling of explosive devices and grenades into Israel and the burning of Israeli land.
Consider this: More than 80% of the Palestinian fatalities in Gaza on Monday, May 14, were trained terror operatives. What’s the source for this? Hamas itself!
One waits in vain for some complete reporting from the area in the general press, rather than the uncontextualized “Gaza hospitals short on medical supplies” reportage we are getting.
One waits to hear about:
Human shields.
Organized riots.
Planned violence.
Flaming kites.
Pay for slay.
Greenhouses gifted to Palestinians burned down by Palestinians.
Border crossing delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinians attacked by Palestinians.
The last report we have from JTA of the successful entry into Gaza at the Kerem Shalom crossing puts the week’s humanitarian aid at 72,345 tons of cargo; 2,230 trucks carrying supplies; 50,800 tons of building material, 8,020 tons of food, 1,597 fuel tanks and 1,486 tons of gas.
So why is Israel killing people at the border? For the same reason any country would fight any invading force. So why, then, does Israel also send humanitarian aid into Gaza? To do its best to undercut the motivation to attack Israel.
Call this wise. Call it naive. Call it futile. Call this a good investment, or a bad investment. Call it whatever you like. But it is clear that Israel’s intent is to alleviate the suffering in Gaza, second only to its goal of protecting its own security.
Alas, the two can clash. Israel’s protection of its security against attacks from Gaza imposes suffering on Gaza. What does it all mean?
It means that when we have a shortage of medical supplies in Gaza hospitals, or a shortage of building materials for homes in Gaza, or a shortage of gas, oil, electricity and water in Gaza, and when we have humanitarian transports into Gaza aborted at a damaged border crossing, we have this:
The Middle East version of the child who killed his parents and then begged for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan.
Copyright © 2018 by the Intermountain Jewish News
