As millions prepared to celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States on Wednesday, human rights advocates provided dispatches from nearly 6,000 miles away in Gaza, where the Biden administration has continued to provide political and military support for Israel's onslaught despite public disapproval for the war among Americans.
Palestinians in Gaza are now facing their second winter amid Israel's bombardment and near-total blockade on humanitarian aid, which began in October 2023.
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said in a statement that Israel's blocking of deliveries including blankets, shoes, and clothing has left Gaza's 2.3 million—nearly half of whom are children—vulnerable to the elements, especially since at least 70% of homes in the enclave have been destroyed in the last 13 months.
"Euro-Med Monitor notes that Israel restricts the entry of such items as part of its efforts to impose harsh living conditions on the Palestinian people that will ultimately lead to their actual destruction, as part of the comprehensive crime of genocide it is committing in the Gaza Strip," said the group. "There is no military necessity or justification under international law that permits the prevention of basic necessities from reaching a civilian population."
At least 1.9 million people in Gaza are internally displaced, and as Euro-Med Monitor said, "the vast majority of displaced people in the Gaza Strip continue to live in tents that do not provide adequate protection from the cold and rain."
Hundreds of thousands of people, including women, children, and elderly people, have been left without appropriate clothing for harsh weather—and at greater risk of contracting respiratory infections and other illnesses, which health authorities in the enclave are poorly equipped to treat due to Israel's blockade.
A woman named Ruba told the humanitarian group Save the Children that in northern Gaza, where Israel began an offensive in early October, she has been "trapped with [her] children under relentless bombs, rockets, and bullets, with nowhere to run."
"My mother is paralyzed, and I cannot leave her behind. My brother has been killed, my husband was taken, and I don't know if he's alive. Our home was destroyed over our heads, and we survived by a miracle," Ruba said.
"With no food, no clean water, and constant fear, both my children have developed rashes, and my daughter is passing blood, but there is no medicine, no help, and absolutely nothing I can do," she continued. "They cry and ask me why we can't just leave, why their father isn't with us, why we can't go back to a normal life.”
Humanitarian workers with the group have observed children barefoot in streets littered with sewage and debris from Israeli attacks, sometimes walking "in the rain while wearing only light, shabby clothing."
"Children who lack shoes are more likely to sustain wounds and injuries, leaving them susceptible to infection in an environment devoid of medical supplies and medications because of the strict blockade," said Euro-Med Monitor.
"Israel's continuous and severe deprivation of the fundamental necessities of life is an act of genocide, as it seeks to strip the Palestinian population of the most basic means of protection, with the aim of physically erasing their existence," said the group. "Children and other vulnerable groups are specifically targeted by Israel as they are more affected by this deprivation, which exacerbates their suffering and raises the death rates among them; due to the lack of refuge from winter weather, these rates will undoubtedly spike without international intervention."
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) warned Wednesday that severe food shortages are also set to worsen without immediate international intervention and a cease-fire.
The groups' warnings come two weeks after the passing of a U.S.-imposed deadline for Israel to significantly ramp up humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza. The Biden administration in October ordered Israel to allow at least 350 aid trucks into Gaza per day, or else it would invoke U.S. laws that prohibit the government from providing military aid to countries that block U.S. humanitarian relief.
But even as experts said Israel was continuing its blockade and failing to meet the Biden administration's terms, the U.S. took no action to end its support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israel Defense Forces.
"The war in Gaza is a war on children," said Jeremy Stoner, regional director of Save the Children. "There is no plainer way to illustrate this than to look at the people who make up the death figures—over 4 in every 10 people verified killed in Gaza are children."
"Safe humanitarian access must be granted immediately to allow food, water, winter supplies, and medical assistance to reach those who are trapped in the death zone in the north," added Stoner. "The international community must step up and make sure that happens, in line with their obligations. Without access and a cease-fire, we are condemning children to perish in hell on Earth."
Julia Conley is a staff writer for Common Dreams.
