While the world has turned its attention to the military conflict between Israel and Iran, what is happening in the Gaza Strip has been almost forgotten, Israeli human rights organizations, quoted by ARD, note.
Shai Parnes, a spokeswoman for the Israeli non-governmental organization "B'Tselem", commented that Israel is now taking advantage of this. "This is just a pretext so that Israel can continue to commit war crimes against the people of Gaza," Parnes believes.
The hostages seem to have been forgotten
For Vicky Cohen, who is also Israeli, it is scandalous that the war in Gaza continues. Her son Nimrod has been away from her for 620 days - he is a tanker kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in the bloody attack on October 7, 2023. The boy was 19 years old at the time, and this July he is due to turn 21. His mother still hopes that he is alive, writes ARD. "The ongoing war only endangers the lives of my son Nimrod and the other hostages", she says. In her opinion, it would be best for everyone if this nightmare finally ended.
53 of the hostages that Hamas took on October 7 are still in the Gaza Strip, the German public media recalls. Of these, about 20 are alive. According to Vicky Cohen, they have been forgotten.
"Genocide and famine continue"
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is extremely dire - Palestinian sources indicate that over 300 people have been killed since last Friday, when Israel began its attacks on Iran.
Mohamed Abu Silmiya is the director of "Al Shifa", the largest hospital in Gaza, and sees the consequences of the war every day. The Israeli army has repeatedly attacked the hospital itself, claiming that terrorist cells operate from there, ARD recalls. The doctor told the German public media that he continues to care for the wounded and that dead people continue to arrive every day. "The world doesn't seem to notice. It's as if the war in Gaza is over. "People should know that the war continues, the genocide and the famine in the Gaza Strip continue," Silmia told ARD.
Hunger as a weapon
In recent days, people in Gaza have again been forced to evacuate from different parts of the enclave. It seems that the population is being deliberately gathered in small parts of Gaza and humanitarian aid is being transported only to them. Nearly 700 trucks have arrived in the enclave in the past few days. Before October 7, the number of trucks with humanitarian aid was 500 per day.
Human rights organizations criticize Israel for not focusing on resolving the critical humanitarian situation in Gaza, but only on its military goals, ARD writes. The organizations accuse the country of using hunger as a military weapon. In the few places where aid is being distributed, there are repeated clashes, mass panic and deaths as desperate people try to get food.
"They have forgotten us"
Very little humanitarian aid is arriving in the northern part of Gaza, where Sahad Ahmad lives. Sahad's husband and brothers have been killed, ARD reports. The Palestinian woman told the German media: "It is clear that they have forgotten us because of the conflict between Israel and Iran. Everyone is focused on it, they don't care about us". The woman calls on all countries to show empathy, because the war in the Gaza Strip is becoming more and more fierce.
Abu Ahmad Shamala used to be a farmer, but his arable land no longer exists and his house has been destroyed, ARD reports. He also believes that the exchange of blows between Israel and Iran has provoked the world to forget about the Gaza Strip: "It seems they have forgotten us", the man says.
However, Israel has certainly not forgotten about the Gaza Strip. The soldiers continue their offensive there - there are attacks and people killed every day. The humanitarian situation is still catastrophic, summarizes Jan-Christoph Kitzler from ARD.
Author: Jan-Christoph Kitzler ARD