Witkoff, Starvation and Gaza

By Ali Saada

The visit of US envoy Steve Witkoff to the Gaza Strip is nothing more than a certificate of good conduct to war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu and his gang, and an endorsement for them to continue their war of starvation and to implementing their plan, which aligns with the desires, wishes, and dreams of Donald Trump and his “Gaza Riviera.”

It is an attempt to abort, calm, and cool the growing international outcry and anger over the massacres perpetrated against those awaiting aid, and an attempt to whitewash the ugly face of the US administration.

This is a propaganda and media appearance, drenched in blood, at the expense of the suffering and lives of Gaza’s children and women, by officials who lack even the most basic sense of humanity. This is intended to present a “false” image of the humanitarian situation, to downplay the impact of the images of famine and starvation spreading globally, and to suggest that the situation is under control.

What the occupation wants is an agreement that preserves its interests and ensures the removal of Hamas from power. This agreement may include arrangements for the “transfer of the population of the Gaza Strip,” without committing to reconstruction or substantially alleviating the humanitarian situation.

The agreement should be limited to the entry of aid, a partial withdrawal, a prisoner exchange, and a permanent ceasefire.

In any case, the US administration bears full responsibility for the worsening famine in the Gaza Strip. According to dozens of UN organizations and civil society institutions, including Israeli “human rights” organizations, as well as press and human rights reports, the occupation is committing genocide and, along with American snipers and mercenaries, has transformed aid distribution centers into death traps.

The US aid company has become a lethal criminal tool contributing to the engineering of hunger and the killing of civilians, in a scheme that goes beyond starvation and killing to the destruction of the foundations of Palestinian life and existence, as a starting point for the forced displacement project. The US administration is an essential part of the war of starvation against the Palestinian people, working directly to support the occupation and cover up its crimes.

Wittkoff’s visit to the US aid company is an official American cover for continuing its crimes against the starving and an attempt to point to a blatant moral collapse. It is an attempt to beautify the image of the occupation and fabricate lies about the reality of aid. The truth is that famine is spreading and expanding in the Strip, amid the blocking of aid, the closure of crossings, and the creation of chaos in Gaza by aid-stealing gangs operating under Israeli protection.

Witkoff’s visit is clear evidence of the need to include the United States in the cases before the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, as a de facto partner and complicit in the genocide and war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

This article was originally published in Arabic in Al Sabeel electronic newspaper in Amman.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

Related Posts

11 Israel Soldiers Commit Suicide in April

Israeli soldiers continue to commit suicide in what is becoming a disturbing phenomenon that is becoming linked to Israel’s war on Gaza since October 2023, and now the war ongoing Lebanon.

The Israeli media have continued to report on what is becoming a rising trend of soldiers taking away their lives in Israeli society.

In its Sunday edition of 26 April the Israeli Haaretz newspaper highlighted the fact that eight Israeli soldiers and police officers committed suicide this month alone. The paper adds that three reservists who took part in the war on Gaza also ended their lives this month, making the total to 11 in less than one month.

The number of suicide rates have been increasing since 2023. Then 17 took away their lives, including seven after the 7 October, when the Israeli genocide on Gaza began. Thus, after that, 21 soldiers ended their lives in 2024 and increasing to 22 in 2025. In between the figures it is estimated that 279 soldiers attemoted suicide but didn’t succeed.

Statistics show in the previous decade the average suicides were 12 per year stabilizing from the 28 cases peak of 2010.

Data reports for 2026 shows that reserve soldiers formed the highest number of suicides, at least five cases as compared to three among conscripts and two cases in the ranks of those who take up soldiering as an occupation.

The Israeli military establishment is finding itself unable to control the suicide phenomenon with those in leadership roles realizing the fact that soldiers who are suffering from psychological distress are not seeking help. Haaretz quotes one officer in human resources as saying the army “thought at the beginning of the war it can control the situation but it later blew in its face”.

Psychological experts say the recent rising suicide rates is to do with the fact Israel has never experienced the present kinds of wars it is presently involved in like Gaza and/or Lebanon. The soldiers are under continuous pressure to fight and the fact that the reservists are being called up more than once magnifies the crisis that already exists.

Haaretz points out the army has decreased its support for soldiers who need psychological treatment and sends them back to the warfront before evaluating their psychological state. The soldiers are continually  under pressure by their officers to go back to fight or else face arrest.

Also, the declared numbers don’t show the real picture, the newspaper argues, pointing out that there are soldiers who committed suicide after they left the military service with the Israeli army admitting that by the end of 2025, there were 15 cases of this kind. The paper said there were four such cases with three in the last month.

This article is based on a report in Arabic published in the Palestine Information Center and it is republished at crossfirearabia.com.

Continue reading

You Missed

11 Israel Soldiers Commit Suicide in April

11 Israel Soldiers Commit Suicide in April

Palestinian Pound Lives on!

Palestinian Pound Lives on!

Israeli Settlers Uproot 400 Olive Trees

Israeli Settlers Uproot 400 Olive Trees

Amidst Death, Palestinians Celebrate in Group Wedding!

Amidst Death, Palestinians Celebrate in Group Wedding!

Iranian Missiles Cause ‘Extensive’ Damage to US Bases Than Previously Thought – Report

Iranian Missiles Cause ‘Extensive’ Damage to US Bases Than Previously Thought – Report

Why is Iran’s FM in Oman?

Why is Iran’s FM in Oman?