LETTER: Hamas is at fault

While the starvation and suffering of innocent Gazans is heartbreaking, Mia Swart’s assertion that Israel is doing so deliberately is irresponsible (“War crime of man-made famine is occurring under our noses”, April 3).

If Israel was deliberately trying to starve the Gazan population it would outright block food aid trucks, not provide convoys to protect them from Hamas marauders. The aid that has been restricted has been because Israel does not want to resupply Hamas. Food trucks can easily be used to hide munitions, alongside food.

The deaths of aid workers and violence surrounding the distribution of food aid, as seen at the so-called flour massacre, is due to the chaos of operating in a war zone. After decades of facing terrorists masquerading as civilians the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has good reason to be suspicious of any Gazan.

Its soldiers try their best to avoid civilian casualties but must prioritise protecting themselves and their comrades. Hamas has created this reality through its combatants masquerading as civilians. The blood is on its hands.

Aid organisations should be working with the IDF to gain its trust and equip their vehicles with constantly changing encrypted strobes to ensure they are not hit by drones. Aid workers are getting caught in the crossfire because they are not communicating with the IDF properly.

All of the death and suffering in Gaza is ultimately the fault of Hamas, which started this war, constantly loots aid from civilians, and uses innocents as human shields inside hospitals, schools and mosques.

If Hamas surrendered outright, the war would end. If Gazans co-operated with Israel, there would be peace, and probably even an Israeli-funded rebuilding of Gaza.

Israel doesn’t want Gaza to starve. But it benefits Hamas for the world to blame Israel for the suffering it caused.

Nicholas Woode-Smith
Cape Town

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.​