Article by Philip Brown, Secretary of United Nations Association Coventry Branch. This is his own personal point of view and does not represent the views of the United Nations Association-UK.

18 May 2025

Last night I could not sleep. I, along no doubt with millions of other people around the world, have for many months been horrified by the inhuman behaviour of the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his government. I kept looking for some sign that after his craving for power and completely unacceptable murder of tens of thousands of Palestinians, he will finally show some glimmer of compassion.

Because when I see one, such as the confirmation yesterday by Hamas that a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel was under way in Doha, these tiny glimmers are always extinguished as Netanyahu breaks his word and finds new ways to kill even more innocent Palestinian men, women and children.

Various United Nations bodies and international aid organisations on the ground in Gaza claim that its population of 2.1 million people are at “critical risk of famine” and that rising rates of malnutrition could have an impact on an entire generation.

“No shortage of food in Gaza” – are they joking?

But Netanyahu refuses to accept that his 10-week blockade is causing hunger in Gaza. The things his government says, such as that there is “no shortage” of food in Gaza and that the “real crisis is Hamas looting and selling aid”, make me wonder if he and his government are all living in a fantasy world of their own invention.

Or are they all simply compulsive liars? His spokesman for example, David Mencer, told journalists recently that the only famine in Gaza was “a famine of the truth”. He rejected repeated claims from UN organisations that Israel was restricting aid and food. He described such claims as “leverage, part of a military strategy. [The only hunger in Gaza is] hunger orchestrated by Hamas”.

It reminds me of Netanyahu’s friend, that other compulsive liar the President of the United States Donald Trump who, during his first presidential term, made at least 30,573 false or misleading claims.

Condemnation of Netanyahu

Many United Nations officers have condemned Netanyahu’s actions, such as UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, who said two days ago Netanyahu’s new bombing campaign was meant to displace Palestinians and that it was equivalent to ethnic cleansing. And the International Criminal Court has issued a warrant of arrest for Netanyahu having found reasonable grounds to believe that he bears criminal responsibility for: the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts; and for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.

Some governments are also now starting to condemn Israel. The European Council president is “Shocked by the news from Gaza: starving civilians, hospitals hit again by strikes. The violence must stop!”. Germany’s foreign ministry is “deeply concerned” about the situation in Gaza, and that the offensive “could put the lives of the remaining hostages, including those of German hostages, in danger.” The Spanish prime minister called for pressure to stop Israel’s “massacre in Gaza” and said Madrid plans a UN resolution requesting a world court ruling on aid access to the Palestinian territory.

Netanyahu rages against “antisemitism”

But none of that is going to make a pennys-worth of difference to Netanyahu. As was noted elsewhere on this website, his closest ally the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute and does not accept the Court’s authority. President Joe Biden said “We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.” And, of course, Netanyahu’s office denounced the chamber’s decision as “antisemitic…Israel utterly rejects the false and absurd charges of the international criminal court, a biased and discriminatory political body…no war is more just than the war Israel has been waging in Gaza”.

Netanyahu says the newly intensified bombings are part of a campaign expansion to achieve all of the war goals in Gaza. These include destroying Hamas. But what is Hamas? It is an armed group and a political movement. You cannot kill a political movement with bombs and bullets. You might perhaps kill its current members and even kill those who organised the terrible attack on Israel in October 2023 which triggered the current wave of destruction in Gaza, but as you kill one person, ten others step forward to fight against what they see now as the aggressor.

Is Netanyahu a terrorist or just an accused criminal?

The United States, United Kingdom, Israel and many other nations have designated Hamas as a terrorist organisation. I find it hard to understand why killing about 1200 Israelis in 2023 is an act of terrorism, but killing tens of thousands of Palestinian women and children, destroying practically all inhabitable buildings, starving millions and blocking all medical aid, power or fresh water from entering the territory is not terrorism.

And this sort of thing is not new. Israel has been accused of many violations of international criminal law since it was founded in 1948 including war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide. And yet it is not regarded as a terrorist state and instead is an accepted member of the United Nations. The United Nations seems currently powerless to do anything to stop the bombing.

Coming back to the present, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was indicted for corruption charges including breach of trust, accepting bribes, and fraud in 2019. Of course, he did not accept any guilt and called the proceedings “an attempted coup”. The trial started in 2020 but has not yet terminated.

After Netanyahu’s decisive 2022 election victory his far-right government launched a judicial campaign to curb the powers of the court. It sparked mass protests in Israel and fears among Western allies for the country’s democratic health.

If this campaign succeeds then Netanyahu will never be convicted. But if fails, when the Gaza war ends the trial will continue. Bribery charges in Israel carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years and/or a fine. Fraud and breach of trust are punishable by up to three years in jail.

This is seen as a major reason why he does not want to end the war.

Breaking the blockade

Over the years some countries have tried to get round the blockade. In 2024 when Israel closed its border crossings, the UK government airdropped 100 tonnes of aid for Gaza civilians, but the programme was soon terminated because the people needed far more than could feasibly delivered by airdrop. In the same year the United States constructed a floating pier off the coast of Gaza but this was removed when Israel said it would accept shipments to one of its own ports.

And those who have recently tried to ship their own food to Gaza, such as Freedom Flotilla Coalition, failed in May, evidently because Israel committed more war crimes by bombing the unarmed civilian vessel in international waters.

The nightmare

Last night I lay awake for hour after hour with these thoughts going round in my head trying to think of some sort of solution to this terrible problem until I finally fell asleep. Then I awoke soaked in sweat with the fading memory of a nightmare. Netanyahu was standing in front of me, pointing through a huge metal fence towards long lines of starving men, women and children winding slowly away over a desert towards tall plumes of distant black smoke. And Netanyahu was laughing. Then he turned to me and I heard him shout: “I’ve found it! I’ve found the Final Solution to the Palestinian question!”.

19 May – Basic food deliveries to restart, or am I still dreaming?

On 19 May Netanyahu’s office said: “On the recommendation of the [Israel Defence Forces] IDF and based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas, Israel will allow a basic quantity of food to be brought in for the population in order to make certain that no starvation crisis develops in the Gaza Strip.”

“to make certain that no starvation crisis develops”? Too late. It’s already a starvation crisis. Just more distortion of the truth and misrepresentation of reality from Israel.

A “basic quantity of food”? Do they mean one bag of flour? Well, not much more. The BBC PM radio programme reported on 19 May the UN saying they need at least 500 – 600 trucks of food and medical aid per day. The BBC website reported Israel saying it has allowed five UN lorries carrying humanitarian aid, including baby food, into the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator reported that nine of their trucks were cleared to enter, via the Kerem Shalom crossing. But whatever the truth, it was a mere token amount which, in any case, as Fletcher, says “Given ongoing bombardment and acute hunger levels, the risks of looting and insecurity are significant.”

Who will deliver and when?

It seems Israel’s aim is that food will be facilitated by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a Swiss-registered organisation led by a former US marine, would compromise neutrality. According to Axios, GHF executive director Jake Wood in a statement thanked the Trump administration for its support as he welcomed the Israeli Security Cabinet approving the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza “consistent with the commitment made to us to serve as a bridging mechanism until” the foundation is fully operational.

“Today’s announcement marks an important interim step. We expect GHF’s new aid mechanism — including the establishment of four initial Secure Distribution Sites — to be up and running before the end of the month.”

The end of May? Oh, no urgency then!

And according to the Guardian, the UN and other organisations have already refused to work with GHF. They say it does not have the capacity to end hunger in Gaza and would make it harder to get aid to civilians caught up in other wars by undermining their neutrality.

Chief of Communications for UNICEF State of Palestine, Jonathan Crickx said “From what we have understood, the plan would increase the ongoing suffering of children and families in the Gaza Strip.”

The daytime nightmare continues…

Governments condemn Israel – Netanyahu hits back

In a joint statement the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK wrote, among other things:

As humanitarian donors, we have two straightforward messages for the Government of Israel: allow a full resumption of aid into Gaza immediately and enable the UN and humanitarian organisations to work independently and impartially to save lives, reduce suffering and maintain dignity. We remain committed to meeting the acute needs we see in Gaza. We also reiterate our firm message that Hamas must immediately release all remaining hostages and allow humanitarian assistance to be distributed without interference. It is our firm conviction that an immediate return to a ceasefire and working towards the implementation of a two-state solution are the only way to bring peace and security to Israelis and Palestinians and ensure long-term stability for the whole region.

On 20 May the leaders of Canada, France and the UK issued a join statement saying, among other things,

We strongly oppose the expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable. Yesterday’s announcement that Israel will allow a basic quantity of food into Gaza is wholly inadequate. We call on the Israeli Government to stop its military operations in Gaza and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. This must include engaging with the UN to ensure a return to delivery of aid in line with humanitarian principles. We call on Hamas to release immediately the remaining hostages they have so cruelly held since 7 October 2023.

We will not stand by while the Netanyahu Government pursues these egregious actions. If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response.

We oppose any attempt to expand settlements in the West Bank. Israel must halt settlements which are illegal and undermine the viability of a Palestinian state and the security of both Israelis and Palestinians.  We will not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions.

The BBC reported that Netanyahu hit back at the suggestion: “By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities.” He also called on “all European leaders” to follow US President Donald “Trump’s vision” for ending the conflict.

20 May –  False claim14,000 babies risk death in Gaza in next 48 hours

Read or listen to the BBC Today programme interview with Tom Fletcher by Anna Foster on 20 May during which he falsely claims that, unless baby food is immediately allowed into Gaza, 14 thousand babies will die in the next 48 hours because their  mothers, who are themselves underfed following the 11 week Israeli blockade, are unable to feed them.

Tom is the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

30 May – Gaza is the ‘hungriest place on earth’

On 30 May Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva, said Gaza is “the only defined area, a country or a defined territory within a country, where you have the entire population at risk of famine…Gaza is the hungriest place on Earth.”