Gaza catastrophe exposes 'bizarre' US hypocrisy

The United States continues to display its "bizarre" hypocrisy over its support for Israel's self-defense while allowing massacres to happen in Gaza, experts said, as the United Nations noted that the month of August saw the most evacuation orders issued, fueling demoralizing conditions there.

Hanan Ashrawi, former executive committee member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a post on her X account that nothing could be more bizarre than the US "showering Israel with billions" by supplying Tel Aviv with unlimited lethal weapons, munitions, and deploying its own warships to fight for Israel's "wars of self-defense" and then claiming the US was "doing everything to prevent the escalation and expansion of the "conflict". The US, she said, also threatens Israel's victims should they dare retaliate.

Farhan Mujahid Chak, visiting faculty at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, told China Daily that the US "is in direct complicity" to all the crimes against humanity and the flagrant violation of the "most basic norms of international law" and society. This "needs to be stopped and called out".

"(On) the negotiations that are ongoing, there's no better way to explain them as a charade. A charade of constantly edging the world to inform them that they're on the brink of the breakthrough when in reality, the intensity of the violence directed toward an overwhelming women and children population continues unabated," said Chak.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Aug 27 that humanitarian operations are "ongoing where feasible" after reports of a halt made rounds due to risks amid the Israeli military's repeated orders.

OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said there has been no decision to halt operations and there "never has been", noting the aid workers have "been there for 10 months".

"I want to remind you that only 11 percent of the territory of the Gaza Strip is not under evacuation orders…so we're trying to work with that number and keep the operation going," said Laerke, adding that a total of 16 evacuation orders had been issued for the month of August alone, creating much upheaval for Gazans already uprooted multiple times.

Since Aug 23, the Israeli military has issued three new evacuations covering 19 neighborhoods in northern Gaza and in Deir al-Balah, affecting more than 8,000 people sheltering in these areas.

The OCHA said the total number of evacuation orders issued in August was now 16, directly impacting approximately 258,000 people, or around 12 percent of Gaza's population.

"In Deir al-Balah, the orders have displaced UN humanitarian staff, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and service providers, along with their families. These relocations took place at short notice and in dangerous conditions," according to an update on Aug 26.

"OCHA is particularly worried about the order issued yesterday (Aug 25) for a part of Deir al-Balah. It affected 15 premises hosting UN and NGO aid workers, four UN warehouses, Al Aqsa hospital, two clinics, three wells, one water reservoir and one desalination plant. All of these are either in or near the designated area," it added.

Arie Afriansyah, associate professor at the Faculty of Law at Universitas Indonesia, told China Daily that Israel's repeated issuance of evacuation orders are not to minimize civilian casualties but "are only for Israelis".

"Considering the actions committed by Israel lately, it is hard to believe that Israel starts to listen to the world's concerns in Gaza… Nevertheless, we should not stop hoping and praying for a better situation," said Afriansyah.

The orders also encompass the UN's aid hub in the central city of Deir al-Balah. Previously, the UN and humanitarian response partners had been based in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah. But the Israeli military incursion there in May resulted in an exodus, effectively shrinking the humanitarian zone at the coast.

US Jewish activist and co-founder of the anti-war organization CodePink, Medea Benjamin, has also called for an end to US support for Israel, calling it a "betrayal of American values", Turkiye's Anadolu Agency reported, citing a documentary produced by TRT World.

"It is truly a mockery of everything that people who stand for the rule of law, for the rights of noncombatants," said Chak from Georgetown University.

"I think for strategic geopolitical purposes in the near future, this will prove even more dangerous for the global world order in which particularly the Global South is coming to the realization that there is absolutely no commitment coming from the G7 countries, in particular, the Western countries, to abide by the human rights' law," he added.

Chak said it "is going to pose even greater dangers and exacerbate tensions and the likelihood of conflict will be increased".

jan@chinadailyapac.com