Although Canadian media have revealed, upon interviewing activists themselves, that this year’s flotilla is “less about aid and more about politics,” some continue to make the charge that Gaza faces a “humanitarian crisis” and “starvation.”
In April, the Red Cross stated unequivocally: “There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. If you go to the supermarket, there are products. There are restaurants and a nice beach. The problem is mainly in maintenance of infrastructure and in access to goods, concrete for example.”
Hamas itself admitted (at the time of the last flotilla) that “there is no starvation in Gaza.”
Life cannot be easy in Gaza. Hamas has murdered its political opponents and maintained a strict authoritarian regime. In continually attacking Israeli civilians and importing weaponry, Hamas has placed the people of Gaza in danger.
But is there a “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza?
When you examine foreign aid received per capita compared to critical indicators, such as infant mortality rates, it’s clear that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Worse yet, it seems that much of the world – and the Gaza flotilla organizers – are ignoring very real humanitarian disasters in Africa and elsewhere.
For further reading, check out the CIA World Fact Book – which notes that Gaza in fact has a lower rate of infant mortality (17.12) than 104 other jurisdictions around the world. This includes countries like Mexico (17.29), Vietnam (20.90), Brazil (21.17), Peru (22.18), and Turkey (23.94).