Trump’s Envoy Walks Gaza’s Ruins as Aid Groups Decry 'Calculated Starvation'
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The Visit No One Wanted
A Diplomatic Ghost Tour Through Rubble
Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s former Middle East envoy, stepped over shattered concrete and twisted rebar in Gaza last week—a surreal tableau of a man who helped shape the region’s politics now walking through its consequences. His tour came as Human Rights Watch dropped a bombshell report accusing Israel of systematically turning aid distribution points into 'bloodbaths,' with snipers allegedly targeting civilians queuing for flour. The death toll? Over 200 in the past month alone, according to local health officials.
Greenblatt, who once tweeted that Gaza’s protests were 'not about humanitarian issues,' now faced the stench of untreated sewage and children digging through trash for food. No press conference, no grand statements—just a tight-lipped walk past hollow-eyed survivors. The irony hung thicker than the dust.
The Numbers Don’t Lie—But Governments Might
Aid Workers Keep Count While Politicians Dodge
UNRWA, the UN’s relief agency for Palestinians, reports that 1.1 million Gazans—half the population—now face 'catastrophic hunger.' That’s a technical term meaning people are eating grass and drinking polluted water. Israel denies blocking aid, but satellite images show miles of trucks stalled at checkpoints. Meanwhile, the US-approved $320 million floating pier for aid delivery? It’s been used to transport about 100 trucks in two weeks—a drop in the ocean when Gaza needs 500 trucks daily just to stave off famine.
Dr. Fadel Abu Heen, a pediatrician in Khan Younis, told me over a crackling WhatsApp call: 'I’ve started weighing newborns in plastic bags because we ran out of scales. Most are under 2 kilos. Their mothers look like skeletons.' He paused. 'This isn’t war. It’s a chemistry experiment.'
The Trump Factor
How 2024 Looms Over Every Crumbled Building
Greenblatt’s visit wasn’t humanitarian—it was political reconnaissance. With Trump polling ahead of Biden in key states, his team is quietly rebuilding Middle East policy playbooks. The envoy’s 2018 tweet resurfaced during his trip: 'Hamas bears responsibility for EVERYTHING that happens in Gaza.' That rhetoric now clashes with images of aid workers in bulletproof vests dodging gunfire to distribute baby formula.
A Republican strategist, speaking anonymously, put it bluntly: 'Trump’s base wants Israel unchecked. But if babies starve on CNN, even evangelicals get squeamish.' The Biden administration walks a tightrope—approving more weapons for Israel while air-dropping meals into Gaza. It’s a policy so contradictory that even diplomats call it 'schizophrenic.'
What Comes Next?
A Famine With Witnesses
The International Criminal Court prosecutor’s warning about potential war crimes charges over aid obstruction now feels inevitable. But legal processes move slower than starvation. Gaza’s bakeries have shuttered for lack of flour; hospitals report kids dying from dehydration more than bombs. Meanwhile, Israel’s government insists Hamas steals aid—a claim aid groups call 'a convenient myth.'
In Rafah, where 1.4 million displaced people cram against Egypt’s locked border, a 14-year-old named Mariam told me: 'We queue for hours just to get a can of beans. Sometimes they shoot at us. Sometimes we faint. But hunger hurts more than bullets.' Her words hung in the air, unanswered by the diplomats shuffling through ruins or the politicians calculating electoral fallout. The world is watching Gaza starve in real time—and taking notes.
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