In the Gaza Strip, where millions survive trapped between the crossfire and hopelessness, humanitarian aid is not only urgent: it is vital. However, this aid—which should be a neutral and sacred lifeline—has been transformed by Hamas into a weapon of control, blackmail, and terror. Worst of all, with the direct or tacit complicity of the United Nations.
David Rosenthal
For years, Hamas has made international aid an integral part of its power structure. It appropriates trucks full of food, medicine, and essential supplies, mostly sent by Western countries. Instead of distributing them equitably, it stockpiles them, resells them at exorbitant prices, or distributes them as political favors to those under its control.
It's not just corruption: it's the institutionalization of human suffering as a mechanism of domination. The income from this parallel economy fuels the payment of militiamen, the manufacture of weapons, and the maintenance of its war machine, not only against Israel, but also against the Palestinians themselves who dare to challenge its regime.
Meanwhile, the UN, which should be the guarantor of impartiality, has become a passive facilitator—if not a silent partner—of this abuse. Instead of breaking up the channels controlled by Hamas, it insists on using them, de facto legitimizing its rule. Aid trucks authorized by Israel to enter Gaza remain blocked without any transparent explanation, while food rots and medicines expire. Bureaucratic justifications hide an uncomfortable truth: the UN is afraid to dismantle the status quo because it is part of it.
The consequence is not only inefficiency, but also the spread of a toxic narrative: that the misery in Gaza is solely Israel's responsibility. This position is not only intellectually dishonest, but also morally unacceptable. Hamas has deliberately engineered a humanitarian crisis to use as a media shield and diplomatic weapon. While holding Israeli hostages in underground tunnels, it sends Palestinian civilians to their deaths in the name of its ideological crusade.
Amid this bleak outlook, the creation of the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has brought a glimmer of hope. In just two months, it has delivered more than 90 million meals directly to the civilian population. Hamas's response was not gratitude, but violence: it attacked distribution centers, opened fire on those queuing to receive food, and then cynically blamed Israel for the casualties.
And the UN? It looks the other way. The international community must ask itself: How many more lives must be lost before real accountability is demanded? How long will the UN remain part of the problem, clinging to a bureaucracy that no longer serves the principles it claims to uphold?
Humanitarian aid cannot be used as a bargaining chip for a terrorist organization. And the UN cannot continue to be complicit in this macabre game. Because what's at stake isn't just Gaza or Israel: it's the credibility of the entire international system and its true commitment to human rights.
X: @rosenthaaldavid
