Blockades and Starvation in Gaza

By Walter E. Block

Starvation is a particularly cruel way to die. There is no good way to pass away before your time, but this must rank amongst one of the worst. A bullet to the head ends your life with a lot of pain (I infer) but it is over in a matter of seconds. Ditto for a bomb, a missile, a drone. But starvation, especially of the slow variety is vicious, nasty, depraved, uncivilized.

Let us stipulate, however, that this weapon is legitimate in war when used against combatants. There is a plethora of examples when one army blockaded another in an attempt to bring the latter to its knees through surrender. For example, during the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain, Militia companies trapped the British in Boston. They attempted to starve out the redcoats while the nearby frozen waters would not allow the UK navy to supply them.

Have there been any blockades leading to starvation of civilians during any wars in history? Unfortunately, there have been many. For example, the British blockaded Germany during World War I, and the latter returned the favor with their submarines during World War II. Regrettably, there have been hundreds, if not thousands of such cases all throughout history. Every siege of any medieval castle is a case in point.

What of those in danger of starvation in Gaza in the modern era? This includes civilians, women and children and elderly men too old to fight. This an unwarranted charge against Israel it has been accused of this war crime right after the barbaric Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. It is more than a year after that atrocity and no Holocaust type emaciated people have yet been seen in this troubled corner of the world.

Let us assume, a contrary to fact conditional, that Israeli actions have caused the starvation or at least semi-starvation of the Gaza populace. The leaders of that country vigorously deny engaging in any such behavior, but arguendo, we will ignore their protestations. We need not conclude purposeful starvation of helpless civilians; reckless disregard will be suitable for our present purposes.

What is our goal here? It is to ask, given these heroic (that means, false) assumptions, who is to blame for this state of affairs? There are only two candidates: Hamas, led by its puppet master, Iran, and of course, Israel. What I am asking is, Suppose Israel were the causal agent in Gazan civilian starvation, who would be blameworthy for it; given this contrary to fact supposition; whose fault would it be? My answer is, of course, Hamas would be culpable for this non-existent situation.

What is the argument for holding this terrorist group responsible? It is a very strong one. They could end this (supposed) horrific situation in one fell swoop. Well, actually two swoops. First, release all hostages. Second, melt away from Gaza. Completely disappear from the scene, leaving the fate of the Gazans to the tender mercies of the Israelis. (The IDF would treat them far better than Hamas did; at least they would not use them as shields). The fighters of Hamas would not even have to surrender, and subject themselves to jail sentences or possible executions (although, so far, Israel has visited this ultimate punishment upon only one man, Adolf Eichmann). All they would have to do is leave, depart, exit from the premises.

If they did this, they would save the lives of the Gazans, under the assumption upon which we are now operating. Food and medical supplies would come roaring in to this territory.

Has Hamas done any such thing? To ask this is to answer it? Not at all. They are still imprisoning hostages. They are still launching bombs, missiles, drones, in the direction of Israel.

It is thus difficult not to hold them responsible for the (presumed) starvation and other such plight of the Gazans. They are suffering, to the actual extent that they are, as a result of the fact that Hamas still uses them as shields.

Let us consider the case against Israel in this regard. This country, too, could stop the Gazan carnage, to the undoubted extent that it now exists. It could follow the Biden-Harris administration it its constant demands and threats for a pause, a cease-fire, non-escalation, peace. It could immediately cease and desist from all hostilities against Hamas.

In effect, then, it would be committing suicide. It would be to invite one, two, many, repetitions of October 7, 2023, something that Hamas continually promises. (I doubt their death statistics of over 40,000 killed, but I do not doubt this threat of theirs one little bit.) To do so would be for Israel to declare itself a paper tiger. It would be willing to suffer the indignity of October 7, that day of infamy, without conquering those responsible for this atrocity; without ensuring this would not happen ever again. It would preclude the Israeli air force from eradicating the Iranian nuclear capability, for, if we extrapolate from what Israel is now being asked to do to safeguard Gazans, there might well be innocent Iranians who would suffer from any such attack.

The bottom line is that it is indeed terrible that the Gazans are suffering from collateral damage, but that this is entirely, without exception, the fault of Hamas, not Israel.