A group of US doctors, veterans, and rights advocates gathered outside the US Capitol to urge President Donald Trump to end unconditional support for Israel amid the growing hunger crisis in Gaza. The advocates banged on empty pots to draw attention to the starvation in Gaza, where many have not eaten in days and more than 100 have died of hunger due to the Israeli blockade.
Josephine Guilbeau, a 17-year US Army veteran, expressed her outrage at the Israeli-imposed hunger crisis in Gaza. “The level of evil that it takes to make a decision to starve a baby as a means of war, as a weapon of war – what have we come to as a humanity? What have we come to as a country?” Guilbeau asked.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib called on her colleagues in Congress to join their constituents in opposing Israeli atrocities. “Americans serving in Congress, wake up because the American people are telling you over and over again: We’re not in support of this,” Tlaib said. “So maybe for once, would you listen to your constituency? Poll them like you like you poll everything else. They will tell you they do not want one goddamn freaking dime going to starve a whole people”.
The advocates criticized the US role in enabling Israel’s conduct through military aid, weapons provision, and diplomatic support. Stacy Gilbert, who resigned from the US Department of State last year after a 20-year career in protest to a government report denying that Israel is blocking aid to Palestinians, said the starvation in Gaza is the result of a “deliberate” decision by Israel. “I am calling on Trump to make a break with this policy that started under Joe Biden, this disastrous policy of unconditional military support for Israel,” Gilbert said.
The US president has continued to arm Israel, and his administration has backed Israel’s resumption of the war in March, the siege on Gaza, and the upending of the aid system in the territory. Nidal Jboor, a Michigan-based physician with the advocacy group Doctors Against Genocide, said Trump “failed” his Arab and Muslim supporters. “People were voting for him because he promised peace, and now he’s breaking his promises,” Jboor said.
The US has launched an initiative to monopolize aid distribution through a private entity, dubbed GHF. However, Palestinians and rights groups have described GHF aid distribution sites as death traps, where Israeli troops have been opening fire daily at aid seekers, killing hundreds of people. Despite the bloodshed, the US has been touting the GHF operation as a success, reiterating false claims that Hamas steals aid distributed through the UN and its partner organizations.