Officials in the US appear to be so distracted that they are hardly monitoring shipments that they declared to be a priority just last week.
Israel’s air defenses were put to the test by Iran’s attack, which also helped to mend, if only momentarily, Tel Aviv’s damaged relationship with Washington and moved the conflict and impending famine in Gaza down the diplomatic agenda.
This shift in focus has been particularly felt in Gaza, where the war has left almost all of the civilian population homeless and hungry after more than six months of fighting.
“People and countries showed support for us, but now they are showing support for Israel,” stated 52-year-old Bashir Alyan, a former Palestinian Authority employee who currently resides in a tent in Rafah with his five children.
Overnight, Israel was rendered the victim.
Because his family’s lives are at stake, he has observed the abrupt change in diplomatic priorities.
They only eat twice a day and are mostly dependent on food assistance from Unrwa, the UN organization for Palestinian refugees. In just six months, he has dropped 20 kg (44 lb).
Though he has no time for Iran either, he stated that the international pressures that were being applied to Israel to increase aid and cease its aggression against Gaza are now history. “We do not have issues with Iran. All it does is look out for itself.
Following the deaths of seven employees of the food organization World Central Kitchen in March, US President Joe Biden has been putting more pressure on Israel to increase access for relief workers and allow more aid into Gaza.
The first official in the nation to acknowledge that famine was starting to spread throughout the region was Samantha Power, the US aid chief, last week. Given the circumstances in Gaza, debates regarding the legitimacy of arms sales to Israel have taken place in the US and the UK.
In response, Israel pledged to “flood” Gaza with aid, enhance coordination with aid agencies so that aid workers could deliver supplies without fear of attack, open borders directly to the northern part of Gaza where the worst of the famine is experienced, and permit food to enter through its Ashdod port.
