I’ve been turning puns over in my head, but I can’t find a way to make light of the fact that, in the midst of Israel’s horrific attacks on Gaza, the U.N is suspending all humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip. 

 

You might be wondering why on earth they would do something like that, as these people are in desperate, dire need of help. 

 

Maybe it’s because Israel keeps attacking U.N facilities and personnel inside Gaza? Maybe that’s it. 

 

The decision came after a convoy of three U.N. vehicles was fired upon Thursday by Israeli forces during a mission to recover the body of a U.N. worker who had been killed in a previous Israeli attack, according to United Nations Relief and Works Agency spokesman Chris Gunness. He said three U.N. workers have been killed by Israeli fire so far and that aid will not resume until “the Israeli army can guarantee the safety and security of U.N. personnel.”

 

 

Israel denies targeting U.N relief workers, but I have to admit that things like the fact that the three U.N. vehicles were shot at while trying to recover the body of a relief worker that Israeli forces had already killed. Israel touts their  three hour ceasefire on Wednesday as evidence that they really do want the people of Gaza to get luxuries like food, water, and medicine so they can enjoy being bombed and attacked indiscriminately day and night. 
Funny, I thought that during a ceasefire you weren’t supposed to be firing at people and things, like, say, relief workers? 

 

At least one Palestinian has been killed after a UN relief agency convoy came under fire from Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, officials say.

The attack took place on Thursday as the lorries travelled to the Erez crossing to pick up supplies that were to have been allowed in during a three-hour ceasefire.

Thursday’s pause in the 13-day Israeli offensive to allow humanitarian aid into the strip was scheduled to last from 1pm (11:00 GMT) to 4pm (14:00 GMT).

 

Come on, people. This is not so complex. I don’t mean to say that the issue is simple. The underlying issues and causes of this current conflict are messy, deeply rooted in religion, hatred, superstition and fear, and will take time to sort out. 
This, however? This cavalcade of violations of international law, common decency, and human rights? This is not so hard. This is clearly a time that the world must stand as a unified voice and demand a ceasefire immediately. Then, instead of walking away like we usually do once the bombs have stopped dropping, let’s start trying to figure out what the fuck to do about this before it happens all over again. 

 

I leave you with this: 

ph20090105020811

 

Sleep tight. Don’t worry about anything. It isn’t your fight, right?