West should demand that Hamas must surrender… unilateral declarations recognising a state of Palestine won't defeat it
Both things benefit the terrorist organisation Hamas which has always been happy to sacrifice the Gazan people in its quest to destroy Israel.
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The present food crisis is a result of Israel trying to stop Hamas using humanitarian aid to pay its fighters.
The terrorist group creams off aid, sells it and keeps some for Hamas fighters.
The war might have destroyed a large part of Gaza and killed up to 60,000 people (according to the Hamas-run Gazan Health Ministry) – around half of them Hamas (according to Israel) – but still Hamas refuses to admit defeat and give back the 50 Israeli hostages it still holds.
So Israel tried to hit Hamas where it hurt, in the pocket, by using an American organisation called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) which gives out aid free at source.
In response, Hamas has attacked and killed people on their way to GHF sites and provoked soldiers guarding the perimeter into gun battles leading to the death of civilians.
They have robbed people on their way home and killed Palestinian GHF workers.
The GHF is only working in a small part of Gaza and the UN was meant to continue feeding the rest but there was a standoff over how that food was delivered.
Israel was demanding that the UN -backed organisation stopped using Hamas policemen to 'guard' the aid, the UN refused to use either Israel troops or GHF workers to protect it instead.
So we ended up with people being hungry while 950 trucks of food and aid was inside Gaza and beginning to rot.
Western fury means that those trucks and many others will now feed Gaza but the question remains over how to defeat Hamas.
Just last week the group walked out of ceasefire talks as it gleefully saw governments turn on Israel.
One thing is true: unilateral declarations recognising a state of Palestine won't do it.
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