Middle East and Africa | Occupation and responsibility

Who is responsible for feeding Gaza?

Arguments fly over Israel’s duty to maintain aid

FILE - Palestinians line up for a meal in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. The United Nations said Tuesday, M
Photograph: AP
|DUBAI

An estimated 1m Palestinians have fled Rafah since the start of Israel’s offensive there on May 6th. For those who remain, the fighting has had grisly consequences. At least 45 people, including a number of children, died on May 26th after an Israeli air strike set fire to a tent camp; survivors had to pull charred bodies from the wreckage. Even those who evacuated are not entirely safe: dozens more were killed two days later in a strike near al-Mawasi, a so-called “humanitarian zone” for displaced civilians.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Assuming responsibility”

Meet America’s most dynamic political movement

From the June 1st 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Middle East and Africa

Israeli retaliation in Lebanon seems inevitable

But it still wants to avoid all-out war against Hizbullah

Why the AI revolution is leaving Africa behind

Large infrastructure gaps are creating a new digital divide


Rwandan soldiers may outnumber M23 rebels in Congo

The prospect of dislodging the rebels is becoming dimmer


Bibi Netanyahu offered spectacle over substance in America

His fourth address to Congress was historic, but held few answers for Israelis

Israel and the Houthis trade bombs and bluster

For now, though, neither side is a strategic threat to the other

The world court says Israel’s occupation is illegal

But will the International Court of Justice’s ruling have any effect?