Israeli forces had murdered over 7,000 Palestinians—including 3,000 children—in Gaza as of Thursday.

And as bombs and missiles rain death on Palestinians’ heads, Israel’s brutal siege has left tens of thousands more without food and running water.  

Ibtisam, who lives in Deir al Bala in central Gaza, had not had water for three days when she spoke to Socialist Worker on Thursday. “It’s been like this for 20 days since the start of this horrible war,” she explained. “Things only become more serious and tougher with every passing day. I think that illnesses are going to spread.”

The United Nations (UN) in Gaza said on Thursday that it would be forced to end all operations within a day if it couldn’t access more fuel. 

Ibtisam said, “The fuel crisis is making everything hard. It’s making it difficult for the bakeries and for pumping water. Power isn’t getting to residential buildings like my house.”

To punish the Palestinian people for daring to resist, Israel is controlling how much humanitarian aid is allowed into Gaza. Tamer Qamout, professor of public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in Qatar, said, “They have put conditions on the type of aid that is allowed into Gaza.

“They are asking Palestinians to choose between water or food. All these items are crucial. It is a crime by all means.” 

Ibtisam described how tens of thousands of Palestinians are being forced to crowd into temporary shelters in Gaza. “About 30,000 people are in one school,” she said. “This school does not have enough facilities.

“They are using empty spaces between buildings and putting up tents to accommodate people. People are fighting to have food or water. There isn’t enough food for these numbers.”

The charity, Oxfam, released a statement on Wednesday stating that just 2 percent of the food that was supposed to help those in Gaza has reached people in need. It added that, before Israel’s latest assault on Gaza began, 104 trucks a day would reach the strip every day.

Since last weekend only 62 trucks have crossed into Gaza through the Rafah crossing—only 30 contained food. And it said that clean water has virtually run out, with just three litres of clean water available per person. 

Ibtisam says these horrors in Gaza show Israel “are the terrorist”. And Israeli terror sanctioned by Western leaders who rely on Israel to protect their imperialist interests in the Middle East. US president Joe Biden on Thursday said he had “no notion that the Palestinians were telling the truth” about the death toll.

It’s yet another reason to get onto the streets on Saturday—to rage against Israeli terror and its backers in Western governments. 

Meeting tonight, Palestine, resistance and the struggle for freedom with historian, Ilan Pappé, Irish TD Richard Boyd Barrett, author Tariq Ali, Palestinian Refaat Alareer writer live from Gaza, and anti-Zionist Jewish socialist, Sophia Beach. Thursday 26 October, 7pm, at Resource for London, N7 6PA
March on Saturday in London 12 noon, Embankment, details here, and in Scotland details here