I nearly accused my interlocutor of blatant lying when her hoarse voice came through the phone, responding to my inquiries about their conditions. She clearly lamented that individuals belonging to criminal gangs were seizing whatever food aid reached Gaza by land or air, then forcing the war-stricken victims to buy it from them at exorbitant prices. This occurred last Sunday evening as I spoke with a young woman from my family who remained in the utterly devastated Gaza Strip, enduring the pains of the war's tragedy alongside many others, supporting one another amid the horrors of killing, hunger, thirst, and epidemics. My young relative, a mother of a child who recently celebrated his first birthday during the savage three weeks of Benjamin Netanyahu's war against defenseless innocents, has no connection to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah, or any factions, except as hostages to the interests of those organizations and the agendas of their allies in Iran and elsewhere.
I inquired about her husband, who contracted Hepatitis B during the war, possibly due to Israeli bombardment of Gaza with white phosphorus gas. She told me he went to the bakery, hoping to find bread and return home with whatever loaves he could obtain. I was astonished by her level of fear—indeed, terror—at the potential for her husband to be assaulted for the bread he carried back to their family. I asked her whether the security services affiliated with Hamas had ceased functioning due to the war, unlike the Ministry of Health, which continued to inform global media about the numbers of the dead and injured in the Strip twenty-four hours a day. Again, I was shocked to hear a more horrific answer: that some elements from those very services were now working with food aid theft gangs, providing them protection in exchange for either money or some goods.
Speaking of money, there’s another form of illicit enrichment at the expense of the victims of the October 7 attack. This involves exploiting the diaspora affecting Gaza’s residents, alongside the war's closure of local and international banks or branches of international money exchange offices, such as Western Union. This situation has created a phenomenon of illegal commission charges imposed by some money exchangers before any money can be transferred to needy family members by donors. If this isn’t the ugliest exploitation of the current state of Gaza, then what would be the precise description of such a situation?
Indeed, it is true that wars often spawn various phenomena reflecting the flourishing conditions of those who profit from them. While the doors to a decent living are closed or become challenging to access, the black markets thrive, where those controlling the keys to their management profit from the pain of others. This has always been the case across lands and will likely continue. However, despite this, there remains a sense of astonishment when such crimes occur among some Palestinians against the majority in such a tragic context. Some might exclaim in surprise; would you assume that every Palestinian is an angel? Certainly not, but it is still essential to hold a modicum of shame, even among those who propagate falsehoods, even if they say: If you are not ashamed, do what you will.
