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By The Editorial Board
The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom.
The hunger in Gaza is an urgent moral crisis. Its two million people lack adequate food, and at least 16 children under 5 have died of hunger-related causes in the past couple of weeks. Israel’s often reckless administration of its war and occupation have helped create this emergency, and it has a unique power to alleviate it. It must do so.
How the situation has come to this is a matter of intense dispute, of course. It is certainly true that Hamas’s leaders could end the crisis by releasing the hostages they continue to hold and surrendering in a war they started and are losing. Yet the cease-fire talks between Hamas and Israel remain stalled, with each side insisting on conditions that remain unacceptable to the other. The best solution, for Palestinians and Israelis alike, includes a return of the hostages, an end to the war and a new Gaza government. While that outcome remains out of reach, Gazans need to eat.
