Have you heard of OCHA?

You probably haven’t heard of OCHA. OCHA is the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

“Humanitarian Affairs”, of course, primarily means Palestinian “refugees”. I put the word in inverted commas, because what Palestinians call the Nakba happened nearly eighty years ago. How come that the so-called “refugees” haven’t built a state of their own in Gaza and the West Bank rather than trying to destroy Israel?

All of the Jews who were expelled or fled from Iraq, Iran, Morocco, Libya, Egypt, the Yemen and Ethiopia have been absorbed by Israel and are not refugees. Why are the Palestinians still refugees?

OCHA tells us that “over 586,000 children under the age of 10 have been vaccinated for poliovirus across Gaza, reaching 99 percent of the target population since the campaign began on 22 February.

“Six newborns reportedly died from the cold weather in Gaza city and Khan Younis, health officials cited in the media report.” Why didn’t their families take care of them?
“Since the ceasefire began, the UN and its humanitarian partners have coordinated the distribution of over 100,000 tents. These figures only refer to humanitarian assistance coordinated by the UN.”

What does OCHA have to say about the Israelis being held hostage by Hamas in appalling conditions in Gaza in which they are subjected to psychological torture? Nothing.

Israel is trying to apply pressure to gain their release by stopping so-called “humanitarian” aid from entering Gaza. So what does OCHA have to say? It is a “worrying decision…. International law requires that humanitarian aid that saves lives must be allowed to enter Gaza.”

What do they have to say about the Israeli hostages being held in appalling conditions? Nothing! They simply state:

“On 22 February, the ICRC facilitated the release of six living Israeli hostages from Gaza to Israel. The scheduled release of 620 Palestinian detainees from Israeli detention centres … has been postponed by Israeli authorities, reportedly until Palestinian armed groups cease to carry out release ceremonies.”

What does OCHA have to say about those “release ceremonies”? Or does compassion exist only for Palestinians, who are not undergoing a fraction of the suffering of the Israeli hostages and their families?

When OCHA addresses Israeli/Jewish suffering and is not just a mouthpiece for Hamas, then perhaps it may be worth listening to them.