Bart's Mum

REVEALED: The scandal surrounding Gaza's failed winterization efforts lays bare a grim reality: Hamas obstructed attempts to protect Palestinian civilians before the devastating winter storms that flooded tens of thousands of tents. Palestinian Authority employees inside Gaza have reported that professionals from the Ministries of Public Works and Relief Affairs were intimidated, summoned, and coerced by Hamas into signing pledges not to undertake humanitarian projects without the group's approval. According to their accounts, those who defied Hamas risked so-called "field justice," including beatings and worse. Several officials, including Najla Hammad, Ihab Al-Bahtiti, Khaled Abu Safiya, Wiam Aboul-Nasr, Dr. Adnan Hamouda, and Ahmed Abu Zaiter, have publicly stated that efforts to build more durable fiberglass housing and improve conditions for displaced civilians were blocked. Another example was a proposal that was put forward to demolish several heavily damaged towers which were at risk of collapse from rainwater after extensive bombardment. According to those involved, Hamas blocked the removal of the “Bank of Palestine Tower” in Gaza City's Rimal neighborhood, reportedly arguing that it would "collapse from the rain anyway." The terrorist group did not show any concern for the civilian lives that would be lost when the tower eventually collapses on its own, because it wants dead Palestinians and news of tragedy to keep Gaza in the news cycle and to gain global sympathy, hoping for more incoming resources and donations for the Strip’s humanitarian and reconstruction needs that it could siphon. Additionally, Hamas has also been accused of obstructing construction projects intended to create safer communities for displaced Gazans in southern Gaza, prioritizing political control over humanitarian relief. This is a reminder that Gaza's suffering is not only a consequence of war. It is also the result of a fascist and ruthless governing power that repeatedly places its own interests above the welfare of the people it claims to represent. The same terror group that helped bring catastrophe upon Gaza continues to obstruct efforts to mitigate its consequences. As floodwaters sweep through displacement camps and families endure another winter in misery, the question is unavoidable: how many Palestinian lives could have been spared had Hamas allowed humanitarian, housing, and reconstruction efforts to proceed unimpeded?

Since yesterday, I have been following statements from Gaza’s Government Media Office, municipalities, Hamas officials, and their supporters, calling on the international community, Arab countries, and the Palestinian Authority to take responsibility for the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, after heavy rainfall flooded the tents of tens of thousands of displaced people. I do not deny Israel’s responsibility for destroying Gaza and displacing its people, nor do I overlook the international community’s failure to protect them. But what makes me angry is this relentless insistence on holding everyone accountable except Hamas itself! Hamas made the decision to launch the October 7 attack without any clear plan to protect the people of Gaza from its catastrophic consequences. Israel’s brutality does not absolve Hamas of responsibility for that decision. But there is another issue that deserves just as much scrutiny: the money. During the first year of the war, Khaled Mashal appeared smiling as he recounted a message from Ismail Haniyeh (Hamas’s leader at the time), describing the donations Hamas was receiving as unprecedented. He reportedly referred to them as a “financial flood,” a description echoed by other officials. And we are talking about a movement with international funding networks and financial backing from Iran, as well as reported sources of support connected to Qatar, Turkey, and Islamist organizations operating in Europe and the United States. The sums involved are potentially enormous, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more. I am from Gaza, and I challenge anyone to show me a clear, publicly documented aid program through which Hamas has distributed tents or food parcels to displaced families since the war began. I would also like to hear directly from families inside Gaza who have received such assistance from Hamas. Where has all this money gone? And how is it acceptable for Hamas leaders and activists to suddenly present themselves as humanitarian advocates whenever disaster strikes, expressing outrage over flooded tents and demanding that the entire world take responsibility? You are not outsiders watching this tragedy unfold. You governed Gaza, made decisions on behalf of its people, and received enormous sums of money in their name. You cannot continue demanding more money and holding the entire world accountable while refusing to answer for your own decisions or disclose what happened to the funds you collected in the name of the Palestinian people! And I have not even begun to address the charities allegedly linked to Hamas, some of which present themselves as independent humanitarian organizations while raising millions of dollars from donors abroad. Whenever disaster strikes, some of these organizations send photographers into the streets, produce English-language content showing the suffering, and publish it alongside donation links. One fundraising campaign I have been following on Chuffed has, according to the figures displayed on the platform, raised more than $15 million, including approximately $400,000 since yesterday alone! And yet, families whose suffering is featured in these fundraising appeals are still sleeping on the ground inside flooded tents, with little or no information about how the money raised in their name is being spent. I am not calling on the world to stop helping Gaza. Quite the opposite. But the people of Gaza, and the donors who are trying to help them, have every right to know where this money is going, who controls it, how it is being distributed, and why so many families remain without the most basic necessities despite the enormous sums being raised. Yesterday, children in Gaza were shivering from the cold inside flooded tents, while their parents struggled to salvage what little they had left. They know very well who destroyed their homes and displaced them. But they also have every right to question those who made the decisions that helped bring them to this point, and those who continue to raise millions of dollars in their name. It is no longer acceptable for Hamas to evade responsibility for the catastrophe it helped bring upon Gaza. Nor should any organization raising money in the name of Gaza’s suffering be allowed to operate without transparency, accountability, and clear evidence of how those funds are being used. You cannot collect millions in the name of people who have lost everything, leave them without answers about where that money has gone, and then demand that the rest of the world take responsibility. This level of disregard for accountability and for the dignity of the people whose suffering is used to raise money is morally indefensible. #Gaza #Hamas