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Western media and politicians suddenly realise Israel is starving Palestinians

Israel’s manufactured starvation of Palestinians in Gaza has apparently come to the attention of Western media and politicians. That’s in spite of Palestinians themselves, healthcare professionals, and hundreds of charities begging them to pay attention for months.

Shock at Israel actions in Gaza…

On their homepage, the BBC led with the headline:

More than 100 aid agencies say ‘mass starvation’ spreading across Gaza.

The Guardian also led with Gaza as their primary topic running the following:

Mass starvation spreading across Gaza, aid agencies warn, as pressure on Israel grows – Middle East crisis live.

The paper also ran with an exclusive citing pressure on ministers:

Starmer under pressure from cabinet to recognise Palestinian statehood.

And, even the Daily Express joined in:

Meanwhile, a number of prominent politicians have made like scum, and risen to the top. Genocide apologist and president of the EU, Ursula von der Leyen, politely asked Israel to “deliver on its pledges”:

How else could Ursula express her entirely sincere response to Israel besieging Gaza for decades, bombing infrastructure essential for survival, and manufacturing starvation for Palestinians but to say:

Israel must deliver on its pledges.
Far be it for us to say, but we’re not super sure that’s going to fly at the Hague. Indeed, Francesca Albanese was similarly sceptical of von der Leyen’s remarks:
So little, so late, President @vonderleyen: After you have given Israel 21 months a free pass in Gaza, it will take more than words to prevent Israel from completing its genocidal mission and overt ethnic cleansing campaign. And even more, to repair what’s left of the EU credibility.
The EU have, disgracefully, not only ignored Israel’s barbarous actions – they’ve enabled the impunity with which Israel have committed genocide in Palestine. As the Canary reported last week:

Twenty seven foreign ministers from the EU refused to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement in a move that Amnesty International have called a:

cruel and unlawful betrayal.

If only there was something a tiny organisation like the EU could do to stop Israel.

Speaking of something lacking, David Lammy said:

As ever, food scarcity is not the problem. Palestinians are not starving because they don’t have food. They’re starving because Israel is refusing to allow food, water, or basic medical equipment reach them. How will releasing hostages save Palestinians? Something tells us Lammy isn’t referring to these hostages:

Since 7 October, thousands of Palestinians – including medical staff, patients and residents fleeing the conflict, as well as captured fighters – have been taken from Gaza to Israel, usually shackled and blindfolded. Thousands more have been detained in the West Bank and Israel. They have generally been held in secret, without being given a reason for their detention, access to a lawyer or effective judicial review, the report states.

His false equivocation is typical of a politician who has spent the years of this ongoing genocide minimising Israel’s actions and facilitating them. In May 2025, new trade data showed that the UK has continued to export arms to Israel, despite a supposed ban. As the Guardian reported:

The findings have led the former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell to call for a full investigation, adding it was a resigning matter if the foreign secretary, David Lammy, was shown to have misled parliament in breach of the ministerial code when he told MPs in September that much of what the UK sends to Israel was “defensive in nature”.

As ever, Lammy’s actions are not in step with his words, paltry as they are.

So, why now?

As ever, there’s a legal challenge looming for the British government. As the Canary reported just yesterday:

The pre-action letter is on behalf of three children, who the legal challenge refers to as child Y, S, and S. It states that the UK government has failed to take reasonable steps to ensure it is sufficiently informed and has taken account of the inadequate treatment options for Gazan children before deciding not to pursue medical evacuations. It argues that privately funded evacuation and medical care in the UK, which is the only existing potential option for critically ill Gazan children, is not realistically available to children Y, S, and S.

However, that’s not the only reason. Over the course of Israel’s genocide, there have been waves of false interest from both mainstream media and politicians. Whilst Israel’s actions themselves have never wavered – they’ve consistently been on a campaign of death and destruction against Palestine – the condemnations from certain characters has wavered. It feels important to confront that the response from Westerners often wanes depending on a specific construction of the perfect victim.

After all, that question keeps coming up: why now? Has some new information emerged? Perhaps there is new testimony which reveals something both the media and government were not aware of? Or, maybe experts from the UN or Amnesty International have released a new report with evidenced claims?

The level of information hasn’t changed. Palestinians have been begging for their lives. So, why now?

Craven opportunism over Gaza

There has been report after report featuring independently verified information. Palestinian journalists have documented the genocide they themselves are suffering through. Neither the information nor the pressure from charities has changed. And, the crux of the matter is that while certain media outlets and politicians may spotlight Palestine occasionally, it’s far too fucking late. There have been media outlets, Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye, and more who have consistently documented the genocide and laid bare Israel’s atrocities. Certain politicians and thousands of experts with decades of experience have pleaded alongside Palestinians to stop the genocide.

The likes of the BBC and David Lammy have been, at best, inconsistent and arbitrary in their superficial condemnation of Israel. They might pay attention today, but they certainly won’t tomorrow.

Such a relationship to genocide invariably creates a dynamic where it appears as though, if only there was more evidence, more heartfelt testimony from Palestinians, more, more, more, then perhaps these craven apologists might notice and do something.

But, unfortunately, that has no bearing on reality. Israel’s genocide in Gaza is the most well-documented genocide in real time. Information has never been the problem.

Featured image via YouTube screenshot/Al Jazeera English

By Maryam Jameela

This post was originally published on Canary.