Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israel Museum. Jerusalem May 23, 2017. CC BY 2.0
Narrated by Morrigan Crowe
I need to make sure you understand, because I didn’t.
In August, after months of food shortages, news sources1 declared Gaza to be in a state of famine. Food isn’t just ‘short’ anymore. This term — famine — is reserved for when enough people in your population are dying of starvation every day2.
Editor’s note: See also Ted Miller’s article ‘A genocide by any other name’ in last month’s issue of Tumbleweird, and reporting by Al Jazeera reporter Renee Lewis.
In September, the UN Security Council gathered, intending to pass a resolution demanding that Israel cease fire and lift the restrictions on humanitarian aid to end the Gaza genocide, as Israel’s ‘blockade’ has prohibited the transfer of food into Gaza3. Every member who voted supported this resolution except the United States of America, who used their power to veto it4, denying dying Palestinians the basic human right of nourishment.
During my research, I encountered a group of citizens from diverse backgrounds and nationalities calling themselves the ‘Global Sumud Flotilla’ who have been attempting to enter Gaza with humanitarian aid. They embarked on September 1, trying again to bring basic necessities to the people of Palestine, and are currently entering Israel’s waters with a fleet of watercraft brimming with food, medicine, and baby formula — without knowing whether Israel will make good on their threats to harm them5.
What makes this journey unique is that the flotilla isn’t a government or an organization bringing aid. They're just ordinary citizens — people like you and me — who are defying the Israeli government and risking their lives to feed starving, dying people because literally no one else will do it.
If you’ve ever read Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael, “Mother Culture” may be coursing through your mind. We are told that we can change nothing, that this is just the way things are, that we have no power against the forces ruling the planet. The flotilla is the embodiment of resistance against that poison. It symbolizes hope that there are some righteous people remaining on earth.
I have two intentions in writing this post. First, I’m boosting visibility. Our attention is our power! It is how we influence the course of events. If we know this is happening, and we watch them do it — watch these ordinary people, who ache like we ache and are doing something about it — it could literally save their lives and the lives of the people of Palestine. This is the third World War. And it’s being livestreamed6. You can also track the flotilla here: globalsumudflotilla.org/tracker.
Editor’s note: Sadly, this is no longer the case. Now, the flotilla tracker website reads:
All 42 boats in the historic Global Sumud Flotilla mission were illegally intercepted between October 1-3, while attempting to break Israel's siege on Gaza. 462 people were kidnapped in international waters.
This world's commitment to stand with Palestine continues. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, in partnership with Thousand Madleens and the Conscience, has more boats on the way.
Second, you need to know — the U.S. is about to occupy Gaza.
Trump’s ‘Peace Plan’ announced on the morning of September 29 promised a life-saving deal, but it is quite clear from the twenty-point plan7 that the U.S. is going to take over Palestine. If Hamas negotiators agree to the deal, they secure survival for the Palestinian people. But let us not forget: The United States has gambled their lives — and their deaths — in a play that will land our country complete control. The hand that withheld food from the mouths of Palestinians is the hand that holds their chains.
We cannot be complicit in this.
We cannot be complicit.
For more information on the state of affairs in Gaza:
The Cairo Review of Global Affairs. “Gaza Conflict Cascading Effects: The Rafah Question.” February 6, 2024. https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/gaza-conflict-cascading-effects-the-rafah-question/.
United Nations News: ‘Imminent famine in northern Gaza is ‘entirely man-made disaster’: Guterres. March 18, 2024. https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147656.
References:
- “On 22 August the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) officially declared famine in the Gaza Governorate…The declaration follows months of warnings from Palestinian organizations that famine had already reached an ‘advanced stage’ in Gaza.” Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. Atrocity Alert No. 448: Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan and China. August 22, 2025. https://www.globalr2p.org/publications/atrocity-alert-no-448/
- Doctors Without Borders. What constitutes a famine? Updated April 12, 2023. https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/what-constitutes-famine
- Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. Intensified Naval Blockade Deprives Gaza’s Population of Fisheries Resources: A Continuing Crime of Genocide and Deadly Starvation. September 25, 2023. https://pchrgaza.org/intensified-naval-blockade-deprives-gazas-population-of-fisheries-resources-a-continuing-crime-of-genocide-and-deadly-starvation/
- United Nations News. Security Council: US votes against resolution on Gaza ceasefire. September 26, 2025. https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/09/1165881
- PBS News. What to know about the international flotilla seeking to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza. June 5, 2025. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/what-to-know-about-the-international-flotilla-seeking-to-break-israels-blockade-of-gaza
- Global Freedom Flotilla. Tracker (live coordinates). Accessed September 29, 2025. https://globalsumudflotilla.org/tracker/ Global Freedom Flotilla. Live stream. Accessed September 29, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIBLr7lERuo
- Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan in full. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70155nked7o
