An Economist article not only fails to attribute Gaza’s healthcare woes to Hamas’s decision to launch the Oct. 7th War, their refusal to surrender, and their continuing use of medical facilities for military purposes, but actually suggests that the terror group represents the only hope for the Strip’s medical facilities to recover.
Though the piece, (“Just 74 intensive-care beds remain in Gaza”, Dec. 18), per the Economist’s policy, doesn’t include a byline, it was likely written by their Middle East correspondent Gregg Carlstrom.
It begins by citing the alleged number of hospitals and clinics in Gaza damaged, out of commission or flattened, as well as the shortage in medical supplies at these facilities. While the article mentions a few dual-use, medical-related items which Israel doesn’t permit into Gaza, it completely ignores the large volume of humanitarian aid, including medical supplies, that have entered the territory since the ceasefire began in October.
The article also fails to note evidence released in Sept. by NGO Monitor citing internal Hamas documents proving that the terror group’s “exploitation of medical facilities in Gaza has been systematic”.
One such document, by the Hamas Ministry of Interior and National Security, explicitly described medical facilities as places of “gathering for many commanders of the movement [i.e. Hamas] and the government in times of escalation”
Hamas’ militarisation of Gaza’s hospitals, using such medical facilities as extensions of its military and security apparatus, would help explain why, during the course of the war, structures which under normal circumstances are considered purely civilian, became combat zones – thus resulting in extensive damage to such facilities.
Then, in the last seventy-five words of the 675 word report, the word “Hamas”, whose barbaric mass murder, rape, torture and mutilation of Jews started the war is mentioned – though not to ascribe responsibility to the Islamist extremist group for for Palestinians suffering from a shattered health system, but to frame their leadership as the only hope for a Gaza healthcare recovery plan:
Putting the health-care system back together will take years. The who puts the cost at $7bn-8bn. The Hamas-run ministry of health has drawn up a 49-page “early recovery plan” which estimates it will take five years to rebuild a “smarter and more sustainable” system. But removing Hamas from power is central to Donald Trump’s peace plan, so the ministry’s proposal may not be implemented any time soon.
In the meantime, Gazans will suffer.
Even leaving the bizarre framing of Hamas as the good guys on the issue aside, it’s baffling how the author can fail to understand that the terror group doesn’t have a monopoly on the publication of 49-page healthcare recovery plans. Nor is there any rational reason whatsoever to believe that their continued rule would actually result in a “smarter and more sustainable” system.
The text of the Trump 20-Point Plan, let’s remember, calls for “technocratic Palestinian committee for administering Gaza”, a government – overseen by a Board of Peace – which will be tasked with re-development of the Strip. So, by refusing to disarm, Hamas represents the biggest impediment to civilian reconstruction, including a “sustainable” healthcare system.
In the meantime, Gazans will continue to suffer.
