Unmasking the false generosity of the US response to Gaza's humanitarian catastrophe

Amid dire warnings from the UN regarding the food insecurity crisis in Gaza, the US proclaimed loudly that it is delivering humanitarian aid to the enclave. However, despite the impassioned remarks by Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Davos summit, his recent visit to Israel yielded no substantial progress in increasing Palestinians’ access to aid.

Meanwhile, international leaders, echoing UN special rapporteurs, have emphasised the gravity of the situation, with reports indicating that widespread hunger is exacerbated by Israel’s targeting of the food supply system in Gaza. We have already seen dozens of children and women dying of starvation, while those who are still living gaze with sunken eyes on an impotent world that does nothing to prevent the horrors that they are enduring.

Over almost six months, Israel has hampered the delivery of food, medical supplies and other aid items through the two land border crossings: Rafah with Egypt and the Karem Abu Salem with the occupied state itself. Israeli “security” inspections impede the flow of aid into the Gaza Strip, with only a fraction of the required assistance reaching a small section of the population. Blocking aid is not a security need for the Israelis, but a strategic decision. As Knesset member Tali Gottlieb explained in parliament on 23 October: “Without hunger and thirst among the Gazan population, we will not be able to recruit collaborators, we will not be able to recruit intelligence, we will not be able to bribe people with food, drink, medicine in order to obtain intelligence; we know that finding the abductees is a supreme and super-important goal alongside the goals of fighting.”

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In response to rising criticism of Israel and its allies, US President Biden announced his commitment to build a floating port for aid delivery. The US has also conducted airdrops of food aid, an ineffective method of aid delivery which is nevertheless photogenic for PR purposes. Some pallets fell on the Israeli side of the nominal border, some fell in the sea, and yet others fell on starving people and killed them. The situation remains critical, with famine looming large over the Palestinian territory.

Despite these apparent acts of generosity, though, the underlying dynamics reveal the perpetuation of oppressive systems.

While delivering humanitarian aid to the Palestinians through airdrops, the US Air Force has also delivered arms and ammunition to the occupation state. Such an “absurd” situation maintains the status quo benefiting the oppressor, while furthering the aid dependency of the oppressed. The US actions, with their high visibility in the mainstream media, blur the capacity of the international community to see the reality in Gaza. This fake generosity ignores and obscures the need to address the root causes of the crisis — Israel’s occupation of Palestine — and ensure sustainable relief efforts. It might be building a floating port to enable aid to get from ship to shore in Gaza, but the US is also using its veto at the UN Security Council to block ceasefire efforts, and thus gives a green light for Israel to continue to block aid delivery by land as well as its brutal military offensive.

Moreover, the port can be a dual-purpose project to control the Palestinians in Gaza, rather than simply supply humanitarian aid. At least one prominent Palestinian has already warned that it might be used to displace Palestinians from their homeland.

READ: Egypt won’t allow forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza

The ongoing assault on Gaza has once again underscored the significant US military assistance given to Israel. The scale of arms, ammunition and equipment dispatched during the offensive is staggering, including bombs, artillery shells and drones, being sent by air and sea. The financial aid provided by the US to Israel has always been substantial, totalling over $330 billion since 1948, with annual defence aid now exceeding $3.8bn. The recent passage by the US Congress of a $95bn foreign aid bill, with a significant portion allocated to Israel, demonstrates further Washington’s enduring commitment to support of the Israel occupation forces. The recent self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old serving member of the US Air Force, outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington in protest against US complicity in genocide, was a tragic reminder of the extensive military aid received by Israel by its main international ally.

Ever since 7 October, Israel has benefited from America’s unwavering political, diplomatic and media support for its occupation. When meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Joe Biden endorsed Israel’s account of the attack on the Baptist Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza by claiming, “It appears as though it was done by the other team.” The Israeli bombing and Biden’s reaction represented a litmus test of the international reaction to Israel’s unprecedented attacks on Gaza’s civilian population and infrastructure, including the health system. The Biden administration has repeatedly blocked Gaza ceasefire resolutions at the UN and bypassed Congress to increase weapons sales to Israel in a massive effort to enable Israel’s massively destructive offensive.

The US humanitarian aid to Palestinians, therefore, offered in plain view of this longstanding support for Israel and Washington’s complicity in the genocide in Gaza, is an embodiment of Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire’s concept of “false generosity”. For Freire (1921-1997), such “false generosity” addresses the symptoms of injustice without confronting its root causes; indeed, in the case of Israel, perhaps while nurturing the root causes.

False generosity helps the giver, not the receiver.

Biden’s decision to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians came as he is running for re-election in November’s presidential election, and is perceived as an effort to appease the growing discontent within the Democratic Party’s base regarding his steadfast backing of Israel’s indiscriminate killing of civilians and destruction of hospitals, residential areas and other civilian infrastructure.

True generosity, as articulated by Freire, involves addressing the systemic inequalities and power imbalances that sustain oppression. It requires a commitment to dismantling the structures that perpetuate poverty, hunger and suffering. Yet, the current approach of the US, characterised by piecemeal aid efforts and simultaneous massive military support for Israel, falls far short of this transformative vision. This is pseudo-philanthropy with only a semblance of humanitarian concern.

In the case of the US, true generosity would entail a genuine commitment to justice and liberation of the Palestinian people; true generosity would entail promoting a ceasefire and meaningful peace-building efforts. Until then, the cycle of false generosity perpetuates the very injustices it claims to alleviate, serving the interests of the powerful while failing to address the needs of the oppressed.

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The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.