As the world reels from the brutal terrorist attacks on Israel orchestrated by Hamas — attacks that horrifyingly targeted innocent Israeli civilians including children — some voices are pleading with the international community and Israel to prevent the slaughter of more innocents in response, specifically Palestinian innocents in Gaza.
Certain U.S. lawmakers, including Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, have called for a ceasefire to spare the innocent, which would also untenably spare the guilty. The White House has said any U.S. lawmaker withholding full support for Israel, and its right to defend itself, is “repugnant” and “disgraceful.”
Elsewhere around the world though, attention on providing relief to Gaza residents who aren’t Hamas terrorists — without absurdly calling for a ceasefire — is being articulated with greater political subtlety and distinction.
MSNBC media personality Rachel Maddow shared a letter from the First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf to the UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, asking that the UK — as a close ally to Israel — press Israel to allow humanitarian relief for Gaza residents even as it shuts down supplies to the region and begins widescale military attacks.
In his letter, Humza condemns — strongly and unequivocally — the Hamas terrorists and the attacks, but seeks to separate the terrorist group from ordinary Palestinian citizens. It is a hard distinction to make at the moment, when rage and the push for retribution is all-encompassing. But Humza pursues the point, noting that he personally has family trapped in the region, as he explains below.
The First Minister told @LBC @LBCNews that his family have just a day’s supply of essentials left and their hopes of leaving today were ended when the one route out of Gaza was bombed. https://t.co/XI47iePe4Y pic.twitter.com/iSbGwrN3Go
— @GinaDavidson (@ginadavidsonlbc) October 10, 2023
Maddow amplified a copy of the Yousaf letter to Cleverly, sharing it with her 10 million followers after it had been shared by Scotland Political Editor of LBC Radio, Gina Davidson.
The ability to simultaneously attack and provide humanitarian aid is a major challenge in any war, and especially early on in a conflict — and it will be particularly hard to accomplish here. In talks with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Joe Biden declined to urge any sort of restraint given the audacity and inhumanity of the Hamas terror. (Netanyahu has pledged a response that will “change the Middle East.”)
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