<
https://theconversation.com/israelis-have-a-skewed-view-on-extent-of-gazas-hunger-plight-driven-by-censorship-and-media-that-downplay-humanitarian-crisis-257201>
"Under mounting international pressure, Israel announced on May 19, 2025, that
it would lift its monthslong humanitarian blockade on Gaza.
The aid, which the Israeli government said would include a “basic amount” of
food to stave off starvation, comes as more than 90% of Palestinians in the
Gaza Strip are experiencing acute food insecurity.
Despite the staggering number of people at risk of malnutrition and starvation
in Gaza, however, two-thirds of Israelis are opposed to allowing humanitarian
aid into Gaza. That’s true even when that aid is delivered by international
organizations not linked to either Hamas or UNRWA, the U.N.’s aid agency for
Palestinian refugees that the Israeli government has banned and refuses to work
with.
What drives Israeli opposition to aid?
As researchers with a keen interest in conflict resolution and humanitarian
aid, we wondered whether a key factor driving Israeli attitudes may be
misperceptions about the scale of humanitarian need.
To find out to what extent misperceptions shape opposition to humanitarian aid,
we surveyed close to 3,000 Jewish Israelis between Jan. 21 and March 19, 2025,
across all age groups, regions, income levels and sex in an online survey.
We found that many respondents believed that fewer than 10% of Gazans were
going hungry − revealing a stark disconnect between public perception and the
situation reported by international humanitarian organizations. Indeed, when
asked to explain their opposition to humanitarian aid, one of those we surveyed
responded, “They don’t have a shortage of food, it’s just presented that way.”
Another replied, “The vast majority of Gaza residents have enough food, there
are restaurants and shopping malls operating in Gaza.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
