Our Wednesday News Analysis | US lifeline masks Israel’s economic freefall

Israel's economic collapse is projected to continue, even with the unprecedented US financial backing of Tel Aviv (File/AFP)

Now that Israel has become a bad brand, affiliated with unethical investments due to the genocide in Gaza and growing illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank, the US, as Israel’s principal benefactor, has stepped in to fill the gaps.

… the flow of funds from the US is not a passive action; it is an active collaboration that directly enables the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

… this should also make US citizens who object to their government’s role in the genocide in Gaza more aware of the extent of Washington’s determination to save Israel, even at the price of exterminating the Palestinians.

As a key move toward economically isolating Israel over its alleged genocide in Gaza, Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global announced last week that it would divest from even more Israeli assets companies.

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is the world’s largest, with total investments in Israel once estimated at $1.9 billion. The decision to divest was taken gradually but is consistent with the Norwegian government’s growing solidarity with Palestine and criticism of Israel.

Taking a leading role along with Spain, Ireland and Slovenia, Norway has been a vocal European critic of the Israeli genocide and human-made famine in Gaza, actively contributing to the International Court of Justice’s investigation into the genocide and formally recognizing the state of Palestine in May 2024. This diplomatic and legal stance, coupled with its financial divestment, represents a coherent and escalating effort to hold Israel accountable for its ongoing extermination of Palestinians.

The Israeli economy was already in a state of freefall even before the genocide. The initial collapse was related to the deep political instability in the country, a result of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist government’s attempt to co-opt the judicial system, thus compromising any semblance of democracy that remained in the country. This resulted in a significant lowering of investor confidence.

Israel’s war and genocide only accelerated the crisis, pushing an already fragile economy to the brink

Dr. Ramzy Baroud

Read more: US lifeline masks Israel’s economic freefall
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ZIKIM: WHERE GAZA’S STARVING RISK DEATH FOR A BAG OF FLOUR

Source: Palestine Chronicle
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/zikim-where-gazas-starving-risk-death-for-a-bag-of-flour/

By Shaimaa Eid
Published August 30, 2025

On this road, the stories of grieving mothers, orphaned children, and wounded survivors intersect, their bodies bearing living testimony to the brutality of the occupation.

Israel committed several 'aid' massacres in Gaza. (Photo: via QNN)

Mohammed, like hundreds of others, carried no weapon and posed no threat. All he held was the hope of returning with a bag of flour to ease his family’s suffering. But he was met with the bullets of the occupation, which insists on punishing the hungry even as they search for a piece of bread.

In this short distance, measuring only a few kilometers, dust mixes with the smell of gunpowder, and the cries of children blend with the moans of the wounded. Anyone who decides to reach Zikim knows well that they are stepping through a corridor of death.

Live bullets are always present, and tanks and snipers leave no chance for those fleeing hunger except to fall to the ground. Yet people come every day—some barefoot, others carrying empty containers in the hope of filling them with flour—while everyone knows that many will not return.

A Father Who Left in Search of Flour

Mohammed Al-Shantaf, a man in his thirties, never dreamed of much. All he wanted was to see the smiles of his three daughters and to reassure his pregnant wife that tomorrow might bring enough flour to fill their empty stomachs. But hunger proved stronger than his fears, so he decided to take the road to Zikim despite his family’s warnings.

His mother, her voice trembling, told the Palestine Chronicle: “We had nothing left to eat at home. Mohammed went with the other young men to Zikim to get flour and feed us and his daughters. We tried to stop him because the road was dangerous, but the hunger consuming his daughters’ bodies pushed him to take the risk.”

“On the afternoon of July 27, some young men who were with Mohammed came and told us that an Israeli sniper’s bullet had hit him directly in the throat and killed him. I had not yet finished mourning my first son, Ali, who was killed at the beginning of the war, when I received the news about Mohammed. It broke me,” she added, fighting back her tears.

She paused for a moment, then continued in a broken voice: “Mohammed was trying to provide us with food, and now he is gone too. We have no one left to support us, and the famine grows worse with each passing day. I have nothing to feed the children.”...

Read more: Zikim: Where Gaza’s Starving Risk Death for a Bag of Flour
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ANALYSIS | NETANYAHU'S ATTACK ON THE GAZA FAMINE REPORT AIMS TO HIDE THE TRUTH FROM ISRAELIS

Source: Haaretz
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-08-24/ty-article/.premium/the-gaza-famine-report-netanyahus-attack-aims-to-hide-the-truth-from-israelis/00000198-dc05-daa7-a7fc-dc3f4ada0000

By Nir Hasson
Published August 24, 2025

Israel rushed to discredit the report that determined Gaza is suffering from the highest level of famine. But lies and victim-playing do not change one basic fact: Israel starved Gazans until the world intervened

A malnourished girl at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis this month. A new low point.Credit: Mariam Dagga / AP

Many claims had already been debunked – but here they are again:

Netanyahu claims that Israel has "enabled two million tons of aid to enter the Gaza Strip, over one ton of aid per person." Even if that figure is accurate, it raises a fundamental question: Is one ton per person over the course of nearly two years a lot or a little? The average person eats hundreds of kilograms of food per year.

Also, not all aid is food.

Many low points have been recorded throughout the war in Gaza. A few days ago, another was added. An international expert body on food security determined that Israel is responsible for famine in Gaza, at the most severe level possible: Phase 5, with "reasonable evidence."

According to the report published by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, famine currently exists in the Gaza Governorate.

It is expected to spread southward into other parts of the Strip. To understand the severity of this situation, consider which countries have experienced Phase 5 famine in the 21st century. All of them are in Africa. The most recent was Sudan in 2023. Others include Ethiopia, South Sudan and Somalia. In Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Nigeria, famine was declared at lower levels.

For official Israel, the report represents a political and public diplomacy disaster. In recent days, a large team of government officials and military officers has worked intensively to find flaws in the report. The campaign to undermine it began even before its release, led by the Prime Minister's Office, the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry, and the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. Much of the Israeli media quickly echoed the official line, portraying the report as biased, agenda-driven and unreliable.

It's hard to believe the global community will be convinced, but that was never the goal. The real purpose is to hide the truth from the Israeli public – the truth about what is being done in its name. That reality is already evident in virtual visits to Gaza's clinics, such as those featured in a Haaretz weekend article that coincided with the report's publication.

To understand both the report and Israel's attempts to discredit it, it is necessary to understand what the IPC is. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification was created in 2004 to assess famine in Somalia. It collects data from 21 recognized humanitarian organizations, both UN-affiliated and independent, and applies a rigorous expert-led analysis. Its technical guide spans more than 200 pages...

Read more: Analysis | Netanyahu's Attack on the Gaza Famine Report Aims to Hide the Truth From Israelis