Fresno church: Genocide in Gaza is a humanitarian, moral crisis that should stop | Opinion
The Board of Trustees of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno in conjunction with the church’s Social Justice Team, in keeping with our church’s values, state our demand for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza with the intent of respecting the lives of all people living in Israel/Palestine.
This paragraph above is from an editorial that was published in The Fresno Bee on March 8, 2024. At that time, the International Criminal Court recognized a genocide. More than a year later, the situation has deteriorated further, leaving no doubt that a genocide is actively occurring even as Israeli hostages continue to be held by the terrorist army of Hamas.
The complete blockade of essential resources has resulted in catastrophic food and water shortages in Gaza. Relentless bombing has devastated civilian homes, schools, universities, power stations, government buildings, museums, UN shelters, and hospitals.
Over 200 Palestinian journalists have been targeted and killed in this conflict which is more journalists than the U.S. Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the wars in Yugoslavia, and the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan combined, according to a new report from Brown University’s Costs of War project.
Failed peace efforts and continued violence
On Jan. 15, 2025, a three-phase peace plan between Hamas and Israel was announced which began on January 19. However, during the first four days prior to that date, over 100 people in Gaza were killed. The day that Phase One ended on March 18, an additional 413 people — 174 of them children — were killed, effectively halting the peace process.
Beginning March 1, Israel blocked all aid, including food, water, and medicine. On May 12, the World Health Organization stated that entire 2.1 million population of Gaza is facing prolonged food shortages, with nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness, and death. This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time. The United Nations
Secretary-General estimated that 14,000 infants were at risk of starvation. While several European nations and Canada condemned Israel, the United States played a decisively negative role. On June 4, 14 out of 15 countries voted for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, but the U.S. vetoed the resolution.
The illusion of aid
Faced with mounting starvation and criticism from other countries, Israel and the U.S. introduced the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a deeply flawed aid effort. Despite having thousands of UN relief trucks loaded with food and supplies, Israel refuses to allow UN agencies to operate. Instead, the GHF forces Palestinians to travel long distances to receive inadequate rations.
Where the UN once had 400 aid distribution sites, GHF has only four — barely functional. Worse still, over 100 Palestinians seeking aid have been shot and killed trying to get food, with hundreds more wounded in the first week alone.
A moral reckoning
This massacre — the deliberate extermination of Gaza’s civilian population — is a defining moral issue of our time. Yet, Congress continues to send military aid to Israel, with Republicans united and most Democrats complicit.
History has taught us the cost of silence. Holocaust Museums remind the world of 10 million innocent lives lost under Nazi rule while the world looked away. Today, our government funds a new genocide and far too many Americans remain silent, ensuring the suffering continues unchecked.
What must be done?
▪ Demand an End to Military Aid: Experts agree that without U.S. military backing, Israel’s war machine would be severely compromised.
▪ Amplify Voices: Support student protesters, write editorials, and pressure elected officials.
▪ Keep Gaza at the Forefront: Public attention is a weapon against injustice.
▪ Donate to Relief Efforts: If you have the means, support organizations aiding Palestinians, such as UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency), MECA for Peace, Anera or Oxfam.
Now is the time for action. History will judge our response.