Of all the outrages chronically imposed by Israel on the inhabitants of Gaza, we often hear this one almost glossed over in passing: Israel limits food supplies going into this concentration camp, thus limiting the calories available to Gazans. This presumably includes all aspects of nutrition, including protein calories.
As any competent biologist (including me) will tell you, when the immune system responds against pathogenic bacteria and viruses in the environment, it consumes both lots of biological energy and lots of protein. A major reason is that such immune responses generally involve lots of cell division and formation of new white blood cells of different types, which means lots of new proteins necessary to build those new cells. Proteins normally built from the amino acids obtained from digesting dietary proteins. (Otherwise. the body must get those amino acids by digesting its own proteins, like those in muscles; bodies waste away.)
Individuals starved of calories, particularly of protein calories are therefore quite likely to suffer from immune suppression, failing to adequately respond to all the pathogenic challenges in the environment. They are more likely to become ill. They are more likely to die, when this might well not be the case if they had fully competent immune systems, “fully funded” by the appropriate dietary nutrients.
This presents us with yet another crime against humanity committed by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Moreover it’s a subtle, yet very real form of genocide. And it’s the same form of starvation genocide used by Nazi concentration camp overseers against European Jews, Romas, Slavic peoples and the other occupants of German concentration camps during World War II.
Congratulations Israel, you learned your lessons well.