Protests are no help

Russell Mansfield’s sympathy for Palestinians here watching the war in Gaza is understandable but his letter (“Protest over-reaction” HS, 8/7) shows a misunderstanding of what’s actually happening there.

Israel isn’t starving the people of Gaza. It is allowing all available aid into Gaza by the tons, and recent studies have shown that’s enough for the entire population.

The problem is that Hamas and armed gangs steal most of it and the UN is inefficient at delivering the rest, but protesting against Israel won’t solve that, protesting against the Palestinians might assist.

He also claims Palestinian civilians are being randomly shot and bombed but Israel is targeting only terrorists, and evacuating civilians from battle zones, and there would be far fewer civilian casualties if not for Hamas using them as human shields.

Stephen Lazar, Elwood