NVN Monday: FLOUR MASSACRE
by Shelley Ettinger
‘Flour massacre’: Lifesaving aid becomes a deadly struggle in Gaza
At least 112 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others were injured on Thursday after Israeli troops opened fire on civilians gathered at a convoy of food trucks southwest of Gaza City, Palestinian health officials said. Israel denied it was to blame, saying that many victims were run over by aid trucks in a rush to obtain food. The massacre comes as the UN warns of an “almost inevitable famine” in the besieged Palestinian enclave amid increasing reports of children dying of starvation. —France 24, March 1, 2024
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You think it’s irony at first it’s spelled wrong at first in your head a fun metaphor it’s blossoms buds stems scents you picture birds maybe or animals eating petals maybe insects descending in swarms devouring flowers in fields on trees it’s ironic because it’s iconic nature doing its cyclical thing pure innocent instinctive You spelled it wrong in your head now you know not metaphor it’s actual no bees no flying beings not natural it’s people downed mass as in murder acre as in designated slaughter site the hungry strafed their bodies bloodied arms outstretched for flour sacks dropped because feeding starving children is not permitted must be swiftly stopped because the death deliverers determine eating to be a capital crime in Palestine
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Shelley Ettinger is the author of Vera's Will. Her work has been in Allium, The Wild Word, Gertrude, Nimrod, Mississippi Review, Mizna, The New Verse News in August 2007, and other journals. She is a Lambda Literary Foundation LGBTQ Writers' Retreat fellow. A queer social-justice activist for fifty years, Shelley now lives in San Antonio.