Flour Massacre

from Bearing Witness by David Rovics

/

about

Israeli troops have been methodically massacring starving Palestinians who are trying to feed their families, as they approach the trucks full of food the Israeli occupation forces use as bait.

lyrics

Almost five months since the blockade was complete
Millions have hardly had anything to eat
Most had now fled to the border with Sinai
The rest who, through the bombing, had managed not to die
Were living in the rubble with the other refugees
Hoping before they died of famine and disease
Trucks might come with deliveries of flour
As starving Palestinians were counting by the hour

The Army fired at every convoy that attempted
To make it to the north, but this one was exempted
It was contracted by the Army to come to this point on the map
So that they could set a trap
They waited for people to start unloading the aid
While they watched from above the pen that they’d made
Then they began to fire at those helpless below
To kill their unarmed and starving foe

Scores lay dead or dying all around
People fled the trucks amid the deafening sounds
Of gunshots and screams of those breathing their last breaths
Whose need to feed their families now resulted in their deaths
When people went back to the trucks to try again
It’s hard to find the words to even say what happened then
The troops began to fire more, round after round after round
Everywhere you looked a sea of blood was what you found

And then the soldiers drove their tanks over the dead
And then the western media just repeated what they said
“It was chaos on the Strip, we had to let the bullets rain
We can’t have starving people grabbing bags of grain”
So instead, another bloodbath, one of so many now so far
That makes Gaza Wadi smell like the ravine of Babi Yar
For a sack of flour, they'll shoot starving children dead
Though that's somehow not how the headlines read

credits

from Bearing Witness, released April 19, 2024

license

tags

about

David Rovics image

David Rovics Portland, Oregon

Singer/songwriter, writer, podcaster (on Spotify, Substack & Patreon), anarchist, dad, lover of life.

shows

contact / help

Contact David Rovics

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

David Rovics recommends:

If you like David Rovics, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featured guests are the golden-voiced Baby Rose and psyche soulsters Brainstory.
listen now