A Harrisonburg man has been on a hunger strike for more than a week in response to Israel's blockade of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
On March 2, Israel banned all food, water, shelter, and medication from entering Gaza. On May 1, Russ Leinbach, 81, of Harrisonburg, stopped eating solid food.
RUSS LEINBACH: Well, it's indefinite. I'm going to do it until food gets into Gaza. That's my intention.
For 11 days now, Leinbach has mostly sustained himself on a liquid diet of coffee, tea, and juice. He's made two exceptions during that time – a single bowl of shredded wheat and one potluck meal at church.
Leinbach said it goes beyond protest – prayer and fasting have been part of a spiritual journey. He taught elementary school in the Palestinian town of Hebron in the mid-60s as a participant in Pax – a Mennonite program through which conscientious objectors could perform alternative service rather than join the military.
LEINBACH: I spent two years living in the West Bank as a young man, from 19 and 20 years old, so I have a real affinity for the Palestinian people … and they're just really hospitable people.
The United Nations reports that 10,000 cases of acute malnutrition among children have been identified in Gaza so far this year.
LEINBACH: Using starvation as a weapon of a war is a war crime, and the people of Gaza are human beings, and we're letting mass starvation happen and we're not doing anything about it, and our government is complicit in this, and I just want to call attention to that and awareness.
Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, Palestinian health officials say Israel has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza. As of January, The Associated Press reported about a third of the dead were children.
