Former American President Jimmy Carter told students at the American University in Cairo Thursday that Gaza Arabs are being "starved to death" by Israel, receiving less calories than people in the poorest regions of Africa. "It's an atrocity what is being perpetrated as punishment on the people in Gaza. It is a crime... I think it is an abomination that this continues to go on," Carter said.

Carter did not explain that Israel has closed the Gaza crossings to most traffic because of constant terrorist attacks and did not note the daily opening of the crossings for humanitarian aid. On Thursday, only 27 trucks of food and supplies pass through Kerem Shalom before it was forced to close because of a terrorist attack, and hundreds of thousands of gallons of diesel full were shipped through the Nahal Oz fuel terminal until it also came under attack.

Despite the opposition of the American government, Carter is scheduled to meet on Friday in Damascus with Khaled Mashaal, the exiled leader of Hamas. In Cairo, he met with senior Hams officials from Gaza, Mahmoud al-Zahar and Saeed Seyam. The Israeli government refused to allow Carter to meet them in Gaza.