Oh really? The US after spending billions building a humanitarian pier in Gaza recently reported that no (yup ZERO) aid has been delivered through that outlet.
The UN has declared that Northern Gaza is now a full-fledged famine. But not to worry, this debate will get resolved as the bodies begin to pile up. Meanwhile, Israel's defenders attempt to shift the entire blame to Hamas?
At what point will Israel begin to wonder if this military incursion is worth the devastation to innocents? 100,000 dead? More? Collateral damage yes? Who cares they're not human anyway?
Plenty of Food Aid Is Getting to Gaza
More, in fact, than before the war. If Palestinians are starving, it is Hamas’s fault, not Israel’s.
By Joel Zivot and Matthew Rabinowitz, WSJ
June 5, 2024 5:29 pm ET
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court accuses Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of violating a law against “intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.” The statute requires a proof of intent, and the facts disprove the accusation. A new study by a group of Israeli academic nutritionists and physicians finds that more food is being delivered to Gaza today than before the war.
The online dashboard of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, indicates that from January to September 2023, on average 100 food-carrying trucks entered Gaza daily: 27,434 trucks over 273 days. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or Unrwa, reports that the average number of food trucks entering Gaza increased from at least 55 in November to 97 in January and 118 in March 2024.
The study analyzed airdrops and food shipments delivered by land from January through April 2024, based on shipping details provided by international donors and recorded by Cogat, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. These records list the shipment date, consignee, weight and contents of trucks entering Gaza and include aid delivered from multiple sources such as national and private donations. Unrwa lists only U.N. aid through Kerem Shalom and Rafah, the latter now closed by Egypt, ignoring other crossings. In May, Cogat lists 6,335 trucks, OCHA counts 2,797 and Unrwa 1,656. Adding private-sector trucks to the OCHA figure brings the total above 6,000, close to Cogat’s count.
The study revealed that the supply provided an average of 3,374 calories per person daily, well above the 2,100 recommended by the Sphere humanitarian movement as the minimum standard. It also confirms the daily availability of 101 grams of protein and 80.6 grams of fat per person, in compliance with the standards.
The problem is that distribution within a war zone is extremely challenging, and food doesn’t necessarily get to Gazans—or to hostages. When Hamas has had the means to do so, particularly earlier in the war, it has stolen aid, fired rockets from humanitarian zones, and fired at Israeli troops near aid corridors. Despite this, in a survey conducted on March 20 by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, 96% of Gazans said they could access food and water, albeit often with “great difficulty or risk.”
That’s because Cogat places no restrictions on the admission of humanitarian aid into Gaza, provided it is coordinated in advance with the Israeli authorities and passes through legitimate security screening. So far, 98.7% of all aid trucks sent were approved and entered the Gaza Strip. Only 1.3%, or 307 trucks, were rejected or sent for repackaging, as they carried unauthorized items that could be reprocessed for warfare and terrorist activities. These numbers demonstrate an intent to aid, not starve.
The ICC’s charges reflect a double standard against the Jewish state that is widespread in international organizations. The study illustrates that the case is factually baseless. Israel has taken concrete actions to ensure the provision of humanitarian aid into Gaza in the heat of battle. This should be recognized as a new standard for the world—the furthest thing imaginable from a war crime.
Dr. Zivot is a professor of medicine at Emory University. Mr. Rabinowitz is a healthcare executive. Elliot Berry contributed to this article.
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