I also just found this from a few weeks ago showing that it isn’t only me who thinks that Bibi is using the war to his advantage. The people of Israel seem to agree
“When asked what values motivate Netanyahu in his wartime decision-making, 53% in the Channel 13 survey said they believe he is primarily motivated by personal interest, and only 33% said he is acting for the good of the country.”
The cease fire agreement isn’t anything new. Basically Hamas is offering a few hostages if Israel stops fighting, withdraws, and feeds them.
…an important part of the articles you cited that shouldn’t be overlooked is this:
Many, if not most of these restrictions aren’t new. They aren’t unique to this war. Green sleeping bags have been classified as “dual use” since 2008. Whenever someone tells you that Gaza was “free from occupation” since 2005, this is a reminder that Israel fully controlled who and what came into Gaza and what was allowed out.
As for the airdrops: here is some important context, posted by Former USAID Assistant Admin Democracy Dave Harden:
For more context, humanitarian agencies have been saying that at least 500 trucks of aid per day is required in Gaza. At the moment, only between 60 and 80 trucks on average are being allowed through. At 33,000 meals in yesterdays air drop from the US, that represents less than a full truck of aid.
This is performative. Theatre. Expensive theatre. It makes the US look like they are doing something when its literally a drop in the bucket.
Harden argues for more crossings to be opened.
As for worrying about “Hamas gaining control of the food”: the biggest problem with getting food to the north right now is that the security situation has deteriorated. UN convoys have been shot at by the IDF. And when they reach the north, because Hamas are no longer effectively in control, and the police have abandoned their jobs, the food convoys get overwhelmed.
And when Israel is put in charge of food distribution? They end up shooting at people trying to get food.
The reason why there isn’t a food security distribution problem in Rafah is that the local authorities still have control. “But Hamas” isn’t the problem here.
A particularly horrific story amongst a sea of horrific stories here, from ITV:
The IDF has a lot of conscripts, but do they send people against their will into combat, as opposed to a support role? If not, I wonder who are all the volunteers? Self-selection may explain why it is not a complete surprise that many of them are gutless villains with a complete disregard for innocent lives and the laws of war.
President Biden said this will be robust and not a one and done event.
… President Biden has said a lot of things about this war. We’ve got no reason to trust him here. Even if they drop the same amount of food every single day, it’s still the equivalent of less than a single truck. And that assumes it even reaches people, and isn’t dropped in the ocean where nobody can reach it.
The US airdrops were over southwestern Gaza and the town of Mawasi. And this is even more telling. Food is desperately needed in the north. But al-Mawasi is the “safe zone.” It’s a town, original population 1,400, that Israel have been trying to force people into since the start of the war. There is nothing there. It tells you just how much disconnect there is between the Biden administration and the humanitarian agencies on the ground. There wasn’t even any coordination. It wasn’t dropped where it was most needed, but where Israel told them to drop it.
A C-130 has 35% more volume than a 53 ft trailer and a C-17 is 5 times larger. Airlifting food will get it to places the trucks aren’t reaching and will better distribute it. on top of that they’re planning on delivery by sea.
…the measure here is the number of meal rations dropped, not how much volume a C-130 has, and they are dropping less than a truckload in the only designated “safe” zone in Gaza.
The food is being dropped into places that the trucks have no problem getting to, that already have security and corridors set up, already established distribution networks. These are random drops, not coordinated with any of the humanitarian agencies on the ground, that probably won’t end up in the hands of the people who desperately need it.
This famine was inevitable. I was warning about it in this thread months ago. So was every single humanitarian agency. It isn’t a difficult equation. If you raze the fields, slow food deliveries to a trickle, and create a security situation where food cannot be safely distributed, people will starve. And that’s where we are now. With children starting to die daily from malnutrition.
That they are only thinking about “delivery by sea” now, when the solution is obviously to open up more corridors and let in more food by truck and something that should have been done months ago, is the problem here.
We aren’t talking about some natural event. This isn’t an “act of god.”
Food isn’t getting through to Palestinians in Gaza because Israel isn’t allowing it. Its a constant effort to reframe what is happening on the ground. Airdrops is a public relations win for the US even though they aren’t really doing anything. And by doing so they allow Israel’s siege of Gaza to continue unabated. They are allowing in less trucks now than they were a month ago. And none of those trucks are getting through to the north.
They said from the outset that this is what they were going to do. And this is what they are doing. The solution isn’t airdrops or delivering by ocean. It’s putting public pressure on Israel to let the trucks through.
It’s a war. All Hamas has to do is surrender.
…“But Hamas” strikes again.
A reminder: collective punishment of the civilian population in an attempt to convince a terror organization to capitulate is a warcrime. Deliberately starving millions of people is a warcrime no matter the motivation.
No, it’s a one-sided genocide of a civilian population.
Compare this weak effort to the Berlin Airlift, where US & UK (and others) air dropped off (at peak) 12,941 tons per day. There was an aeroplane entering Berlin airspace every 30 seconds. And this was before the heavy lift aircraft available today.
The “throw some boxes out of a C-130” strategy is just bullshit.
I will, however, attempt to disagree on the expense. I don’t think any aid to people in a traumatic situation is expensive. Rather I would like the US (and Europe) to spend more money on humanitarian aid.
Just not sure if Israel would allow it.
Too late to edit: yes, I understand Gaza does not have a functional airport, but also modern military airdrop capability is vastly higher than it was in 1948
Tell it to Hamas. They seem to think it’s a war and keep on fighting.
MUCH larger aircraft capable of air drops and they can choose between dropping pallets or loose dropping the food packs.
Somehow doubt the sniped grandmothers and dead NICU babies were Hamas…
They’re delusional fanatics.
What’s the IOF’s excuse?
If you read the cites it’s suppose to be an ongoing event that will also include sea launched support.
They have no choice.
While I doubt the IDF would fire a missile to down a US C-130 delivering aid, they do have a choice.
They could either negotiate a means to deliver that aid, most usefully by allowing the backed up truck convoy to enter, or they could shoot down a USAF plane and thereby force an invocation of Article 5 of the NATO agreement.
I doubt that it would get as far as that, seeing as the USS Liberty incident did not, but as teenagers these days say, “fuck around, find out”.
About the same choice as dropping nuclear weapon on Gaza. Not going to happen. The same applies to any supplies brought in by sea.
I accept that, so what reason do you have to argue why aid is blocked by road? There are huge numbers of trucks loaded with aid and supplies waiting at Rafah.
And they will not get north. People are starving to death, both north and south.
Yes, Hamas has embedded itself in the population - but there are people in that population like my mum, my brother, my sister, myself - who do not involve ourselves in politics. There are innocent people, dying, because Israel doesn’t care.
And yes, there are Hamas supporters dying too.
How much collateral damage is OK with you?