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53054
From: akira, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Fmr USAID director: Aid airdrops into Gaza 'embarrassing' for US govt
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audio--- listen to interview at link Fmr USAID director: Aid airdrops into Gaza 'embarrassing' for US govt The US has begun air dropping aid into Gaza, as the UN warns over a quarter of the population is "one step away from famine". Over the weekend, US military cargo planes parachuted in some 38,000 ready-made meals – alongside the Jordanian air force, as fewer trucks are allowed into the besieged territory. Guest: Dave Harden, former USAID mission director to the West Bank and Gaza and was a senior adviser to Barack Obama's special envoy for Middle East peace Producer: Lara Sonnenschein |
Responses:
[53055] [53063] [53056] [53059] [53060] [53067] [53073] [53075] [53076] [53083] [53090]
53055
From: akira, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Fmr USAID director: Here’s a primer on air drops in Gaza
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Dave Harden, Fmr USAID Ass't Admin Democracy, Conflict, Humanitarian Aid; Led USAID West Bank/Gaza, Iraq, Yemen, Sr Adv, ME Peace. Founder http://GeorgetownStrategy.org 🧵 Here’s a primer on air drops in Gaza. But first, my bottom line up front: Air drops will not be effective in blunting the humanitarian crises in Gaza. Air drops are inefficient, expensive, dangerous, and only helpful when there are no other delivery options. Air drops are primarily for the Biden administration’s benefit - to paper over a massive policy failure. Here are the questions to ask the Biden Administration: 1. High altitude airdrops - Does the administration envision high altitude air drops? High altitude airdrops are dangerous to civilians, but best protect the aircraft and crew. How will aid be distributed with high altitude air drops into an uncontrolled, chaotic environment? Will high altitude drops create more chaos, insecurity and harm? 2. Low-altitude airdrops - Does the administration envision low altitude air drops? How will it secure the air and ground space? Gaza is a non permissive operating environment for US aircraft and crews. How will the Biden administration secure the space for our troops and Gaza civilians? How will the Biden administration control distribution so it doesn’t create more harm and risk? 3. Landed distribution - Will US troops land in Gaza and distribute food aid? Is that envisioned? How would that work? 4. US operations v operations by other nations - US military aircraft landing in Gaza is massively different from, say, Jordan air delivery of food aid. The US is widely perceived by Gazans as a participant in the war. Would US aircraft be safe? If not, how does the Biden administration plan to secure US crews? 5. Volume of delivery - If I recall, the Israelis -through the Karem Shalom crossing in the south - typically facilitated and inspected 500-700 trucks daily for delivery into Gaza before the war. Rafah, on the Egyptian border, never was open for goods/aid prior to this war. These days, if I have the numbers, it seems like 100-200 trucks a day are processed through Karem Shalom and Rafah. The need in Gaza, given the deficit, is probably close to 700-1,000 trucks a day. How does the Biden administration envision that air drops meet the humanitarian needs in Gaza? 6. What are the alternatives to air drops - Given that the Israelis are the occupying authority in Gaza, they have a duty of care to avert a famine. Further, the Israelis control the entire Gaza perimeter and assert freedom of operations along the entire perimeter. Given that, why haven’t the Israelis opened all crossings into Gaza, including old crossings long shuttered e.g. Erez, Karni, Nahal Oz, Sufa, and Salah Din Gate. Has the admin explored opening Gaza port for food aid? What leverage will Biden use to demand these openings? Most critically, the humanitarian goal is to flood Gaza with food and other aid, through as many crossings as possible. Economics help shape the strategy and provide understanding. For instance, many crossing points devalue any one crossing. If there is only one crossing, all risk, all adversaries will focus on disrupting that one crossing. If there are 10 crossings, then no crossing is particularly important or risky. Further, more aid best reduces chaos risk - because no bag of food is particularly valuable and civilian desperation levels are lower. Bottom line: Air drops are a bad idea, unlikely to blunt the tragedy in Gaza, and likely to create more risk for the US and civilians in Gazans. The Biden administration senior officials know this risk. Air drops are a symbol of massive failure. [END]. |
Responses:
[53063] [53056] [53059] [53060] [53067] [53073] [53075] [53076] [53083] [53090]
53063
From: akira, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Fmr USAID director: Monday's humanitarian update; Gantz visit to DC
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Dave Harden@Dave_Harden 🧵 Monday's humanitarian update; Gantz visit to DC. The US Air Force air dropped 38,000 meals on Saturday into Gaza, less than one truck load equivalent. By contrast a relatively small US NGO, @AneraOrg delivers 150,000 meals daily, 4x the amount of this US Air Force drop. The IDF is facilitating food convoys today from the north. This is important because food needs to come from more directions, more crossings, more often. Yet, reports suggest that Gaza is on the brink of famine. Well, what is famine? Food insecurity experts working on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or I.P.C., an initiative controlled by U.N. bodies and major relief agencies, identify a famine in an area on the basis of three conditions: At least 20 percent of households face an extreme lack of food. At least 30 percent of children suffer from acute malnutrition. At least two adults or four children for every 10,000 people die each day from starvation or disease linked to malnutrition. Since the I.P.C. was developed in 2004, it has been used to identify only two famines: in Somalia in 2011, and in South Sudan in 2017. In Somalia, more than 100,000 people died before famine was officially declared. A December assessment by the IPC indicates that an estimated 85% of the Gazan population is displaced and 93% of Gaza’s 2.2 million population are facing crisis-level or worse acute food insecurity, i.e. Phase 3 Food Insecurity. Specifically, IPC Phase 3 is defined as a crisis where at least 20 percent of households in an area are experiencing acute food insecurity, and acute malnutrition rates are between 10 and 15 percent. Further, at the household level, IPC 3 means families are not consuming enough food and have high levels of malnutrition, while others are adopting irreversible coping strategies – such as selling assets that support their livelihoods – to support a limited diet. The IPC is conducting another assessment now. We should expect the situation to worsen. At the end of February, the World Food Programme @WFP warned of imminent famine in northern Gaza unless conditions change. The WFP is led by Cindy McCain, John McCain’s wife, a centrist Republican whose organization offered this sober, thoughtful assessment. Former Israeli Minister of Defence, Benny Gantz, an opposition leader to Netanyahu but a member of the Israeli war cabinet, is in DC today meeting with senior Biden officials on, according to Netanyahu, an “unauthorized visit”. During this meeting with Gantz, the Biden administration must bring Netanyahu in line, and open up humanitarian assistance that irreversibly blunts the risk of famine in Gaza. Further, the hostages need to be released, there needs to be a humanitarian pause at least through Ramadan, Gaza needs to be resupplied, and both the Palestinians and Israelis must envision an end of the war that leaves some small hope for the two peoples. [END] |
Responses:
None
53056
From: Mitra, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Starving children vs photo op...
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There are *1000 truckloads* of supplies waiting for Israeli vetting. (You'd think they'd staff up.) My first thought when I saw the air drops was that it was a dangerous way to deliver the goods, but safer for crews, and would get to the people quicker. Air drops got Palestine those goods immediately. You'd prefer they wait in line for food when people are starving? No, that would just be another photo op. Forget starving children, we might have another opportunity to make Biden look bad! That's worth how many starving people a day? Just more sacrificial victims on the altar of Hamas. |
Responses:
[53059] [53060] [53067] [53073] [53075] [53076] [53083] [53090]
53059
From: akira, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Starving children vs photo op...
URL: https://twitter.com/Aboujahjah/status/1763971005309997133
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Dyab Abou Jahjah@Aboujahjah Once upon a time, not long ago, this room echoed with the laughter of children. They gazed into this mirror; they played with these toys. Now, those innocent lives have been extinguished and uprooted. The soldiers of the army responsible for their demise want us to know of their callous joy in causing such suffering. We are aware. We will never forget. We will never quit. We are thousands strong, millions in spirit, billions in heart. We stand committed to this cause until justice prevails. |
Responses:
[53060] [53067] [53073] [53075] [53076] [53083] [53090]
53060
From: Mitra, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Starving children vs photo op...
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Change the name of writer and that could refer, word for word, to the dead children Hamas gave Israel. How are these people to get along when they are both fighting for the land *God gave them* or *dedicated to Allah*? And every Palestinian life lost, according to Hamas is the *loftiest goal they could achieve"? What is your proposed solution? |
53067
From: chaskuchar@stcharlesmo, [DNS_Address]
Subject: give the Palestinian people freedom!
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they took it away in 1967 when they tried to sink the liberty. |
53073
From: Mitra, [DNS_Address]
Subject: What happened to ceasefire?
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Have you read the Hamas Covenant??? The Hamas don't want freedom. They want all of old Palestine for Allah. Tell me how many of the 10 millions in Israel will be safe under a Hamas/Iran caliphate? How many of their children will be safe and fed? Read the Covenant. That's what's at stake. Before freedom let's have Hamas surrender and a new Palestinian government installed. Then Israel may lose the will to have Netanyahu-ish leadership, and healing can begin. What happened to the call for ceasefire? Hamas flew that flag until they got it, but it doesn't suit their martyr program so they have left it on the table while children starve. Fed children do not raise headlines, peace doesn't get attention, and a surrender will lose them donations. Blame Hamas. |
53075
From: chaskuchar@stcharlesmo, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: What happened to ceasefire?
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when the west bank gets freedom, Gaza will demand it also.. hamas will lose when they get freedom. hamas only has power because israel subjugates Gaza. those parents will take there kids out of hamas. but the usa and israel do not want to give them freedom. |
53076
From: Mitra, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: What happened to ceasefire?
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But what happened to ceasefire? Why aren't you calling for Hamas to accept ceasefire?? Cui Bono? |
53083
From: chaskuchar@stcharlesmo, [DNS_Address]
Subject: cease fire is good but how can hamas get a list of captives?
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they need a cease fire to travel to find out. different groups have hostages and there is no communication between groups, else israel would know where they were at. i do understand that. |
Responses:
[53090]
53090
From: Mitra, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Why. doesn't Hamas say yes to the ceasefire on the table?
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It's there. Six weeks. Through Ramadan. Again and again I have heard how small Gaza is. Now it is too far to get hostages? The world is being played, these people are like Trump who claims to be a victim so others will pay his legal bills. What is Hamas getting for ignoring the ceasefire they claimed to want so desperately? People are starving and need help. Why won't Hamas let them have it when it costs Hamas NOTHING. Hamas HAS a cease fire and won't sign it! |
Responses:
None
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