The amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza has dropped by 67% since Israel launched a military offensive in the southern city of Rafah earlier this month, the United Nations has warned.
Of course it has. That was one of Israel’s aims in taking the Rafah crossing.
"The @LemkinInstitute reiterates our condemnation of the use of #starvation as a weapon, we are appalled by the current #famine occurring in #Gaza. As one of our recognized patterns of genocide, man-made famine that is used to weaken or destroy a group is known as #Genocide"
— Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention (@LemkinInstitute) May 29, 2024
U.S.-built pier will be removed from Gaza coast and repaired after damage from rough seas.
AP reports: "The setback is the latest for the $320 million pier, which only began operations in the past two weeks and has already had three U.S. service members injured and had four vessels beached due to heavy seas."
#Congo and #Sudan are also going through genocides right now. Over 4.3 million people are displaced in Sudan, battling #starvation and #diseases. Congo is suffering with no shelter, food, water and many being assaulted, over 6 million have been killed since the 90s with over 7 million #displaced.
The United Nations has suspended food distribution in the southern Gaza city of Rafah due to lack of supplies and insecurity.
It also said no aid trucks have entered the territory in the past two days via a floating pier set up by the US for sea deliveries, and warned that the $320m (£250m) project may fail unless Israel starts providing the conditions humanitarian groups need to operate safely.
Meanwhile..
"Individual members of Israel’s security forces are tipping off far-right activists and settlers to the location of aid trucks delivering vital supplies to Gaza, enabling the groups to block and vandalise the convoys, according to multiple sources"
Joe Biden's claim that Hamas’s October 7 attacks were “driven by ancient desire to wipe out the Jewish people" is ahistorical and dangerous. In fact, Jewish history shows that antisemitism is a Western problem.
Fanatic settlers are attacking aid trucks and still Western leaders do nothing. Are ordinary Israelis ok with this? Aren’t some of these American citizens? The level of thuggery is astounding. These settlers have total impunity because their leaders are in the government. This government is clearly violating international law and committing genocide with a very clear intent. #gaza#starvation
A damning article on the Biden administration's complicity in the famine in Gaza and the use of starvation by Israel as a weapon of war.
In an internal collective dissent memo drafted this month by numerous employees of USAID, the staff assail the agency and the Biden administration for its “failure to uphold international humanitarian principles and to adhere to its mandate to save lives”.
A new analysis from #HumanRightWatch argues that numerous attacks on humanitarian relief operations by #Israeli forces prove the bombing that killed 7 people was "far from being an isolated 'mistake.'"
It is a mistake to think of #nature as warm and cuddly. Many, perhaps most, #violent encounters between #humans and #wildlife are the result of the former treating the latter as #Disney characters.
One reason “#birds are #dinosaurs” made immediate sense to me was a vivid childhood memory: when I was about ten, I thought some #goslings were cute and wanted to pet them. #Mother#Goose had other ideas. Yeah, don’t do that.
It is equally a mistake to assume nature is All #Killing, All The Time. Fighting takes a lot of energy, and wild animals—including our own distant ancestors—are in constant peril of #starvation. Even a minor #injury can lead to #infection and #death.
Violence is a tool of survival, to be sure, whether in #predation, self-defense, or squabbles over #territory and #mating. Unnecessary violence is a quick road to #extinction. Most animals would rather do something else, when they can.
So before you fall back on “red in tooth and claw” as a default, look for other explanations. They’re usually more interesting anyway.
Time is running out to prevent starvation in Darfur, in western Sudan, a UN agency has warned, as escalating violence devastates the African nation. People have been forced to consume “grass and peanut shells,” the regional director for Eastern Africa of the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday. “If assistance...
"Sadly, #GuineaBissau has allowed itself to become complicit in Israel’s deliberate #starvation, #illegalSiege and genocide of Palestinians in #Gaza. @israel is showing the world the extent to which it will go to deny Palestinians the aid they need to stay alive, in direct contravention of International #HumanitarianLaw, #UN Security Council resolutions, and two orders of the International Court of Justice #ICC@cij_icj . Israel is only allowed to get away with this because we have an international order where law does not apply equally, where people are not valued the same, and where might equals right. The US has hijacked #internationalLaw and is violating its own laws to protect Israel at every turn. A recently-leaked #USAID memo states that ' #famine in Gaza is inevitable,' and that 'changes could reduce but not stop widespread #civiliandeaths.' It also states that the government of Israel does not currently demonstrate necessary compliance with #USlaw required to receive #USmilitary aid. Nevertheless, last week, the #USCongress passed and Biden signed a $26 billion aid package for Israel. It is this kind of naked impunity, over decades, that has brought us to this point where Israel can carry out a #genocide "
Multi-platinum global recording artist Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, has pledged another $2 million to the Gaza Strip from his XO Humanitarian Fund. The latest donation aims to supply 18 million loaves of bread to families trapped in the ongoing war....
Whilst the US is providing $Ms, #Israel will make no effort to behave like a civilised country. But the UK is just as shamed and inveigled by knowingly selling/providing arms to Israel. The governments of many Western powers are standing behind Israel. It is up to consumers/tourists to #boycott the country & its products.
“The responsibility for this #starvation of children, women and noncombatant males lies squarely with Israel, which is obstructing food aid deliveries.”
"Lynch has seen a memo entitled “Famine Inevitable, Changes Could Reduce but Not Stop Widespread Civilian Deaths,” which was produced by food security experts in US AID and the State Department, and which they sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. These US officials gave the memo a subheading that is damning for the Israeli government of PM Benjamin Netanyahu: “Israel-imposed administrative challenges are preventing the delivery” of food" #Israel#Gaza#Famine#Starvation
Israel has taken significant steps in recent weeks on allowing aid into Gaza, the U.S. special envoy for humanitarian issues said on Tuesday, but considerable work remained to be done as the risk of famine in the enclave is very high....
"Even if the war in Gaza ended tomorrow, for some of the Palestinian territory’s children, it would not help. Hunger and malnutrition have already claimed an estimated 27 young lives, and for many more, it may be too late to reverse the excruciating toll that starvation takes on small, growing bodies"
"At this age a child should weigh 8 kilos. They weigh 2 kilos … They don’t have thighs yet. At this stage they are supposed to be crawling and preparing to walk. And now you can see the state they’re in,” she said.
“Are these the arms of an eight-month-old child? … It’s death there, death, death. Death in the literal meaning of the word.”
People eating ‘grass and peanut shells’ in Darfur, UN says, as hunger crisis engulfs war-ravaged Sudan (edition.cnn.com)
Time is running out to prevent starvation in Darfur, in western Sudan, a UN agency has warned, as escalating violence devastates the African nation. People have been forced to consume “grass and peanut shells,” the regional director for Eastern Africa of the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday. “If assistance...
The Weeknd donates further $2 million towards famine in Gaza (tribune.com.pk)
Multi-platinum global recording artist Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, has pledged another $2 million to the Gaza Strip from his XO Humanitarian Fund. The latest donation aims to supply 18 million loaves of bread to families trapped in the ongoing war....
Famine risk in Gaza very high, especially in north, US official says (www.reuters.com)
Israel has taken significant steps in recent weeks on allowing aid into Gaza, the U.S. special envoy for humanitarian issues said on Tuesday, but considerable work remained to be done as the risk of famine in the enclave is very high....
‘It’s death there’: babies and children hit hardest as famine tightens hold on Gaza (www.theguardian.com)
Estimated 27 children killed by famine, with fears many more will suffer lifelong effects, despite Israel’s promise of more aid