GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 153

Why Are Gazans Starving?

Not A Scapegoat

Whenever people talk about the food condition in Gaza they usually follow it up with saying how Israel is to blame. However is that the case? We read more on this in a report from CBN.com:

The United Nations describes the food situation in the Gaza Strip as catastrophic. Yet, many believe, In Israel and elsewhere, that the U.N. is trying to make Israel the scapegoat.

Samer Abdel Jaber of the World Food Program claims Israel is not getting enough food into Gaza.

He stated, "We have enough food to feed the entire population of Gaza. That food at the moment is outside the Gaza Strip. We need land crossings, we need access to get it into Gaza, whether in the southern parts of Gaza or the northern part of Gaza because the situation is catastrophic."

But is Israel the problem? According to a spokesperson for Netanyahu, they aren’t:

However, Israel says record amounts of humanitarian aid are reaching Gaza – the equivalent of three pounds of food per person.

Elyon Levy, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office, countered, "There are no limits on incoming aid, and in fact, there is excess capacity at the Israeli crossings – both Kerem Shalom, where goods enter Gaza directly and Nitzana. The best evidence of that excess capacity is that last week we hit a record 277 aid trucks a day with 255 entering yesterday."

So what is causing the problems? Levy continues:

Levy suggests the problem is distribution inside Gaza and the U.N.'s reliance on Hamas for protection.

"The U.N. is struggling to distribute aid at the pace that Israel is letting it in. And the reason is that the U.N. relies on UNWRA(United Nations Relief and Works Agency), which is a Hamas front. That is why aid is piling up undistributed on the Gazan side of the crossing," he declared.

Observers on the ground posted a video said to show Hamas commandeering aid trucks entering Gaza.

Again and again it seems the answers are to put pressure on the people behind the bottlenecks, but that would mean making those they support look bad. Are you listening Biden? Are you listening world leaders?

A Good Idea

In an article in The Jerusalem Post we see how the United States will address getting more aid into Gaza:

The United States military plans to build an emergency port off the Gaza coast to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza and help alleviate the hunger crisis in the enclave.

The port “can receive large ships carrying food, water medicine, and temporary shelters,” top US officials told reporters in a background briefing.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government welcomed news of the plan, an Israeli official said, while others in the Defense Minster expressed surprise.

Why the sudden help? This could have been done at least a month ago. The article alludes to one reason:

It comes as Biden’s re-election campaign for the White House is kicking into full gears and as he is under pressure to do more to help Palestinians in Gaza, particularly in light of United Nations reports of hunger and possible starvation in the enclave.

The Biden administration's decision to jump into hyper gear over humanitarian aid to the enclave was taken as American officials worked with Egypt and Qatar for a hostage deal that would include a six-week pause to the Israel-Hamas war and allow for Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.

I’d say it is all political maneuvering, especially since Biden needs to appeal to Muslims living in Michigan, a swing state he needs to win in November. And it would explain why no pressure is put on Hamas who is openly commandeering the food trucks once they arrive into Gaza. The terrorists even keep the trucks they come in on to use for themselves instead of offloading them and returning them to the owners of the trucks. In public statements the administration makes sure to take a dig at Israel which will also make him look better with Muslims living in America:

“The aid flowing into Gaza is nowhere near enough and nowhere near fast enough,” US officials told reporters, as they explained that Biden now wanted to take matters into his own hands.

“The President has directed that we look at all options [and] that we do not wait for the Israelis. We are pursuing every channel possible to get assistance into Gaza. So we will do it by air by sea by land however we can get the maximum amount in as possible,” the US officials said.

The report does mention that the United States won’t actually help make sure the aid gets to Gazans which, as we read earlier will not help if the UN is either is unable or willing to make sure Hamas actually lets the aid get to the people in need.

Not In Agreement

Apparently two Hamas leaders are not like-minded on what demands Hamas should make in the Cairo negotiations as we read in an article from The Jerusalem Post:

Hamas chief in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, is in disagreement with Ismail Haniyeh, leader of Hamas’s political bureau, on the demands the terror group should make in the ceasefire negotiations, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

According to the report, based on officials in the know, the two leaders hold conflicting opinions.

One leader seems to want more from Israel while the other is willing to make some concessions:

Sinwar is taking a hawkish stance, wishing to extort more concessions from Israel, while Haniyeh, who is leading the Cairo negotiations, is willing to concede to a pause of a month and a half in the war, during which a possibility of a durable ceasefire could be examined along with the IDF’s withdrawal from the Strip.

This difference of opinions may go back to the decision to attack on October 7th:

The allegations of strife between the two Hamas chiefs come amid a report published earlier this week by Sky News Arabia claiming that Sinwar was the object of heavy criticism by the Hamas leadership abroad for initiating the October 7 attack without prior consultation.

Only five Hamas leaders were aware of the decision to attack. Haniyeh was not among them, according to the news outlet.

Israel Has To Win

In a report from i24news.tv we hear Prime Minister Netanyahu once again stating the goals Israel has for the war against Hamas:

In an address at a cadet graduation ceremony at the IDF’s officers school in southern Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that Israel is currently embroiled in an "existential war" that it must emerge victorious from.

Netanyahu, speaking fervently this afternoon, reiterated Israel's commitment to striking its enemies until achieving "total victory," a mantra echoed throughout the ongoing conflict with Hamas.

While many want Israel to find a way to end things peacefully with Hamas, Netanyahu is saying again that that isn’t an option:

Vowing to dismantle Hamas and its infrastructure, Netanyahu pledged to eliminate the "murderous regime" of the group, eradicate terrorists, dismantle tunnels, and relentlessly pursue those responsible for the October 7 attack while sparing no effort to locate the hostages.

The Prime Minister went on to mention the progress the IDF is making:

Highlighting the IDF's formidable progress in advancing towards its war objectives while minimizing civilian casualties, Netanyahu condemned Hamas for its egregious tactics, including the use of civilians as human shields and the construction of extensive subterranean tunnel networks.

Promising continued military action against Hamas across Gaza, including in Rafah, the group's last stronghold, Netanyahu rebuffed international pressure to halt operations, asserting that such demands would equate to conceding victory to the enemy.

Netanyahu once again reminded the world why Israel and the world must stay united behind the war effort:

Addressing the international community, Netanyahu emphasized the global implications of Israel's fight against terrorism, urging Western leaders to stand behind Israel and the IDF in the pursuit of "total victory in war" to prevent future atrocities.

Concluding his remarks, Netanyahu called for unity and solidarity among Israelis, expressing gratitude for the fallen and reaffirming Israel's determination to emerge triumphant in the face of adversity.