Growing groundswell of public opinion about the need to open a humanitarian corridor and give access to food, water, electricity and medicine to the people of Gaza Strip
You’ve probably heard about the conditions in Gaza strip. Here is a video from Médecins Sans Frontières, UK YouTube
Here, Gaza director for medical aid stuck in Gaza city and talks about a colleague in southern Gaza whose house was bombed, no warning. YouTube
UPDATE FIRST HUMANITARIAN SUPPLIES AGREED BY ISRAEL AND EGYPT, FOOD, WATER, MEDICINE BUT NOT YET FUEL OR ELECTRICITY
First 20 trucks of aid to Gaza as a test, so long as Hamas don't confiscate or block them they'd do more.
.live-updates-biden-says-egypt-open-rafah-crossing-gaza-humanitarian-aid-avdiivka-thanks
Israel only permits food, water, medicine, not fuel or electricity.
No help from Israel's side until hostages are returned.
. biden-israel-palestine-hamas-war-1.6999670
It's a start.
Let's hope hospitals get fuel or electricity soon too.
LOTS OF AID READY TO GO WHEN THE RAFAH CROSSING OPENS
There is a huge aid convoy of trucks waiting at the Rafah crossing. They need approval from Israel as it can bomb supplies from Egypt and has been bombing the Rafah crossing.
The convoy may just go in anyway but it's a risk.
QUOTE
There is a large aid truck convoy of many trucks on the border of Gaza strip waiting to get in. But they need Israel to promise they won't bomb the convoy.
In a significant development, a large aid truck convoy from Egypt finds itself stationed at the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, waiting for the green light from Israel to proceed. The entry of this humanitarian aid into Gaza hinges on approval from Israel; however, the convoy may proceed regardless, potentially sparking a reaction from the Israeli authorities.
If you can spare the money don't feel your donation is too small it all helps for whenever they are able to get the aid through to Gaza strip.
You can donate to MSF as I did MSF UK | Médecins Sans Frontières, Oxfam GAZA CRISIS APPEAL | Oxfam International
Unicef Children in Gaza crisis appeal - UNICEF UK, the International Red cross / Crescent, and many others.
Many homeless in Gaza Strip are in UNRWA shelters.
They are nearly out of water and need emergency aid as soon as Rafah crossing opens.
We last <=3 days without water.
UNRWA appeal: updated-unrwa-flash-appeal-emergency-and-early-recovery-response-support
UNRWA do bulletins about the situation in Gaza strip from time to time, this is the most recent:
Heavy Israeli Forces’ bombardments, from the air, sea and land, have continued.
Israeli Air Forces continued to strike also in Khan Younis and other southern areas despite the directive for people in Gaza to move south.
Water remains a key issue as people will start dying without water.
Concerns over dehydration and waterborne diseases are high given the collapse of water and sanitation services, including today’s shutdown of Gaza’s last functioning seawater desalination plant.
One line of water was opened today for three hours only in the South of the Gaza Strip, feeding limited water to only half of the population of Khan Yunis (nearly 100,000 people). This does not solve the urgent water needs in other parts of Khan Yunis, the Middle Area and Rafah. Only 14 per cent of the population in the Strip benefited from this three-hour opening of the water line.
Fuel reserves at all hospitals across Gaza are expected to last for an additional 24 hours only. The shutdown of backup generators would place the lives of thousands of patients at serious risk.
In nine days of conflict, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 2,670 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza (an average of 267 per day, or 11 every hour) and 9,600 are injured.
In Israel, 1,300 people were killed and at least 4,121 were injured according to different sources.
14 UNRWA staff members have sadly been killed since 7 October. These are confirmed reports, but the number is likely to be higher.
24 confirmed reports of UNRWA installations across the Gaza Strip impacted as a result of airstrikes and bombardment. The actual number is likely to be higher.
Estimates that 1 million people have been displaced across the Gaza Strip. Some 600,000 in the Middle Area, Khan Yunis and Rafah, of those nearly 400,000 are in UNRWA installations.
UNRWA Rafah Logistics Base is now hosting nearly 8,000 people and the numbers continue to increase. Tensions there are very high.
Despite the Israeli Forces’ evacuation order, an unknown number of internally displaced remain in UNRWA schools in the north. UNRWA is no longer able to assist or protect the displaced in those areas and does not have information on their needs and conditions.
UNRWA is running eight Primary Health Clinics in the middle and southern areas.
UNRWA is likely to run out of medicines in its health clinics in the coming month. In some clinics, supplies are likely to run out sooner, due to difficulties with transporting supplies from one location to another.
Intensive high- level advocacy efforts are being made by UNRWA and the UN to allow critical humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip.
In the West Bank, significant access and movements restrictions and increasing settler violence continue. According to OCHA, 58 Palestinians have been killed and 1,176 injured since 7 October.
. unrwa-situation-report-7-gaza-strip-and-west-bank
Here is another video from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). I hadn't thought of this. It's like the nineteenth century now, operating without even painkillers.
https://twitter.com/MSF/status/1713858117660819821
I don't think this will continue for long. In the modern world we are so connected. Public pressure will eventually turn the US and UK around and get them to be more firm on Israel. Israel is so dependent on their support it will have to resolve the situation after that.
ISRAEL RESTORED WATER BUT ONLY FOR 3 HOURS TO 14% OF THE GAZA STRIP
There is some progress. Israel says it restored water to southern Gaza strip - the water authority say without electricity they can't pump it so can't confirm it's been restored.
Then later UNRWA confirm that water was turned on for three hours to 14% of the Gaza population.
One line of water was opened today for three hours only in the South of the Gaza Strip, feeding limited water to only half of the population of Khan Yunis (nearly 100,000 people). This does not solve the urgent water needs in other parts of Khan Yunis, the Middle Area and Rafah. Only 14 per cent of the population in the Strip benefited from this three-hour opening of the water line. unrwa-situation-report-7-gaza-strip-and-west-bank
Let's hope they restore electricity soon and grant safe passage for Egypt's aid convoy.
BIDEN ON A VISIT TO ISRAEL AND ONE OF HIS AIMS TO PUSH FOR A HUMANITARIAN CORRIDOR
Biden is on a visit to Israel and one of his aims is to push for a humanitarian corridor. He likely wouldn't do this unless there was already a good prospect of success. So there is some hope it will lead to something.
He originally planned to meet Arabic leaders from neighbouring countries as well as Israel but this sadly is postponed because of the bombing of the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza city.
Article:
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/10/biden-visit-israel-us-pushes-humanitarian-corridor-gaza
Biden's statement
: "I'll then travel to Jordan to address dire humanitarian needs, meet with leaders, and make clear that Hamas does not stand for Palestinians' right to self-determination."
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1714090576076038360
(currently pinned to his timeline)
EU AIR CORRIDOR TO EGYPT FOR HUMANITARIAN SUPPLIES WHEN THE FATAH CROSSING OPENS
PARIS — The European Commission announced Monday it was setting up a humanitarian air bridge to help Palestinians from Gaza. Humanitarian assistance equipment, including shelter items, medicines and hygiene kits, will be flown to Egypt with the hope that the Rafah crossing will soon open to transfer the material into the Gaza Strip.
. European Union launches humanitarian air bridge for Gazans via Egypt
UPSWELL OF PUBLIC OPINION IN THE UK
I get the impression it’s not quite the same in the USA yet. But in the UK the coverage has shifted from naturally focusing on the Hamas attack early on nearly all the coverage, to equal amounts of both - and now with the on going deaths nearly all in Gaza strip most of the coverage is of the bombing in Gaza strip and the plight of the Gazans.
There is a big upswell of opinion in the UK which may help change things. Labour in process of changing position.
The Scottish National Party, which currently governs the devolved parliament in Scotland, are already clear SNP Leader calls for UK to commit to full humanitarian support for people of Gaza
The mother-in-law of Humza Yousaf, first minister of Scotland, the granny of his kids, is in Gaza, unable to leave and her neighbourhood bombed.
She is a retired nurse from Dundee, visiting his brother-in-law's family.
https://twitter.com/HumzaYousaf/status/1712744173126750323
Details: Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf tells of war’s impact on in-laws in Gaza
Humza Yousaf has also offered safety and sanctuary to refugees from Gaza strip and offered the Scottish hospitals to treat victims from the bombing in Gaza Strip (once they can leave).
Labour also are changing. They originally said their local councillors couldn’t join pro-Palestine protests.
But now they see that public opinion is changing and they worry about resignations on the local concils and losing votes for the next election because of their current stance on Gaza strip.
https://twitter.com/ShehabKhan/status/1714243459861671987
The Green party which has only one MP In the UK are very clear, they say it has to stop and say that the only solution is to end occupation of Palestine territories. Green Party calls on international community to urge restraint in Israel-Palestine conflict
I can’t find a statement from the LIb Dems as a party but they have the first Palestinian MP in parliament and she has relatives in Gaza strip so that’s a similar personal direct connection to the leader of the SNP.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/17/lib-dem-mp-layla-moran-fears-relatives-gaza-strip
ATTACK ON AL-AHLI BAPTIST HOSPITAL - ISRAEL SAY HAMAS BUT STILL BEING ANALYSED
The latest development as you’ve likely seen is that we’ve had the news of a big attack on the Al-Ahli Baptist hospital in Gaza Strip. So far not clear if it was an Israeli air strike or a Hamas rocket launch that went wrong.
It’s likely to take some time to find out. There’s a lot of discussion on Twitter about whether it was Hamas or Israel. I don’t know enough to comment, we may know more soon. There do seem to be many videos and images of the attack.
It does at present seem more likely to be a Hamas rocket that sadly fell short. It seems to have landed in the carpark outside the hospital rather than on the hospital. There are some things that don't fit that narrative but they may be misinformation.
This is a good presentation by General Mark Hertling. on CNN of why the US think it is Hamas.
https://twitter.com/CNNThisMorning/status/1714626645074591831
On nitter for those avoiding twitter: CNNThisMorning/status/1714626645074591831
The big fireball and small crater make sense for a rocket that misfired and still had a lot of fuel onboard. An Israeli bomb would have a much larger crater and no fireball. Also landing in a car park makes more sense for a misfire than a direct hit.
Some of the open source experts on Twitter analysing the video and photographs right from the start have been saying for the most part that it looks like Hamas failed rocket.
This is the best open source analysis of the explosion I can find on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/Nrg8000/status/1714535497958334678
On nitter for those avoiding twitter: Nrg8000/status/1714535497958334678#m
Another O
Also though it is clearly a mass casualty and surely dozens maybe hundreds killed in a car park next to the hospital, it seems that the hospital got only minor damage at least so far and that the numbers killed were probably not as high as 500.
However others are less convinced, pointing out that Israel also has smaller missiles that could cause this type of damage and have hit the hospital before, and say that it might have been done a the same time as the Gaza rocket strikes. There is nothing to connect the rocket misfiring to the impact on the car park and the IDF do have a past history of lying about such things.
https://twitter.com/FSBRG/status/1714609431877431713
On Nitter for those avoiding Twitter: FSBRG/status/1714609431877431713
Another sceptical tweet citing that one:
https://twitter.com/FSBRG/status/1714609431877431713
On Nitter: FSBRG/status/1714609431877431713
Another looking at both sides and also calling out some fakes.
https://twitter.com/talhagin/status/1714416463136559592
. talhagin/status/1714416463136559592
WHOEVER DID IT THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION NEEDS TO BE RESOLVED
It really makes no difference to the overall situation.
Whoever caused it, the situation in Gaza strip continues to get worse and so far there is no sign of a humanitarian corridor or the Rafah crossing opening. Israel has to agree that it won't bomb the convoy of trucks with humanitarian supplies if it crosses the border into the Gaza strip. So far it is refusing to give Egypt that guarantee saying it is concerned they will fall into the control of Hamas.
YES HAMAS CAN USE THINGS LIKE PIPES, SUGAR, FERTILIZER, FUEL AND CONCRETE - BUT IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO DO A HUMANITARIAN BLOCKADE THAT KEEPS OUT EVERYTHING A TERRORIST COULD USE
Yes Hamas, can use things like pipes, sugar, fertilizer for rockets. to make rockets. They also use bits of Israeli rockets to make rockets to fire back again.
It's impossible to stop that.
The suppliers can do the best they can but essentially if you have 2.3 million people unless they have no water, no sugar, no fertilizer and no concrete then Hamas will be able to make rockets and tunnels.
So - the idea that they only allow in humanitarian supplies if Hamas can't make use of them in any way then that's severely limited.
For instance the hospitals are desperately in need of fuel.
In the next day or two if they can't find more fuel then the patients including severely wounded and premature babies in intensive care will all die.
Hamas likely have enough fuel to last out for months in the underground tunnels already.
It doesn't really make sense to cut off the fuel to Gaza Strip but Israel continue to do so.
I don't think it is 100% rational.
They need to restore fuel and electricity as well as water.
And in my view Israel should open its own crossings for the severely wounded and the most serious cases and treat them in their own hospitals.
Their idea of a complete blockade is something from the last century and indeed the nineteenth century before the 1945 Geneva protocols.
Hamas aren't seizing humanitarian supplies in Gaza strip significantly, we have independent reports from UNRWA and from MSF (doctors) and they don't report anything like that.
Hamas likely have months of fuel, food, medicine, water in their underground bunkers to last out a siege by Israel so the Israeli reasoning isn't very plausible.
As the CNN analyst Phil Mattingly says in the second half of that clip, Biden is likely arguing very strongly for a ceasefire to let in humanitarian supplies and let people leave who can, the ones with dual nationality passports.
He is also likely to advocate to allow establishing safe areas in Gaza Strip.
If Israel does those things it would greatly alleviate the humanitarian crisis there and help with the tension in the area.
Either way, Palestine has declared 3 days of mourning.
Sadly the result is that Jordan has postponed the meeting with Biden which could have helped with establishing a humanitarian corridor or safe zone in Gaza strip etc.
It’s not cancelled as some say, it is just postponed.
"After consulting with King Abdullah II of Jordan and in light of the days of mourning announced by President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, President Biden will postpone his travel to Jordan and the planned meeting with these two leaders and President Sisi of Egypt. The President sent his deepest condolences for the innocent lives lost in the hospital explosion in Gaza, and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded. He looks forward to consulting in person with these leaders soon, and agreed to remain regularly and directly engaged with each of them over the coming days.".
https://abc7chicago.com/joe-biden-israel-president-news/13927420/
However they remain in contact and Biden in his private conversation with Netanyahu is expected to stress strongly the need to protect civilians.
Biden is also going to be talking to the leaders via telephone who he wasn't able to see in person while there.
SMALLER SCALE THAN THE UKRAINE WAR - LOOKING FOR KINDNESS EVERYWHERE
For those who find it difficult when the news is full of things like this, I think it will be stuck in the news for weeks rather like the beginning of the Ukraine war. But this is far smaller scale. Remember there is kindness around you everywhere, people are fundamentally kind.
BLOG: Looking for kindness - Far healthier than looking for hostility especially if easily scared
There is a lot of kindness going on in this war too. The ordinary folk in Gaza strip helping each other. The doctors and nurses refusing to leave their patients though they know it puts their own lives at risk. Just ordinary people not saints, it is normal for humans to want to help others and to be kind.
There are many Jews also in Israel who are concerned about the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza strip. See my blog post:
There have been far worse wars in the past. Before the Geneva convention in 1945 what Israel is doing would have been seen as acceptable in the law of armed conduct.
So we are moving in a positive direction on timescale of centuries.
HUMANITARIAN CRISIS HAS TO BE RESOLVED IN DAYS TO WEEKS
The humanitarian crisis has to be resolved on a timescale of days to weeks because humans can't last more than 3 days without water and they are low on water and can't last more than a few weeks without food.
More immediately, the patients on life support will die and operating theaters will be hard to use, unless Israel let the humanitarian convoy come in with fuel or restores the electricity supply.
Once Israel go in on the ground, if they do, the fighting against Hamas will likely take weeks to months.
Their aim is to eliminate the Hamas fighters, but a retired general on the BBC said this would take weeks to months in a very complex operation because of the underground tunnels. They have to resolve the humanitarian issue before then.
The current plan seems to be to establish safe zones for civilians within Gaza strip but it’s not yet clear how that is supposed to work.
But whatever happens long term the big thing right now is to let in humanitarian supplies for the injured and restore access to water and electricity, food, medicine for 2.3 million people.
So we’ll see what happens.
But this is very unlike previous wars, the way that we have direct access to the Gaza strip via the internet. Even from the north of Gaza strip.
You can monitor the access here, I’ve set the range to the whole of October. It’s down to less than 20% of the pre-war levels but they do still have internet access. The blue line is the one to look at, using active probing.
https://ioda.inetintel.cc.gatech.edu/region/1226?from=1696201107&until=1698793114
REMARKABLE CONSENSUS, ALL THE MAJOR INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATIONS AGREE THAT THE BLOCKADE GOES TOO FAR
There is remarkable unanimity amongst international humanitarian organizations as well as legal organizations.
This is the WHO. They of course are focused on the medical situation in the Gaza strip.
The lives of many critically ill and fragile patients hang in the balance: those in intensive care or who rely on life support; patients undergoing hemodialysis; newborns in incubators; women with complications of pregnancy, and others all face imminent deterioration of their condition or death if they are forced to move and are cut off from life-saving medical attention while being evacuated.
…
Forcing more than 2000 patients to relocate to southern Gaza, where health facilities are already running at maximum capacity and unable to absorb a dramatic rise in the number of patients, could be tantamount to a death sentence.
Hospital directors and health workers are now facing an agonizing choice: abandon critically ill patients amid a bombing campaign, put their own lives at risk while remaining on site to treat patients, or endanger their patients’ lives while attempting to transport them to facilities that have no capacity to receive them.
Overwhelmingly, caregivers have chosen to stay behind, and honor their oaths as health professionals to “do no harm,” rather than risk moving their critically ill patients during evacuations. Health workers should never have to make such impossible choices.
Additionally, tens of thousands of displaced people in northern Gaza are seeking refuge in open spaces in or around hospitals, treating them as havens from violence as well as to protect the facilities from potential attacks. Their lives, too, are at risk when health facilities are bombed.
There are verified reports of deaths of health care workers and destruction of health facilities, which denies civilians the basic human right of life-saving health care and is prohibited under International Humanitarian Law.
WHO calls for Israel to immediately reverse evacuation orders to hospitals in northern Gaza, and calls for the protection of health facilities, health workers, patients, and civilians. WHO also reiterates its calls for the immediate and safe delivery of medical supplies, fuel, clean water, food, and other humanitarian aid into Gaza through the Rafah crossing, where life-saving assistance – including WHO health supplies that arrived earlier today – is currently awaiting entry.
The Commission of Inquiry Collecting Evidence of War Crimes Committed by all Sides in Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories since 7 October 2023 says BOTH are war crimes.
Similar message from Amnesty International
“Palestinian armed groups’ horrific mass killing of Israeli civilians and other serious violations do not absolve Israel from upholding its obligations to respect international humanitarian law and to protect civilians. The collective punishment of civilians in Gaza will not bring justice to the victims of war crimes by Hamas and other armed groups or security to civilians in Israel,” said Agnes Callamard.
Amnesty International is also concerned by the repeated attacks on the Rafah border crossing. It calls on Israel to facilitate the establishment of humanitarian corridors for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and to allow safe passage for those in need of medical care outside the Gaza Strip. It urges the international community to work towards an agreement over humanitarian corridors.
And many others.
So - there is big change going on here. Yet to see where it goes. But Israel clearly can’t just keep the water, electricity, fuel, medicine cut off for 2.3 million people during a weeks or even months long ground offensive to try to eliminate Hamas from the very extensive tunnel system.
It’s like Azovstal.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza strip will be resolved over a period of a week or so, hopefully in a positive way with Israel relenting and letting in humanitarian aid and restoring water supply and electricity at least.
If Israel does try to eliminate Hamas within Gaza strip that is an operation that would take weeks to months but not years, because they are in underground tunnels similarly to the Azovstal steelworks.
That took a long time for Russia to take over. The Ukrainian fighters there had the advantage that they were supplied by helicopter from Ukraine and had better weapons than Hamas but Hamas have the advantage that they prepared for this probably years in advance and likely have many secret hard to find hiding holes and stocked with food, water, fuel etc for months.
If Israel do go ahead with a ground offensive they will have to do something for the civilians during those weeks and months. It’s clear the ground swell of public opinion is already having a major effect and will continue to do so going into the future.
See also
Also