Have you been listening to the BBC, or Canal Cinq, or CNN, or NPR, on the situation in Gaza? Have you been reading The New York Times, The Washington Post, or The Guardian? If so, then you are no doubt convinced that there is a “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza, that Israel alone is at fault — “there is no food, no water, no fuel, and the situation is dire,” and the “crisis” can only end when Israel agrees to a “ceasefire.” It isn’t true.
After three weeks of war, there is no longer a “humanitarian crisis.” The massive trucks laden with food and medicine are now entering Gaza through the Rafah Crossing in ever-increasing numbers, though you would hardly know it from the reports that appear in most of the Western media, which keep insisting — quoting Hamas officials — that there is this continuing “crisis.”
As to water, Israel has restored full deliveries through two of the three pipelines by which it used to supply water to people in Gaza — the very people who want to murder them. That means 29 million liters of water now flow from Israel into Gaza every day; three weeks ago, there was none. The only reason the third pipeline bringing water from Israel to Gaza is not now in use is because Hamas destroyed this pipeline during its attack on October 7, and now it would be too dangerous for Israel to try to repair it. Hamas, of course, does not really care about how much water ordinary Gazans have, as long as its own operatives are well supplied.
What water deficit there has been in Gaza is the fault solely of Hamas. For the terror group has been hoarding the fuel in the Strip for use in its military vehicles. It has at least 500,000 liters of diesel fuel stored in tanks at just one site. And because Hamas will not share any of that fuel, or other fuel it may have hidden elsewhere, the two desalination plants in Gaza cannot run and provide the hundreds of millions of liters each day that they formerly provided.
More on this fleeting “humanitarian crisis” can be found here: “Israel reopens second of three water pipelines into Gaza,” by Jeremy Sharon, Times of Israel, October 29, 2023:
Israel has reopened the second of three water pipelines that provide water to the Gaza Strip, allowing for a total of 28.5 million liters a day to flow into the Hamas-run territory from Israel, according to the Israeli military liaison to the Palestinian territory.
IDF Col. Elad Goren, who heads the civilian department of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), announced on Sunday that the second pipeline was reopened on Saturday.
The supply of a total of 28.5 million liters of potable water a day is just over half the approximately 49 million liters a day Israel supplied before Hamas’s October 7 massacres triggered war with the Jewish state.
In a briefing to foreign journalists, Goren said there was now enough water being supplied to Gaza for basic humanitarian needs and insisted that there was no shortage of either food or water for the territory’s residents.
How many of those foreign journalists, do you think, will report Goren’s announcement that now, with the second pipeline having just been reopened, the Gazans will be receiving a total of 49 million liters of water from Israel every day? Many journalists will not report it, preferring instead to keep claiming that “the food and water are still not getting into Gaza; the situation is dire.” How many will explain why the two desalination plants in Gaza can no longer fully operate, because there is not enough fuel for them to do so, because Hamas has been hoarding at least half a million liters of that fuel for its own purposes?
He [COGAT’s Goren] added that the amount of humanitarian aid that will be transferred to the territory will “increase dramatically” in the coming weeks.
So those terrible Israelis are determined to “increase dramatically” the amount of humanitarian aid that is transferred to Gaza. This doesn’t fit the narrative about endlessly evil Israelis. Better for the BBC, NPR,CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post,The Guardian, and others not to mention Israel’s plan to provide such aid. And when that dramatic increase in humanitarian aid does happen, these news outlets will still not mention it.
Raghu says
It is difficult to fathom the minds of the media & some states ignoring the savagery of Hamas & Muslim world while accusing Israel for attacking Hamas & Muslims. Is it fear of savages attacks/ are these people being paid huge sums of money for propagating Muslim ideology
Wellington says
Many conclusions can be drawn from this article by Hugh Fitzgerald. Here’s one: It helps prove that Judaism is an infinitely superior religion compared to Islam, both in its theology and in its ethic. That’s my take and I will never take this assessment back.
Rarely says
It isn’t saying much when one points out that Judaism has a “superior” ethic to islam — it’s a really low bar. However, you do write “infinitely superior” and that should cover it nicely.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I still maintain to this day that those who describe islam as a “religion” are flattering it: qualifying it as “evil” does not help, as a lot of people regard all other religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, et al as evil as well. Islam is more a geopolitical cult: a cross b/w Communism and Branch Davidianism
https://www.faithfreedom.org/islam-cult-or-religion
Wellington says
Actually, Infidel, it’s of little consequence here in America where Islam is concerned. Even if Islam were not deemed a religion (and this is simply not going to happen and it’s a waste of time to attempt this), it would still be protected via the First Amendment just as Nazism and Marxism are.
Whether an evil religious belief system or an evil secular belief system, all get protection as a belief system by way of the First Amendment. As I have stressed for years here at JW, it is not the status of Islam which is important but rather a proper description of it respecting whether it is good or evil. If still treated as a religion, but an evil one, this alone would be enough. Not there yet.
Jerry says
Remember: Vegetarias eat vegetables.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad are not Vegetarians.
They must be Humanitarian..
Jerry says
Gaza was socialized by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Most are not gainfully employed to fend for themselves.
Most of Gazan incomes derives from “humanitarian aid”
With land and population each about half of that of Singapore they received over decades far more than what Singaporeans invested in building their infrsstructure, economy and society to be amongst the best in the world.
There is a talk about “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza that requires humanitarian aid.
Even if you can be persuaded that it is genuinely required the following must be considered.
1. Assess the amount of aid provided to Gaza in the past.
2. Assess the percentage of it used to construct the Hamas tunnels, other infrastructure, the amount of explosives, rockets, missiles, munitions already unleashed by them on their efforts to commit genocide upon their neighbors, and what’s still remsins in their arsenal to continue attacking and trying to kill their neighbors.
2. Subtract the amount estimated as lost to corruption and inefficiency.
Prorated amount earmarked for humanitarian aid beyond that is clearly not humanitarian, but clearly aiding and abetting terorrists in pursuing their genocidal agenda against their neighbors.
The clearly consider: Is the conflict truly about occupation, land or even freedom?
Refer to the last major su-paragraph to Article 7 of the Hamas Covenant and then take their own word for it.
It is not about land, occupation or oppression.
It is not even only about the destruction of Israel. It’s about a genocidal agenda against each and every Jew of the Planet.
And, although Jews are the first targets it is not restricted to Jews
Haj Amin el Husseini, the former Mufti of Jerusalem, a friend of Hitler and uncle.of Yasser Arafat was a rabid hater of Jews, anf incited thr massacres of Jews during the 1920’s in Tiberias, Safed, Jaffa, Jerusalem and Hebron, mostly about Teo decades before Israel’s independence and before Jews occupied by force of arms even a single square inch of Muslim Arab Land.
But, by then, Haj Amin rl Husseini was already a retired Turkish Ottoman Empire officer who already distinguished himself in planning, directing and commanding the Turkish genocides against Christian Armenians, Assyrians and Anatolisns.
abu taleb says
Muslims are probably the most stupid people, they have been treated badly by their muslim elites but received kindness from non muslims, yet they still hate the non muslims and defend their elites simply because Islam says so.
Yet, they claim they are the people who are thinking. This is the worst kind of stupidity, which is stupid people who do not know they are stupid.
James Lincoln says
Excellent post, Abu.
My compliments.
commonsense says
I recall some years ago hearing an argument by someone whose name I cannot remember opining that in wartime it behooves the good guys to abandon the strictures ordinarily observed by civilized people toward their adversaries and temporarily adopt a ruthless, sharply focused strategy to win a war. If this entails mass death and destruction of the enemy’s cities, infrastructure, and population, so be it. Once the enemy is utterly defeated, humanitarian aid and reconstruction can begin. But not before the war has been won. I wish Israel would follow such a plan.
Wellington says
Both William Tecumseh Sherman and Winston Churchill, commonsense, essentially thought this way as well.
James Lincoln says
Wellington,
Tragically, sometimes that’s what it takes to win a war.
OLD GUY says
One must remember that this muslim population of Gaza supports Hamas and the jihad against Israel and as well America. You can’t defeat an enemy without destroying the will to fight from its population of civilians as well.
OLD GUY says
Lets face it there is no solution to the Israel Palestine issue that doesn’t include the total killing of one or the other if they remain neighbors. This conflict is not about territory as much as it is about Islam’s hatred of the Jewish people and their religious belief,