Netanyahu and the ‘Fact-Checkers’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress on July 25, and among the subjects he discussed were the efforts Israel has made to bring humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. He mentioned that Israel had delivered 40,000 trucks full of aid — chiefly food and medicine — to Gaza since the war began on October 7. At once, the self-appointed “fact-checkers” got to work, seeking to cast doubt on his claims. But as Elder of Ziyon has noticed, most of the “fact checking” articles that appeared soon after his speech have more bias and spin, and fewer facts, than Netanyahu had. “Netanyahu didn’t lie on aid to Gaza. The “fact-checkers” did.” Elder of Ziyon, July 26, 2024:

Let’s look at Netanyahu said about aid into Gaza, and the “fact checks,” to see who was more accurate.
CNN:

Claim: Netanyahu said Israel has “enabled more than 40,000 aid trucks to enter Gaza” adding that it amounts to “more than 3,000 calories for every man, women, and child in Gaza.”

Fact: More than a dozen aid agencies working in the territory have said that Israel’s statistics on truck entries “fail to address several vital components necessary for an effective operational response”.

“The mere entry of trucks into Gaza does not guarantee that the supplies reach the intended recipients due to safety and security reasons,” they said, adding that “reported numbers do not differentiate between types of cargo, often mixing commercial goods with critical humanitarian aid, which obscures the real picture of assistance reaching those in crisis.”

CNN complains that Israel is to be blamed if the humanitarian aid doesn’t always reach its intended recipients. Why should Israel be blamed when it is gangs of Hamas operatives who are the main culprits, waylaying the trucks and stealing much of the food aid that the Israelis have helped bring in before it can be properly distributed? That distribution would seem to be the responsibility of the UNRWA officials on the spot in Gaza. Or should the IDF be manning those trucks with soldiers prepared to shoot at anyone who tries to steal aid before it reaches its assigned point of distribution? What would the world say to that bloody spectacle? Hasn’t Israel already endured quite enough malignant criticism?

AP similarly said:

 Israel initially imposed a complete siege on Gaza in the early days of the war and, under U.S. pressure, gradually eased it to allow the entry of food and humanitarian supplies. While Israel says it allows hundreds of truckloads of goods to enter Gaza each day, the United Nations and aid groups say they are often unable to reach it or distribute it.

There is nothing that CNN and AP are saying that contradicts Netanyahu’s facts. They are saying Israel should do more to ensure the trucks reach the people they are intended for, but they do not dispute the 40,000 figure.

No one has disputed Netanyahu’s claim that the Israelis made possible the entry of 40,000 trucks filed with aid to enter Gaza. It is what happened after the trucks entered Gaza that has caused a problem. The aid is not being distributed properly. Much of it has been stolen by Hamas operatives, who steal food for themselves, their families, and their clans. Some of it is also taken to be sold on the black market to ordinary Gazans, with no Hamas connections, who are forced to pay top dollar for what, by rights, should have been distributed to them for free.

But this is far worse than merely moving the goalposts. Netanyahu preceded this statement by saying “The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has shamefully accused Israel of deliberately starving the people of Gaza. This is utter complete nonsense. It’s a complete fabrication. ”  

No one can convincingly accuse Israel of “deliberately starving the people of Gaza.” 40,000 truckloads of aid (food, medicine) whose entry into Gaza Israel alone made possible are all the counter-evidence one needs. Netanyahu’s refutation of the charge made by the ICC prosecutor that Israel “deliberately starved the people of Gaza” preceded his remark about the 40,000 truckloads of humanitarian aid; that statement provided the context for his assertion about the aid.

Netanyahu was responding  to the false accusation of deliberate starvation. The ultimate distribution of the aid is not the point of his statement – it was to refute the libel that Israel is intentionally starving Gaza. Bringing in 40,000 trucks is a huge logistical effort, and it proves Israel doesn’t have a policy of deliberate starvation.

CNN’s and AP’s  omission of that context is deliberate and malicious.

The Guardian did quote the fuller context, but then said:

According to data from the UN, 28,018 aid trucks have entered Gaza since the war began. Routes into the territory no longer include the Rafah crossing, which Israeli forces stormed in early May, largely curtailing the aid supply into southern areas.

Since then, just 2,835 trucks have entered through the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south and Erez in the north – delivering a tiny fraction of the aid needed.

The UN’s total figure of 28,018 aid trucks entering Gaza is incomplete. The UN openly admits that its figures do not include humanitarian aid from “commercial actors.” Its dashboard statistics claim that since May only 2,835 trucks entered Gaza from the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings that Israel controls. But this is a gross undercount. COGAT — Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories — has counted 15,000 trucks of humanitarian aid entering Gaza from Israel since May. That discrepancy of roughly 12,000 truckloads (15,000 minus 2,835) accounts for the difference in the total numbers of trucks entering Gaza — 28,016 according to the UN, and 40,000 according to Israel. You and I both know whom we are entitled to believe.