Israel's death traps for starving refugees

[JohnD]

"Since GHF launched in May, the US and Israel have championed the controversial scheme as a lifeline for Gaza — a way to alleviate near-starvation in the shattered enclave, bypass the UN and stop aid getting to Hamas.

But testimony, satellite imagery and verified video compiled by the Financial Times show how for the likes of Jihad and much of Gaza’s 2.1mn population, the scheme has only deepened their desperation, forcing hungry Palestinians into a dangerous journey from which many never return.

Israeli forces have repeatedly attacked Palestinians travelling to the GHF’s centres, according to local authorities. More than 500 people have been killed, Gaza’s health ministry has said, and thousands injured.

Many of the casualties have been shot on the designated approach routes to the sites, which GHF publishes in maps on its Facebook page."

FT.com

 

[JohnD]

"GHF operates four sites concentrated in southern Gaza and staffed at least in part by US security contractors, working under Israeli military supervision.

The signal for Gazans to set off from their tents or the ruins of their homes often comes from GHF’s Facebook page, where it announces the opening times of its distribution sites.

These posts sometimes appear in the middle of the night and can give less than 30 minutes notice, an FT analysis found. A second post, often published only minutes after the scheduled opening time, announces the site is closed, with all aid distributed. In some cases, GHF has declared the site closed even before it was due to open."

FT.com

 

[JohnD]

 

[JohnD]

"Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, emergency co-ordinator in Gaza for MSF, which runs field hospitals in the strip, said he sees “an army of people” heading to the GHF centres before dawn every day.

That has been followed by the sound of shooting. “It’s like three shots, ‘pa-pa-pa’, then wait, ‘pa-pa-pa’, then wait,” he said. The casualties start arriving by foot or “or they are being taken by donkey carts”.

Goher Rahbour, a British surgeon who volunteered at southern Gaza’s Nasser Medical Complex in June, said the hospital’s six operating theatres were often filled with casualties returning from trips to GHF sites with bullet wounds.

“We will be having our 7.45am general surgical meeting, and that’s when the mass casualty alarm will go off in the hospital,” he said. “And we’re going to theatres.”

Describing the general rules of engagement in Gaza, Joel Carmel of Breaking the Silence, an organisation of former Israel Defense Forces soldiers that campaigns against the occupation of Palestinian territories, said: “If it’s a man of fighting age . . . if they get close or if they’re in an area where they’re not supposed to be, [the orders] are shoot to kill.”

FT.com

 

[JohnD]

"Frequent internet outages in Gaza can also make it difficult for Palestinians even to access Facebook to see the posts.

But for aid seekers, who must walk for kilometres along barely discernible routes whose landmarks have been flattened by Israel’s 21-month offensive, there is little room for miscalculation.

“You don’t see where you are going in the dark,” said Jihad. “The route is provided as a map on your phone screen but on the ground the roads are all destroyed and you have to take a chance. So either you are on the right route, or you die.”

FT.com

 

[JohnD]

"Five times, Jihad has trekked through southern Gaza — past Israeli tanks, soldiers and sometimes drones overhead — to reach aid sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Five times, he has queued in caged alleys on the approach to the distribution sites, jostling alongside thousands of men preparing for the frantic sprint to snatch whatever food they can.

Five times, he has come away empty-handed. On one occasion, Jihad said a man walking beside him on the approach to a GHF hub in Khan Younis was shot: “His blood and intestines spurted all over me.”

On another, after he finally managed to grab a box of supplies, he was robbed at knifepoint by a Palestinian. “I have stopped going there, because what happens is beyond anything you can imagine,” said the 26-year-old medical technician, who did not want to use his full name."

FT.com

 

[JohnD]

www.ft.com/content

 

[JohnD]

"As people approach the GHF centres, they are expected to wait in a designated area for the sites to open, often in active military zones.

It is here that the most acute danger starts. Many Palestinians say they have been shot at by Israeli troops, with crowds swelling and jostling — often still in the dark — to get as close as possible and increase their chances of securing food.

Mohammed Daoud, who worked as a flower arranger before the war, said every time he has travelled to a distribution site there has been shooting. “It is not just once or twice. They give you a certain hour for the gates to open, but suddenly a tank or quadcopter drone could start shooting.”


FT.com

 

[Mottie]

I was trying to compare this thread with ANY of your posts on 7/8 of October 2023 about the October 7th attacks/rapes/killing/taking hostage of unarmed civilian Jews attending a pop festival but surprisingly I couldn’t find one single post of yours even mentioning it. Perhaps I’m searching incorrectly. Where are they?

 

[Odds]

Almost as bad as the poster who starts a thread and replies to himself not once, or twice, or three times, but 7 times, in an attempt to raise the profile.

You were saying?

 

[transam]

I was trying to compare this thread with ANY of your posts on 7/8 of October 2023 about the October 7th attacks/rapes/killing/taking hostage of unarmed civilian Jews attending a pop festival but surprisingly I couldn’t find one single post of yours even mentioning it. Perhaps I’m searching incorrectly. Where are they?

Exactly