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submitted 7 months ago by CaractacusPotts@lemmy.ca to c/world@lemmy.world

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/17490070

humanitarian organizations, many of which have been sounding alarms about the hunger crisis in Gaza for months, are not impressed. They argue that air and sea deliveries are not only an insufficient substitute for humanitarian aid delivered by land, but a dehumanizing one that acts as a distraction to the man-made barriers that have prevented more aid from getting into Gaza in the first place. “There is no good reason why aid cannot access Gaza by road today,”

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[-] Deceptichum@sh.itjust.works 43 points 7 months ago

It took over 1,500 flights a day to supply West Berlin during the blockade and that’s with a comparable sized population who weren’t being murdered every day.

A few air drops will never be sufficient.

[-] wurzelgummidge@lemmy.world 23 points 7 months ago

It's not meant to be sufficient, it is meant to make Biden look like he's doing something other than merely prolonging the slaughter by sending arms to Israel.

[-] Deceptichum@sh.itjust.works 19 points 7 months ago

Of course, and we need to call that out at every chance.

[-] fustigation769curtain@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

Yep! It is an election year, after all.

[-] mellowheat@suppo.fi -5 points 7 months ago

it is meant to make Biden look like he’s doing something other than merely prolonging the slaughter by sending arms to Israel.

How does sending arms to Israel prolong the war? It should rather speed up its resolution, I would think?

[-] Rapidcreek@lemmy.world 21 points 7 months ago

There is no comparison of the load of a C130 and a WWII era plane. Still, it's not enough, though. A lot of empty stomachs

[-] Buelldozer@lemmy.today 11 points 7 months ago

It took over 1,500 flights a day to supply West Berlin during the blockade and that’s with a comparable sized population who weren’t being murdered every day.

Two million people took ~4,500 tons a day. The C-54 carried 10 tons, meaning that it only required 450 flights per day. Comments like yours are based on the older C-37 and / or the Easter Push where the Allies did a maximum effort run just to flex on the Soviets.

In 2024 a C-130 Hercules has a max payload of 21 tons, over double the C-54, meaning that required flights would potentially be reduced to 225.

Then you have to consider that Operation Vittles was also delivering COAL, something that the citizens of Gaza probably don't need.

200 flights a day would do it but that still doesn't excuse Israel for preventing aid via land routes.

[-] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 14 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Berlin was an airlift operation, not an air drop. They landed the aircraft at several airports, and directly offloaded cargo to trucks.

AFAIK, Gaza has no operational airports, which greatly complicates the logistics of an airlift mission on the scale of Berlin.

If we are considering this sort of mission, we're looking at sealift, not airlift. Our historical precedence will be the Mulberry harbors set up to support the Normandy invasion.

[-] BreadstickNinja@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago

Gaza does not have any operational airports, since Israel bombed the control tower at Yasser Arafat airport in 2001 and bulldozed the runway in 2002.

[-] mellowheat@suppo.fi -2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

That was USA's ally. They weren't being supplied out of goodwill.

[-] nutsack@lemmy.world 19 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

isrsel won't let aid get in by land

[-] Land_Strider@lemmy.world 13 points 7 months ago

Then bomb Israeli military and governing installations as a proper response to committing genocide?

[-] nutsack@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I don't know if that's a good idea but I like the sentiment

[-] Tja@programming.dev 2 points 7 months ago

Doesn't Gaza have a border with Egypt?

[-] nutsack@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

technically this is a border between egypt and israel, and israel will be in control of it

[-] Tja@programming.dev 3 points 7 months ago
[-] nutsack@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

The Palestinian territories are parts of Israel

[-] popcap200@lemmy.ml 7 points 7 months ago

At least the US pier headed for Gaza is making progress.

[-] juicy@lemmy.today 5 points 7 months ago

The pier is just more theater like these air drops. In 2 months when the pier is ready for use, thousands will have already died of starvation.

[-] JustZ@lemmy.world -4 points 7 months ago

Well yeah when you think it's imaginary it's theatric.

The aid really is rolling in though. The mass starvation has not happened.

It's weird that when Hamas went on and did October 7th they didn't have enough food stored up to feed everyone for as long as Hamas leaders planned to hide underground during the resultant seige.

Plenty of rocket launchers, though.

[-] Keeponstalin@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Hunger is most acute in northern Gaza, which has been isolated by Israeli forces and has suffered long cutoffs of food supplies. At least 20 people have died from malnutrition and dehydration at the north’s Kamal Adwan and Shifa hospitals, according to the Health Ministry. At the Emirati Hospital in Rafah, 16 premature babies have died of malnutrition-related causes over the past five weeks, one of the senior doctors told The Associated Press.

According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, at least 23 children and four adults have died of malnutrition and dehydration at hospitals in northern Gaza. The World Health Organization has warned of an "explosion" in child deaths if aid doesn't reach people immediately.

For two million hungry Gazans, most days bring a difficult search for something to eat. The war, including Israel’s bombardment and siege, has choked food imports and destroyed agriculture, and nearly the entire population of Gaza relies on scant humanitarian aid to eat.

Over 64% of people in Gaza were food insecure before this latest Massacre due to the Blockade.

[-] JustZ@lemmy.world -2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Yes North Gaza has the worst hunger crisis. That was Hamas's stronghold. Sounds like poor planning for siege warfare but then all the Hamas muckety mucks went and made it out through the tunnels didn't they? Only left their people behind. If I were prosecuting the war I would have told people to evacuate from North Gaza five months ago and then would go door to door to make sure everyone was gone. Troops might get jumpy though sneaking around alleyways, definitely not safe, probably should have evacuated. Might have, too, if Hamas wasn't there telling everyone it was just a hoax and to instead all have big family gatherings right on top of the tunnels and then turn off their phones.

You see a story like "whole families wiped out" and that's it. You are looking for someone to immediately blame and it's super easy to blame the people that sent the bomb. Next time, take a deep breath and think about it for a few seconds maybe you'll start asking yourself actually relevant questions to figure or who actually wants those people to be killed and who actually just wants the killing to stop.

[-] Keeponstalin@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Totally, it's not like Israel has been deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. Including 'safe zones,' many times without any warning.

According to the sources who spoke to +972 and Local Call, the targets in Gaza that have been struck by Israeli aircraft can be divided roughly into four categories. The first is “tactical targets,” which include standard military targets such as armed militant cells, weapon warehouses, rocket launchers, anti-tank missile launchers, launch pits, mortar bombs, military headquarters, observation posts, and so on.

The second is “underground targets” — mainly tunnels that Hamas has dug under Gaza’s neighborhoods, including under civilian homes. Aerial strikes on these targets could lead to the collapse of the homes above or near the tunnels.

The third is “power targets,” which includes high-rises and residential towers in the heart of cities, and public buildings such as universities, banks, and government offices. The idea behind hitting such targets, say three intelligence sources who were involved in planning or conducting strikes on power targets in the past, is that a deliberate attack on Palestinian society will exert “civil pressure” on Hamas.

The final category consists of “family homes” or “operatives’ homes.” The stated purpose of these attacks is to destroy private residences in order to assassinate a single resident suspected of being a Hamas or Islamic Jihad operative. However, in the current war, Palestinian testimonies assert that some of the families that were killed did not include any operatives from these organizations.

In the early stages of the current war, the Israeli army appears to have given particular attention to the third and fourth categories of targets. According to statements on Oct. 11 by the IDF Spokesperson, during the first five days of fighting, half of the targets bombed — 1,329 out of a total 2,687 — were deemed power targets.

“I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,” “We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly"

  • Yoav Gallant Minister of Defense
[-] CityPop@lemmy.today -4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Fuck the pier.

Imagine someone was setting your house on fire and another guy named Joe was handing him cash and oil to keep setting fire to your house. Joe told him to stop as he handed the guy more oil, but he didn't so Joe promised to install a hose in the front lawn of your house that should be ready in about 3 months to help put out some of the fire.

The US needs to stop supplying and protecting Israel first and foremost. Anything else is PR.

[-] fustigation769curtain@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

Bro, some people just can't stay on topic.

They always have to resort to some bullshit analogy, lol.

[-] NoLifeGaming@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

The air drops are mostly political posturing anyways. But its better than nothing.

[-] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 1 points 7 months ago

Falling short

Hah

this post was submitted on 15 Mar 2024
146 points (94.5% liked)

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