Countercurrent – January 17, 2024

Israel refuses to allow 15000 food trucks into Gaza

by Dr Marwan Asmar

Israel is starving the Palestinian people of Gaza while the world watches. It looks on helplessly pretending it can’t do anything while the reigns of control remain in Israeli hands.

There are presently 15,008 food and supply trucks standing on the Rafah border waiting for Israel to allow them to enter Gaza and feed the starving and hungry – hundreds of thousands – people who came to assemble these to escape Israeli missiles and bombs.

These waiting trucks are donations from countries from all over the world as well donations from ordinary people, yet they remain sitting at the border because Israel won’t allow them to enter the devastated Gaza.

Don’t believe the view that says it is up to Egypt to let them in since it controls the border. While it may do that in theory, in practice it can’t because of the big Israeli guns from the air who constantly monitor the border and fires indiscriminately at it as a means of control. 

In the past 100 days israeli warplanes frequently shot at the border and the city of Rafah as part of its military campaign against its people. So in actual fact, it doesn’t control the border and its entry point in Gaza. And as proof of that is the over 15,000 trucks which would avert the starvations Gazans are experiencing and turn the horrible situation currently is under now.

These trucks generated by donations from different countries of the world and under the UN auspices and have food, medical and fuel supplies would go a long way to alleviating the deadly and critical situation of the Palestinian people in the 365-kilometer Strip. But as yet Israel says blank no. 

Civilians are being collectively punished while Israelis take their time in looking for Hamas and other Palestinians fighters who can’t be found except in underground tunnels all over Gaza. But how do you catch them!

This Israelis have displaced 1.9 million Palestinians and forced them to move from one place to another, chasing them away from their destroyed homes and workplaces. The number of those killed currently stands at over 24000 not to mention the around 8000 dead under the rubble whilst the injured at around 59000. It’s havoc and catastrophe and needs a lot of aid to get it back on its feet.

Before 7 October the number of trucks daily entering the Rafah border daily was 500. After that they came to a halt and then barely trickled down. But now, these thousands of trucks lie congested on the border and nobody knows when they will be allowed to start moving again. 

Dr Marwan Asmar has a PhD from the UK’s Leeds University is a contributor on Middle East affairs

https://countercurrents.org/2024/01/israel-refuses-to-allow-15000-food-trucks-into-gaza/

World Socialist Web Site – Janaury 17, 2024

US expands Middle East war as UN warns “every single person in Gaza is hungry”

By Andre Damon

The United States military carried out a new round of illegal attacks on Yemen Tuesday, the third set of bombings in just under a week. The latest round of strikes makes clear that the United States is escalating a broader war throughout the Middle East, with Iran and its allies as the central targets, amid the ongoing US-Israeli genocide in Gaza.

The US military said its strike early Tuesday targeted missile launch sites in Yemen, which the pro-Iranian Houthi rebels are using to target US warships providing logistical support for the genocide in Gaza. The latest attack follows strikes on Thursday and Friday.

Also on Tuesday, the United States reported that two Navy SEALs who were lost at sea last Thursday, and presumed dead, were on a mission to seize what the US claimed were weapons from Iran being supplied to the Houthi rebels.

The escalation of the war comes amid new and desperate warnings about the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, with the United Nations warning that “every single person” in Gaza faces hunger.

In a report published Tuesday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights warned that Gazans now make up 80 percent of all people facing famine or catastrophic hunger around the world, as a result of Israel’s systematic bombardment and blockade of food, water, medicine and electricity.

The report warned:

Currently, every single person in Gaza is hungry. A quarter of the population is starving and struggling to find food and drinkable water, and famine is imminent. Pregnant women are not receiving adequate nutrition and healthcare, putting their lives at risk. In addition, all children under five – 335,000 – are at high risk of severe malnutrition as the risk of famine conditions continues to increase. A whole generation is now in danger of suffering from stunting.

The UN warned that hunger and malnutrition in childhood “causes irreparable physical and cognitive impairments,” and “will undermine the learning capacity of an entire generation.”

The UN report made it clear that Israel is the responsible party for the humanitarian disaster. It stated:

Nowhere is safe in Gaza. Since October 9, Israel declared and imposed a “total siege” on Gaza, depriving 2.3 million Palestinians of water, food, fuel, medicine, and medical supplies. This is against the backdrop of a 17-year Israeli blockade, which before this war made approximately half of the people in Gaza food insecure and more than 80 percent reliant on humanitarian aid.

It concluded, “It is unprecedented to make an entire civilian population go hungry this completely and quickly. Israel is destroying Gaza’s food system and using food as a weapon against the Palestinian people.”

In a meeting with a Biden administration official, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu allegedly declared, “There is no humanitarian disaster in Gaza,” according to news reports in the Israeli media.

Against the backdrop of last week’s hearings at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, US officials have only doubled down on their support for the genocide.

In an interview with CNBC, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked to respond to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration that Israel will continue its onslaught on Gaza in defiance of The Hague.

To this, Blinken replied, “From day one, we strongly supported Israel’s right to defend itself. We strongly supported its right to try to ensure that October 7 never happens again.”

In a separate statement in the interview, Blinken declared, “What we’re focused on is trying to make sure that October 7 never happens again. That should be the bar. That should be the measure.” He proclaimed, absurdly, that “Israel has made good progress.”

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden spoke with German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz and the two leaders “reaffirmed their support for Israel’s right to self-defense.”

The US media, meanwhile, is escalating its demands for a wider war throughout the Middle East. In an editorial titled “Iran and the Houthis Don’t Get Biden’s Message,” the Wall Street Journal declared: “Iran’s Houthi proxy militia keeps firing missiles at US ships, and two Navy SEALs are missing at sea after a mission to seize Iranian-made missile parts bound for the Houthis.”

Saying “it sure looks like the Houthis and Iran are at war with the US,” the Journal demanded an even more aggressive military response.

As of Friday, the death toll in the Gaza Strip stood at 31,497, according to the Euro-Med Monitor, including both those officially reported dead and those who have been missing for more than 14 days, most likely buried in the rubble.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that between Monday and Tuesday, 158 Palestinians were killed and another 320 people were injured. The UN noted, “On January 15, in the early morning, 20 people, the majority women and children, were reported killed when a house was struck in the Al-Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City.” In a separate attack the same day, “at about 19:00, 12 people were reportedly killed and another 12 injured when a house between the towns of Khan Younis and Rafah was struck.”

In a statement on Twitter, Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, declared that she “never thought we would witness mass starvation of these proportions used in the 21st century.” She continued: “Yet here it is in Gaza, after 100 days of bombing, with insufficient food, fuel, and water allowed in.” She added, “Children are dying first. Adults will follow. Before our eyes.”

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/01/17/pbyv-j17.html

Countercurrent – January 17, 2024

Israel needs years to break up Gaza tunnels: NYT

by Countercurrents Collective

The Israeli military has been “astonished” by the size and quality of the tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza, according to an article published in the New York Times on Tuesday.

The tunnel network was originally estimated to include 250 miles (400 km) of underground passages and bunkers. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has since revised these estimates to 350-450 miles (560-725 km) or more. 

Two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there were close to 5,700 separate shafts leading into the tunnels under Gaza. None of the numbers could be independently verified.

Flooding Tunnels Have Failed

It could take “years” to disable the tunnels, one Israeli official told the New York Times. They need to be mapped, checked for Israeli captives, and “made irreparable,” he said, acknowledging that the recent attempts to destroy the tunnels by flooding them with seawater “have failed.”

Hospitals Schools Mosques

According to another official, Israel is using a “triangle” model to locate the tunnels, which assumes they will be found under any hospital, school or mosque in Gaza.

The Israeli military has underestimated the “extent and importance” of the tunnels to Hamas, which the New York Times described as an “intelligence failure.”

The IDF has not disclosed the number of soldiers killed and wounded in tunnel warfare. Officially, almost 190 soldiers have been killed and 240 or so seriously wounded in the fighting since the start of the ground campaign in Gaza.

One soldier, who spoke with the New York Times on condition of anonymity, said that he had taken part in destroying about 50 tunnels in Beit Hanoun, in the northeast of Gaza. All of them were rigged with bombs and other explosives, wired to be activated remotely.

The militant group Hamas, which maintains de facto control over Gaza, struck at nearby Israeli settlements on October 7, claiming the lives of approximately 1,200 Israelis. Another 240 were taken into the Palestinian enclave as captives. Israel responded by declaring war on Hamas and launching air and artillery strikes on Gaza, followed by ground troops in November.

Almost 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and another 60,000 wounded in the first 100 days of fighting, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Intensive Stage Of War Will End Soon, Says Israeli Defense Minister

A CNN report said:

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday that the “intensive maneuvering stage” of Israel’s military offensive in northern and southern Gaza will “end soon.”

The Israeli military is working to “eliminate pockets of resistance” in northern Gaza, Gallant said, adding: “We will achieve this via raids, airstrikes, special operations and additional activities.” 

After the October 7 attacks, Gallant said the original plan was for the “intensive maneuvering stage” of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to last approximately three months. But, he cautioned the Israeli military adapts its operations “in accordance with the reality on the ground” and “our intelligence.”

The IDF has announced one of its army divisions had exited the Gaza Strip on Monday night, in the most significant sign yet of a shift to a new phase of fighting that some Israeli officials have been promising.

The IDF said its 36th division, which comprises armored, engineering, and infantry companies, withdrew from the Gaza Strip after 80 days. 

The brigade operated in the areas of Zeitun, Shati, Shejaiya, Rimal, and the Central Camps, the Israeli military added. The IDF did not respond to CNN’s questions about whether the withdrawal was temporary, what was behind the withdrawal, or how many troops it involved. 

Israel And Hamas Agree On Medicine For Hostages, Aid To Gaza

Another CNN report said:

Qatar says it has brokered a deal between Israel and Hamas that will see medicines delivered to Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for the delivery of medicine and humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians.

“Medicine along with other humanitarian aid is to be delivered to civilians in the Gaza Strip, in the most affected and vulnerable areas, in exchange for delivering medication needed for Israeli captives in Gaza,” the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday in a statement posted on X.

The medications and aid will leave Doha on Wednesday and head to Egypt before being transported to Gaza, the ministry added. It is unclear when the medicines are expected to reach Gaza.

Relatives of the more than 100 remaining hostages believed to be alive in Gaza have been calling for medications to be passed on to their loved ones.

It has been more than three months since Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 240 hostage. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an advocacy group for the victims’ families, say that each new day in captivity further endangers their lives and health.

At least a third of the hostages have chronic illnesses and require medications, the forum said in a report released last week, adding that “others suffer from illnesses related to the harsh captivity conditions, which include mental and physical torture.”

Severe shortages of medicines and medical supplies in Gaza have led to operations being performed on children without anesthesia, according to UNICEF and a British surgeon who led an emergency medical team at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza.

Key Broker

The Qatari announcement comes days after the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said the director of Mossad, Israel’s  spy agency, David Barnea, had reached an agreement with Qatar on the delivery of medicines to hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Qatar played a key role in brokering an agreement between Hamas and Israel that led to the brief truce in November and the release of more than 100 hostages, as well as hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which helped facilitate the release of the hostages in November, has been unable to visit the remaining captives in Gaza and does not know where they are, it told CNN.

It is unclear if the Red Cross will help pass the medication to the hostages. Over the weekend, an official familiar with the discussions told CNN that the Red Cross would not have a role in the deliveries.

The medicine is destined for more than 40 hostages thought by Israel to need it, according to the official, who also said that Hamas only agreed to the deal if more medicine was sent to hospitals and Palestinians in Gaza.

Throughout the war, Israel has allowed a limited amount of aid and medicines to enter Gaza but far more is needed, humanitarian groups say. The UN has complained that Israel has been rejecting missions to deliver supplies to northern Gaza.

An estimated 1.9 million people, or 85% of Gaza’s population, are now internally displaced, says the UN, while only 15 of the enclave’s hospitals remain operational.

More Than 10,000 Children Killed

At least 10,600 children have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health said. And the UN emergency relief chief warned Israel’s war has brought famine with “such incredible speed.”

https://countercurrents.org/2024/01/israel-needs-years-to-break-up-gaza-tunnels-says-new-york-times/

World Socialist Web Site – January 17, 2024

Trump wins Iowa caucuses

 Jacob Crosse

Three years after Donald Trump failed to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election by laying siege to the US Capitol, the ex-president won the Iowa caucuses in dominating fashion.

Trump garnered over 51 percent of the vote, earning him 20 delegates. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis placed second with 21 percent of the vote, accruing 9 delegates, while former South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley placed third with 19 percent, good for 8 delegates.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy finished fourth with 8 percent of the vote and 3 delegates. Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, who finished a very distant fifth (0 percent), announced they were suspending their presidential campaigns after the votes were tallied. Ramaswamy has since endorsed Trump.

Monday’s overall results were very favorable to the former president. While DeSantis finished second, his margin of defeat, more than 30 points, was the largest in Iowa caucuses history. Since announcing his campaign last year, DeSantis has plummeted in the polls, dropping from 40 percent in national averages to under 30 and never once besting Trump.

Despite the distant second-place finish, the Florida governor vowed to continue in the race, a boon for Trump, since it further splits the field, preventing non-Trump voters from consolidating behind Haley, who has positioned herself as more of an “anti-Trump” candidate compared to DeSantis.

Trump, DeSantis and Haley are all running on variations of Trump’s reactionary and nationalist “Make America Great Again” program, with a heavy emphasis on anti-immigrant chauvinism. All of the candidates have pledged to continue building the US-Mexico border wall, provide billions to the border police and carry out mass deportations.

Haley, unlike Trump and, to a lesser extent, DeSantis, has pledged to continue unstinting US military funding for Ukraine.

While Trump dominated the contest, his victory does not mean that a mass fascist movement has materialized within the United States. It does, however, underscore the transformation of the Republican Party into a fascistic party and the existence of a very real and menacing danger of dictatorship.

The caucuses are far from a representative sample of the electorate. In Iowa, only registered Republicans, of which there are some 752,000 in the state, could participate. By its nature, the caucus form of primary contest, in which eligible Republican voters gather at locations across the state and vote in person, mobilizes the active base of the party and reflects its political views. These tend today to be further to the right than the Republican Party’s voters as a whole.

That said, the absence of any genuinely democratic or progressive alternative in the Democratic Party or the political establishment as a whole to the fascistic right, resulting in a contest between different varieties of political reaction, enables the far right to benefit electorally. This is an international phenomenon, as seen in the election of Meloni in Italy, Milei in Argentina and Geert Wilders in the Netherlands and the growing strength of Le Pen in France and the Alternative for Germany in that country.

The entire bourgeois political establishment is lurching ever further to the right, with its nominal “left” wing increasingly embracing the extreme nationalist policies—on such issues as immigration—of the far right.

In the US elections, the “choice” being offered the working class at present by the capitalist two-party system is between the proponent of ever wider war, Biden, and the fascist Trump. Both are widely hated, with polls showing more than half of voters disgusted with the prospect of an election between Biden and Trump.

Freezing temperatures coupled with crumbling infrastructure led to only 110,298 Iowans actually casting votes on Monday night, roughly 15 percent of those eligible, and less than 5 percent of the over 2 million eligible voters in the state. Fewer votes were cast on Monday than in any caucuses held in the previous 16 years.

While Trump received 56,260 votes in Monday’s caucus, which was good enough for 51 percent, in 2016, he received some 11,000 fewer votes, 45,427, but that number represented only 24.3 percent of the vote total.

Trump consolidated his support across the state, winning every single county except Johnson County, the site of the University of Iowa. Trump lost Johnson county to Haley by one vote.

In his victory speech from Des Moines, Trump, called on his Republican challengers to drop out and for “everybody” to come together and support his campaign. Shelving his normal venomous tone, he cooed: “We want to come together, whether it’s Republican or Democrat, or liberal or conservative, it would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems and straighten out all the death and destruction that we are witnessing…”

While DeSantis and Haley finished a distant second and third to Trump, receiving 23,420 and 21,085 votes, respectively, both candidates pledged to continue on to the New Hampshire primary, which is scheduled to be held on January 23. Unlike the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire contest is an open primary election, which allows voters not registered with either party to participate in the vote.

The latest polls show Haley roughly 10 points behind Trump, while DeSantis, who has pulled advertising in the state, is only polling in the single digits.

After New Hampshire, the next Republican contest is the Nevada primary and caucuses, which will be held on February 6 and 8 respectively. Trump and DeSantis are participating only in the caucuses, not in the primary election, while Haley is participating only in the primary. The state of Nevada is running the primary, while the Nevada Republican Party is running the caucuses. Delegates will be awarded only through the caucus process.

In addition to maintaining support within the Republican base, Trump has gained endorsements from leading Republican legislators. Within minutes of the Iowa caucuses being called for Trump, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (Republican-Louisiana) released a statement congratulating Trump on the “resounding victory in Iowa.”

Like Trump, Johnson called on his fellow Republicans to unite behind Trump, writing that his “decisive and historic victory tonight should move our Party closer to uniting so we can achieve the ultimate victory in November.”

In addition to Johnson, Trump has already secured endorsements from over half of the Republican House, including Majority Leader Steve Scalise (Louisiana), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (Minnesota) and chair of the conference, Elise Stefanik (New York).

While Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) and second-ranking Republican Senator John Thune (South Dakota) have yet to endorse Trump, half of the Republican Senate already has. Following his victory Monday, Trump surrogate Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) tweeted that it was “clear to me—now more than ever—that Trump will be the Republican nominee and will eventually be the 47th President of the United States.”

Republican senators who have already endorsed Trump include Tom Cotton (Arkansas), Josh Hawley (Missouri), Marco Rubio (Florida), Tommy Tuberville (Alabama) and J.D. Vance (Ohio).

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/01/17/ygee-j17.html?pk_campaign=newsletter&pk_kwd=wsws
 

 

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HEADLINES

 The Journal of America Team:

 Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali

Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott

Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab