Gaza famine accusations retracted after criticism from US ambassador; 45 patients leave Gaza for UAE via Israel
245 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on Dec 30 in coordination with IDF
In recent weeks, international scrutiny of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip and the resulting humanitarian hardship has risen, especially in the wake of increased operations in northern Gaza, including the siege and evacuation of Kamal Adwan Hospital.
The isolation and siege of parts of northern Gaza, particularly the areas of Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, has drawn strong criticism and allegations of purposeful starvation of civilians in those areas.
However, many of the warnings by human rights organizations have been severely criticized for relying on statistics provided by Hamas.
— Ambassador Jack Lew (@USAmbIsrael) December 24, 2024
In a particularly notable recent incident of this kind, Jewish Insider reported last week that the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) retracted a report alleging that a “famine scenario continues to unfold in North Gaza.”
The report was deleted from the website of FEWS NET after U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew criticized it publicly. “At a time when inaccurate information is causing confusion and accusations, it is irresponsible to issue a report like this,” Lew wrote on 𝕏.
Some hours later, the report was taken down. “To address inaccuracies in the population data set, the FEWS NET Decision Support Team has taken down the December 23 Gaza alert until further notice,” a spokesman for USAID said, adding that the report had “methodological limitations based on the availability of data.”
While the agency receives U.S. taxpayer money through USAID, “it provides independent and neutral analyses of food security,” the spokesman said. According to its website, information published by FEWS NET is “not official U.S. government information and does not represent the views or positions” of USAID.
The report had alleged a “near-total blockade of humanitarian and commercial food supplies to besieged areas of North Gaza Governorate,” claiming that up to 70,000 civilians remained there. According to Lew, the data is “outdated and inaccurate,” with the true number being between 7-15,000.
December 30 humanitarian efforts included:
— COGAT (@cogatonline) December 31, 2024
🚛245 humanitarian aid trucksenteredGaza, 218 through the Kerem Shalom Crossing and 27 via the Erez Crossing.
🛻88 trucks were collected from the Gazan side of Kerem Shalom by international organizations. Approx. 800 trucks worth of… pic.twitter.com/jhq6mspQGw
The United States has continually pushed Israel to increase humanitarian aid transfers to the Gaza Strip, despite Israeli claims that the shortage of trucks reaching people in need has been caused either by Hamas taking control of the trucks entering the Strip, or aid organizations failing to distribute the containers piling up at the border crossings.
According to COGAT, the IDF unit tasked with coordinating the aid shipments, 245 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on Monday. However, only 88 trucks were collected from the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, with around 800 truckloads worth of aid awaiting collection.
In addition, Israel facilitated the transfer of 45 ill and wounded Gazans, accompanied by over 100 of their relatives, from a hospital in Khan Younis through Kerem Shalom crossing to hospitals in the United Arab Emirates.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
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