This is the reality of what Israeli is doing.

[Eyesopenwideawake]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/10/im-so-scared-please-come-hind-rajab-six-found-dead-in-gaza-12-days-after-cry-for-help

That's interesting.

The UK are flying surveillance missions over Gaza almost everyday. As an aside....at least the UK government can't claim they had no idea how bad things were in Gaza.

Why would our government feel the need to hide it's involvement in delivering aid? Would it be politically inconvenient for them to be seen undermining Israel's efforts to starve Gaza?

The clause the Jordanians included in their agreement says a lot about their previous experiences dealing with the Israeli government, although given the Liberty Bell incident I can't decide if it's foolish or brave to have members of he Jordanian royal family accompany pilots on air drops.

@FOJN would a more parsimonious explanation for the UK using Jordanian aircraft be a 'wrong sort of plane' situation? Surveillance planes not being suitable for air-drops and Jordan apparently having the transport planes ideal for the task? There's also some fancy technology involved in guiding the parcels to the correct location as they have previously been dropped from high altitude presumably for safety sake

Both US and Canada are now saying that they also want to take part in air-dropping food aid etc as the starvation is so dire [another ?6/8 babies reportedly died of starvation/dehydration yesterday*]- so not sure why would the UK be shy about being involved

Definitely agree with you that the UK government have been well aware of what's happening in Gaza all along and also the risks to the Jordanian royal family - tho' accidently killing/ injuring the King of Jordan who has already been on one mission would risk the present war exploding in the ME

*should have said that these babies died in hospital so likely more dying who can't reach a hospital or there's no longer a functioning hospital nearby or no way of reporting their deaths

.

Number of babies dying now reported as 9

Most from Al Adwan hospital in northern gaza which 'ceased to function' yesterday after the operating theatres were bombed by the IDF and the generators ran out of fuel. Before it was closed down the senior paediatrican there said that they were seeing 100s of babies and children every day with malnutrition/dehydration and that even newborns were pale underweight and malnourished

Even if these babies and children survive there are potential long term effects on development particularly on brain development and physical health

Some of the problems with delivering aid by air-drop vs convoys by road

• According to the World Food Programme (WFP), airdrops are a “last resort” for a number of reasons, including the “relatively small quantities” that can be delivered compared with a convoy of trucks.
• Airdrops require a team on the ground to help prevent injuries by ensuring the drop zone is clear and to help distribute the aid once it is received, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
• The distribution of airdropped aid could be a difficult in northern Gaza, where even UNRWA says it is no longer able to provide services due to Israeli attacks and a general breakdown in social order amid severe hunger.
• ICRC analysis also notes the importance of delivering humanitarian assistance in-person as a way to restore “hope and dignity through contact with the world”.

The other issue is that air-drops are high profile and receive lots of media attention and can make it look like the problem is fixed

Yes, I'm not suggesting that surveillance planes could be used to air drop aid.

Our surveillance planes are taking off from Cyprus as are the transport planes, delivering who knows what to Tel Aviv, so it seems unlikely that British planes would be under threat in Israeli airspace which means we are well placed to use suitable planes of our own to drop aid. Why aren't we?

I think Israel wants the war to expand in the hope that the US will feel compelled to get involved. My point about the USS Liberty was that Israel had no problem launching an attack on a US ship and then saying "whoops, sorry, mistaken identity".

I was reading yesterday about the airdrops and that whilst Jordan was dropping them there were bombs in the same water area being thrown and kids were killed. Anyone seen anything about it? It was only on Twitter were I saw it so unsure whether it’s true

I saw the video of the bombs being dropped but I don't know that it was confirmed it was at the same time as the aid drop. Hopefully will get more information soon.

Sorry I misunderstood you about the planes

Agree the whole situation with the EU humanitarian aid 'depot' in Cyprus is not transparent - it's hardly ever reported

I'd hope that the aid is going to the WFP warehouses in Egypt and Jordan rather than going directly into the Israeli governments hands who have a 'different agenda'

Israel clearly want total control over all aid going into Gaza without any interference from any other party - both now and in the future

Why aren't UK doing air drops? My guess would be because Israel says no

Yes I have just read that aid drops is only equivalent to one or two trucks of food which is miniscule compared to what is needed
Aid getting into Gaza is now half of what was coming in prior to this month. And what was coming in before was still nowhere near enough

@Parkingt111 yes it's a lot of media attention and positive PR for such a 'modest' amount of help

,

I'm finding it increasingly hard to get up in the morning and face this. I'm from the region but even if I wasn't, the fact that babies are dying are starvation simply because nobody is ready to put boots on the ground to force the aid in and push out the settlers blocking the way is mind-blowing. Many people I speak to have been profoundly changed by the level of racism and dehumanizing needed to make this happen.

Efacsen

Sorry I misunderstood you about the planes

TBF I do sometimes forget to complete my argument!

Sky news is also reporting on the video of the many dead Palestinians who were shot by Israeli forces whilst waiting for aid
What's the purpose of shooting those waiting for aid?

Can we have a link to that report that proves they were shot by IDF because I can't see it on sky?

Perhaps it's all part of the plan - lure out all those hungry Hamas fighters with food parcels then shoot them all

[only partly tongue in cheek]

Can we also have a link from you that reports someone else shooting people queuing for aid if you think it's not the IDF [again]

Nothing to say about babies dying of starvation?

@OneMerryRedSnail it's in their live feed reporting from today

This report is of a strike
Is this a separate incident

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-looking-into-reports-of-dozens-killed-in-strike-while-waiting-for-aid-in-gaza-city/

Yet another way Israel is hobbling the aid effort

Humanitarian Workers face deportation from Israel after freeze on visas

Israel has stopped issuing visas for international staff of humanitarian organisations that work in occupied Palestinian territories, hampering efforts to get food and other vital supplies into Gaza.

Dozens of foreign aid workers, including heads of organisations, have had to leave Israel and the Palestinian territories, or are overstaying their visas and risking deportation so they can continue working, an alliance of aid groups has warned.

Emergency response teams, who have the specialist experience to deal with the multiple challenges of working in Gaza, are particularly affected

Who's live feed?

All I've seen from Sky is it is an 'apparent' incident.

It's on Al Jazeera now it's in Gaza City. Absolutely shocking. At least 77 people killed and hundreds injured.

Are you kidding me?

Al Jazeera is sponsored by Qatar that gives refuge to the main movers in Hamas.

I wouldn't believe Al Jezeera if they said the earth went around the sun.

I just had a look. Horrendous scenes. Unimaginable.

@OneMerryRedSnail so are you saying the scenes I've watched aren't real? Unbelievable.

Maybe if you want 'better' on the ground sources you could lobby the Israeli government to

• stop killing local journalists
• stop preventing international journalists entering Gaza