Thursday, June 03, 2010

Israel's Own Humanitarian Aid To Gaza: The Numbers

The following is from the CIC: Canda-Israel Committee--
Facts Beyond the Spin: Israel Delivers Massive Aid to Gaza 
June 2, 2010 – 1:03 pm 
Despite the fact that Israel publicly offered to inspect and then transfer the flotilla’s aid to Gaza several days prior to the incident, many opponents of Israel are now making wild accusations that humanitarian supplies are being blocked from entering Gaza.
The facts put these charges to rest – just take a look at how much aid Israel regularly delivers to Gaza, and what it means in real terms for Gazans:
  • Over one million tons of humanitarian supplies were delivered by Israel to the people of Gaza in the past 18 months – that’s equal to nearly one ton of aid for every man, woman and child in Gaza. 
     
  • In the first quarter of 2010 alone (January-March), Israel delivered 94,500 tons of supplies to Gaza. It’s very easy to miss what that actually means for the people of Gaza. The breakdown includes:


    • 40,000 tons of wheat – which is equal to 53 million loaves of bread;
    • 2,760 tons of rice – which equals 69 million servings;
    • 1,987 tons of clothes and footwear – the equivalent weight of 3.6 million pairs of jeans; and
    • 553 tons of milk powder and baby food – equivalent to over 3.1 million days of formula for an average six-month-old baby.
  • This reflects a long-term effort on the part of Israel to deliver a massive and comprehensive supply of aid to Gaza’s civilians, while restricting the ability of Hamas to import missiles that have been launched at the cities of southern Israel. In 2009 alone:


    • During the Muslim holy days of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, Israel shipped some 11,000 head of cattle into Gaza – enough to provide 8.8 million meals of beef;
    • More than 3,000 tons of hypochlorite were delivered by Israel to Gaza for water purification purposes – that’s 60 billion gallons of purified water; and
    • Israel brought some 4,883 tons of medical equipment and medicine into Gaza – a weight equivalent to over 360,000 260-piece mobile trauma first aid kits.
Read the full statistics and judge for yourself. Humanitarian crisis in Gaza? Not according to the facts.
It is way past time for the media to start reporting accurately about the situation in Gaza--starting with coverage of Gaza's middle class, with fancy hotel, restaurants and Olympic pool.

And while they're at it, they could mention that after all their breast-beating, the Gaza Flotilla brought in the equivalent of what Israel lets into Gaza in one day.

Of course, if Hamas was not declaring their goal to destroy Israel and sending rockets into civilian areas, there would not be a need for the blockade altogether. But then again, Hamas always puts the interests of Gazans...last.

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8 comments:

APRPEH said...

hey. cited you here: http://allafrica.com/comments/list/aans/post/post/id/201006031043.html

Daled Amos said...

Thanks, but the real credit should go to the CIC, who summarized the data.

Anonymous said...

You know what's the problem? Israel keeps secret on how it differentiates between humanitarian necessities for Gaza's 1.5m residents and non-essential luxuries, citing "security reasons".

Food products prohibited from entering include jam, chocolate, biscuits, potato chips, fresh meat, coriander and industrial margarine, according to human rights groups.

Other banned goods include musical instruments, pens, notebooks, toys, cars, fridges and computers, as well as building materials like cement, iron, gravel, marble and some wood.

Jam, potato chips, pens? Is there any explanation for this?

Additionally, Israel only allows in just over half the weekly industrial fuel needs for Gaza's only power plant, as well as less than half of the region's necessary monthly gas supply, according to activists.

Daled Amos said...

No, the real problem lies in the unsubstantiated claims made by so called 'peace activists' whose lies are debunked by videos and whose ties to terrorist groups are ignored by the general media

Give me a link to these claims, and I'll look into it

Anonymous said...

Sure, here are few links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7545636.stm
http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/as-irish-ship-rachel-corrie-approaches-israelis-defend-gaza-blockade/19503382
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i9xMQeXMiJB1691P4ttjJBiib6UwD9FVPS5G1
http://www.map-uk.org/regions/opt/news/view/-/id/732/

Daled Amos said...

http://idfspokesperson.com/2010/06/06/breakdown-of-humanitarian-aid-to-the-gaza-strip-in-2009-2010-6-june-2010/

Anonymous said...

What's your point? I wasn't talking about truckloads and weight, but rather about specific products. Are you suggesting that the reports from the links I gave you are incorrect?

Daled Amos said...

I don't suppose you read the list that the BBC links to in the article you provide:

"They have consistently been allowed to bring in staple foods and medicines, while other items are approved or rejected on a case-by-case"