{"id":47326,"date":"2024-04-28T07:54:13","date_gmt":"2024-04-28T15:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=47326"},"modified":"2024-04-28T07:54:13","modified_gmt":"2024-04-28T15:54:13","slug":"leaked-usaid-document-concludes-israel-impeded-gaza-aid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2024\/04\/28\/leaked-usaid-document-concludes-israel-impeded-gaza-aid\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaked USAID Document Concludes Israel Impeded Gaza Aid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Officials at the United States Agency for International Development concluded in a confidential memo to Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel<\/a> is violating a White House directive by blocking humanitarian aid from entering the besieged Gaza<\/a> Strip during its ongoing genocidal assault on the Palestinian enclave, according to a report published Friday.<\/p>\n

Devex<\/em>‘s Colum Lynch reported<\/a> that the confidential communication \u2013 entitled Famine Inevitable, Changes Could Reduce But Not Stop Widespread Civilian Deaths<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 states that USAID “assesses the government of Israel (GOI) does not currently demonstrate necessary compliance” with a February 8 White House memo<\/a> requiring the secretary of state to obtain assurances from governments receiving U.S. military aid that such assistance is used in compliance with human rights law.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The USAID memo raises “serious concerns that the killing<\/a> of nearly 32,000 people, of which the GOI itself assesses roughly two-thirds are civilians, may well amount to a violation of the international humanitarian law.” That figure is now over 34,300 deaths, with at least 77,293 people injured and over 11,000 others missing and presumed buried beneath the rubble of hundreds of thousands of bombed-out buildings.<\/p>\n

The document states that the “deterioration of food security and nutrition in Gaza is unprecedented in modern history, exponentially outpacing in six months the long-term declines that led to the only other two famine declarations in the 21st century: Somalia (2011) and South Sudan (2017).”<\/p>\n

“Adequate health, nutrition, and water, sanitation, and hygiene… an immediate cessation of hostilities, and sustained humanitarian access will be required,” the memo continues. “Absent these conditions, all available evidence indicates rising acute food insecurity, malnutrition, and disease will lead to a rapid increase in non-trauma deaths, particularly among women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.”<\/p>\n

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USAID says Israel is violating US laws prohibiting provision of US military assistance to those who violate humanitarian law & impede delivery of US humanitarian aid.<\/p>\n

Biden is breaking the law & defying his own agencies to fund Israeli war crimes.https:\/\/t.co\/zf56aGHTQM<\/a> #Devex<\/a><\/p>\n

— Tariq Kenney-Shawa (@tksshawa) April 26, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n