Israel�s acknowledgment that a drone attack mistakenly killed seven aid
workers in Gaza has led to renewed criticism of the Jewish State. The tragic
incident came less than three weeks after a report issued by the Integrated
Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) claimed that 1.1 million people �
nearly half the population of Gaza � face �catastrophic food insecurity�
conditions and that Northern Gaza will face famine by May if hostilities
continue.

The European Union�s high representative for foreign affairs and security
policy, Josep Borrell, blamed Israel, saying, �Starvation is used as a weapon
of war. Israel is provoking famine.� And U.S. officials unveiled a United
Nations ceasefire resolution that cited "famine" conditions after the IPC
report came out.

But Hamas, which has been hoarding food and stealing from Gazans, is the root
cause of Gazans� suffering. As Congressman Jim Himes, a Connecticut Democrat
and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, stated in a CNN
interview: �Hamas has a long history of stealing aid, and needs to stop that
in the interest of the people that they purport to represent.�

Israel has tried for years to balance its interests with those of innocent
Palestinians. Its maritime blockade did not stop Gaza from being self-
sufficient in fruits and vegetables, with enough left over to potentially
export.. Despite the war, three-quarters of greenhouse acres were still
available as of Feb. 15, according to a United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) report, which has the latest available data. Israel�s
Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) indicates
that bakeries can still provide �over 2 million breads, rolls, and pita
breads a day.�

Since the war began, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have engaged in what
West Point Urban Warfare Studies Chairman John Spencer described as �a
remarkable, historic new standard� for wartime treatment of civilians,
resulting in a civilian-to-combatant mortality ratio that is �historically
low for modern urban warfare.� For example, Israel regularly provides
warnings of impending attacks, assists with evacuations, and even stops its
attacks on a daily basis to allow humanitarian aid to arrive.

Despite the recent tragedy, the IDF tries to ensure that Gazans don�t starve
throughout the war. COGAT data show that 290,000 tons of food and beverages
have been delivered to Gaza since October � recently as many as 200
truckloads a day. Full distribution of these supplies would deliver about
1.82 pounds of food daily for each of the 2 million people in Gaza (145 kg
per person, during 175 days of war). Based on FAO estimates of the average
daily consumption in Asia and Africa (where Gaza is situated), this alone
would be enough to supply 50% of Gazans� daily consumption needs � on top of
the food they continue to produce themselves.

Israel has also collaborated with the U.S. to provide further aid. The Biden
administration recently announced plans to build an emergency pier that would
provide 2 million meals per day. This idea was first suggested to President
Biden by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last October, just weeks
after the war started.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that leaders have been misled about
the data surrounding the Israel-Hamas war. For example, policymakers and news
media have repeatedly cited casualty numbers taken from none other than Hamas
itself. But Abraham Wyner, a professor of statistics and data science at the
University of Pennsylvania�s Wharton School, has stated that �the numbers are
not real.� For one thing, he writes, there is little variability in the daily
reported casualty numbers, despite variability in the daily numbers of
strikes, and the randomness in collateral damage arising from any given
strike. Additionally, �the ebbs and flows of the bombings and attacks by
Israel should cause the daily counts of men and women to move together. But
that is not what the data show. Not only is there not a positive correlation,
there is a strong negative correlation.�

Much of the apparent confusion results in criticisms of Israel, as we saw
early in the conflict with an alleged hospital bombing that turned out to be
a likely terrorist group�s rocket gone awry. Despite the uproar over the IPC
report and the aid workers� tragic deaths, Israel is not the Palestinians�
enemy. It is their partner for a peaceful future, while Hamas uses civilians
as human shields and cannon fodder. Leaders can most help the Palestinians by
allowing Israel to completely uproot Hamas, thus giving a fresh start to the
Middle East.

: Awi Federgruen is the chair of Columbia Business School�s Decision. Risk
: and Operations Division. He is an expert in logistics and data science.
: Ran Kivetz is the Philip H. Geier Professor at Columbia Business School.
: He is an expert in decision making, including the intersection between
: behavioral economics and political science.

--
Let's go Brandon!

On Mon, 08 Apr 2024 21:05:04 -0400, Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net>
wrote:

>Israel’s acknowledgment that a drone attack mistakenly killed seven aid
>workers in Gaza has led to renewed criticism of the Jewish State. The tragic
>incident came less than three weeks after a report issued by the Integrated
>Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) claimed that 1.1 million people –
>nearly half the population of Gaza – face “catastrophic food insecurity”
>conditions and that Northern Gaza will face famine by May if hostilities
>continue.
>
>The European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security
>policy, Josep Borrell, blamed Israel, saying, “Starvation is used as a weapon
>of war. Israel is provoking famine.” And U.S. officials unveiled a United
>Nations ceasefire resolution that cited "famine" conditions after the IPC
>report came out.
>
>But Hamas, which has been hoarding food and stealing from Gazans, is the root
>cause of Gazans’ suffering. As Congressman Jim Himes, a Connecticut Democrat
>and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, stated in a CNN
>interview: “Hamas has a long history of stealing aid, and needs to stop that
>in the interest of the people that they purport to represent.”

Naturally this is all Israel's fault....

<eyeroll>