Latest news with #Mencer
Time of India
03-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Gaza War: Israeli military opens fire near aid centre; at least 27 Palestinians killed - The Economic Times Video
Israeli spokesperson David Mencer defended the IDF's actions in Gaza after at least 27 Palestinians were killed near an aid distribution point, claiming troops responded to perceived threats with warning shots. Despite mounting casualties and international concern, Mencer insisted the IDF did not fire on civilians and continues to support humanitarian access.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel's ‘no hunger in Gaza' narrative flies in face of obvious evidence
For many decades, Israel was proud of its officials' ability to defend and argue and convince around the world. The war in Gaza has seen the country's public diplomacy face its greatest test – as was made clear on Wednesday morning with a robust exchange between David Mencer, a spokesperson for the Israeli government, and Nick Robinson, a presenter of the BBC's flagship Today programme. Mencer stressed that he was speaking on behalf of the prime minister and made an uncompromising statement of Israel's arguments, including the accusation that Hamas – described as a 'genocidal death cult' – uses civilians as human shields. 'Israel faces a moral paradox right now. It's been created by Hamas. We have an opportunity to strike every military target, but when we do, we get condemned, you know, or we don't strike them, and we reward the use of human shields,' he told Robinson. But the core of the confrontation was Israel's blockade of Gaza. Here some listeners may have decided Mencer was involved in a deliberate attempt to obscure the reliably reported reality on the ground for political, ideological and strategic ends. Certainly, the key Israeli argument that there is 'no hunger in Gaza' is hard to sustain. The same goes for Mencer's accompanying claim that there is food in Gaza, and that markets are open. It is true that there are some basics still available in the territory, even after 11 weeks of a total blockade by Israel, and that a few stalls and shops still offer some basics. But the vast majority of the 2.3 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip cannot afford to buy what they need to survive, and, if they could, stocks would suffice only for a tiny number. There is a limited amount of often spoiled flour, of which a standard 25kg sack costs hundreds of dollars, and of fresh food such as potatoes and tomatoes, a kilo of which costs between $10 and $15. There is no dairy and almost no meat. Free bakeries shut weeks ago for lack of fuel and flour, while community kitchens which once served 1m meals a day are closing fast. Almost all the main warehouses run by big international NGOs, such as the World Food Programme or Unrwa, are now empty. Many people are living on canned peas or dried beans, of which there is a finite supply. There are, however, thousands of tonnes of food, medicine, shelter, fuel and everything else necessary for survival ready to be sent into Gaza, but that can happen only when Israel opens the checkpoints it controls along its perimeter. It is true, as Mencer said, that a substantial amount of aid was brought in and stockpiled during the 10-week ceasefire that came into effect in mid-January, but this has all gone – and this influx did not offset the consequences of a war that has devastated agriculture, water supplies, sanitation systems and health services, leaving the population gravely weakened and vulnerable to disease. Essential medicines used to treat malnutrition are now being rationed, aid workers say, and medical supplies are running low. Then there is the obvious evidence of images of clearly malnourished people – often children. Mencer suggested that such cases may not be proof that thousands or tens of thousands of others are in the same dire condition, but a report on Monday from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a consortium of experts that has for decades advised the UN and governments, said that Palestinians living there faced 'a critical risk of famine'. The IPC, which has developed a five-level famine warning system, found that between 1 April and 10 May this year, 244,000 people in Gaza were in the most critical food security situation: level five, 'catastrophe/famine'. The IPC noted that there had been a 'major deterioration' in the food security situation in Gaza since its last assessment in October 2024. Mencer denied that Israel was using starvation as a deliberate strategy, asking why, if that was the case, would Israel have sent 'enough food aid to fill Wembley Stadium in London to the brim 80 times over' into Gaza during the conflict. But the aid allowed into Gaza through much of the 19-month conflict has been inadequate, unpredictable and subject to much-criticised bureaucratic procedures that blocked many shipments and slowed more. It was also hard to distribute given the widespread destruction and continuing violence. Almost 53,000 people have been killed since the Israeli offensive began. Sanitation systems, water supplies and health services are in ruins. Roads are choked with rubble, and bulldozers are systematically targeted by Israel. Israeli officials argue that Hamas steals and sells aid to fund its military and other operations. Therefore, they say, the restriction of aid is necessary to defeat the militant Islamist organisation, which killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in its raid on Israel on 7 October 2023, and to secure the return of the 57 of the 251 hostages taken that day who are still held in Gaza. Instead, Israel has made its own plan to distribute aid from six major hubs in southern Gaza, which would be run by private contractors and defended by Israeli troops. Aid agencies say they have robust mechanisms to prevent leakage of aid, and that Hamas steals little, if any. They also say they believe the new Israeli scheme is impractical, inadequate, likely to be dangerous and is potentially unlawful as it would displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, forcing them into ever smaller parts of the territory. Given this, they said they cannot agree to cooperate with it.
Dubai Eye
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Dubai Eye
Gaza population faces critical risk of famine, global hunger monitor says
Half a million people in the Gaza Strip face starvation, a global hunger monitor said on Monday, saying the Israeli-blockaded enclave still confronts a critical risk of famine with a high risk of one occurring by the end of September. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)'s latest report cited a significant deterioration in the situation since its last one in October, reflecting warnings from international agencies of an unfolding catastrophe in the small, densely populated Palestinian territory. It forecast that 2.1 million people across Gaza - roughly the entire population - would likely experience high levels of acute food insecurity by the end of September, with 469,500 of them projected to likely hit "catastrophic" levels. Israel has sealed off the Gaza Strip since early March when it resumed its devastating military campaign against Hamas following the collapse of a ceasefire deal, during which thousands of aid trucks entered the enclave. Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said on Monday the IPC had "constantly talked about famine; famine has never happened because of Israel's efforts to get more aid in". Mencer reiterated Israel's accusation that Hamas had caused hunger by stealing aid meant for civilians, and had "engineered the humanitarian crisis". Hamas denies these accusations and has in turn accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war. The IPC report said that Israeli plans for large-scale military operations in Gaza, along with aid agencies' "persistent inability" to deliver essential goods and services, meant that there was a "high risk" of famine in the projection period from May 11 to September 30. Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday called on the international community to help with a new plan to distribute aid directly to the people of Gaza and cut Hamas out of the process. The IPC report said the Israeli authorities' plan for delivering aid was "estimated to be highly insufficient to meet the population's essential needs for food, water, shelter and medicine". "Moreover, the proposed distribution mechanisms are likely to create significant access barriers for large segments of the population," it said. "Immediate action is essential to prevent further deaths, starvation and acute malnutrition, and a descent into famine." For famine to be declared, at least 20 per cent of the population must be suffering extreme food shortages, with one in three children acutely malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or from malnutrition and disease. The report projected that nearly 71,000 cases of acute malnutrition, including 14,100 severe cases, among children aged 6 to 59 months were expected to occur between April 2025 and March 2026. IPC reports are produced with contributions from UN agencies, NGOs and other organisations. DETERIORATION The report "really demonstrates that the situation in Gaza has deteriorated quite dramatically in recent months," said Beth Bechdol, deputy director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). "Since March 2, the comprehensive blockade... has really prevented the delivery of essential humanitarian and even commercial supplies," she told Reuters. "We can certainly assume that the types of numbers that we're seeing in this report... will only continue to escalate," she said. The report shows that there are "a very large number of people now facing starvation", she added. While noting that the two-month-long ceasefire had allowed for a temporary alleviation of acute food shortages and malnutrition, the IPC report said the ongoing blockade had reversed the situation.
Otago Daily Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Gaza at critical risk of famine amid Israeli blockade
Half a million people in the Gaza Strip face starvation, a global hunger monitor said on Monday, saying the Israeli-blockaded enclave still confronts a critical risk of famine with a high risk of one occurring by the end of September. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)'s latest report cited a significant deterioration in the situation since its last one in October, reflecting warnings from international agencies of an unfolding catastrophe in the small, densely populated Palestinian territory. It forecast that 2.1 million people across Gaza - roughly the entire population - would likely experience high levels of acute food insecurity by the end of September, with 469,500 of them projected to likely hit "catastrophic" levels. Israel has sealed off the Gaza Strip since early March when it resumed its devastating military campaign against militant group Hamas following the collapse of a ceasefire deal, during which thousands of aid trucks entered the enclave. Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said on Monday the IPC had "constantly talked about famine; famine has never happened because of Israel's efforts to get more aid in." Mencer reiterated Israel's accusation that Hamas had caused hunger by stealing aid meant for civilians, and had "engineered the humanitarian crisis". Hamas denies these accusations and has in turn accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war. The IPC report said that Israeli plans for large-scale military operations in Gaza, along with aid agencies' "persistent inability" to deliver essential goods and services, meant that there was a "high risk" of famine in the projection period from May 11 to September 30. Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday called on the international community to help with a new plan to distribute aid directly to the people of Gaza and cut Hamas out of the process. The IPC report said the Israeli authorities' plan for delivering aid was "estimated to be highly insufficient to meet the population's essential needs for food, water, shelter and medicine". "Moreover, the proposed distribution mechanisms are likely to create significant access barriers for large segments of the population," it said. "Immediate action is essential to prevent further deaths, starvation and acute malnutrition, and a descent into famine." For famine to be declared, at least 20% of the population must be suffering extreme food shortages, with one in three children acutely malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or from malnutrition and disease. The report projected that nearly 71,000 cases of acute malnutrition, including 14,100 severe cases, among children aged 6 to 59 months were expected to occur between April 2025 and March 2026. IPC reports are produced with contributions from UN agencies, NGOs and other organisations. DETERIORATION The report "really demonstrates that the situation in Gaza has deteriorated quite dramatically in recent months," said Beth Bechdol, deputy director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). "Since March 2, the comprehensive blockade ... has really prevented the delivery of essential humanitarian and even commercial supplies," she told Reuters. "We can certainly assume that the types of numbers that we're seeing in this report ... will only continue to escalate," she said. The report shows that there are "a very large number of people now facing starvation", she added. While noting that the two-month-long ceasefire had allowed for a temporary alleviation of acute food shortages and malnutrition, the IPC report said the ongoing blockade had reversed the situation. The key findings showed that 1.95 million people, or 93% of the population in the coastal enclave, are living through high levels of acute food insecurity, including 244,000 experiencing the most severe, or "catastrophic", levels. IPC's October analysis had said 133,000 people were in the "catastrophic" category. In Gaza City, Ghada Mohammad, a mother of five, said she had to pay around 1,000 shekels (NZ$473) to buy a 2-kg sack of flour, which would usually have cost 25 shekels before the war and during ceasefire periods in January and February. Speaking to Reuters via a messaging app, she cited dependence on canned food, unhealthy water, and bread made with insect-infested flour. "Do you know how it feels to be unable to have one meal with some chicken or vegetables or meat for several weeks?"
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Netanyahu declares Israel is on 'eve of a forceful entry to Gaza'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel declared on Monday that his country is "on the eve of a forceful entry to Gaza " after his security cabinet approved a new plan for tens of thousands of additional soldiers to seize and hold territory in the embattled enclave and relocate Palestinians to the south. In video posted on social media as reservists began receiving notices of their call-up, Netanyahu said top military officials had recommended what he called an "intensive" escalation of the 18-month war. "It's time to launch the concluding moves," Netanyahu said the military officials told him, adding that the new campaign would help bring home the hostages still held in Gaza. The escalation followed more than two months in which Israel continued to blockade and bombard the Gaza Strip as ceasefire talks to free the remaining hostages ground to a near standstill. Israel has barred any humanitarian aid to Gaza in an effort to press Hamas to surrender, leading aid groups to denounce mounting deprivation among Palestinians there. Netanyahu's opponents said the expanded campaign would endanger the remaining hostages' lives and not fundamentally change the dynamic that 18 months of war has wrought. Israeli officials said the offensive would start slowly in anticipation of ceasefire talks that are ongoing ahead of President Trump's trip next week to the region for meetings in several Arab capitals. But the officials said if a deal is not reached soon, the expanded operation would commence in earnest. David Mencer, a govt spokesman, described the plan as a renewed effort to increase pressure on Hamas to release the hostages and to destroy all of Hamas's infrastructure, both above and below ground. He said the campaign calls for the "holding of territories" by Israeli soldiers for an indefinite period of time "to prevent Hamas from taking it back". Mencer said the intent was not a permanent occupation of Gaza, a scenario that would almost certainly spur international objections, as would the forced relocation of Palestinians from their homes in the north. Effie Defrin, the Israeli military spokesman, said Israel's operation will include "a wide attack, involving moving most of Gaza's population. This is for their protection in an area clean of Hamas." The Israeli call-up of soldiers is seen as a message to Netanyahu's hard-line supporters, some of whom were dismayed that the military had not completed the task of eradicating Hamas. Promising a more intense phase of the war could be good domestic politics for him. As part of the offensive, Israel would move "the Gazan population south for its own defence," Mencer said. The plan echoed earlier actions when Israel ordered a mass evacuation of northern Gaza before its ground invasion in late 2023. An official said the understanding was that the military would move to capture more territory beyond what it was already holding, but the person cautioned it was not clear whether Israel had plans to occupy all of Gaza at this point. The cabinet also approved a new mechanism for allowing the distribution of humanitarian help in the enclave.
