A new report on Gaza’s escalating health crisis projects that due to the extent of destruction wrought upon the region’s infrastructure since October, thousands of Palestinians will continue to die from disease, malnutrition, dehydration and starvation, regardless of whether Israel continues to pursue its military assault.
“In case of an escalation, we’d see around 85,000 deaths,” warns Zeina Jamaluddine, a nutritionist and epidemiologist who is one of the lead authors of “Crisis in Gaza: Scenario-Based Health Impact Projections” from the London School of Hygiene and Johns Hopkins University.
Jamaluddine also says it is not too late to stop the bulk of these forecasted deaths, should a ceasefire be immediately put into place and aid deliveries resumed. “In case of a ceasefire now, we would be saving around 75,000 lives.”
With no epidemics occurring, the projection for the ceasefire scenario would be 6,550 excess deaths, for the status quo scenario 58,260 excess deaths, and for the escalation scenario 74,290 excess deaths.
With epidemics occurring, the projection for the ceasefire scenario would be 11,580 excess deaths, for the status quo scenario 66,720 excess deaths, and for the escalation scenario 85,750 excess deaths.
The breakdown of water and sanitation, inadequate shelter and insufficient food intake leads to a projected high risk of excess deaths from endemic infectious diseases, particularly respiratory tract infections. If infectious disease epidemics occur, cholera, measles, meningococcal meningitis, and polio are epidemics projected to potentially cause the most excess deaths.
@PoliticMongooseSocialist3mos3MO
Cut the military aid funding. It’s simple. It’s the ultimate leverage. If the Biden administration was serious about a cease-fire they could have one. Some geopolitical negotiations are extremely complex, not this one.
@TenaciousVicunaDemocrat3mos3MO
the Israeli defense budget is about $25B a year, with the U.S. providing about $4B of that in purchase subsidies in the U.S. So no, halting defense aid will not promote a peaceful solution. Unfortunately there is nothing “simple” about this conflict. Simplistic solutions, especially those that hint at disengagement, are unhelpful and damaging. There needs to be a thorough process that shows to both peoples in the region a path towards peace. Unfortunately, this is not simple and needs intensive engagement by the U.S., which is the opposite of what you seem to suggest.
@L3ftLeaningDukeGreen3mos3MO
Hard to negotiate with a man who has a firm “no” to any and all plans. Bibi wants it all and refuses to compromise in any way. So what is the plan to deal with that?
@OptimisticKnowledgeDemocrat3mos3MO
16% = $4B/$25B? That is not insignificant to me.
Besides, the money would be much better spent on the Ukraine, a far more worthy confederate.
@FluentZealousWorking Family3mos3MO
More than the financial support it’s the trade and intangibles that Israel needs from US.
If US does not supply military equipment, arms, and ammunition, Israel’s assault on the Palestinian Territories will grind to a halt soon enough.
Also, if US pulls the diplomatic cover that it provides Israel, it will become a pariah like Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Israel is already a target for the BDS movement and without US protection, the movement will squeeze Israel’s economy to yes, another grinding halt.
Not sure why everyone thinks Israel can survive without US. Every border… Read more
@DemocracyPenelopeDemocrat3mos3MO
"If the Biden administration was serious about a cease-fire they could have one."
Even simpler, if the Palestinians wanted a cease fire they could have one, they just need to stop fighting. They could also just release the hostages.
The Palestinians have options, Israel only has one, obtained the release of the hostages.
@PoliticMongooseSocialist3mos3MO
You seem to be confusing "the Palestinians" with Hamas. The Palestinians actually don't have options. They are being subjected to Israel's brutality. If you think they have agency, explain exactly how they are supposed to get Hamas to surrender? How they can do with their bare hands while sick and starving what Israel as a regional superpower with supposedly expert intelligence and the aid of the US has not been able to do?
The US had leverage of course. AIPAC would not be so concerned about the elections, pro Israel donors would not have made AIPAC and the pro Israel lobby as well funded as it is, if the US did not have leverage.
@R3pr3sntat1veSaltRepublican3mos3MO
Israel funds over 90% of its military. The US funds go funding the iron dome defense system. The number of rockets being fired out of Gaza has plummeted, because despite what this paper tells you, Israel has decimated Hamas’ military capabilities. So cutting funding won’t do what you want it to do.
Not only is your solution not a simple one, it is not fact-based.
@RightXerusRepublican3mos3MO
Why don't those voices calling for a permanent ceasefire (which is a win for Hamas any way you slice it) call for Hamas to surrender and for the Palestinian people to take back control? That would make a ceasefire senseless while dealing with the threat of Hamas. Hamas is the problem, not Isreal. The Palestinian people have the power to end this very quickly.
Confused because I fail to see how the Palestinians have any agency in any of this, let alone the power to end it. The United States has supplied both the arms and financing that make the daily destruction of Gaza and the innocent lives within it possible. Seems like the people with that power are in fact the ones who have agency here.
@ResolvedBaboonGreen3mos3MO
There is of course a call for Hamas to surrender but there is no way for the Palestinian people to themselves respond to that call, take control and negotiate a two-state settlement. The people living in Gaza are running from the immediate dangers of buildings collapsing and are struggling to avoid starvation and spreading disease. In the midst of such chaos it is utter nonsense to expect the citizens of Gaza to rise up and expel the Hamas fighters from their midst.
What is happening in Gaza is a genocide. It is that simple. I have worked in six brutal war zones. I have never seen anything like this. The combination of brutal and indiscriminate bombing, the displacement of an entire population, and the cutting off of almost all aid is unprecedented in my 20 years of humanitarian work.
@HushedLibertarianGreen3mos3MO
yes the starvation of people, dismantling the medical systems ability to care for the wounded and the creation of conditions that cause disease can only be to kill as amny people as possible, preferably women and children. Where is the evidence that this is not a genocide?
@Patriot-#1776Constitution3mos3MO
And then result in the deaths of millions of Israeli at the hands of Hamas, the terrorist organisation whose stated intention is to kill every J-e-w (sorry, trying to avoid the censors) on the face of this planet!
@Qu0rumQuokkaGreen3mos3MO
I think the onus is pretty clearly on you at this point to explain why one should support the continued obliteration of Gaza by the US-backed Israeli military. Enough with the deflections about Hamas. Either you're for the ongoing pulverization campaign, or you're not
@Patriot-#1776Constitution3mos3MO
The vast majority of Gazans voted Hamas into power and actively support their genocidal campaigns against Jews & Israel.
@9CJ6CB63mos3MO
They voted them in ONE time, and then Hamas forced itself into the government for good. The people were desperate, Israel was incurring upon the little land they had left with no intention of stopping, so the party that claims they can fix it tends to be extremely appealing.
@Patriot-#1776Constitution3mos3MO
I have zero sympathy for people who voted for their own destruction in Gaza, just like I have zero sympathy for Democrat voters complaining about criminal aliens, who voted for a man who promised to blow a gaping hole in the border.
@9KFKTWV3mos3MO
the one i picked seemed the most positive
@9KF65943mos3MO
all because people are dying everyday
@9KF5K3H 3mos3MO
They deserve justice and protection. It is just land. We study these people fighting in the past as if it isn't currently going on.
@9KDT2XY3mos3MO
Whenever there is a chance to save that many lives it should be prioritized over everything.
@9KDRMSPPeace and Freedom3mos3MO
If the government provided more protection and safety bunkers
@9KDN2RT3mos3MO
they are trying to save them all but they cant save them all but the hospital is so crowded they cant do anything
@9KDJTH3Women’s Equality3mos3MO
My opinion is that it could be good but bad for others.
@9KDJJV43mos3MO
The Zionists that control America aren't allowing any funds to go to the ones who are being terrorized and being eradicated.
@9KDLLJZ3mos3MO
so many innocent newborns / children are dying and elderly people over nothing. there's kids in ukraine sobbing trying to find a safe shelter and their parents even though they were killed.
@9KDW8P43mos3MO
I think Gaza should be bombed and I believe Israel has the right to self defense
@9KDS38NIndependent3mos3MO
The ceasefire needs to happen to save the people of Gaza
@9KDHVXZIndependent3mos3MO
The war in Gaza has cost the lives of many people, regardless of which side there is, it is a fact that innocent people die due to the actions of extremists, if a ceasefire were achieved, in which the US supports it more than everything to defend life, thousands of lives would be saved.
@ISIDEWITH3mos3MO
@ISIDEWITH3mos3MO
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