Weekly Middle East war megathread - week of November 11

Why is only limited aid getting to Palestinians inside Gaza? (AP)

The United States decided not to punish Israel over the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip after giving it an ultimatum to increase aid entering the territory. But the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians is still at nearly its lowest level of the entire 13-month-old war.

The White House last month gave Israel 30 days to improve conditions or risk losing military support. As the deadline expired Tuesday, leading international aid groups said Israel had fallen far short.

But the U.S. State Department announced it would not take any punitive action, saying Israel has made limited progress. However, it called for more steps.

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Israel, which controls all crossings into Gaza, says it is committed to delivering humanitarian assistance and has scrambled to ramp up aid. COGAT, the military body in charge of aid passage, said they had taken a number of steps over the past month to increase the amount entering the territory, including opening a fifth crossing — into central Gaza — this week.

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Aid into Gaza is typically measured in terms of truckloads of food and supplies entering the territory. The U.S. has demanded 350 trucks daily — still below the 500 a day that entered before the war.

In October, aid entry plunged to its lowest level since the first month of the war. Israeli government figures show roughly 57 trucks a day entering on average. The average has risen to 100 a day so far in November, slightly lower than the same month last year.

The U.N., however, says even less is entering. It reports receiving an average of 39 trucks daily since the beginning of October. This is largely because it says it cannot reach the main crossing point in the south to collect cargos due to Israeli military restrictions and lawlessness.

The U.N. says virtually no food or other aid has reached the northernmost part of Gaza since the beginning of October. That’s when the Israeli military launched a major offensive against Hamas fighters in the area of Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, cutting them off.

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Under international pressure, COGAT allowed two deliveries to the far north this month.

But little of it got through. Last week, the World Food Program said troops on the ground ordered its trucks to unload their cargo before reaching their destination. In another planned shipment on Monday, the WFP could only deliver three out of 14 trucks because of delays in getting movement permits from the troops. When it tried to deliver the rest the next day, it said the military denied permission.

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One reason for the large difference between Israel’s and the U.N.’s count of aid trucks entering Gaza: Hundreds of truckloads are piled up on the Gaza side of the main crossing in the south, uncollected by the U.N. for distribution.

Israel accuses UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, of not doing enough to retrieve the cargos.

The U.N. and aid groups say they often cannot reach the crossing because the Israeli military doesn’t always coordinate safe passage amid military operations in the area and widespread lawlessness.

“If we are not provided a safe passage to go and collect it (aid), it’s not possible for us to have it. And it will not reach the people who need it,” said Louise Wateridge, an UNRWA spokesperson.

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Theft is also stymying distribution.

The military and aid agencies both acknowledge that criminal gangs – often based in local families – are robbing trucks.

An Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under military briefing guidelines, estimated that on some days, up to 30% to 40% of aid supplies are stolen by criminals or Hamas.

https://www.axios.com/2024/11/15/iran-israel-destroyed-active-nuclear-weapons-research-facility

Nice catch by the IDF.

But Taleghan 2 was not part of Iran's declared nuclear program so the Iranians wouldn't be able to acknowledge the significance of the attack without admitting they violated the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

lol

Iran Update, November 18, 2024 - Institute for the Study of War

(Despite the name, they seem to be covering Middle East conflict in general.)

The continued looting of humanitarian aid trucks demonstrates that Hamas’ internal control remains limited and severely weakened. Armed groups looted 98 of 109 humanitarian aid trucks that entered the southern Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom border crossing on November 16. It is unclear if these armed groups are affiliated with any Palestinian militia group, but the armed men were likely part of organized criminal groups that have replaced Hamas’ police forces in much of the Strip. Hamas claimed that it conducted a joint operation with local family groups in which Hamas and locals killed 20 individuals who had looted the vehicles. The fact that Hamas had to cooperate with these local groups indicates that Hamas’ control over the Gaza Strip remains weak. Hamas has long fought local families and organized criminal groups for control over the Gaza Strip. The UNRWA spokesperson said that the aid convoys are not allowed to maintain any armed guards and that they usually attempt to drive fast to avoid ambushes by armed groups. The IDF has recently taken several steps to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, including plans to reopen the Kissufim border crossing and facilitate the transfer of aid trucks into the northern Gaza Strip. CTP-ISW has not observed the IDF escorting any aid itself, however.

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Israel has continued air interdiction operations in the Qusayr area of Syria that are designed to disrupt Hezbollah supply lines. Satellite imagery confirms that Israeli airstrikes have destroyed 15 bridges along the Syria-Lebanon border. These 15 bridges are crucial to Hezbollah’s ground line of communication that transports weapons and fighters from Syria and Iraq. The Syrian regime confirmed on November 13 that Israeli airstrikes destroyed several bridges over the Orontes River in Qusayr. Local Syrian sources said that Israeli strikes destroyed all seven river-spanning bridges. The IDF’s destruction of these bridges is designed to impede Hezbollah’s resupply of its depleted munitions stocks. Hezbollah and Iran could presumably use other routes, though some routes may be less optimal and more dangerous. The IDF said that its airstrikes in Syria harm Hezbollah’s weapons transfer apparatus, particularly Hezbollah Unit 4400, which works with Iran to arm Hezbollah.

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The United States sanctioned three private Israeli companies and three Israeli individuals on November 18 for violence against civilians, and the destruction or dispossession of property in the West Bank. This marks the first time the United States imposed sanctions on private Israeli building companies in the West Bank. The US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Amana settlement development organization and its subsidiary Binyanei Bar Amana in the West Bank. The Amana settlement development organization is involved with US-sanctioned individuals and the expansion of settlements and illegal outposts in the West Bank. The United Kingdom and Canada previously sanctioned the Amana organization. 88 Democratic lawmakers urged the Biden administration on October 29 to impose sanctions on the Amana organization for providing loans and helping to build illegal outposts in the West Bank. The US State Department also imposed sanctions on three individuals and the Eyal Hari Yehuda Company in the West Bank involved with constructing illegal West Bank settlements and outposts.

AP News: Live updates: Israel’s Netanyahu announces support for a ceasefire with Hezbollah

Syrian rebels push towards Hama as government forces launch counterattacks (Al Jazeera)

Russian and Syrian jets reportedly attack Idlib city on fifth day of opposition’s surprise advance in northwest Syria.