1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. 2 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:11,000 Speaker 2: At this point into the war between Israel and Hamas, 3 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 2: it's difficult to get more than anecdotal evidence out of Gaza. 4 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 2: Almost every organization that once provided aid and monitored civilian 5 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:22,439 Speaker 2: welfare is no longer allowed in or has ceased operations. 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:25,919 Speaker 2: Very few journalists are left there, but reports of a 7 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 2: civilian population facing a hunger crisis are widespread. Experts word 8 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 2: Gaza's are the brink of famine. 9 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 3: Hamas rob steals this humanitarian aid and then excuses Israel 10 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:38,160 Speaker 3: of not supplying. 11 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: Our doctors, our nurses, our health teams aren't confirming that 12 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,440 Speaker 1: manutrition rates are increasing in Gaza. 13 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:48,519 Speaker 2: To understand the reality on the ground, I talked to 14 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 2: Bloomberg reporters around the world focused on what's happening in Gaza. 15 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: I'm Ethan Broader, I'm the Israel bureaer chief for Bloomberg. 16 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 3: I'm Magdalena Delbaie, and I cover the un here. 17 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 4: My name is Faris al Ghul. I'm a reporter for 18 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:05,319 Speaker 4: a Bloomberg governing Gaza. 19 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: The people in Gaza are in a crowded place that 20 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 1: is dependent on foreign aid, and they cannot leave the. 21 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 3: Un is trying and they say they have enough food 22 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 3: to feed the population of Gaza, but they just need 23 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 3: to be let. 24 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 4: In and Gaza, they are people suffering and there is 25 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 4: no safe passage for the civilians out into safety. 26 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 2: They can't leave. 27 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 4: Yeah, they can't leave. 28 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:34,039 Speaker 2: I'm David Gura, and this is the big take from 29 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 2: Bloomberg News Today. On the show, we bring together reporting 30 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,319 Speaker 2: from around the globe to understand how a hunger crisis 31 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:44,040 Speaker 2: unfolded in Gaza despite months of warnings and what it 32 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:52,920 Speaker 2: would take to end it. Reporter far Is al Ghoul 33 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 2: is from Gaza, but he's currently based in Canada. Far 34 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 2: As told me that before the October seventh, twenty twenty 35 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 2: three terror attacks Hamas and the war Israel started in response, 36 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 2: Gaza was producing a lot of its own food. 37 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:10,399 Speaker 4: Gaza had achieved self sufficients when it comes to vegetables. 38 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 4: They were actually exporting vegetables like tomato and bland to 39 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 4: the West Bank and Israel, and in the winter and 40 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:21,960 Speaker 4: spring Gaza would export strawberry to the West Bank and 41 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 4: to some Arab countries. 42 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 2: But back then, Israel Bureau Chief Ethan Browner says Gaza 43 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 2: relied heavily on international aid for schools and other essential services, 44 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 2: including food. After Hamas's deadly attack on October seventh, during 45 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:39,480 Speaker 2: which it took two hundred and fifty people hostage, the 46 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 2: Israeli government cut the flow of aid into Gaza. Was 47 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:46,920 Speaker 2: this the likelihood of there being a hunger crisis something 48 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 2: that Israelis were thinking about, or talking about, or considering 49 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 2: in the early days of this war. 50 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: No, the early days of this war showed an Israel 51 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:04,240 Speaker 1: completely devastated, humiliated, fright, and furious about the October seventh attack. 52 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: There was no sense that it was Israel's job to 53 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: worry about feeding the people in Gaza. That's partly because 54 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: I think Hummas had been running Gaza for the previous 55 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:18,760 Speaker 1: sixteen years, and Israelis were never giving a lot of 56 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: thought about to their role and how that worked. 57 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 2: As the fighting between Israel and Hamas ratched it up 58 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 2: after October seventh, nearly two thirds of the Palestinian population 59 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:34,560 Speaker 2: in Gaza was almost immediately dislocated and lost access to 60 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 2: the land where they farmed. In the first month of 61 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 2: the war, even before Israel began a ground invasion of Gaza, 62 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 2: retaliatory airstrikes killed over seven thousand people, according to Gaza authorities. 63 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 2: Many heads of state and experts on the conflict warned 64 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:52,800 Speaker 2: that there could be devastating consequences, but in those early days, 65 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 2: most of the international community supported Israel's response, that included 66 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,240 Speaker 2: critically then US President Joe Biden, if. 67 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 1: The United States stands with Israel, we will not ever 68 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: fail to have their back. He came here a week 69 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 1: or so into the war, which was an act of 70 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:17,039 Speaker 1: incredible loyalty, and the Israelis were just amazingly grateful. They 71 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 1: just couldn't believe it. But when it felt that the 72 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:25,719 Speaker 1: Israelis were being insufficiently careful about protecting civilian lives, then 73 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:30,839 Speaker 1: dividen administration started talking about withholding arms, and then things 74 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: got tense. And that's pretty much where they remained until 75 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 1: the administration switched. 76 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:39,200 Speaker 2: In President Trump. NETANYAHUO appears to have an ally he 77 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,279 Speaker 2: both gets along with and who sides with him consistently, 78 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 2: but even says there are clear limits to how much 79 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 2: influenced Trump has over Netan Yahoo. 80 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,919 Speaker 1: They have a strong bond. I would say that both 81 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 1: are nakedly quite transactional and political in their handling of 82 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: all of their relations. But I have to tell you 83 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: that there are certain things that this Prime Minister and 84 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: those around him believe in so strongly that I think 85 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: if Trump were to demand of Israel to do certain 86 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 1: things like except the Palestinian state or stop worrying about 87 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:20,039 Speaker 1: defeating Hamas, I believe that this government would say, Sir, 88 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:23,160 Speaker 1: we will do this on our own. We will fight 89 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:25,360 Speaker 1: with our fingernails if we have to, we will live 90 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 1: without your weapons. 91 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:31,279 Speaker 2: President Trump's inauguration coincided with a cease firing Gaza that 92 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:34,880 Speaker 2: lasted nearly two months, but when fighting resumed, there was 93 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:38,239 Speaker 2: a noticeable drop off in AID here. As far as Algol, 94 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 2: who reported on how it changed. 95 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 4: In the previous administration, at least the AID continued to 96 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 4: enter into Gaza, not necessarily enough, but the minimum. During 97 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:52,119 Speaker 4: Drum's administration, we have seen periods of time in which 98 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 4: not single truck into Gaza, and the administration look okay 99 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:56,839 Speaker 4: for that. 100 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 2: As food availability in Gaza deteriorated, groups sounded the alarm 101 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 2: about the effects of food shortages over. 102 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: The past twenty two months. From the very first week 103 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:11,719 Speaker 1: or two, AID organizations were warning that Gaza was on 104 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: the brink of starvation, that it was starving, that it 105 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:17,160 Speaker 1: was famine, and much of that seems to have not 106 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:20,159 Speaker 1: ultimately been true in those early months or that first 107 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:22,839 Speaker 1: period of time, and so they became a crying wolf 108 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: question in which Israel would say, you see, they're constantly lying, 109 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 1: and so we're not going to worry about it. And 110 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:32,040 Speaker 1: then when it actually seemed to be somewhat true, Israel 111 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:35,480 Speaker 1: was caught in a very difficult situation in which much 112 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:38,320 Speaker 1: of the world believes that this has been a policy 113 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,600 Speaker 1: to starve people. That's not my sense. I think it 114 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:45,640 Speaker 1: was carelessness and an inability to calculate properly. I think 115 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 1: they miscalculated. I think they believed that ordinary people were 116 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:53,600 Speaker 1: stalking up they were not, and so suddenly, when there 117 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:58,240 Speaker 1: was nothing available, ordinary people were in desperate shape. 118 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 2: Because of restrictions is has put in place on foreign 119 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,040 Speaker 2: aid workers and foreign journalists, it's been impossible to get 120 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 2: a full sense of what's happening on the ground in Gaza. 121 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:10,920 Speaker 2: This raises urgent questions about whether the world will even 122 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:14,560 Speaker 2: know if the scales fully tip after the break. What 123 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 2: we do know about the food crisis on the ground today, 124 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 2: almost two years into the war in Gaza, Israel has 125 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 2: taken control of all checkpoints into Gaza, including the Rafa 126 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 2: crossing with Egypt. My colleague Magdalena de Vayer covers the 127 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 2: United Nations for Bloomberg. She describes what that means in 128 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 2: practical terms. 129 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 3: Sometimes they let UNAID trucks in, sometimes they don't. Now 130 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 3: there's countries doing air drops and things like that, but 131 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 3: the best way to actually get food to the people 132 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 3: of Gaza is by car through the roads, and Israel 133 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,160 Speaker 3: controls those roads and often they don't want to let 134 00:07:58,200 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 3: people in. 135 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 2: That doesn't mean that international agencies aren't trying to get 136 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:06,000 Speaker 2: food into Gaza and distribute it. Israel stopped working with 137 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 2: the UN's United Nations Relief and Works Agency at the 138 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 2: beginning of the war, and other groups are now trying 139 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 2: to do what the United Nations used to do. 140 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 3: There's the World Food Program and all sorts of organizations 141 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:19,360 Speaker 3: that are trying to work together to get food in. 142 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:22,280 Speaker 3: But there's way more food that they want to get 143 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 3: in than that actually gets in. 144 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 2: Magdalene says. The situation took a turn for the worse 145 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 2: on March eighteenth, when the ceasefire ended and Israel put 146 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:34,640 Speaker 2: Gaza under a blockade. By then, the Trump administration had 147 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:38,680 Speaker 2: effectively shut down USAID, the UN's most important partner in 148 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 2: the supply and distribution of aid, and. 149 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:42,720 Speaker 3: The UN was struggling to kind of get aid in 150 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 3: there by themselves. They had say ten trucks that they 151 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 3: had ready to deliverate, and maybe one day five made 152 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 3: it in, another day maybe three made it in. 153 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,840 Speaker 4: This is just food for two months. Not sin Kaarin 154 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:55,240 Speaker 4: Wood has entered Gaza. 155 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 2: That's Bloomberg's forest Augoul again forrest is Israel restricted entry 156 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:02,440 Speaker 2: for many reasons, but a main one was concerned about 157 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:05,520 Speaker 2: how Hamas might use the AID and control its distribution. 158 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:09,920 Speaker 4: So Israel has accused Hamas of diverting aid, and not 159 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:13,840 Speaker 4: only Israel, many residents of Gaza also speak about that. 160 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:17,440 Speaker 4: I spoke to Ahama's official and he said, we take 161 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:21,000 Speaker 4: twenty five percent of the AID as a government to 162 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 4: provide it for our civil servants, for the doctors, for 163 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:28,800 Speaker 4: the hospitals, and the clinics and the rescue workers. He 164 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:33,080 Speaker 4: didn't deny it because Israel doesn't want any role for 165 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 4: Hamas and handling the AID. It would strike or target 166 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 4: Hamas members policing track convoys. This has also opened a 167 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 4: way for people to steal or loot the aid. They 168 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 4: would stop the convoys and unload them, so we stopped 169 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:55,680 Speaker 4: seeing a fair distribution of it. This also has contributed 170 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 4: to the crisis. 171 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 2: In May, after two months of that blockade, the US 172 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:04,240 Speaker 2: backed a new aid organization that said it would step 173 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:08,720 Speaker 2: in and distribute food. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was based 174 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 2: in Switzerland until the Swiss government ordered its offices closed. 175 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 2: Now it's headquartered in Delaware. 176 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:17,960 Speaker 3: The US gave them thirty million dollars and then they 177 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 3: got another thirty million dollars from We're not one hundred 178 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 3: percent sure where the GHF doesn't disclose who funds them. 179 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:27,920 Speaker 3: We're not sure. They were launched in May to kind 180 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:29,960 Speaker 3: of do what the UN had been doing. Israel had 181 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:33,400 Speaker 3: approved of this organization to be the one that delivered 182 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:35,720 Speaker 3: aid in Gaza. They wanted some sort of system that 183 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:39,360 Speaker 3: could keep hamas out of this aid, but from the 184 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 3: get go it had a lot of hurdles. 185 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:45,120 Speaker 2: The GHF aimed to feed one million people within its 186 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:45,760 Speaker 2: first week. 187 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 3: The day it was launched, the Coeo quit. He resigned 188 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 3: hours before the launch because he was concerned over the 189 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 3: independence and impartiality of the organization, and so this was 190 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:59,320 Speaker 3: kind of the first hurdle that they had to get over. 191 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 3: They got a new started delivering aid, but then very 192 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:05,439 Speaker 3: often people would get killed near these sites. 193 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:08,240 Speaker 2: Part of the problem with HF AID sites is the 194 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:11,559 Speaker 2: way they're set up. Forrest Alcohol has reported for Bloomberg 195 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:14,080 Speaker 2: that the design and placement of the aid sites has 196 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:14,960 Speaker 2: led to violence. 197 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 4: The distribution of aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is 198 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:24,440 Speaker 4: taking less and militarized. The sites in a dangerous road 199 00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:28,720 Speaker 4: which is overseen by the Israeli military. There are frequent 200 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:33,440 Speaker 4: did the incidents surrounding the aid process, not inside the 201 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:37,680 Speaker 4: distribution center, but around it or on the routes leading 202 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 4: to them. More than seven hundred people have been killed 203 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 4: while waiting for the aid, waiting for dg at Chap 204 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:49,680 Speaker 4: sites to open, or when they were going there to 205 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 4: get the aid. The source of fire is it challenged 206 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:58,360 Speaker 4: here because in most of the cases the Israeli military 207 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:01,720 Speaker 4: denied involvement. On the other hand, Hamas accuses the Israeli 208 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:03,720 Speaker 4: military of targeting the people. 209 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:07,480 Speaker 2: Even when Palestinians managed to get aid from a GHF site, 210 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 2: it can be challenging to get supplies home. 211 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:14,480 Speaker 4: They distribute their randomly on the basis first come, first serve. 212 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:19,760 Speaker 4: So many people in Gaza cannot walk five or six 213 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 4: kilometers on foot and return carrying a box weighing twenty 214 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:29,400 Speaker 4: kilo grams. Let's not forget that the people in Gaza 215 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 4: are very weak because of the starvation. 216 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:34,520 Speaker 3: There were a lot of issues and a lot of 217 00:12:34,559 --> 00:12:37,959 Speaker 3: international organizations were saying that the GHF should get shut down. 218 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:41,120 Speaker 3: The UN refused to work with the GHF because they 219 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:45,679 Speaker 3: say they don't meet their requirements for humanitarian assistants. 220 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:47,840 Speaker 2: A couple of weeks ago, there was a hint that 221 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:50,560 Speaker 2: the UN and GHF are trying to find a way 222 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 2: to work together. 223 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:54,160 Speaker 3: The GHF and the UN had a meeting at the 224 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:56,880 Speaker 3: US Mission to the UN, but it was very secretive, 225 00:12:56,880 --> 00:12:58,800 Speaker 3: so we don't actually know what was said there. There 226 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:01,040 Speaker 3: were no phones allowed. It happened on Wednesday, and we 227 00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:03,280 Speaker 3: kind of only found out about it later in the week, 228 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:05,280 Speaker 3: so we don't know. 229 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:09,480 Speaker 2: In recent days, the GHF has begun operating women only 230 00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 2: distribution sites, which were designated to get food to women 231 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:17,000 Speaker 2: and children safely and directly, according to the GHF ex account, 232 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:21,160 Speaker 2: As the war in Gaza grinds on, This is all 233 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 2: culminated in what the UN says is a hunger crisis. 234 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 2: Far As says that when he talks to his sources 235 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:29,719 Speaker 2: on the ground, he hears the same things over and 236 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:30,480 Speaker 2: over again. 237 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:33,520 Speaker 4: Most of the people I know, and most of the 238 00:13:33,559 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 4: people I speak to say they sleep hungry, They skip 239 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:41,679 Speaker 4: Bay meals because simply they are not available. They cannot 240 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:45,400 Speaker 4: calm down their children when they cry because they want 241 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:46,200 Speaker 4: the food. 242 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 2: The question isn't whether many Gossans aren't getting enough to eat. 243 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:53,040 Speaker 2: It's clear they're not. But the language used to describe 244 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:56,120 Speaker 2: the severity of the crisis can impact the global response. 245 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:00,080 Speaker 2: At the end of July, the United Nations reported the quote, you, 246 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:03,079 Speaker 2: out of three famine thresholds have been reached in Gaza, 247 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:07,920 Speaker 2: plummeting food consumption and acute malnutrition, mounting evidence of famine, 248 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:10,920 Speaker 2: they said, but because they were unable to demonstrate deaths 249 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,320 Speaker 2: due to malnutrition, they couldn't call it that. 250 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:17,520 Speaker 3: They can't call it a famine just because of semantics. Really, 251 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:21,600 Speaker 3: people from different UN organizations have been there, have talked 252 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:23,280 Speaker 3: to people, and they come back and they say, yeah, 253 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:25,600 Speaker 3: we've never seen anything like this. One third of the 254 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:29,120 Speaker 3: population isn't eating for days at a time. The number 255 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 3: of children who's died from malnutrition has surpassed one hundred 256 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 3: since the war started, and they say that three hundred 257 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:38,920 Speaker 3: thousand children are at severe risk of acute malnutrition. So 258 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:42,600 Speaker 3: it's really really bad. You can't call it a famine, 259 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:45,080 Speaker 3: but it doesn't matter. It's getting there. 260 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 2: In a statement, the Israeli government denied there's famine in Gaza. 261 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 2: It said it studied the situation on the ground and 262 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:55,520 Speaker 2: reviewed the deaths of specific individuals and concluded quote, there 263 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:59,520 Speaker 2: are no signs of a widespread malnutrition phenomenon among the population. 264 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:03,520 Speaker 2: In part of the disconnect between the situation on the 265 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:06,200 Speaker 2: ground and how it can be described is due again 266 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:08,920 Speaker 2: to the blocking of journalists and aid groups, and also 267 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 2: to the dissolution of Gaza's healthcare system. Gaza's health ministry 268 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:15,880 Speaker 2: is run by Hamas, which has made it more complicated 269 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,760 Speaker 2: for international groups to trust their published figures. The finger 270 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 2: pointing and denying persisted as the crisis worsened over the 271 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 2: spring and early summer, but things got so bad on 272 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,040 Speaker 2: the ground and enough media coverage got out that even 273 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:33,040 Speaker 2: some of Israel's staunchest allies began to express concern, including 274 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:36,400 Speaker 2: President Trump, who pushed back on the Israeli government's assessment. 275 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:39,560 Speaker 1: Some of those kids are that's real starvation stuff. I 276 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:43,600 Speaker 1: see it, and you can't fake that. So we're going 277 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:46,280 Speaker 1: to be even more involved. 278 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 2: The Israeli military did begin to let more aid through 279 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,440 Speaker 2: in August, but far As cautioned against taking the development 280 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:53,480 Speaker 2: at face value. 281 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 4: Even the Israeli government's recent announcement that they are stepping 282 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:02,760 Speaker 4: up it deliveries to Gaza is marketed as a breaking through. 283 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 4: We talk about one hundred the trucks idea, but this 284 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:10,680 Speaker 4: remains far below the number of the trucks that Gaza need, 285 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:13,440 Speaker 4: which is at least six hundred trucks. 286 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 2: Idea coming up, what it would take to change the 287 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:20,240 Speaker 2: situation in Gaza and what Netan, yahoo Hamas and Trump 288 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:32,480 Speaker 2: are considering next. In my conversations with Magdalena del Vier, 289 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:35,680 Speaker 2: Forrest Alghul, and Ethan Bronner, it was clear that there 290 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:38,560 Speaker 2: were many warnings that a hunger crisis could take hold 291 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:42,000 Speaker 2: in Gaza. I asked them what at this point could 292 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 2: turn the situation around and whether the steps necessary are 293 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 2: it all aligned with what the major players in the 294 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:50,960 Speaker 2: conflict are weighing next. Far As summarized the case, some 295 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:53,960 Speaker 2: A groups are making for letting AID in and letting 296 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:55,000 Speaker 2: people out. 297 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:59,560 Speaker 4: The Institution Assembly allow more it AID into Gaza through 298 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:05,920 Speaker 4: the crossing blands, increase derivice of AID, allows safe passages 299 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:09,960 Speaker 4: and droughts for the civilians, open back crossings for those 300 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:13,240 Speaker 4: who want to survive. 301 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:16,680 Speaker 2: Magdalene and de Vayer, who covers the United Nations for Bloomberg, 302 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 2: said that the UN continues to call for another ceasefire 303 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 2: in order to surge and aid and determine the appropriate 304 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:23,280 Speaker 2: course of action. 305 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 3: What the UN has said over and over again is 306 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:28,800 Speaker 3: that they need a ceasefire in order to be able 307 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:33,440 Speaker 3: to properly assess and fix the situation, because right now 308 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:37,800 Speaker 3: it's just impossible to get all their con within. And 309 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:39,720 Speaker 3: you know, it also puts people who work for the 310 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 3: UN in danger when they go in there, so there 311 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:43,840 Speaker 3: needs to be the right conditions for them. 312 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 2: Another ceasefire is of course dependent on the Israeli government 313 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:50,960 Speaker 2: and Homas coming to an agreement through negotiators. I ask 314 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:54,720 Speaker 2: Bloomberg's Israel Bureau chief Ethan Brauner, how Israelis have reacted 315 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:57,200 Speaker 2: to what they've heard about Gaza and if that's created 316 00:17:57,240 --> 00:17:59,400 Speaker 2: any internal pressure on their own government. 317 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:02,960 Speaker 1: So for Israelis, for these twenty two months, there has 318 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:06,600 Speaker 1: been virtually no interest except for the left in this 319 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:10,920 Speaker 1: country and the human rights organizations. The almost obsessive interest 320 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:14,520 Speaker 1: in this country has been on the hostages as well 321 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:18,000 Speaker 1: as on their soldiers. A percentage of five or ten 322 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:21,080 Speaker 1: percent of the population just feel that their government shouldn't 323 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: be doing this terrible thing, But that is a very 324 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:27,679 Speaker 1: small percentage. This is a country that feels under siege 325 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:29,359 Speaker 1: after October seven. 326 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:31,639 Speaker 2: But as the world took notice of the hunger crisis 327 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:33,520 Speaker 2: in Gaza, so have more Israelis. 328 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:37,159 Speaker 1: That began to change when the notion that there was 329 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:42,160 Speaker 1: real hunger broke through, when suddenly you couldn't completely deny it. 330 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,400 Speaker 1: So it is discussed some on TV, some in newspapers, 331 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 1: but broadly it's all about, you know how there are 332 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:53,400 Speaker 1: lies out there that the hunger isn't as real as 333 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:57,719 Speaker 1: it is being portrayed, and we're losing the public relations battle. 334 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:01,800 Speaker 2: The public relations battle's phrase the Israeli government and media 335 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,640 Speaker 2: often used to describe the global narrative and who has 336 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:06,800 Speaker 2: the greatest sympathy on the world stage at that point 337 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:10,239 Speaker 2: in time. In Israel, that battle is being won by 338 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:13,159 Speaker 2: the government. The vast majority of press is aligned with 339 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:15,879 Speaker 2: the government and does not publish the Palestinian side of 340 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:19,600 Speaker 2: the narrative. Meanwhile, since the beginning of the war, Israel 341 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:22,920 Speaker 2: has largely restricted international journalists from reporting on the ground 342 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:23,439 Speaker 2: in Gaza. 343 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:26,159 Speaker 1: I think it's a mistaken policy of the government of 344 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:29,200 Speaker 1: Israel to bar foreign journalists or any journalists from going 345 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:31,720 Speaker 1: into Gaza. This is my fourth tour as a journalist 346 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:33,720 Speaker 1: here in Israel. In the two thousand and eight two 347 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:38,120 Speaker 1: thousand and nine war against Hamas journalists were barred from 348 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:42,000 Speaker 1: going into Gaza. We the Foreign Press Association sued the 349 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:45,280 Speaker 1: government and the Supreme Court ordered the government to let 350 00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:48,639 Speaker 1: us in. The change in the society is evident by 351 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:51,439 Speaker 1: the fact that the current Supreme Court has turned us 352 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 1: down time and again has sided with the government against us. 353 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:58,520 Speaker 2: The lack of media coverage means the world has increasingly 354 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:01,640 Speaker 2: little insight into what is actually happening day to day 355 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,840 Speaker 2: in Gaza, and that could become even more urgent as 356 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:08,760 Speaker 2: Israel prepares its next major military operation, the seizure of 357 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 2: Gaza City. 358 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:13,480 Speaker 1: Israel control seventy to seventy five percent of the Gaza strip. 359 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:17,200 Speaker 1: There are parts around the central refugee camps and around 360 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,679 Speaker 1: Gaza City which are heavily populated that the army is 361 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:24,720 Speaker 1: not operating in and where we believe the remaining hostages 362 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:29,720 Speaker 1: are being held, and Israel is planning to force those 363 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:33,479 Speaker 1: people to leave and then to go in and to 364 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:37,919 Speaker 1: do what it can to destroy the hamas, military infrastructure 365 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:41,280 Speaker 1: and the command structure in those areas. So they're looking 366 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:47,879 Speaker 1: at a very difficult for both sides battle in the 367 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:49,159 Speaker 1: coming weeks or months. 368 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:52,480 Speaker 2: The Israeli government is bolstered by the shared sentiment of 369 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:55,879 Speaker 2: nearly eighty percent of the Israeli people who responded to 370 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:58,760 Speaker 2: a recent survey that they are not so troubled or 371 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:01,880 Speaker 2: not at all troubled by events in Gaza, and though 372 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 2: only forty percent of Israeli's trust that in Yahoo according 373 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:08,720 Speaker 2: to recent polling, the government appears intent on this next phase, 374 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 2: regardless of the impending humanitarian crisis it could trigger. 375 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 4: For it says, if the Israeli military steps up its efforts, 376 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:22,240 Speaker 4: we will see more damage and displacement, and this would 377 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:27,720 Speaker 4: contribute negatively into the humanitarian crisis, because the more the 378 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 4: Israeli ground the forces rolled into Gaza, the more humanitarian 379 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:37,600 Speaker 4: infrastructure is damaged, so we will see more displacements. And 380 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,800 Speaker 4: many people say this time we will not heed the 381 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:46,439 Speaker 4: orders to evacuate, because even in the areas that the 382 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:52,679 Speaker 4: Israeli military designates as safe, air strikes and attacks and 383 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:56,080 Speaker 4: chilling still happened and they claimed the lives of many people. 384 00:21:57,320 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 2: If this is really ground defensive, is meant to pressure 385 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:02,760 Speaker 2: ha Mass into surrendering, Ethan Bronner doesn't see how that 386 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:03,320 Speaker 2: will work. 387 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:07,520 Speaker 1: Israel misunderstood Hamas before the war. It believed that it 388 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,800 Speaker 1: was deterred that it would not engage in this kind 389 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:16,720 Speaker 1: of attack. It has also failed to understand that this 390 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:19,080 Speaker 1: is not a group of people who can be pressured 391 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 1: into giving up the hostages and into giving themselves up 392 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:25,720 Speaker 1: and to giving up their dreams to have a holy 393 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:30,240 Speaker 1: Islamic state, which is their goal. So I don't see 394 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:31,600 Speaker 1: that changing quickly. 395 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 2: Then there's international pressure to stop the fighting, not just 396 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:37,600 Speaker 2: a temporary kind of pause, but a permanent ceasefire. 397 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:40,240 Speaker 1: The plan that many would like the Prime Minister to 398 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:42,240 Speaker 1: go ahead with, which would be to bring in the 399 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:46,240 Speaker 1: Saudis and the Amortis and the Egyptians and to stop fighting. 400 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,360 Speaker 1: To do what you can to get the hostages out 401 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:54,040 Speaker 1: and to try to replace Hamas with a Palestinian authority 402 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:57,439 Speaker 1: led situation. He has rejected that he believes that that 403 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,840 Speaker 1: will lead to a reconstruction of Humas again in five 404 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:04,520 Speaker 1: or seven years, that the Palestinian authority is insufficiently strong 405 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:08,439 Speaker 1: to withstand that kind of pressure, and he has said no. 406 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:12,480 Speaker 2: As the international community tries to push for a diplomatic solution, 407 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:16,160 Speaker 2: several countries have declared their intent to recognize a Palestinian 408 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:19,040 Speaker 2: state when the UN General Assembly meets in September. 409 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:22,439 Speaker 3: So that's definitely something that's gained a lot of traction. 410 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:27,479 Speaker 3: There was a conference on Palestinian statehood where all the 411 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:31,200 Speaker 3: member states discussed west forward and what the world would 412 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:33,879 Speaker 3: look like after the war ended. The US has not 413 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:37,439 Speaker 3: participated in these kinds of things, so the two outliers 414 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:40,080 Speaker 3: in these conversations are the US and Israel. 415 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:43,159 Speaker 2: As for the US, in Israel, NETANYAHUO has an ally 416 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:46,240 Speaker 2: in Trump for the foreseeable future. Even if Trump has 417 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:49,680 Speaker 2: called for more aid into Gaza, the biggest political change 418 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,680 Speaker 2: that could happen may actually be on the horizon in Israel. 419 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:56,040 Speaker 1: The only thing I could see happening would be Prime 420 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:58,680 Speaker 1: Minister Danyao has to call an election within the next 421 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 1: fourteen months. He could do so and lose, and then 422 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:08,359 Speaker 1: a government that would be more amenable to the plan 423 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:11,439 Speaker 1: I just laid out could come into power and that 424 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:14,080 Speaker 1: could change it. But other than that, I think we're 425 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:18,920 Speaker 1: in for a pretty long, tough, violent time in gossip. 426 00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:27,600 Speaker 2: This is The Big Take from Bloomberg News. I'm David Gerra. 427 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:30,560 Speaker 2: To get more from The Big Take and unlimited access 428 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:33,560 Speaker 2: to all of Bloomberg dot com, subscribe today at Bloomberg 429 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 2: dot com slash podcast offer. If you liked this episode, 430 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:39,160 Speaker 2: make sure to follow and review The Big Take wherever 431 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:41,639 Speaker 2: you listen to podcasts. It helps people find the show. 432 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:44,080 Speaker 2: Thanks for listening. We'll be back tomorrow.