Biden's Complicity in Gaza's Human-Made Famine

Strategic Insights -

The Biden administration's inaction in the face of warnings from the UN and international relief groups about the impending famine in Gaza has left a stain on the legacy of President Joe Biden. Despite repeated warnings since December 2023 that more than 1 million Palestinians in Gaza were facing widespread starvation, the Biden administration failed to heed the calls for action. Top Israeli officials had made it clear that their intention was to starve the Gaza population of 2.2 million, with no electricity, food, or fuel available. The UN's Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned of a "worst-case scenario of famine" in Gaza, and the Biden administration knew of the severity of hunger in Gaza, yet chose to continue sending weapons and undermining humanitarian groups.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Biden administration was aware of the impending famine in Gaza as early as December 2023, but failed to act.
  • Top Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, explicitly stated their intention to starve the Gaza population.
  • The UN's IPC warned of a "worst-case scenario of famine" in Gaza, but the Biden administration did not heed the warning.
  • The Biden administration knew of the severity of hunger in Gaza, but chose to continue sending weapons and undermining humanitarian groups.
  • The US laws that ban weapons shipments to countries that obstruct humanitarian aid were ignored by the Biden administration.
  • The administration's state department sent a report to Congress that avoided concluding that Israel had violated international law while using US weapons or obstructing aid.
  • The Biden administration issued a national security memo in February 2024 that required the state department to certify that recipients of US arms would abide by international law, but did not enforce it.
  • The administration had opportunities to change its policy in May and October 2024, but chose to continue enabling Netanyahu's siege of Gaza.
  • The Biden administration forced a US-funded organization to retract a report warning of imminent famine in northern Gaza in late December 2024.

Statistics:

  • 2.2 million: the population of Gaza (as of 2023)
  • 1 million: the number of Palestinians in Gaza facing widespread starvation by December 2023
  • 46-page report: the length of the state department's report to Congress in May 2024
  • 30 days: the deadline given to Israel by the US for concrete measures to ensure access to food and medicine in northern Gaza
  • 11 months: the period of time from which the aid reaching Gaza had dropped to its lowest level in October 2024

Sources:

  • "The Biden administration and Israel's other western supporters cannot claim that they didn't know the severity of hunger in Gaza." (The Guardian)
  • Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report (December 2023)
  • World Food Programme report (February 2024)
  • UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food report (February 2024)
  • Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies (Mohamad Bazzi's affiliation)
  • Famine Early Warning System report (late December 2024)