U.S. Agency for International Development staffers in early 2024 drafted a warning to senior officials in Joe Biden’s administration: Northern Gaza had turned into an “Apocalyptic Wasteland” with dire shortages of food and medical aid.

Three months after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and Israel's incursion into the Gaza Strip, the internal message laid out in gruesome detail scenes observed by United Nations staff who visited the area on a two-part humanitarian fact-finding mission in January and February.

The staff reported seeing a human femur and other bones on the roads, dead bodies abandoned in cars and “catastrophic human needs, particularly for food and safe drinking water.”

But the U.S. ambassador to Jerusalem, Jack Lew, and his deputy, Stephanie Hallett, blocked the cable from wider distribution within the United States government because they believed it lacked balance, according to interviews with four former officials and documents seen by Reuters.

[...]

Reuters saw one of those cables. The other four, also blocked by Lew and Hallett because of their concerns about balance, were described by four former officials.

Three former U.S. officials said that the descriptions were unusually graphic and would have commanded the attention of senior U.S. officials had the message been widely circulated within Joe Biden’s administration.

It would have also deepened scrutiny of a National Security Memorandum, issued by Biden that month, which conditioned the supply of U.S. intelligence and weapons on Israel’s compliance with international law, they said.

"While cables weren't the only means of providing humanitarian information ... they would have represented an acknowledgement by the ambassador of the reality of the situation in Gaza,” said Andrew Hall, then a crisis operations specialist for USAID.

The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem oversaw the language and distribution of most of the cables about Gaza, including those from other embassies in the region.

One former senior official said Lew and Hallett often told USAID leadership that the cables included information that had been widely reported in the media.

Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken and representatives for former President Joe Biden did not respond to requests for comment about the fact that the cables never reached upper leadership of the U.S. government.

cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/42459991

Correction - this is Jan. 30 issue, not Jan. 29

Israeli forces launch airstrikes, killing three people in southern Gaza and two people in central Gaza. President Donald Trump and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff claim Hamas will disarm, while Hamas has said no negotiations have taken place. Gaza nurse describes detention and abuse of physician father. Trump and Senate Democrats strike last-minute deal to avert government shutdown. A Trump order escalates sanctions, as Cuba faces an acute fuel crisis. Texas police fire chemical agents at protest over child detention in Dilley. Human rights organization DAWN launches legal challenge to NYC’s Israel Bond investments, as rift grows between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Comptroller Mark Levine. Sen. Rick Scott rejects DHS funding motion amid ICE criticism. Sen. John Fetterman backs Israel despite ceasefire violations. ICE arrest shatters car window, leaves asylum-seeking mother and infant stranded in Portland. Trump threatens 50% tariff on Canadian aircraft amid escalating trade dispute. New CNN analysis confirms Drop Site’s video analysis that a federal agent fired multiple shots at Alex Pretti after he was incapacitated. The Trump administration moves to convert warehouses into immigration jails in what could be the largest expansion of detention capacity in U.S. history. Fighting erupts between Ethiopian troops and Tigray forces. UN food agency halts aid in Houthi-held northern Yemen. Canada rebukes the U.S. over contact with Alberta separatists. Trump says Putin agreed to pause strikes on Ukrainian cities amid deep freeze. Mohammed bin Salman meets Hillary Clinton in Riyadh.

Peter Link

2026-01-31 00:35:38

Israel announces "limited" opening of Rafah crossing; Fighting erupts between Ethiopian troops and Tigray forces; Trump weighs attack on Iran

Correction - this is Jan. 30 issue, not Jan. 29

Israeli forces launch airstrikes, killing three people in southern Gaza and two people in central Gaza. President Donald Trump and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff claim Hamas will disarm, while Hamas has said no negotiations have taken place. Gaza nurse describes detention and abuse of physician father. Trump and Senate Democrats strike last-minute deal to avert government shutdown. A Trump order escalates sanctions, as Cuba faces an acute fuel crisis. Texas police fire chemical agents at protest over child detention in Dilley. Human rights organization DAWN launches legal challenge to NYC’s Israel Bond investments, as rift grows between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Comptroller Mark Levine. Sen. Rick Scott rejects DHS funding motion amid ICE criticism. Sen. John Fetterman backs Israel despite ceasefire violations. ICE arrest shatters car window, leaves asylum-seeking mother and infant stranded in Portland. Trump threatens 50% tariff on Canadian aircraft amid escalating trade dispute. New CNN analysis confirms Drop Site’s video analysis that a federal agent fired multiple shots at Alex Pretti after he was incapacitated. The Trump administration moves to convert warehouses into immigration jails in what could be the largest expansion of detention capacity in U.S. history. Fighting erupts between Ethiopian troops and Tigray forces. UN food agency halts aid in Houthi-held northern Yemen. Canada rebukes the U.S. over contact with Alberta separatists. Trump says Putin agreed to pause strikes on Ukrainian cities amid deep freeze. Mohammed bin Salman meets Hillary Clinton in Riyadh.

Israel announces "limited" opening of Rafah crossing; Fighting erupts between Ethiopian troops and Tigray forces; Trump weighs attack on Iran

Drop Site Daily: January 29, 2026

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