Gaza's Famine is Over and Not a Meal Too Soon

Palestinians in Gaza celebrate the end of the war and announce that they have enough food to feed all of Gaza for 3 months.

“The genocide and famine are over.”

What do you notice?

pic.twitter.com/BkEsPOKqlz

— Dr. Maalouf ‏ (@realMaalouf) October 9, 2025

That poor fellow in the clip above has survived a long hard-fought battle with food deprivation these past two years, but it looks like he's finally got malnutrition whipped. 

While it's none of my business, if I may make a suggestion, Gazans might want to cut down on the carbs in that new three-month supply of food. 

  

Will U.S. Security Sub-Contractors Man a Gaza Checkpoint??

Read about it here, but frankly, I hit my limit for belief at this sentence: "It was unclear what would happen if the Americans were attacked or captured, or which nation's law would govern the contractor's actions." 

All of that has been unclear in every previous incident of armed contractors in war zones, so why would we have any clarity about it this time? It's not like we learn from past experience, after all.  

 

Are we really doing that again? No way, surely. 

WASHINGTON (Reuters)  A small U.S. security firm is hiring nearly 100 U.S. special forces veterans to help run a checkpoint in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas truce, according to a company spokesperson and a recruitment email seen by Reuters, introducing armed American contractors into the heart of one of the world's most violent conflict zones.

UG Solutions - a low-profile company founded in 2023 and based in Davidson, North Carolina - is offering a daily rate starting at $1,100 with a $10,000 advance to veterans it hires, the email said. They will staff the checkpoint at a key intersection in Gaza's interior, said the spokesperson, who confirmed the authenticity of the email. 

Some people have been recruited and are already at the checkpoint, said the spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity. He did not say how many contractors were already in Gaza. 

-- snip-- 

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel on Tuesday told reporters, without naming UG Solutions or the United States, that Israel had demanded that the deal include the use of a private security firm, working with "an Egyptian security company or forces" to help maintain security and humanitarian aid flows in Gaza. 

But, she said, it remained to be seen if the arrangement "actually works." 

--snip--

A separate source familiar with the deal said Israel and unnamed "Arab countries" that worked on the agreement are funding the consortium. The U.S. government had no direct involvement in the decision to include a security company in the ceasefire deal or in the awarding of the contract, the source said.

This genius scheme ought to come undone as soon as the USG acquires some direct involvement in that decision. 

Not Impressed With Columbia's Lecturer on Revolution

The NYPD released a photo of a chalkboard inside Hamilton Hall of @Columbia.

You can see a security plan (left), quotes (middle) and a scenario plan for the arrival of the police (right).

One quote reads, “Political power comes from the barrel of the gun.” This is a famous… pic.twitter.com/zPqKmFRR6S

— Documenting Jew Hatred on Campus (@CampusJewHate) May 2, 2024

As if the university take-overs weren't already community theater-level versions of Mao's cultural revolution, some fanboy at Columbia was inspiring himself by scribbling Mao-ish slogans while reenacting The Long March through Hamilton Hall. 

Since the NYPD released photos, we can all be vicariously radicalized by the three slogans that some deep thinker left on a chalkboard. 

1. Attack when your enemy is weak and you are strong. 

With respect to Mao, that one really isn't original to him, or to China, or to modern history. In fact, it misses the point of all the revolutionary movements that did just the opposite. They lost the battles but won the campaigns. And I include Nathaniel Greene of our Revolutionary War in that group. Greene's quote is "We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again." He usually lost tactically, but defeated Cornwallis strategically, where it counts. See also the history of the Vietnam War, or the history of whatever it is we call the twenty years we spent in Afghanistan. 

2. Political power comes from the barrel of a gun. 

Get out of here! The sentiment isn't wrong, and it's been put less dramatically by better men (like Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. - "every society rests on the death of men"). But has our chalkboard lecturer ever asked himself who is it in America that has all the guns? Hint: it's not his side. In any case, when the city authorities decided to exercise some power of their own and end that pitiable insurrection it did so with ease. No firearms were needed. 

3. The countryside surrounds the city. 

Comrade, you ought to consult a map. In America it's the suburbs that surround the city. And that speaks to political and cultural alignment as well as to the geography. 

With all the time he must have had on his hands in Hamilton Hall, why didn't that guy ever read a book about the Halls's namesake and how he helped lead a vastly inferior force to defeat the British Empire? That would be an education in revolution worth the tuition.

We're On The Road to Rafah (But Not Everyone is Allowed Out)

The subject of immigration to the U.S. from Gaza is definitely in the air in Washington DC today. 

Briefly, the Biden administration is talking up the idea of bringing in more Gazans to the U.S., and that requires they first exit Gaza via the border crossing at Rafah. However, that genius plan is being blocked by the refusal of Egypt to allow some of those Gazans onto the Egyptian side of their common border. 

By a fortunate coincidence, the current issue of State Magazine has an informative article about the State personnel who are standing by to process those Gazans who are lucky enough to be allowed into Egypt. 

Read it here: Road to Rafah. This quote stands out:

“In some cases, departing citizens and LPRs [Lawful Permanant Residents] saw their hopes extinguished when they received somber news that a family member would not be allowed into Egypt.”

Would it be entirely crazy to explore why Egypt won't allow some Gazans into their territory before we get serious about moving them over here to ours? 

And on a side note, why do we have so many Lawful Permanant Residents who do not permanently reside in the USA? You might think that would be a requirement.

State Department Internal Dissent Memos Continue as Usual (The Independent Can Reveal)

"As The Indpendent can reveal," there has been a virtual earthquake of internal protest within the State Department over the war in Gaza, resulting in a tsunami of dissent memos. 

An "unprecedented flood" of them to be exact. Read about it here: State department sees unprecedented flood of internal dissent memos over Gaza war

State department staff sent at least eight internal dissent memos to express disagreement with US policy on Israel and Gaza during the first two months of the war, The Independent can reveal.

A further memo was sent last month from the US embassy in Jordan, warning of increasing instability across the region due to Israel’s ongoing war, according to a person familiar with the matter, bringing the total number to at least nine.

Such a high number of internal dissent memorandums – a formal process by which staff can express concerns internally to a policy – highlights the widespread opposition within the department to the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

But, what's this? If you read 30 paragraphs into that 33-paragraph story you find some context:

There were an average of almost nine dissent messages per year sent to Washington between 1972 and 2017, according to the Foreign Service Journal.

So there have been nine internal dissent memos so far in the last half year, as the Independent can reveal, compared to an average of "almost nine" (so then, eight?) per year over the last half century. 

To ask the greatest of all philosophical questions: so what?

Kirby: But That Was in Another Country!

Admiral-Spokesperson Kirby, the White House's alternative to Spokesperson-in-Chief Cringe John P. Air, was interviewed on Fox News where Martha MacCallum asked him about the obvious parallel between Israel's mistaken attack last week in Gaza and our own mistaken mass killing three years ago in Afghanistan. 

He replied:

"But that was in another country; and besides the wench is dead."

Well, technically, that was first said in Christopher Marlowe's play, The Jew of Malta, but forgive me for hearing it when Kirby said the same thing in longer form:

“Well, look, these are events that happened three years apart, two different geographic locations, two different countries, two different sets of circumstances, two different types of threat[s] that were being evaluated, and [two completely] different militaries that were involved, with two different chains of command. So, I think we’ve got to be careful comparing both events too closely."

The only difference that matters between those two particular mistakes in war is that Israel immediately and honestly took responsibility for their mistake and held those who committed it to account. We did neither.

How To Admit a Mistake in War, And How Not To

Contrast this responsible statement with Gen. Milley’s “righteous strike” excuse. https://t.co/ygPbmH77eX https://t.co/zEbrzBTlAv

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) April 3, 2024

AP's "Indefensible Abuse and Atrocious Inhumanity" Wins an Award

"The very photographing itself an act of indefensible abuse and atrocious inhumanity." https://t.co/SioVhVindB

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) March 30, 2024

I'm sure you've seen that particular photo. Probably you also saw the video of that same atrocious event, in which we saw Palestinian men from Gaza in a absolute state of ecstasy because they were beating the dead naked body of an Israeli woman with a stick. 

Incredibly, that was not the very most atrocious video of the abduction, rape, and murder of teenaged Israeli women and others that went online October 7th, proudly uploaded by Hamas for the excitement of its supporters. Anyone who is the least bit curious about why Gaza is now being reduced to a pile of rubble over the corpse of the last Hamas fighter should review any of that material. 

After twenty years of experience with Hamas running Gaza as a launching pad for more or less constant attacks on Israelis, it's clear that a Carthaginian solution is the only kind there can be to the Hamas problem.    

And what's wrong with that? Taking the long view, you'll notice that Carthage never caused any trouble for anybody ever again. 

UN: Why So Choosy About Which Atrocities You Condemn?

Israel's Ambassador to UN proposes an alternative Resolution to the one just passed (2728) calling for a ceasefire, thanks to U.S. not vetoing—and there's a plot twist. pic.twitter.com/0kVDIDvBBO

— Daniel Roth (@daniel_c_roth) March 25, 2024

Recognizing One, Two ... How Many Palestinian States?

Cue the rainbows and unicorns, because Hope is just about ready to break out once again in this world of trouble. Or in parts of Europe, anyway. 

Read about it here: Ireland standing ready to recognise Palestine state 'gives hope'.

Ireland, Spain, Malta and Slovenia standing ready to recognise the Palestine state has given Palestinians "hope," [Palestinian ambassador to Ireland Dr Jilan Abdalmajidits] has said.

Earlier, in a joint-statement, the four countries' prime ministers said they were ready to recognise the Palestine state when the "circumstances are right".

You may wonder what, exactly, are those circumstances? And who decides when they are 'right?' 

Who knows? To my mind, only after all Hamas fighters have been killed will there be any point in even thinking about post-conflict reconstruction. But that's why I'd never make an EU small country Prime Minister. 

Before you break out the champagne, see this part of the statement:

"We agreed that the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in the region is through implementation of a two-state solution, with Israeli and Palestinian States living side-by-side, in peace and security," the statement said.

Now, that phrase "Palestinian States" - plural states, as in more than one state - is literally correct, since there are two of them, one run by Hamas in Gaza and the other run by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. 

Yes, I know that's not the intended meaning of the phrase, but just a bit of linguistic ambiguity. However, its the almost poetic blurting out of an awkward truth, all the same.  

If any EU small country PMs want to see an Israeli state side-by-side with a single Palestinian state, then someone will first have to make peace between the two Palestinian states that currently exist. Good luck with that.

From Kindergarten Plays to GoPros on Home Invaders, It's All a Performance to HAMAS

Hamas has many fewer allies these days, but at least it can still count on the western news media to play the sympathy card for them. Of course, that focuses almost exclusively on the children in Gaza. A smart decision, considering how often the adults of Gaza cannot resist the urge to be openly monstrous in front of a camera or microphone.

See, for example, these recent stories about Gaza's children by NPR, the NYT, and the BBC. 

But here's a question you don't hear much about those kids. Where does Hamas get adult men who will commit the most horrible atrocities imaginable against defenseless victims and even live-stream themselves in the act? A large part of the answer must be that they are the product of a society that raised them from childhood to do just that.  

Take the military summer camps, for instance. When they aren’t getting anti-Semitic classroom material in UNWRA schools, they can take in some fresh air along with instruction in small arms.   

It's never too early to start tomorrow's monsters out on the right course. Here's a video of a Gaza Kindergarten graduation skit from May, 2018, one apparently posted to the internet by a proud parent, in which those adorable tykes enact invading Israel. Note that at the end they take a hostage back to Gaza - that's a very important element of the drama.   

   

 

Those little cuties will be around ten years old now, and so – probably – are still too young to have participated in the pogrom of four weeks ago. Give it time. They are the future. 

We’re constantly told that Hamas does not represent Palestinians, despite it having gotten most of the vote in the only election Palestinians ever held, and contrary to all the data gathered by opinion polling. 

Frankly – and I say this after reflection – even the worst of Hamas' troops seem to represent its population quite well. The abominable monsters who committed those atrocities four weeks ago did not rise up out of nothing. They were the kindergarten kommandos of 10 or 15 or 20 years ago, now live-streaming it and still making their parents proud.

Force, the Last Resort of Nations (Mitigated By Good Manners If You're Lucky)

A convoy carrying much-needed humanitarian assistance crossed the Rafah border this morning into Gaza to address the growing humanitarian crisis. We thank our partners in Egypt and Israel, and the United Nations, for facilitating the safe passage of these life-saving shipments.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 21, 2023

"Life-saving shipments." Okay, but let us be clear that what is coming to HAMAS in Gaza is about life taking, fundamentally, and there will be little scope for humanitarian considerations until that war is concluded.

Don't take it from me, take it from one of the finest judicial minds this country has ever produced.    

"I believe that force, mitigated as may be by good manners, is the ultima ratio, and between two groups of people who want to make inconsistent kinds of world I see no remedy except force." - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Holmes knew about force and irreconcilable conflict, having served as an infantryman in the Civil War where he was wounded three times. At Antietam he was shot through the neck and left for dead on the field, one of 23,000 casualties in that single battle.

Be prepared to see Civil War-size casualty numbers once the Israeli Armed Forces really tear into HAMAS. Let the IDF mitigate that reality by abiding with the laws of war, to whatever extent those good manners may apply to a sub-state adversary, but realists should expect to see a nearly-Carthaginian peace imposed on HAMAS in Gaza.

  

Be the One Holding the Rifle

It’s a whole different outcome when the woman is holding the rifle. https://t.co/IBNoOCvsSP

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) October 8, 2023

True in any kind of interpersonal violent conflict, but so much more true when it's a woman confronting HAMAS terrorists. 

That said, those HAMAS-ites don't look so dangerous when they are in ones and twos, it seems to me. Their whole terror thing might depend upon them having overwhelming numbers. Indeed, the two in the photo look quite tame and submissive. 

However poorly they may perceive women in general, they evidently respect that 5.56mm carbine when a competent troop is aiming it at them.

It's Called 'Shock and Awe' When We Do It

IDF publishes footage of its massive airstrikes against Hamas sites in the Beit Hanoun area in northern Gaza. pic.twitter.com/KWZFscjzwC

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 8, 2023

HAMAS' Own Clips Show How Attacks Began; @manniefabian Credit

A compilation of Hamas clips shows how the terror group invaded southern Israel yesterday. First they bombed Israeli observation towers and weapons systems on the border, then fired hundreds of rockets as terrorists on paragliders flew over the border. Moments later, Hamas… pic.twitter.com/D4iIoCV51q

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 8, 2023

USG Invites Two Palestinian Bloggers to Gaza Reconstruction Conference

This sounds like something new. The State Department invited two Palestinian journalists with popular blogs to attend the Gaza reconstruction conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, as the SecState's guests.

"We feel it's important to reach out and engage the new social media, and bloggers are a significant part of this new media," department spokesman Robert A. Wood said. "It's essential that the work of the State Department be disseminated as widely as possible, and they help get our message out."

One of the two, Fadi Abu Sada, was not allowed to enter Egypt. As a Palestinian under the age of 40, he needed an Egyptian visa, and had failed to get one. The other, Daoud Kuttab, was good to go since he's a Palestinian over the age of 40. And, although the above press report doesn't mention it, he's also a naturalized U.S. citizen, so I assume he could have entered Egypt on his good old U.S. passport.

Here's the report by the last Palestinian blogger left standing at the conference: My short meeting with Secretary Clinton.

Obama Sends $20 Million to Gaza

Presidential Determination No. 2009-15 of January 27, 2009 (Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related To Gaza) finds that it is in the U.S. national interest to send $20 million and change to meet the "humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees and conflict victims in Gaza."

How or whether the recipients are screened to prevent this money from going to HAMAS entities is anyone's guess.

Memorandum for the Secretary of State

By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 2(c)(1) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (the ``Act''), as amended (22 U.S.C. 2601), I hereby determine, pursuant to section 2(c)(1) of the Act, that it is important to the national interest to furnish assistance under the Act in an amount not to exceed $20.3 million from the United States Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund for the purpose of meeting unexpected and urgent refugee and migration needs, including by contributions to international, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations and payment of administrative expenses of Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration of the Department of State, related to humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees and conflict victims in Gaza. You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

(Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE, Washington, January 27, 2009

[FR Doc. E9-2488 Filed 2-3-09; 8:45 am] Billing code 4710-10-P

Live Web Cam From Gaza

Click here, and it should open in Windows Media Player.