Experiment: Surface Best COVID19 threads from @ThreadReaderApp
A groundbreaking paper by @younis_sh1 et al. @stanfordimmuno provides an answer to the long-standing question about how EBV infections are linked to lupus. A short thread to explain the key findings. (1/)
science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…
science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…
The authors developed a new method called EBV-seq, enabling them to overcome the barrier of studying rare cells (~25 per 10,000 B cells in lupus patients) that are infected by EBV. Note that in healthy people, only 1/10,000 B cells are EBV-infected. (2/) 
First, the authors found that EBV infects autoreactive B cells that express anti-nuclear antibodies in lupus patients, but not in healthy people or in patients with multiple sclerosis. (3/)
Today @TheNewYorker released our short documentary “Rovina’s Choice."
It traces the ongoing effects of the sudden shutdown of US foreign aid through the story of one mother in Kenya as she seeks to save her daughter from sickness and starvation. 🎥 1/ newyorker.com/culture/the-ne…
It traces the ongoing effects of the sudden shutdown of US foreign aid through the story of one mother in Kenya as she seeks to save her daughter from sickness and starvation. 🎥 1/ newyorker.com/culture/the-ne…
I’ve written a companion piece explaining the film’s context: USAID’s dismantling is estimated to have already killed 600,000 people, ⅔ of them children. Officials simply deny any harm, while halting data monitoring and firing inspectors general who’d have documented it. 2/
Consider malnutrition. USAID helped countries shift care from hospitals to nearer home. Health workers with a scale & tape measure detect bad cases earlier. A peanut-paste therapy reversed starvation. Deaths fell from 20% to as little as 1%. It saved 1.2M lives in 2023. 3/
Ethnic cleansing is underway in El Fasher as the RSF takes over.
I spoke today with Sudanese civil society leaders about what they are seeing and hearing.
It is grimly horrifying - exactly as long feared and predicted.
Reminder (again) that the #UAE shares in these crimes.
🧵
I spoke today with Sudanese civil society leaders about what they are seeing and hearing.
It is grimly horrifying - exactly as long feared and predicted.
Reminder (again) that the #UAE shares in these crimes.
🧵
What we heard this morning:
- Communications into Fasher have been cut off
- Displaced people reaching Tawila today (a town west of Fasher, where there is some relief presence) report that massacres of civilians along ethnic lines have begun
- Very few ppl are able to flee
- Communications into Fasher have been cut off
- Displaced people reaching Tawila today (a town west of Fasher, where there is some relief presence) report that massacres of civilians along ethnic lines have begun
- Very few ppl are able to flee
More:
- Civilians attempting to escape El Fasher are being gunned down by RSF as they flee
- RSF is funneling people toward the east rather than allow them west toward Tawila
- RSF carrying out mass detentions in town
- No aid getting in - many people are too run down to flee
- Civilians attempting to escape El Fasher are being gunned down by RSF as they flee
- RSF is funneling people toward the east rather than allow them west toward Tawila
- RSF carrying out mass detentions in town
- No aid getting in - many people are too run down to flee
CDC is not a Democratic or Republican agency. It's an American agency. One in three employees have been lost in recent months. This is dismantling of our health protections, not reform.
The administration talks about making America healthier, about transparency and quality science. But the plain truth is that they’re doing the opposite.
They're systematically destroying the systems that keep Americans safe from diseases and health threats, making and reversing life-and-death decisions with no transparency or discussion, and undermining science.
Donald Trump is now addressed the UN General Assembly. He notes the teleprompter isn't working and, "whoever is responsible for this teleprompter is in big trouble."
He reads from printed text on the podium.
"This is the Golden Age of America."
He reads from printed text on the podium.
"This is the Golden Age of America."
2/ His remarks open by listing his accomplishments domestically since taking office. "In my first term I built the best economy in the history of the world...and this time it's even better."
"The number of illegal aliens entering our country has reached zero...If you come illegally into the U-S you're going to jail...or perhaps further. You know what that means."
"The number of illegal aliens entering our country has reached zero...If you come illegally into the U-S you're going to jail...or perhaps further. You know what that means."
3/Trump at UNGA
Says the U.S. was a laughing stock, but not anymore. My administration has negotiated one historic trade agreement after another."
I have ended 7 un-endable wars. I ended 7 wars. " Cambodia/Thailand, Congo/Rwanda, Armenia/Azerbaijian, Albania/Kosovo.
"And I did it in just 7 months. There's never been anything like it."
The UN "did nothing. I never even received a phone call from the U-N."
Says the U.S. was a laughing stock, but not anymore. My administration has negotiated one historic trade agreement after another."
I have ended 7 un-endable wars. I ended 7 wars. " Cambodia/Thailand, Congo/Rwanda, Armenia/Azerbaijian, Albania/Kosovo.
"And I did it in just 7 months. There's never been anything like it."
The UN "did nothing. I never even received a phone call from the U-N."
Canadian PM Mark Carney is addressing the Council on Foreign Relations right now. He opened by describing the very positive relationship Canada and the US shared -- until now.
And looking at Trump impacts on the global geopolitical landscape.
"So, what do we do about it? We think we can thrive for three reasons"
1.) we have what the world wants:
- energy
- we are top % in world's critical minerals
- we are a leading developer of AI and quantum talent
- we have sophisticated pension funds and investors
- we have a govt that can act decisively
2.) Our public square is loud, diverse and free
3.) We recognize what's going on. A rupture. Sharp change.
- build strength at home, cut taxes, increased X-province trade, doubling defense spending, especially in AI
- defend out values
- build alliances abroad
- diverse trade agreements, espec. w/EU
- joining SAFE -- EU defense
- comprehensive approach w/Mexico trade
- we are largest contributor per capita to Ukraine
- support 2-state solution in ME
- forming buyers' clubs for REEs & critical minerals
MORE
And looking at Trump impacts on the global geopolitical landscape.
"So, what do we do about it? We think we can thrive for three reasons"
1.) we have what the world wants:
- energy
- we are top % in world's critical minerals
- we are a leading developer of AI and quantum talent
- we have sophisticated pension funds and investors
- we have a govt that can act decisively
2.) Our public square is loud, diverse and free
3.) We recognize what's going on. A rupture. Sharp change.
- build strength at home, cut taxes, increased X-province trade, doubling defense spending, especially in AI
- defend out values
- build alliances abroad
- diverse trade agreements, espec. w/EU
- joining SAFE -- EU defense
- comprehensive approach w/Mexico trade
- we are largest contributor per capita to Ukraine
- support 2-state solution in ME
- forming buyers' clubs for REEs & critical minerals
MORE
Carney/2
"Old Multilateralism" -- how we used to work.
Now, substantial change underway, espec. for REEs, essential minerals, energy.
When you think about Canada, think of a strong soveriegn nation.
We understand what's going on. We have the resources the world needs. We're a reliable partner...with any part of the world.
"Old Multilateralism" -- how we used to work.
Now, substantial change underway, espec. for REEs, essential minerals, energy.
When you think about Canada, think of a strong soveriegn nation.
We understand what's going on. We have the resources the world needs. We're a reliable partner...with any part of the world.
Carney/3
LIVE now Carney is talking on stage w/CFR Pres. Froman
Q - 2/3rds Canadian population lives w/in 100 km of US border -- how much can you reorient economy?
Carney: 1st, recog. the need to do it. To be masters in our own house.
Don't want to look at Truth Social daily to see changes in US poilicy
MORE
LIVE now Carney is talking on stage w/CFR Pres. Froman
Q - 2/3rds Canadian population lives w/in 100 km of US border -- how much can you reorient economy?
Carney: 1st, recog. the need to do it. To be masters in our own house.
Don't want to look at Truth Social daily to see changes in US poilicy
MORE
I watched the 1st meeting day of RFK Jr’s handpicked committee of vaccine advisors that encapsulates the proceedings. It was utterly depressing. 1/
Liaisons from medical societies asked repeatedly: what is the reason for the votes to now change children’s routine vaccine schedules when there’s been no signal of harm and clear evidence of great benefit? 2/
Finally, an answer came back: we must make changes because trust in vaccines has decreased. “The signal that is prompting this is not one of safety, but one of trust,” said member Robert Malone. 3/
On Tuesday on the hill, Sen. Ron Johnson touted results from an unpublished study commissioned by an anti-vaccine group as showing the risk of childhood vaccines.
I asked why the study hadn't been published of Henry Ford Health, where the author who did not testify worked.
I asked why the study hadn't been published of Henry Ford Health, where the author who did not testify worked.
A spokesperson told me that "an initial peer review of the draft revealed immediate and significant concerns due to serious data flaws" and that the institution "was unaware this long-rejected and unvalidated draft was being talked about or had somehow been shared."
The spokesperson said the institution was not given the opportunity by Congress to weigh in or testify.
"In the end, this report was not published because it did not even come close to meeting the rigorous scientific standards we demand—not because of the results."
"In the end, this report was not published because it did not even come close to meeting the rigorous scientific standards we demand—not because of the results."
When is an "aid project" not actually an aid project?
Well, recruiting staff through an anti-Islam biker gang is usually a pretty clear tell.
Beyond the outright insanity of this, it also reveals something important about the agenda behind the GHF. 🧵
Well, recruiting staff through an anti-Islam biker gang is usually a pretty clear tell.
Beyond the outright insanity of this, it also reveals something important about the agenda behind the GHF. 🧵
At first blush this story almost seems too outlandish to be real. Full disclosure - I was skeptical when I first hear these rumblings a few months ago.
But BBC brings the receipts. And the receipts are flat-out nuts (this nugget about gang leader Johnny Mulford is priceless).
But BBC brings the receipts. And the receipts are flat-out nuts (this nugget about gang leader Johnny Mulford is priceless).
Who is Mulford, the lead GHF security subcontractor?
He's a biker gang leader who was formerly debarred by the Pentagon for "bribery, larceny, and making false official statements" related to contract kickbacks.
Not who you'd want near an aid project.
jagcnet.army.mil/Sites/Procurem…
He's a biker gang leader who was formerly debarred by the Pentagon for "bribery, larceny, and making false official statements" related to contract kickbacks.
Not who you'd want near an aid project.
jagcnet.army.mil/Sites/Procurem…
On Friday, when most of America wasn't paying attention, heading out for the holidays, Trump signed an Exec Order transferring ALL control over foreign aid from State to OMB.
This will destroy American overseas programs. Here's why (MORE)whitehouse.gov/presidential-a…
This will destroy American overseas programs. Here's why (MORE)whitehouse.gov/presidential-a…
2/US programs for everything from #famine relief & #HIV care to safe pregnancy efforts & building electricity grids have won America friends in the world & saved 100s of millions of lives. They were nested in the State Dept so our diplomats on the ground can oversee them.
MORE
MORE
3/ By moving foreign aid out of State & into OMB, programs for saving starving children, rescuing families from catastrophes, teaching kids to read, stopping epidemics -- ALL of that now falls under the control of Russell Vought.
Who is Vought?
MOREtrumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/people/russell…
Who is Vought?
MOREtrumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/people/russell…
All week the Israeli govt has mounted a major PR push against @theIPCinfo's Gaza famine declaration.
The @IsraelMFA pushback reveals a basic ignorance (perhaps willful?) of how famines work and how the IPC declares them.
Today the IPC responded. Let's take a look. 🧵
The @IsraelMFA pushback reveals a basic ignorance (perhaps willful?) of how famines work and how the IPC declares them.
Today the IPC responded. Let's take a look. 🧵
The GoI has a thin slide deck of bold-font attacks with no links to supporting data.
The IPC reply has 6 pages of explanatory text plus a new table of additional malnutrition analysis (on top of their original 56-page report).
ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user…
ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user…
The IPC reply has 6 pages of explanatory text plus a new table of additional malnutrition analysis (on top of their original 56-page report).
ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user…
ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user…
The GoI's claim on mortality analysis completely ignores actual IPC guidance & analysis.
IDF restrictions prevent a comprehensive mortality survey in Gaza.
So the IPC was very up-front that it used an inference approach, and thus declared famine "with reasonable evidence."
IDF restrictions prevent a comprehensive mortality survey in Gaza.
So the IPC was very up-front that it used an inference approach, and thus declared famine "with reasonable evidence."
During the pandemic, it became clear that the CDC lost the mission. It needed a realignment.
More from @US_FDA Commissioner @DrMakaryFDA🧵
More from @US_FDA Commissioner @DrMakaryFDA🧵
It's time to rebuild public trust after the scientific intolerance and extreme partisanship of the Biden Administration.
.@US_FDA is implementing a risk-stratified approach in ending emergency use authorization for COVID-19 vaccines – finally catching America up to the rest of the world.
1/ The 2024 Medicare Shared Savings Program results are released from embargo!
topline results:
10,326,340 bene-years (12% @AledadeACO )
$6,452,075,989 in savings versus benchmark
$4,062,804,612 in payments to ACOs (19% Aledade)
Largest savings ever
Higher quality than FFS🎉
topline results:
10,326,340 bene-years (12% @AledadeACO )
$6,452,075,989 in savings versus benchmark
$4,062,804,612 in payments to ACOs (19% Aledade)
Largest savings ever
Higher quality than FFS🎉
2/ fact sheet:
$643 (2024) vs $515 (2023) in gross per capita savings
Almost 2x savings rate for "low revenue ACOs" (physician-led/FQHC/RHCs) and for those composed predominantly of primary care clinicians vs high revenue ACOs (typically hospital-led)
cms.gov/files/document…
$643 (2024) vs $515 (2023) in gross per capita savings
Almost 2x savings rate for "low revenue ACOs" (physician-led/FQHC/RHCs) and for those composed predominantly of primary care clinicians vs high revenue ACOs (typically hospital-led)
cms.gov/files/document…
3/ How do they get savings?
"lower utilization compared to their benchmark across many categories of utilization including hospital discharges, Emergency Department visits and Skilled Nursing Facility stays"
Better chronic disease management
More prevention
Less suffering
"lower utilization compared to their benchmark across many categories of utilization including hospital discharges, Emergency Department visits and Skilled Nursing Facility stays"
Better chronic disease management
More prevention
Less suffering
Thread incoming on famines & and mortality data.
tl;dr: the Gaza declaration rests on inferred mortality b/c it's impossible to collect good mortality data.
*just like all 3 other famine declarations since 2011*
Meaning no "lowering the bar" for Gaza.
Let’s get into it…
tl;dr: the Gaza declaration rests on inferred mortality b/c it's impossible to collect good mortality data.
*just like all 3 other famine declarations since 2011*
Meaning no "lowering the bar" for Gaza.
Let’s get into it…
A famine declaration assesses food deprivation, malnutrition, and mortality.
In Gaza the food deprivation metric has been clearly met for quite a while.
The malnutrition assessment is solid too (per my earlier threads).
But there is limited data on deaths. So, what to do?
In Gaza the food deprivation metric has been clearly met for quite a while.
The malnutrition assessment is solid too (per my earlier threads).
But there is limited data on deaths. So, what to do?
Famine analyses OFTEN encounter incomplete mortality & other data.
Almost invariably, famine risk arises in context where conflict and political obstacles prevent comprehensive data collection.
In Gaza, mortality data is very poor outside of trauma deaths.
Almost invariably, famine risk arises in context where conflict and political obstacles prevent comprehensive data collection.
In Gaza, mortality data is very poor outside of trauma deaths.
I'm getting a lot of questions about this (false) claim, so let's do a wonky deep dive on how willfully wrong @Israel is on this.
Right off the top: this is the EXACT SAME THRESHOLD that was used in the Sudan famine declaration last year.
Not any lowering of the bar for Gaza.
Right off the top: this is the EXACT SAME THRESHOLD that was used in the Sudan famine declaration last year.
Not any lowering of the bar for Gaza.
The MUAC threshold is used in cases like Sudan or Gaza where access is limited and full weight-for-height studies are not feasible.
Here is the relevant portion of the Dec 2024 famine analysis for Sudan, using the same MUAC >15% threshold. ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user…
Here is the relevant portion of the Dec 2024 famine analysis for Sudan, using the same MUAC >15% threshold. ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user…
IPC guidance very explicitly allows for these two approaches to assessing Global Acute Malnutrition in a population:
- weight-for-height analysis
and
- mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) screening
MUAC is used when access constraints prevent a full weight-for-height survey.
- weight-for-height analysis
and
- mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) screening
MUAC is used when access constraints prevent a full weight-for-height survey.
Starvation in Gaza has been building for months.
The Famine Review Committee conclusion on famine is compelling (more on that below).
Principal responsibility lies with Israeli aid obstruction - but failure of US & Europe to use *any* real leverage on this is also stunning.
🧵
The Famine Review Committee conclusion on famine is compelling (more on that below).
Principal responsibility lies with Israeli aid obstruction - but failure of US & Europe to use *any* real leverage on this is also stunning.
🧵
The evidence for a declaration is persuasive.
There has been evidence of severe food deprivation going back to last year, mainly due to Israeli restrictions.
It got exponentially worse from March '25 onward, after Israel instituted an aid blockade that it has yet to fully lift.
There has been evidence of severe food deprivation going back to last year, mainly due to Israeli restrictions.
It got exponentially worse from March '25 onward, after Israel instituted an aid blockade that it has yet to fully lift.
Malnutrition evidence is also solid, notwithstanding the armchair experts who misread the IPC thresholds.
Say it with me: a MUAC level over 15% is IPC famine territory.
Moreover the rate is continuing to rise to even grimmer levels.
Say it with me: a MUAC level over 15% is IPC famine territory.
Moreover the rate is continuing to rise to even grimmer levels.
For months, folks on this website have pushed a set of "gotcha" tropes to debunk the existence of famine in Gaza.
In fact they are mostly debunking their own credibility on famine dynamics.
As we await tomorrow's IPC report, here is a pre-buttal 🧵of some of those tropes.
In fact they are mostly debunking their own credibility on famine dynamics.
As we await tomorrow's IPC report, here is a pre-buttal 🧵of some of those tropes.
Most of this denialism comes from armchair experts who have never worked on hunger emergencies.
FWIW, I directed USG famine prevention efforts for:
- South Sudan 2013-14
- Yemen 2015-16
- Ethiopia 2016
- Nigeria 2016
Plus a lot of smaller ones.
On to the gotchas...
FWIW, I directed USG famine prevention efforts for:
- South Sudan 2013-14
- Yemen 2015-16
- Ethiopia 2016
- Nigeria 2016
Plus a lot of smaller ones.
On to the gotchas...
Gotcha 1: This starving kid is next to a parent who isn't starving! Clearly a ruse!
Why it’s BS: The nutritional needs of growing children make them far more vulnerable to starvation than adults. They invariably starve earlier.
Good overview here: telegraph.co.uk/global-health/…
Why it’s BS: The nutritional needs of growing children make them far more vulnerable to starvation than adults. They invariably starve earlier.
Good overview here: telegraph.co.uk/global-health/…
In new study led by Bernadeta Dadonaite, we measure how spike mutations affect function & antigenicity of spike of KP.3.1.1 strain of SARS-CoV-2.
Sheds light on how key neutralizing epitopes are changing & importance of RBD up/down motion.
biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
Sheds light on how key neutralizing epitopes are changing & importance of RBD up/down motion.
biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
We examined spike of KP.3.1.1, a strain from late 2024 / early 2025 similar to current variants
KP.3.1.1 & other recent variants have >60 spike amino-acid mutations relative to early pandemic strains, as spike has evolved at extraordinary rate of >10 mutations/year on avg
KP.3.1.1 & other recent variants have >60 spike amino-acid mutations relative to early pandemic strains, as spike has evolved at extraordinary rate of >10 mutations/year on avg
We previously developed pseudovirus deep mutational scanning (), which uses non-replicative viral particles to safely study spike mutations.
Here we used approach to measure how mutations to KP.3.1.1 spike affect five phenotypes, as shown below. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36868218/
Here we used approach to measure how mutations to KP.3.1.1 spike affect five phenotypes, as shown below. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36868218/
As I wrote in SUPER AGERS, the immune system is the key to modulating our aging process and the opportunity to extend healthspan. Today @NatureAging 7 new articles, summarized here, that reinforce its central role
nature.com/articles/s4358…
nature.com/articles/s4358…
The potential consequences of too youthful immune system in an older person —> autoimmunity
nature.com/articles/s4358…
nature.com/articles/s4358…
.@NBCNews claims that @SecKennedy's recommendation to fry potatoes in beef tallow - rather than the seed oils used today - "isn’t backed by scientific research."
Here is a basketful of studies that tell a different story: 🍟1/7
Here is a basketful of studies that tell a different story: 🍟1/7
First, some context:
• Beef tallow, rendered suet from a cow, is known to contain high levels of saturated fatty acids (SFAs), which can also be found in coconut oil and dairy products.
• Ultra-processed seed oils, such as those derived from rapeseeds ("canola") and soybeans, contain higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). 🍟2/7
• Beef tallow, rendered suet from a cow, is known to contain high levels of saturated fatty acids (SFAs), which can also be found in coconut oil and dairy products.
• Ultra-processed seed oils, such as those derived from rapeseeds ("canola") and soybeans, contain higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). 🍟2/7
Foods such as wild blueberries and carrots are praised for their high levels of antioxidants, which have been shown to protect the human body from the free radicals linked to many chronic health conditions.
By contrast, the PUFAs found in seed oils are "particularly susceptible to oxidative damage" and produce "aldehydes," which "exert a range of toxicological effects," during the frying process.
(Haywood et al., 1994) 🍟3/7
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7633572/
By contrast, the PUFAs found in seed oils are "particularly susceptible to oxidative damage" and produce "aldehydes," which "exert a range of toxicological effects," during the frying process.
(Haywood et al., 1994) 🍟3/7
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7633572/
Always illuminating to check whether accounts using other crises to downplay Gaza have *ever* otherwise shown concern about those crises.
Almost invariably: nope. Just a clumsy, cynical attempt to dunk on Gaza activism.
Let's dive into the levels of bad faith at play here:
🧵
Almost invariably: nope. Just a clumsy, cynical attempt to dunk on Gaza activism.
Let's dive into the levels of bad faith at play here:
🧵
First, the receipts:
@IsraelMFA has NEVER before shown concern about the humanitarian crises in Sudan: x.com/search?q=sudan…
or Afghanistan: x.com/search?q=afgha…
or DR Congo: x.com/search?q=congo…
or Yemen: x.com/search?q=yemen…
It just wants to use them as props.
@IsraelMFA has NEVER before shown concern about the humanitarian crises in Sudan: x.com/search?q=sudan…
or Afghanistan: x.com/search?q=afgha…
or DR Congo: x.com/search?q=congo…
or Yemen: x.com/search?q=yemen…
It just wants to use them as props.
That's pretty grotesque in its own right.
But now let's check how much the government of Israel has donated to those same crises over the past few years.
From everything I can find, the answer seems to be:
*zero*
But now let's check how much the government of Israel has donated to those same crises over the past few years.
From everything I can find, the answer seems to be:
*zero*
The new special issue @ScienceMagazine features Immunity with 4 outstanding review papers, 5★
Our immune system over the lifespan, sex differences, influence on physiology, and host antiviral defenses science.org/toc/science/cu…
Our immune system over the lifespan, sex differences, influence on physiology, and host antiviral defenses science.org/toc/science/cu…
Our immune system as we age: the path to immunosenesence and inflammaging
science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…
science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…
Sex differences science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…
The world's famine alert system is warning us – in the starkest possible terms – that any remaining window to avert mass starvation deaths in Gaza is about to close.
A quick dive into what the report tells us:
A quick dive into what the report tells us:
This confirms what media reports (and frankly anyone with eyes) could see over the past week: a famine unfurling in Gaza.
While this is not (yet) a formal famine declaration, it signals that one is likely coming.
Importantly, formal declarations ALWAYS come after the fact.
While this is not (yet) a formal famine declaration, it signals that one is likely coming.
Importantly, formal declarations ALWAYS come after the fact.
Famine declaration is a lagging indicator.
By the time data can be collected proving the presence of famine conditions, those conditions have invariably been in place for some time.
In the 2011 Somalia famine, half of the 260K people lost had already died prior to declaration.
By the time data can be collected proving the presence of famine conditions, those conditions have invariably been in place for some time.
In the 2011 Somalia famine, half of the 260K people lost had already died prior to declaration.
Netanyahu has used aid diversion claims as pretext for massive obstruction of aid to Gaza.
Now we learn the IDF had briefed his team that these claims were false (as aid groups have long argued).
This constitutes further evidence he is using starvation as a weapon of war.
🧵
Now we learn the IDF had briefed his team that these claims were false (as aid groups have long argued).
This constitutes further evidence he is using starvation as a weapon of war.
🧵
Humanitarian groups have long denied that their aid is being diverted at any significant scale.
My organization dug into this last year and found no evidence for the Israeli govt claims. refugeesinternational.org/reports-briefs…
My organization dug into this last year and found no evidence for the Israeli govt claims. refugeesinternational.org/reports-briefs…
US envoy David Satterfield - a savvy, hard-nosed diplomat and no one's idea of a bleeding heart - has consistently said the same.