Rob Blecher

Director, Future of Conflict program @CrisisGroup. Climate, tech, economy. Once upon a time, and still occasionally, MENA.

[Rob Blecher @RobBlecher]

@IChotiner @CrisisGroup @NewYorker Israel mixes military goals (destroying Hamas's military) w/ political ones (destroying Hamas as a movement). Esp the latter is impossible. But even if achieved, that alone wouldn't end threats from Gaza. So long as Pals remain in Gaza, they will seek liberation. 7/7

[Rob Blecher @RobBlecher]

My interview with @IChotiner on Gaza/Israel. TLDR; Gaza's day-after is here and it's ugly. https://t.co/i4I9v3z4m2
A thread @crisisgroup @NewYorker (1/7)

[Rob Blecher @RobBlecher]

@IChotiner @CrisisGroup @NewYorker This hasn't been a war for hearts and minds. It's been total war also against the civilian infrastructure, which Israel deems hostile because Hamas is everywhere in Gaza 6/7

[Rob Blecher @RobBlecher]

There's more food now in the north-but there's no cash to buy it with. In the south, which until the start of Israel's assault on Rafah was better off than the north, much of Gaza's population is now jammed into a thin strip along the coast w/ diminishing food and water (2/2)

[Rob Blecher @RobBlecher]

Recently did this radio interview with KKFI in Kansas City on hunger in Gaza. Today the dynamics in Gaza are shifting. https://t.co/JdEB5YXdoA (1/2)

[Rob Blecher @RobBlecher]

This is where the Gaza debate stands today. Everyone agrees the Israeli siege of Nasser hospital killed hundreds of Palestinians who were buried in a mass grave. Does it really matter if Palestinians buried the bodies themselves or whether Israel did it? https://t.co/YwOiBoAfqr

[Rob Blecher @RobBlecher]

@sfrantzman @CrisisGroup The choice is binary: let the civil authorities work & save lives, or continue to target them, fuel famine, & encourage social disintegration. There is no third option. It's not "whitewashing" to say the police are vital to preventing mass death by starvation & disease (2/2)

[Rob Blecher @RobBlecher]

@sfrantzman Thanks for highlighting our report "Stopping Famine in Gaza". Whatever Gaza's civil police may or may not have done since 7 Oct, only they & civic groups cooperating with them can effectively safeguard aid and facilitate distribution (1/2) @crisisgroup https://t.co/s8YoOPiv8p

[Rob Blecher @RobBlecher]

Hamas is holding to its demands in ceasefire talks, including to end the war. But Israel doesn't have a path to victory. Any marginal risk reduction Israel achieves by continuing to fight is more than outweighed by its loss of global stature. Just end the war. @crisisgroup

[Rob Blecher @RobBlecher]

@CrisisGroup Otherwise Gaza is on track for the worst famine, relative to population size, of the past decades. At the start of the war, the worst scenario seemed depopulation of Gaza via Egypt. Today another looms: depopulation by starvation and disease (7/7)

[Rob Blecher @RobBlecher]

Crisis Group's report on how Israel's war-fighting strategy has put Gaza on the edge of famine @crisisgroup https://t.co/s8YoOPiv8p (1/7)

[Rob Blecher @RobBlecher]

@CrisisGroup The Gaza gov't is battered but still can ensure public order if allowed to operate. There is no alternative nor time to create one. With a ceasefire Israel would be more likely to accept police activity (6/7)