Former US Official: State Department Falsified Gaza Aid Report

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Facts

• Stacy Gilbert, a senior civil-military adviser in the US Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration who resigned this week, claimed that the State Dept. falsified a report from earlier this month to absolve Israel of responsibility for blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza.¹
• Gilbert asserted that the State Dept. ignored the 'consensus among the humanitarian community' and its own experts in the NSM-20 report, which said the Israeli government was not restricting 'the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance' into Gaza. Gilbert did say that other factors also contributed to the lack of aid distribution.¹
• Gilbert, who said she participated in the report as a subject matter expert, decided to resign after the report was released on May 10, as she claimed there was 'quantifiable data' showing that Israel was impeding the delivery of aid such as flour.²
• Alexander Smith, a contractor with the US Agency for International Development, also announced his resignation this week over the war in Gaza, saying “I cannot do my job in an environment in which specific people cannot be acknowledged as fully human.'³
• Smith said he was given a choice between resignation and dismissal after preparing a presentation on maternal and child mortality among Palestinians, which USAID leadership reportedly abruptly canceled.³
• Israel has argued that shortages in Gaza are due to problems with distribution and not Israel's security checks on aid entering the strip, blaming Hamas and international organizations.⁴

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²PBS NewsHour, ³The National and ⁴Jerusalem Post.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by State. The US is doing everything it can to get aid into Gaza, including putting pressure on Israel to open the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings. However, this is a complex situation, and the cooperation of other actors, such as Egypt, is necessary for aid to be properly distributed. The Biden admin. always welcomes diverse points of view, and the NSM-20 report on the humanitarian situation in Gaza reflects that.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye. The lengths the Biden admin. will go to cover for Israel's crimes in Gaza are unprecedented — even as more and more officials resign over White House-driven policies. The US has armed Israel, given it diplomatic cover, and refused to call for a permanent cease-fire, yet pretends that it is pressuring Israel to stop the war.

Predictions