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Israel
Millions Face Famine in Gaza
A new report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) says half the population of Gaza will face famine by mid-July, a 92% increase since last December. The report comes as Israel faces increasing criticism regarding the flow of aid into Gaza. The UN claims it has enough food amassed around the border of Gaza to feed 2.2 million people but Israeli security checks, poor internal road conditions, and the danger of large crowds threaten its delivery. Israel has denied its security checks limit aid delivery, claiming aid organizations are incapable of distributing the quantity of aid entering Gaza. UNRWA, a United Nations agency tasked with supporting Palestinians, reports inspection bottlenecks mean a daily average of 140 trucks have entered Gaza over the past four weeks, less than half of the 300 necessary to feed the population. Aid organizations emphasize truck deliveries of aid remain the most efficient method despite the recent pivot towards sea and air deliveries, which critics claim are too slow and costly to help the millions of Gazans facing imminent starvation.
This map depicts the land, sea, and air routes delivering aid for warehousing in Egypt before eventual distribution in Gaza. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: NY Times
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United States
“Ghost Army” to be Honored
After decades of silence, the “Ghost Army” will be officially honored with the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’ highest honor, for its role in the United States’ military operations in the European theater of WWII. The Ghost Army was a group of soldiers who used trickery to divert the attention of Axis military intelligence. The largest unit used inflatable vehicles, people in costumes, radio broadcasts, and other produced displays of fake military activity to carry out around 20 battlefield deceptions across France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Germany, while another smaller unit pulled off two deceptions in Italy. The mission of the Ghost Army was declassified in 1996 and has been the subject of books and documentaries since that time. US President, Joseph Biden, signed the legislation to honor the units in 2022, and three surviving members of the Ghost Army will attend today’s ceremony at the Capitol.
This map depicts movements of the United States’ “Ghost Army,” which put on displays of fake military activity to fool enemy intelligence in the European theater of World War II. The Ghost Army will be honored with the Congressional Gold Medal today at a ceremony at the Capitol in Washington DC. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: AOL
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Portugal
Gibraltar Arc May ‘Invade’ Atlantic
A modeling study published in the journal Geology shows a slumbering subduction zone below the Gibraltar Strait is active and could break into the Atlantic Ocean in 20 million years’ time. This new research suggests the subduction zone is creeping westward and could one day “invade” the Atlantic Ocean, causing the ocean to slowly close up. The subduction zone, known as the Gibraltar arc or trench, currently sits in a narrow ocean corridor between Spain and Morocco. Its westward migration began around 30 million years ago, but it has stalled in the last 5 million years. This period of quiet will likely last for another 20 million years, after which the Gibraltar arc could resume its advance and break into the Atlantic Ocean. This advance could contribute to forming an Atlantic subduction system similar to the chain of subduction zones that circles the Pacific Ocean, called the Ring of Fire. This chain forming in the Atlantic would lead to oceanic crust being recycled into the mantle via subduction on both sides of the Atlantic, gradually swallowing and closing up the ocean.
This map depicts the evolution of the Gibraltar subduction zone from 30 million years ago to 50 million years into the future. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What country’s extensive marshlands gave rise to the world’s first known cities?
A: Iraq
The Mesopotamian Marshes, also known as the Iraqi Marshes, are a wetland area located in Southern Iraq and southwestern Iran as well as partially in northern Kuwait. The archaeological cities of Uruk and Ur and the Tell Eridu archaeological site form part of the remains of the Sumerian cities and settlements that developed in southern Mesopotamia between the 4th and the 3rd millennium BCE in the marshy delta of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Historically the marshlands, mainly composed of the separate but adjacent Central, Hawizeh and Hammar Marshes, used to be the largest wetland ecosystem of Western Eurasia. Draining of portions of the marshes began in the 1950s and continued through the 1970s to reclaim land for agriculture and oil exploration. By the early 2000s, the marshes were drained to 10% of their original size.
Source
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Q: What is the only country in the Western Hemisphere with net-negative greenhouse emissions?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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