Germany says 'very insufficient' aid entering Gaza
The criticism came after Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul visited the region on Thursday and Friday, and the German military staged its first food airdrops into Gaza, where aid agencies say that more than two million Palestinians are facing starvation.
Germany "notes limited initial progress in the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of the Gaza Strip, which, however, remains very insufficient to alleviate the emergency situation," government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said in a statement.
"Israel remains obligated to ensure the full delivery of aid," Kornelius added.
Facing mounting international criticism over its military operations in Gaza, Israel has allowed more trucks to cross the border and some foreign nations to carry out airdrops of food and medicines.
International agencies say the amount of aid entering Gaza is still dangerously low, however.
The United Nations has said that 6,000 trucks are awaiting permission from Israel to enter the occupied Palestinian territory.
The German government, traditionally a strong supporter of Israel, also expressed "concern regarding reports that large quantities of humanitarian aid are being withheld by Hamas and criminal organisations."
Israel has alleged that much of the aid arriving in the territory is being siphoned off by Hamas, which runs Gaza.
The Israeli army is accused of having equipped Palestinian criminal networks in its fight against Hamas and of allowing them to plunder aid deliveries.
"The real theft of aid since the beginning of the war has been carried out by criminal gangs, under the watch of Israeli forces," Jonathan Whittall of OCHA, the United Nations agency for coordinating humanitarian affairs, told reporters in May.
A German government source told AFP it had noted that Israel has "considerably" increased the number of aid trucks allowed into Gaza to about 220 a day.
Berlin has taken a tougher line against Israel's actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank in recent weeks.
The source said that a German security cabinet meeting on Saturday discussed "the different options" for putting pressure on Israel, but no decision was taken.
A partial suspension of arms deliveries to Israel is one option that has been raised.
Hamas militants launched an attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel's war on Gaza since then has killed at least 60,249 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry. The U.N. considers the Ministry's figures reliable.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nahar Net
an hour ago
- Nahar Net
UN special coordinator says progress in port case 'necessary and long overdue'
by Naharnet Newsdesk 04 August 2025, 12:39 U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Monday said progress in the port blast case is 'both necessary and long overdue.' 'Five years have passed since the explosion at the Beirut Port shattered lives and neighborhoods and shocked the world. The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, today expressed solidarity with all those affected by the blast, many of whom continue to bravely pursue justice,' her office said in a statement. Following a meeting with families of several victims last week, the Special Coordinator stressed that 'progress in judicial proceedings is both necessary and long overdue.' She stated, 'Five years on, tragedy and pain are compounded by the glaring absence of justice. Survivors and victims, and their families, deserve full accountability. And, they deserve it now.' Hennis-Plasschaert, while welcoming recent momentum in the investigation, alongside 'positive steps towards the strengthening of State institutions,' underscored the need for the Government to take all necessary action to expedite progress in judicial proceedings related to the explosion. She also congratulated the Lebanese Parliament on the recent adoption of the Judicial Independence Law, hailing it as 'an important contribution to the rebuilding of trust between the Lebanese people and the institutions built to serve them.'
Ya Libnan
an hour ago
- Ya Libnan
Iran to remove 4 zeros from plunging Rial , its national currency
New Iranian bank notes of one million, 500,000, and 100,000 rials AFP-Yonhap . The most recent street exchange rate was 920, 000 rials for a US dollar. Prior to the Iranian revolution the rial was trading at about 70 rials to a US dollar TEHRAN- The economic commission of Iran's parliament revived long-delayed plans Sunday to cut four zeros from the country's plunging currency, as part of efforts to simplify financial transactions. 'Today's meeting of the economic commission approved the name 'rial' as the national currency, as well as the removal of four zeros,' said the parliament's website ICANA, quoting Shamseddin Hosseini, the commission's chairman. Under the proposed system, one rial would be equivalent to 10,000 at the current value and subdivided into 100 gherans, according to ICANA. The proposed redenomination was first mooted in 2019 but then shelved. The current bill will have to pass a parliamentary vote and gain the approval of the Guardian Council, a body empowered to vet legislation. It was not immediately clear when the parliamentary vote would take place. In May, Iran's Central Bank Gov. Mohammad Reza Farzin said he would pursue the plan, noting that the Iranian rial 'does not have a favourable image' in the global economy. The move comes as Iran faces deepening economic challenges, including runaway inflation, a sharply devalued currency, and the prolonged impact of international sanctions. As of Sunday, the rial was trading at around 920,000 to the US dollar on the street market, according to local media and the Bonbast website that monitors unofficial exchange rates. In practice, Iranians have long abandoned the rial in everyday transactions, using the toman instead. One toman equals 10 rials. Iran's economy has long been under severe strain due to sweeping US sanctions since Washington's 2018 withdrawal from a landmark nuclear deal during US President Donald Trump's first term in office. Upon returning to office in January, Trump revived his 'maximum pressure' sanctions campaign on Tehran. In June, Iranian lawmakers approved new economy minister Ali Madanizadeh after his predecessor, Abdolnaser Hemmati, was ousted in a no-confidence vote for failing to address the country's economic woes. The same month Israel launched an unprecedented attack on Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure, beginning a deadly 12-day war. Korea Herald / AFP
Ya Libnan
an hour ago
- Ya Libnan
Hamas will allow aid for hostages if Israel halts airstrikes, opens permanent humanitarian corridors
Aid packages dropped from an airplane descend over Gaza, in Zawayda, in the central Gaza Strip August 3, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed By Nidal Al-Mughrabi Summary Hamas said on Sunday it was prepared to coordinate with the Red Cross to deliver aid to hostages it holds in Gaza, if Israel meets certain conditions, after a video it released showing an emaciated captive drew sharp criticism from Western powers. Hamas said any coordination with the Red Cross is contingent upon Israel permanently opening humanitarian corridors and halting airstrikes during the distribution of aid. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Hamas, thus far, has barred humanitarian organizations from having any kind of access to the hostages and families have little or no details of their conditions. On Saturday, Hamas released its second video in two days of Israeli hostage Evyatar David. In it, David, skeletally thin, is shown digging a hole that, he says in the video, is for his own grave. The arm of the individual holding the camera, which can be seen in the frame, is a regular width. The video of David drew criticism from Western powers and horrified Israelis. France, Germany, the UK and the U.S. were among countries to express outrage and Israel's foreign ministry announced that the UN Security Council will hold a special session on Tuesday morning on the issue of the situation of the hostages in Gaza Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had asked the Red Cross to give humanitarian assistance to the hostages during a conversation with the head of the Swiss-based ICRC's local delegation. A statement from The Hostages Families Forum, which represents relatives of those being held in Gaza, said Hamas' comments about the hostages cannot hide that it 'has been holding innocent people in impossible conditions for over 660 days,' and demanded their immediate release. 'Until their release,' said the statement, 'Hamas has the obligation to provide them with everything they need. Hamas kidnapped them and they must care for them. Every hostage who dies will be on Hamas's hands.' Six more people died of starvation or malnutrition in Gaza over the past 24 hours, its health ministry said on Sunday as Israel said it allowed a delivery of fuel to the enclave, in the throes of a humanitarian disaster after almost two years of war . The new deaths raised the toll of those dying from what international humanitarian agencies say may be an unfolding famine to 175, including 93 children, since the war began, the ministry said. Egypt's state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said two trucks carrying 107 tons of diesel were set to enter Gaza, months after Israel severely restricted aid access to the enclave before easing it somewhat as starvation began to spread. COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, said later in the day that four tankers of U.N. fuel had entered to help in operations of hospitals, bakeries, public kitchens and other essential services. There was no immediate confirmation whether the two diesel fuel trucks had entered Gaza from Egypt. Gaza's health ministry has said fuel shortages have severely impaired hospital services, forcing doctors to focus on treating only critically ill or injured patients. Fuel shipments have been rare since March, when Israel restricted the flow of aid into the enclave in what it said was pressure on Hamas militants to free the remaining hostages they took in their October 2023 attack on Israel. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza but, in response to a rising international uproar, it announced steps last week to let more aid reach the population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, approving air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. U.N. agencies say airdrops are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and open up access to the territory to prevent starvation among its 2.2 million people, most of whom are displaced amidst vast swathes of rubble. COGAT said that during the past week over 23,000 tons of humanitarian aid in 1,200 trucks had entered Gaza but that hundreds of the trucks had yet to be driven to aid distribution hubs by U.N. and other international organisations. Meanwhile, Belgium's air force dropped the first in a series of its aid packages into Gaza on Sunday in a joint operation with Jordan, the Belgian defence ministry said. France on Friday started to air-drop 40 tons of humanitarian aid. LOOTED AID TRUCKS The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said on Sunday that nearly 1,600 aid trucks had arrived since Israel eased restrictions late in July. However, witnesses and Hamas sources said many of those trucks have been looted by desperate displaced people and armed gangs. More than 700 trucks of fuel entered the Gaza Strip in January and February during a ceasefire before Israel broke it in March in a dispute over terms for extending it and resumed its major offensive. Palestinian local health authorities said at least 80 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes across the coastal enclave on Sunday. Deaths included persons trying to make their way to aid distribution points in southern and central areas of Gaza, Palestinian medics said. Among those killed was a staff member of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which said an Israeli strike at its headquarters in Khan Younis in southern Gaza ignited a fire on the first floor of the building. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in a cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's air and ground war in densely populated Gaza has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to enclave health officials. Reuters
