Gaza still waiting for aid as pressure mounts on Israel
CAIRO/JERUSALEM: Palestinians in Gaza were left waiting for the promised arrival of food on Wednesday despite mounting international and domestic pressure on the Israeli government to allow more aid to reach a population on the brink of famine after an 11-week blockade.
Fewer than 100 aid trucks have entered Gaza, according to Israeli military figures, since Monday, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government agreed to lift the blockade that has forced Gazans into a desperate struggle to survive.
With air strikes and tank fire continuing to pound the enclave, killing dozens of people on Wednesday, local bakers and transport operators said they had yet to see fresh supplies of flour and other essentials.
Abdel-Nasser Al-Ajramy, the head of the bakery owners' society, said at least 25 bakeries that were told they would receive flour from the World Food Programme had seen nothing and there was no relief from the hunger for people waiting for food.
No aid has been distributed yet in Gaza, UN says
'There is no flour, no food, no water,' said Sabah Warsh Agha, a 67-year-old woman from the northern Gaza town of BeitLahiya sheltering in a cluster of tents near to the beach in Gaza City. 'We used to get water from the pump, now the pump has stopped working. There is no diesel or gas.'
The resumption of the assault on Gaza since March, following a two-month ceasefire, has drawn condemnation from countries that have long been cautious about expressing open criticism of Israel. Even the United States, the country's most important ally, has shown signs of losing patience with Netanyahu.
Britain has suspended talks with Israel on a free trade deal, and the European Union said it will review a pact onpolitical and economic ties over the 'catastrophic situation' in Gaza. Britain, France and Canada have threatened 'concrete actions' if Israel continues its offensive.
'Pariah state'
Within Israel, left-wing opposition leader Yair Golan drew a furious response from the government and its supporters this week when he declared that 'A sane country doesn't kill babies as a hobby' and said Israel risked becoming a 'pariah state among the nations.'
Golan, a former deputy commander of the Israeli military who went single-handedly to rescue victims of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, leads a party with little electoral clout.
UK halts trade talks with Israel over Gaza
But his words, and similar comments by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in an interview with the BBC, underscored the deepening unease in Israel at the continuation of the war while 58 hostages remain in Gaza. Netanyahu dismissed the criticism.
'I heard Olmert and Yair Golan - and it's shocking,' he said in a videoed statement. 'While IDF soldiers are fighting Hamas, there are those who are strengthening the false propaganda against the State of Israel.'
Opinion polls show widespread support for a ceasefire that would include the return of all the hostages, with a survey from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem this week showing 70% in favour of a deal.
But hardliners in the cabinet, some of whom argue for the complete expulsion of all Palestinians from Gaza, have insisted on continuing the war until 'final victory', which would include disarming Hamas as well as the return of the hostages.
Netanyahu, trailing in the opinion polls and facing trial at home on corruption charges which he denies as well as an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court has so far sided with the hardliners.
Netanyahu says Israel will control Gaza as aid trucks prepare to enter
Air strikes and tank fire killed at least 34 people across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Palestinian health authorities said. The Israeli military said air strikes hit 115 targets, which it said included rocket launchers, tunnels and unspecified military infrastructure.
As some trucks left Kerem Shalom, the sprawling customs and logistics hub at the south-eastern corner of the Gaza Strip, asmall group of Israeli protestors angry that any supplies were being let into Gaza while hostages were still held there triedto block them.
Israel imposed the blockade at the beginning of March, saying Hamas was seizing supplies meant for civilians, a charge denied by the hamas.
A new U.S.-backed system, using private contractors, is due to begin aid distribution in the near future but the plan has been criticized by aid groups and many key details remain unclear.
The campaign has killed more than 53,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the coastal strip, where aid groups say signs of severe malnutrition are widespread.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Iran could produce enriched uranium in months, UN nuclear chief warns
Listen to article Iran could be producing enriched uranium in a few months, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog Rafael Grossi was quoted as saying on Sunday, raising doubts about how effective US strikes to destroy Tehran's nuclear programme have been. US officials have stated that their strikes obliterated key nuclear sites in Iran, although US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran is enriching uranium to worrisome levels. "The capacities they have are there. They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that," Grossi told CBS News in an interview. "Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there," he added, according to the transcript of an interview on "Face the Nation" with Margaret Brennan due to air on Sunday. Saying it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing nuclear weapons, Israel launched attacks on Iran earlier this month, igniting a 12-day air war that the US eventually joined. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only. Grossi, who heads the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, said the strikes on sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan had significantly set back Iran's ability to convert and enrich uranium. However, Western powers stress that Iran's nuclear advances provide it with an irreversible knowledge gain, suggesting that while losing experts or facilities may slow progress, the advances are permanent. "Iran is a very sophisticated country in terms of nuclear technology," Grossi said. "So you cannot disinvent this. You cannot undo the knowledge that you have or the capacities that you have." Grossi was also asked about reports of Iran moving its stock of highly enriched uranium in the run-up to the US strikes and said it was not clear where that material was.
Business Recorder
3 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Israeli court postpones Netanyahu appearance in graft trial
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: An Israeli court on Sunday postponed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's testimony in his corruption trial after he requested a delay with the support of US President Donald Trump, in a ruling published by the premier's party. 'Following the explanations given… we partially accept the request and cancel at this stage Mr Netanyahu's hearings scheduled' for this week, the Jerusalem district court said in its ruling, published online by the Likud party. Netanyahu's lawyers had asked the court to excuse him from testifying over the next two weeks so he could focus on security issues following a ceasefire with Iran and amid ongoing fighting in Gaza where Israeli hostages are held. They had submitted Netanyahu's schedule to the court to demonstrate 'the national need for the prime minister to devote all his time and energy to the political, national and security issues at hand'. The court initially rejected the lawyers' request but said in its ruling on Sunday that it had changed its judgement after hearing arguments from the prime minister, the head of military intelligence and the chief of the Mossad spy agency. Trump on Wednesday described the case against Netanyahu as a 'witch hunt', saying the trial 'should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero'. He added in a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that the United States was 'not going to stand' for the continued prosecution, prompting Netanyahu to thank him in a message on X. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Thursday criticised Trump, saying he 'should not interfere in a judicial trial in an independent country'. Netanyahu has thanked Trump for his support in Israel's brief war against Iran, which ended with a ceasefire on June 24. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and his supporters have described the long-running trial as politically motivated. In a first case, he and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewellery and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favours. In two other cases, Netanyahu is accused of attempting to negotiate more favourable coverage from two Israeli media outlets. During his current term, which started in late 2022, Netanyahu's government has proposed a series of far-reaching judicial reforms that critics say were designed to weaken the courts. Netanyahu has requested multiple postponements in the trial since it began in May 2020.
Express Tribune
7 hours ago
- Express Tribune
'71 killed by Israeli strikes on Iran's Evin Prison'
Israel's attack on the Evin Prison in Iran's capital, Tehran, on June 23 killed 71 people, Iranian judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said on Sunday. At the end of an air war with Iran, Israel struck Tehran's most notorious jail for political prisoners, in a demonstration that it was expanding its targets beyond military and nuclear sites to aim at symbols of Iran's ruling system. 'In the attack on Evin prison, 71 people were martyred, including administrative staff, youth doing their military service, detainees, family members of detainees who were visiting them and neighbours who lived in the prison's vicinity,' Jahangir said in remarks carried on the judiciary's news outlet Mizan. Jahangir had previously said that part of Evin prison's administrative building had been damaged in the attack and people were killed and injured. The judiciary added that the remaining detainees had been transferred to other prisons in Tehran province. Evin prison holds many foreign nationals, including two French citizens detained for three years. "The strike targeting Evin prison in Tehran put our citizens, Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, in danger. It is unacceptable," France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had said on social media X after the attack. Earlier on Saturday, Iran held a mass funeral procession in Tehran for dozens of military commanders and high-ranking officials killed by Israeli airstrikes during a 12-day conflict that has escalated regional tensions. State media reported that the ceremony to honour the martyrs commenced in Enghelab Square, with thousands of mourners dressed in black and waving Iranian flags. Read: Iran holds mass funeral for top brass assassinated by Israeli strikes The procession is moving towards Azadi Square, a symbolic route used in major national events. 12-day war The 12-day war that began with unprovoked Israeli military strikes in Iran on June 13 resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries on both sides, according to official figures released by the respective governments. Israel launched the first strikes, targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities with more than 200 fighter jets. According to Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, at least 610 people were killed and 4,746 injured, including 185 women and 13 children. Public infrastructure also sustained extensive damage, including hospitals, ambulances, and emergency units. Among those killed were senior nuclear scientists and high-ranking military commanders, including the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The youngest confirmed fatality was a two-month-old infant. Read more: If necessary, will bomb Iran again: Trump In response, Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at Israeli targets, with Tel Aviv and Haifa among the hardest hit. The Israeli military stated that up to 1,000 projectiles were launched, of which 90 percent were intercepted. The attacks resulted in 28 deaths and 3,238 injuries across Israel. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) project, Israel carried out at least 508 airstrikes on Iran during the escalation. Another count from Al Jazeera's Sanad fact-checking agency - italicise placed the number at 145 combined Israeli and US strikes. Iranian retaliation included at least 120 missile and drone attacks, with some reaching Israeli civilian and critical infrastructure. Notable targets included Soroka Medical Center, the Israeli Military Intelligence School, the Ministry of Interior in Haifa, and several energy facilities. The US joined the conflict on June 22 with bunker-buster bombings on Iran's nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan. A US-brokered ceasefire was reached on June 24, shortly after Iran launched missiles at the largest US airbase in the Middle East, located in Qatar. Iranian authorities reported a mass internal displacement, with nearly nine million people leaving major cities such as Tehran and heading toward northern provinces bordering the Caspian Sea. The ceasefire remains in place, though both nations have warned of further action if provoked.
