Israel resumes airdrop aid to Gaza, military says
Emily Rose
, Reuters
Displaced Palestinians at the Nuseirat refugee camp haul food parcels and other items they managed to get from a GHF aid distribution point at the so-called "Netzarim corridor" in the central Gaza Strip on July 26, 2025.
Photo:
EYAD BABA/AFP
Israel has resumed airdrop aid to Gaza, an Israeli military spokesperson told Reuters, as the Israeli military announced several steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis after mounting international pressure.
The military said in a statement that designated humanitarian corridors would be established to enable the safe movement of United Nations convoys delivering aid to the Gaza population, and that humanitarian pauses would be implemented in densely populated areas.
"The airdrops will include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food to be provided by international organisations," it added.
Palestinian sources confirmed that aid has begun dropping in northern Gaza.
International aid organisations said mass hunger had now arrived among Gaza's 2.2 million people, with stocks running out after Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March, then reopened it in May but with new restrictions.
Israel said it had let enough food into Gaza and accused the United Nations of failing to distribute it.
Displaced Palestinians at the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Photo:
EYAD BABA/AFP
The United Nations said it was operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions.
"The IDF emphasises that there is no starvation in the Gaza Strip; this is a false campaign promoted by Hamas," the Israeli military said in its Saturday statement (US Time).
"Responsibility for food distribution to the population in Gaza lies with the UN and international aid organisations.
"Therefore, the UN and international organisations are expected to improve the effectiveness of aid distribution and to ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas."
The UN said on Thursday that humanitarian pauses would allow "the scale up of humanitarian assistance" and said Israel hadn't provided ample route alternatives for its convoys which had hindered aid access.
Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in the past few weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry while 127 people have died due to malnutrition, including 85 children, since the start of the war, which began nearly two years ago.
On Wednesday, more than 100 aid agencies warned that mass starvation was spreading across the enclave.
The military also said on Saturday it had connected a power line to a desalination plant, expected to supply daily water needs for about 900,000 Gazans.
- Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
Plane that crashed killing 181 could have kept flying
A Jeju Air plane that crashed in December during an emergency landing after a bird strike could have kept flying on the damaged engine that was still working after pilots shut down the other one, according to an update from South Korean investigators. The Boeing 737-800 instead belly-landed at Muan airport without its landing gear down, overshot the runway and erupted into a fireball after slamming into an embankment, killing all but two of the 181 people on board. Investigators have not yet produced a final report into the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil, but information about the plane's two engines has begun to emerge. According to a July 19 update prepared by investigators and seen by Reuters but not publicly released following complaints from victims' family members, the left engine sustained less damage than the right following a bird strike, but the left engine was shut down 19 seconds after the bird strike. The right engine experienced a "surge" and emitted flames and black smoke, but investigators said it "was confirmed to be generating output sufficient for flight," in the five-page update, which included post-crash photos of both engines. No reason for the crew's actions was given and the probe is expected to last months as investigators reconstruct the plane's technical state and the picture understood by its pilots. Experts say most air accidents are caused by multiple factors and caution against putting too much weight on incomplete evidence. MORE QUESTIONS So far, public attention has focused on the possibility that the crew may have shut down the less-damaged engine, rekindling memories of a 1989 Boeing 737-400 crash in Kegworth, England, where pilots shut down a non-damaged engine by mistake. The disaster led to multiple changes in regulations including improvements in crew communication and emergency procedures. A source told Reuters on Monday that the South Korea-led probe had "clear evidence" that pilots had shut off the less-damaged left engine after the bird strike, citing the cockpit voice recorder, computer data and a switch found in the wreckage. But the latest update on the crash also raises the possibility that even the more heavily damaged engine that was still running could have kept the plane aloft for longer. It did not say what level of performance the operating engine still had, nor what extra options that might have given to the plane's emergency-focused crew before the jet doubled back and landed in the opposite direction of the runway from its initial plan with its landing gear up. Both engines contained bird strike damage and both experienced engine vibrations after the strike. The right engine showed significant internal damage, the Korean-language update from South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) said, but it did not describe the damage found in the left engine. The update did not say how the left engine was operating nor the state of systems connected to either engine, said former U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigator Greg Feith when shown the document translated by Reuters. It contains some new facts but omits far more, resulting in a "cryptic" document, he said. ARAIB, which plans to issue a final report next June, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Safety experts say it is common for early reports to contain sparse facts and limited analysis while investigations continue. A preliminary report released in January said feathers and blood stains from ducks were found in both engines. The engines - made by CFM International, jointly owned by GE and France's Safran - were examined in May and no defects or fault data were found beyond the bird and crash damage, the report said. Families of those who died in the disaster were briefed on the engine findings but asked investigators not to release the July 19 report, saying that it appeared to apportion blame to the pilots without exploring other factors. The report was withheld but Reuters and South Korean media obtained copies. Boeing and GE referred questions about the crash to ARAIB. Safran did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jeju Air has previously said it is cooperating with ARAIB and is awaiting publication of the investigation. Under global aviation rules, civil air investigations aim to discover crash causes without assigning blame or liability. The Jeju Air pilots' union said ARAIB was "misleading the public" by suggesting there was no problem with the left engine given that bird remains were found in both. A source who attended the briefing told Reuters that investigators told family members the left engine also experienced a disruptive "surge," citing black box data. The pilot union and representatives of bereaved families have asked that evidence be released to support any findings. Relatives say the investigation also needs to focus on the embankment containing navigation equipment, which safety experts have said likely contributed to the high death toll. Global aviation standards call for any navigation equipment in line with runways to be installed on structures that easily give way in case of impact with an aircraft. South Korea's transport ministry has identified seven domestic airports, including Muan, with structures made of concrete or steel, rather than materials that break apart on impact and has said it will improve them. Designs for the new structures are in progress, a ministry official told Reuters last week.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Israel resumes airdrop aid to Gaza, military says
By Emily Rose , Reuters Displaced Palestinians at the Nuseirat refugee camp haul food parcels and other items they managed to get from a GHF aid distribution point at the so-called "Netzarim corridor" in the central Gaza Strip on July 26, 2025. Photo: EYAD BABA/AFP Israel has resumed airdrop aid to Gaza, an Israeli military spokesperson told Reuters, as the Israeli military announced several steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis after mounting international pressure. The military said in a statement that designated humanitarian corridors would be established to enable the safe movement of United Nations convoys delivering aid to the Gaza population, and that humanitarian pauses would be implemented in densely populated areas. "The airdrops will include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food to be provided by international organisations," it added. Palestinian sources confirmed that aid has begun dropping in northern Gaza. International aid organisations said mass hunger had now arrived among Gaza's 2.2 million people, with stocks running out after Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March, then reopened it in May but with new restrictions. Israel said it had let enough food into Gaza and accused the United Nations of failing to distribute it. Displaced Palestinians at the Nuseirat refugee camp. Photo: EYAD BABA/AFP The United Nations said it was operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions. "The IDF emphasises that there is no starvation in the Gaza Strip; this is a false campaign promoted by Hamas," the Israeli military said in its Saturday statement (US Time). "Responsibility for food distribution to the population in Gaza lies with the UN and international aid organisations. "Therefore, the UN and international organisations are expected to improve the effectiveness of aid distribution and to ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas." The UN said on Thursday that humanitarian pauses would allow "the scale up of humanitarian assistance" and said Israel hadn't provided ample route alternatives for its convoys which had hindered aid access. Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in the past few weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry while 127 people have died due to malnutrition, including 85 children, since the start of the war, which began nearly two years ago. On Wednesday, more than 100 aid agencies warned that mass starvation was spreading across the enclave. The military also said on Saturday it had connected a power line to a desalination plant, expected to supply daily water needs for about 900,000 Gazans. - Reuters
RNZ News
5 days ago
- RNZ News
A never-ending visa queue for refugees
A 7.7-magnitude quake flattened buildings across Myanmar on March 28, killing more than 3,400 people, making thousands more homeless, and worsening an already complex humanitarian situation amid civil war. Photo: SAI AUNG MAIN / AFP When Dawt Tha Thang arrived in New Zealand in 2010, she was with her husband and five of her children. Within weeks, she gave birth to her youngest. But her eldest daughter stayed behind in Myanmar. She had just married and was pregnant. The Thangs are Christian Chins and as a minority, have faced persecution - it is how they became refugees - but over the past several years things have become even more dangerous in Myanmar. First, in 2021 there was a military coup and the country descended into civil war. Then, this March, there was an earthquake that killed thousands. "Myanmar as a whole is a pretty awful situation, with the civil war and the earthquake and forced conscription, but this is a family that ... also comes from a persecuted minority. They have been shaken down in [the capital city] Yangon, ie the army comes round and demands money or they will be sent to jail. They're moving every second or third night to stay away from the army," says Caroline Forsyth, who is friends with the family and speaks on their behalf to The Detail. Under the Refugee Family Support Category (RFSC), the Thangs can apply to bring their daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren here to join them. And the last time applications opened, they did. That was in 2017. They have been closed since then. Right now, the queue is 4190 people long, with only a few applicants coming off that list every year. But the scale of the problem is much bigger, because it does not represent all the people who have not even had a chance to apply. In today's episode of The Detail, Jay Marlowe - professor of social work at Auckland University and co-author with the Red Cross of a report on the RFSC - explains how the category works - and does not. "It's not our position that the RFSC is not working or is absolutely broken... for me fundamentally it's about ensuring that we protect what exists but also to recognise that it is under need of reform," he says. "It's not irreparably broken, but it does need reform." Under the RFSC there are two tiers. Tier One is for people who have come here as refugees who have no other adult family in the country, and Tier Two is for people who do have adult family - like the Thangs, who are a married couple and now have adult children - but have other adult family who they would like to reunite with as well. Tier One is prioritised, because people applying in that category do not have any support here. That category remains open for applications, but Tier Two has only opened for applications twice. The first time was in 2012, and the second was in 2017. Both times, it was only for a few days, and Forsyth and Marlowe say the system was inundated with applications. There are only 600 places a year open for the RFSC, and because Tier One is always open and those applications are prioritised, very few Tier Two applicants get through. This leaves people like the Thangs in a holding pattern, unsure of when - if ever - they will be able to reunite with their families. In their case, their daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren are hungry, they have lost family members to military violence, and the children can not go to school. They have attempted to escape to Thailand, where they'd be able to register as refugees, but haven't been able to. Last month, Labour MP Phil Twyford asked Associate Immigration Minister Casey Costello and General Manager, Refugee and Migrant Service Fiona Whiteridge, for an update on progress. Whiteridge said that "in order to clear that tier two queue, and it obviously is all dependent on how many more people applying to tier one, it would take us between eight to 10 years". Marlowe says there is clear research that reuniting people with their families has a broad range of benefits and the government should think about this category not just in terms of what it costs, but also what it might save in the long term. "Not only does it make sense to reunite families ... but it might even make dollars and cents. "Family reunification is often one of the most important, if not the most important, topic that people want to address." Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
