Israel allows aid to trickle into Gaza after widespread condemnation of blockade
The Israeli army on Sunday said the pause will take place daily in Al Mawasi, Deir Al Balah, and Gaza city, from 10am (0700 GMT) to 8pm (1700 GMT) until further notice, the military said.
'This decision was co-ordinated with the UN and international organisations following discussions regarding the matter,' it said.
Israel said it began aid airdrops to Gaza on Saturday and that it would establish "humanitarian corridors" for UN convoys to deliver aid. This marks the first Israeli air drop of aid since the war began.
Gaza's health ministry on Saturday said 127 people had died of malnutrition and starvation.
Dozens of lorries carrying tonnes of humanitarian aid that have been waiting for Israeli permission to enter the enclave where mass starvation has been on the rise moved towards the Karam Abu Salem crossing in southern Gaza, Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News reported.
International aid groups have been repeatedly warning for months that mass hunger was spreading among Gaza with food running out after Israel cut off all supplies in March. Most of the aid distribution has been handled by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since May, the site of deadly violence.
Western countries have condemned Israel's 'drip feeding of aid' and have called the Israeli aid delivery model dangerous. More than 1,000 aid seekers have been killed since May.
H umanitarian organisations say many warehouses filled with aid are just outside the territory and subject to Israeli entry controls. For warehouses inside Gaza, the NGOs are blocked from accessing and delivering the supplies, they say.
Israel has also denied the claims of large-scale starvation, accusing Hamas of looting aid and blocking its distribution. But the UN says Israel's restrictions and rejections of permits are the main reason for mounting stockpiles at border crossings.
An internal US government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by Hamas of US-funded humanitarian supplies, challenging the main rationale that Israel and the US give for backing a new armed private aid operation.
Israel's announcement on airdrops and military pause came after indirect ceasefire talks in Doha with Hamas were broken off.
The Israeli military said in a statement that the airdrops would be conducted in co-ordination with international aid organisations and would include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food.
Israel said it would also allow the UAE and Jordan to resume dropping humanitarian supplies.
The UAE on Saturday also announced it would resume air drops of aid into Gaza as the humanitarian situation reaches a 'critical and unprecedented level', Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, said.
Up until last year, the UAE dropped thousands of tonnes of humanitarian aid, food and relief supplies into Gaza as part of the country's Birds of Goodness operation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
41 minutes ago
- The National
Trump ally says Israeli military will 'take Gaza down like we did Tokyo and Berlin'
US Senator Lindsey Graham said on Sunday that Israel is preparing to intensify its military campaign in Gaza, comparing the strategy to Allied operations on Tokyo and Berlin at the end of Second World War. 'What we're talking about today is a change in strategy. I think President (Donald) Trump has come to believe, and I certainly come to believe there's no way you're going to negotiate an end of this war with Hamas,' Mr Graham told NBC in an interview. 'Hamas is a terrorist organisation who is chartered to destroy the State of Israel. They're religious Nazis. They hold Israeli hostages.' Mr Graham, from South Carolina, said that Israel has concluded that dismantling Hamas is the only way to ensure its security. 'If they're going to do in Gaza what we did in Tokyo and Berlin – take the place by force, then start over again, presenting a better future for the Palestinians, hopefully having the Arabs take over the West Bank and Gaza,' he said. 'I think going forward … you're going to see a change in tactics, a full military effort by Israel to take Gaza down,' he said. On Thursday, Mr Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Hamas' latest response to ceasefire proposals showed a 'lack of desire' to reach a truce. Mr Witkoff said Washington will look at 'alternative options,' without elaborating. Mr Trump told reporters on Sunday that Israel would have to make a decision on next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after moves by Israel to pull out of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with the Hamas militant group. Mr Trump underscored the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, saying they had suddenly 'hardened' up on the issue. 'They don't want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision,' he said the start of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf property in Turnberry, Scotland.
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Syria expected to hold parliamentary election in September, official says
Syria is expected to hold its first parliamentary election under the new government in September, the head of the electoral process said. Voting for the People's Assembly should take place from September 15-20, the head of Syria's High Elections Committee Mohamed Taha Al Ahmad said. President Ahmad Al Shara"emphasised the necessity of proceeding with the electoral process in all Syrian governorates, rejecting division, which is denounced by all Syrians," he said. All those who "sided with the criminals and supported them" and individuals "who advocate for division, sectarianism and factionalism" will be excluded from running in the vote. He added that the number of parliamentary seats will increase from 150 to 210, with the president appointing 70 members. This decision is likely to come under intense scrutiny following President Al Shara's decision to appoint two brothers, Maher and Hazem, to top government positions. Mr Ahmad said the international community and independent election monitors will be invited to oversee the poll. The vote will be the first after the fall of Bashar Al Assad's regime. Mr Al Shara, leader of a former Al Qaeda offshoot, came to power in Syria after guerrilla fighters he led brought down Assad in December, after more than 13 years of civil war. The announcement came as the country was gripped by a series of violent incidents in recent weeks. A Syrian committee investigating sectarian violence in the Alawite heartland said on Tuesday it had identified 298 suspects implicated in serious violations during bloodshed that left at least 1,426 members of the religious minority dead in March. The findings come after fresh violence involving the country's Druze community, raising further questions over the new government's ability to manage sectarian tensions.
Dubai Eye
2 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
Aid trucks move from Egypt to Gaza after Israel said it began airdrops
Aid trucks started moving towards Gaza from Egypt, Al Qahera News TV said on Sunday, after months of international pressure and warnings from relief agencies about starvation spreading in the Palestinian enclave. Israel said that it began aid airdrops to Gaza on Saturday and was taking several other steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Israeli military said "humanitarian corridors" would be established for safe movement of United Nations convoys delivering aid to Gazans and that "humanitarian pauses" would be implemented in densely populated areas. Dozens of trucks carrying tonnes of humanitarian aid moved towards the Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing in southern Gaza, the Al Qahera correspondent said from the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza. International aid organisations say there is mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people, with food running out after Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March, before resuming it in May with new restrictions. Israel says it has let enough food into Gaza and accuses the United Nations of failing to distribute it. The United Nations says it is operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions. Israel's announcement on airdrops came after indirect ceasefire talks in Doha between Israel and Hamas were broken off with no deal in sight. The Israeli military said in a statement that the airdrops would be conducted in coordination with international aid organisations and would include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar and canned food. Palestinian sources confirmed that aid had begun dropping in northern Gaza. Israel's foreign ministry said the military would "apply a 'humanitarian pause' in civilian centres and in humanitarian corridors" on Sunday morning. "The IDF emphasizes 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. "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." AID SHIP INTERCEPTED The Israeli military stressed that despite the humanitarian steps, "combat operations have not ceased" in the Gaza Strip. Separately, international activists on an aid ship that set sail from Italy en route to Gaza said in a post on X that the vessel had been intercepted. The Israeli foreign ministry said on X that naval forces "stopped the vessel from illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza," that it was being taken to Israeli shores and all passengers were safe. The UN said on Thursday that pauses in Gaza would allow "the scale up of humanitarian assistance" and said Israel had not provided enough route alternatives for its convoys hindering aid access.
