John Swinney demands ‘urgent international action' after aid convoy attack
The Israeli Defence Forces are said to have fired what it described as 'warning shots' at crowds who gathered around aid trucks bringing emergency supplies.
The Scottish First Minister insisted: 'Reports that those seeking what little aid is permitted to enter Gaza face violence and death at the hands of the Israeli government demands urgent international action.'
This statement @WFP is unbearable to read. The international community must require the Israeli Government to stop these attacks and there must be a ceasefire now to allow humanitarian aid to flow. https://t.co/sALpZfp2Ql
— John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) July 21, 2025
His comments came as the UN World Food Programme told how its 25-truck convoy 'carrying vital food assisted' for 'starving communities in northern Gaza' had come 'under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire'.
In a statement after the incident on Sunday July 20, it said: 'We are deeply concerned and saddened by this tragic incident resulting in the loss of countless lives.'
Mr Swinney said that that was 'unbearable to read'.
He insisted: 'The international community must require the Israeli Government to stop these attacks and there must be a ceasefire now to allow humanitarian aid to flow.'
The First Minister made the demands as he wrote in a letter how a recent attack on the only Catholic church in Gaza had brought the 'horror of the situation painfully close to home'.
Mr Swinney and his wife Elizabeth met the priest from the Holy Family Church in Gaza, Father Gabriel Romanelli, in Glasgow last year.
I am deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in #Gaza. I assure the parish community of my spiritual closeness. I commend the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of Almighty God, and pray for…
— Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex) July 17, 2025
Father Romanelli was injured when an explosion hit the front of the church, killing three people and leaving others seriously injured.
Pope Leo XIV has already said he was 'deeply saddened' by the 'military attack' on the church.
And in a letter to Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and leading Catholic authority in the area, Mr Swinney told how people across Scotland are 'moved with both distress and anger at the unimaginable suffering facing the people of Gaza'.
The First Minister told Cardinal Pizzabella: 'The heart-breaking reality of the situation in Gaza is that this tragedy, that has taken the lives of three of your parishioners, is but one of an untold number of tragedies that has come to pass in the region since October 7 2023.'
Mr Swinney continued: 'That the people of Gaza can not even find peace and sanctuary within the confines of their place of worship beings me real pain.'
He told the Cardinal that he would 'pray for the families of the dead, for the injured and for lasting peace in Gaza'.
But Mr Swinney also pledged: 'The government I will lead will continue to do everything it can to help achieve a ceasefire in the region.'
The First Minister's comments came as he noted that 'over 55,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began', adding that 'many more are being starved of food, water and humanitarian aid'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jordan, other countries could airdrop aid into Gaza as humanitarian crisis worsens
The Kingdom of Jordan will airdrop humanitarian aid into Gaza as Palestinians face widespread starvation and diplomatic talks over a ceasefire break down, a source familiar with the operation told ABC News. Jordan's Royal Air Force will restart the drop by beginning to draw from a stockpile of 500 tons of food in Amman, the source said. Military aircraft will drop the food into designated drop zones, which are being coordinated with Israeli authorities, according to an Israeli security official. The airdrops, an operation viewed by the humanitarian officials as a last resort, come as dire conditions in Gaza teeter toward a famine, which the United Nations warns is on the horizon. MORE: 'They're losing hope': What doctors, aid workers are seeing in Gaza amid hunger crisis Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who appeared in Washington this week alongside the Jordanian Foreign Minister, ignored questions from ABC News about how the U.S. could improve the deteriorating humanitarian situation for Gaza and particularly for the enclave's children, who are starving at alarming rates. President Donald Trump expressed frustration Friday morning after the U.S. and Israel recalled negotiating teams in the region Thursday, blaming gridlocked talks on Hamas and suggesting Israel would ramp up its war efforts. "They pulled out in terms of negotiating," Trump said. "It was too bad [that] Hamas didn't really want to make a deal." Hamas said Thursday it was "surprised" the US pulled back its negotiators, saying "mediators have expressed appreciation" for the terror group's "constructive and positive stance" in the talks. Trump said diplomacy is at a point where Israel is "going to have to finish the job," suggesting military action as an answer. "You're going to have to get rid of" Hamas, he said. Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said "alternative options" would be weighed to bring Israeli hostages held by Hamas home. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed Witkoff's sentiment, but neither elaborated on what the options were. The president said aid is blocked by Hamas and that the U.S. "is going to do more" for the humanitarian situation in Gaza. MORE: More than 30 killed at controversial foundation's aid distribution sites in Gaza: Health officials Jordan's emergency humanitarian response would be joined by the United Arab Emirates, the Israel official said. Flights over Gaza coordinated by the Israel Defense Forces and COGAT, the Israeli organization in charge of facilitating aid into the Gaza Strip, could begin in the coming days, the Israeli source said. The renewed airdrops are expected to surpass the scale of airdrops conducted by Jordan in 2024, which delivered over 1,000 tons of aid to Palestinians, the source familiar with the operation told ABC News. Cases of severe malnutrition in children under 5 in Gaza have tripled in just two weeks, according to Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). At MSF clinics, 1 in 4 children who were screened -- as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women -- are malnourished, the emergency doctors say. One in three people in the enclave, 70% of whose territory is controlled by Israel, have not eaten for multiple days in a row, the World Food Programme said this week. Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, the largest UN agency operating in Gaza, warned in a post on X that airdrops are the "most expensive and inefficient way to deliver aid," calling them a "distraction to the inaction." Jordan conducted airdrops with US Central Command in the spring of 2024 in an effort to step up aid as the war in Gaza stretched into its sixth month. Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked the Jordanian King in an April 2024 phone call, noting that the US-Jordanian airdrops delivered over 1,000 tons of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians. MORE: More than 100 aid groups warn of 'mass starvation' in Gaza amid Israel's war with Hamas The war is now just short of two years, and aid is limited to a trickle of aid convoys and distribution coordinated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed private company that has faced widespread criticism as its aid distribution points have been marked with violence and chaos since they began operating at the end of May. Over 1,000 people have been killed at aid distribution sites since May, the UN has said. Israel said it had initiated a review into an incident Sunday in which dozens of Palestinians were killed at an aid site after acknowledging troops fired near crowds. It said the probe was ongoing but a "preliminary review indicates that the reported number of casualties does not align with existing information." Just over a third of aid trucks that entered Gaza between May 31 and June 2 were received by humanitarian organizations for distribution, the UN reported in June. The meager quantities of aid and GHF-run distribution sites are the only aid permitted by Israeli authorities. Trucks flowed into Gaza across the Kerem Shalom border crossing over the past week, according to an Israeli security official, who said as many as 150 reached international organizations in Gaza on Tuesday and Wednesday. The UN said that as many as 500 trucks entered the Strip on a daily basis before the outset of the war on Oct. 7, 2023. The State Department said Thursday that Hamas was to blame for chaos and death at distribution sites and insufficient assistance reaching people in need. Hamas has said in the past that Israel is not allowing sufficient aid into the Strip. After the U.S. pulled a negotiating team meeting with Qataris intermediaries in Doha, Tommy Pigott, the State Department's Deputy Spokesperson, said ceasefire talks were not advancing because of Hamas, the terror organization whose October 7, 2023, attack on Israel initiated the war. "This humanitarian conflict lies at the feet of Hamas, who could end this conflict today by releasing the hostages and laying down their arms," Pigott said. The Jordanian Royal Air Force's C-130s, which conducted the drops in 2024 and can carry 14 tons of food each, will be tasked with the operation again, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News. The drops could include high-energy biscuits, each providing enough daily nutrients for a child. Two biscuits would sustain an adult for the day. Aid organizations say children in Gaza are starving to death in increasing numbers. A statement from UNICEF, the UN's agency for children, points to more than four who reportedly died in the last 48 hours -- and note that some 80% of the deaths in Gaza from malnutrition have been children. "These deaths are unconscionable - and could have been prevented," said Edouard Beigbeder, the agency's director for the Middle East. "The UN-led humanitarian response must be allowed to function fully through unfettered aid access to children in need," he said.
CNN
26 minutes ago
- CNN
Haiti sends troops to Mexico for training as gang violence rages on
Haiti has sent 150 soldiers to train in Mexico as the Caribbean country grapples with rampant gang violence. The troops departed Port-au-Prince on Thursday and will spend the next three months on a training course in Mexico. A total of 700 Haitian soldiers will ultimately take part in the program. Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said the initiative is part of a broader roadmap focused on restoring security, revitalizing public institutions and setting up elections. 'It illustrates the government's firm determination to restore republican order, reinstate state authority throughout the country, and ensure the protection of every citizen,' a statement from the government read. Mexico's security forces have had extensive experience battling criminal groups, particularly international drug cartels, though those efforts have failed to significantly reduce violence and homicide rates remain at near record levels. CNN has reached out to Mexico's government for more information on how it would train Haitian troops. In Haiti, gang attacks have left thousands dead and wounded in recent years. Over 80% of the capital city Port-au-Prince has been estimated to be under gang control, and nearly 1.3 million people nationwide are internally displaced because of the violence, the UN says. Haiti has repeatedly sought international help to restore security, to little effect. Last year, it welcomed hundreds of Kenyan police officers from a multinational security support mission (MSS) funded largely by the United States. At least two of the Kenyan officers have been killed and the violence has not abated. Since the MSS arrived, gangs have spread increasingly into rural areas, seizing swathes of territory in the agriculturally critical Artibonite region. Last week, armed attacks in the area uprooted an additional 15,000 people, the UN says.
Boston Globe
28 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
European and Iranian diplomats meet in Istanbul
Iranian negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, said that the 'serious, frank, and detailed' meeting focused on the nuclear issue and the status of sanctions while agreeing to further discussions. The E3 nations had earlier warned that sanctions could return under a process known as the 'snapback' mechanism, which allows one of the Western parties to reimpose UN sanctions if Tehran doesn't comply with its requirements. 'Both sides came to the meeting with specific ideas,' Gharibabadi said in a social media post. 'It was agreed that consultations on this matter will continue.' Advertisement As the talks were ongoing, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, said that he hoped that the meeting would see the E3 nations reassess their 'previous unconstructive attitude.' European leaders have said sanctions will resume by the end of August if there is no progress on containing Iran's nuclear program. The snapback mechanism 'remains on the table,' a European diplomat said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, Advertisement 'A possible delay in triggering snapback has been floated to the Iranians on the condition that there is credible diplomatic engagement by Iran, that they resume full cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), and that they address concerns about their highly-enriched uranium stockpile,' the diplomat said before Friday's negotiations. Tehran, meanwhile, has said that Washington, which withdrew from the 2015 deal during the first term of US President Trump, needs to rebuild faith in its role in negotiations. Gharibabadi previously said that Iran's engagement was dependent on 'several key principles' that included 'rebuilding Iran's trust, as Iran has absolutely no trust in the United States.' In a social media post on Thursday, he also said that the talks shouldn't be used 'as a platform for hidden agendas such as military action.' Gharibabadi insisted that Iran's right to enrich uranium 'in line with its legitimate needs' be respected, and sanctions removed. Iran has repeatedly threatened to leave the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which commits it to refrain from developing nuclear weapons, if sanctions return. Friday's talks were held at the deputy ministerial level, with Iran sending Gharibabadi and a fellow deputy foreign minister, Majid Takht-e Ravanchi. A similar meeting was held in Istanbul in May. The identity of the E3 representatives wasn't immediately clear, but the European Union's deputy foreign policy commissioner was thought to be attending. The UK, France, and Germany were signatories to the 2015 deal, alongside the US, Russia, and China. When Washington withdrew in 2018, Trump insisted the agreement wasn't tough enough. Under the original deal, neither Russia nor China can veto reimposed sanctions. Since the Israeli and US strikes on Iran, which saw American B-52 bombers hit three nuclear sites, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the E3 of hypocrisy, saying that they failed to uphold their obligations while supporting Israel's attacks. Advertisement Against the backdrop of the conflict, in which Iran responded with missile attacks on Israel and a strike on a US base in Qatar, the road ahead remains uncertain. While European officials have said they want to avoid further conflict and are open to a negotiated solution, they have warned that time is running out. Tehran maintains that it's open to diplomacy, though it recently suspended cooperation with the IAEA. A central concern for Western powers was highlighted when the IAEA reported in May that Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% — just below weapons-grade level — had grown to more than 400 kilograms (nearly 900 pounds). In an interview with Al Jazeera that aired Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Iran is prepared for another war and reiterated that its nuclear program will continue within the framework of international law, while adding that the country had no intention of pursuing nuclear weapons. IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi, meanwhile, said that no date had been set yet to restart inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities. Speaking during a visit to Singapore on Friday, he warned that if inspectors 'do not return soon, there will be a serious problem, because this is an international obligation of Iran.' While he was 'encouraged' by Tehran's readiness to engage with the IAEA, Grossi said that the sides needed 'to move from words to the reality.'
