WATCH LIVE: State Department briefing as Gaza crisis mounts
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Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
France continues aid airdrops to Gaza but says land crossings critical
France – alongside other European nations – is pursuing airdrops of humanitarian aid into the Gaza strip, with the help of Middle East partners. However, it insists that fully opening land crossings is the only efficient way to help the more than two million Palestinians who aid agencies say are facing starvation. France has been loading aid into its military transport aircraft at a base in Jordan before dropping it off over the Gaza strip. The Jordanian army has been assisting France with flight plans and drop locations to avoid accidents when the pallets land. The first airdrop took place on Friday, followed by one on Saturday without any hitches, the French army told Franceinfo. There are still 28 tons of products to be delivered out of the total 40 promised by France. Concern has escalated in the past week about hunger in the Gaza Strip after more than 21 months of war, which started after Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a deadly attack against Israel in October 2023. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 60,430 people, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, deemed reliable by the UN. Defining famine: the complex process behind Gaza's hunger crisis Israel has also heavily restricted the entry of aid into Gaza, already under blockade for 15 years before the ongoing war. According to the United Nations, the Palestinian territory is threatened with "widespread famine," and would need "more than 62,000 tons of vital aid each month "to cover the most basic humanitarian needs for food and nutrition." French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Saturday underlined France's intention to step up aid delivieries. "We will continue. Without respite. But only the immediate opening of land crossings will allow for massive and unhindered delivery," he wrote on the social network X. More than 50 tons of French humanitarian cargo are stuck in Egypt, a few kilometres from the border with Gaza. Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron thanked Jordanian, Emirati, and German partners for their support. But he insisted that "airdrops are not enough. Israel must grant full humanitarian access to address the risk of famine." International organisations have for months condemned the restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on aid distribution in Gaza, including refusing to issue border crossing permits, slow customs clearance, limited access points, and imposing dangerous routes. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – supported by Israel and the United States and opposed by NGOs – has since May become the main channel for distributing food but only has four main sites. The UN has said that 6,000 trucks are awaiting permission from Israel to enter the occupied Palestinian territory. Insufficient deliveries Other European nations such as Germany, Britain, Spain and Italy have also begun delivering aid by air. Germany staged its first food airdrops into Gaza on Thursday and Friday, which coincided with a visit by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who warned that "the humanitarian disaster in Gaza is beyond imagination." At a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wadephul, Wadephul urged Israel "to provide humanitarian and medical aid to prevent mass starvation from becoming a reality". UN says hundreds killed in recent weeks while seeking aid in Gaza Italy said Friday it would begin air drops over Gaza, becoming the latest European countries to do so. "I have given the green light to a mission involving Army and Air Force assets for the transport and airdrop of basic necessities to civilians in Gaza, who have been severely affected by the ongoing conflict," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a statement. Italy's air force will work with Jordan's military to air drop special containers containing essential goods, with the first drops on 9 August, he said. Spain on Friday said it had already air-dropped 12 tonnes of food into Gaza. Meanwhile, the United States special envoy Steve Witkoff promised a plan to deliver more food to Gaza after inspecting a US-backed GHF distribution centre on Friday. The visit was intended to give "a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza," Witkoff said. (with newswires)
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
88% of Israeli war crimes investigations end without charges, watchdog says
Israel has closed nearly nine out of ten investigations into alleged war crimes and abuses by its forces in Gaza and the West Bank without any charges or findings of wrongdoing, according to a report by a conflict monitor. Data from conflict monitor Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) shows Israel has closed 88 per cent of cases into alleged war crimes and abuses by its forces in Gaza and the occupied West Bank without filing charges or finding wrongdoing. The organisation examined 52 incidents publicly acknowledged by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) or reported in international media between October 2023 and June 2025. These cases accounted for 1,303 Palestinian deaths, 1,880 injuries and two allegations of torture. AOAV found only one investigation resulted in a prison sentence – a seven-month term for a reservist filmed abusing detainees at Sde Teiman detention centre in February this year. Five other inquiries concluded violations had occurred, but led only to internal reprimands. The remaining 46 cases – seven closed with no findings of fault and 39 still unresolved – 'suggest a pattern of impunity', AOAV said in its report. 'These figures show a system that overwhelmingly shields its forces from accountability even in the most serious, public cases,' Iain Overton and Lucas Tsantzouris, the team at AOAV, wrote. Among the high-profile cases still under review is the February 2024 killing of at least 112 Palestinians queueing for flour in Gaza City, a May strike on a Rafah tent camp that killed 45 people, and the 1 June deaths of 31 civilians heading to a food distribution point in Rafah. The IDF said all 'exceptional incidents' where laws of war may have been breached are assessed by a dedicated fact-finding team before any referral to military police. In a statement included in AOAV's analysis, the army said: 'Any report, complaint or allegation that suggests misconduct by IDF forces undergoes an initial examination process, irrespective of its source.' However, critics say the system is slow, opaque and rarely leads to trials. Israeli rights group Yesh Din told AOAV that just one prosecution came from 664 complaints linked to previous Gaza operations between 2014 and 2021. One of the most scrutinised cases in the current war involved the April 2024 drone strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, despite them travelling in clearly marked vehicles with their movements coordinated in advance. The IDF later called it 'a grave mistake', dismissed two officers and reprimanded others, but no criminal charges were brought. AOAV said unresolved cases include four fatal incidents last month alone near food distribution points in Gaza. The report concludes that Israel's investigations 'fall far short of international standards for independent, transparent inquiries into alleged war crimes', warning that internal reviews allow the country to resist external legal scrutiny while victims are left without justice. The Independent has reached out to the IDF for comment.
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Tens of thousands in Sydney demand aid into Gaza
Tens of thousands in Sydney demand aid into Gaza Tens of thousands marched across Sydney's Harbour Bridge in the rain, advocating for peace and for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza, as the enclaves starvation crisis deepens. The protest, supported by prominent figures like Julian Assange coincides with increasing international diplomatic pressure on Israel. 00:57 - Source: CNN Hear from Israeli hostages' families after meeting with Witkoff Steve Witkoff, the United States' Special Envoy to the Middle East, held a nearly three-hour meeting with the families of those still being held in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, telling them that the US' 'first priority' is getting the hostages back to Israel, the forum said. Fifty hostages remain in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive. CNN has reached out to Witkoff's team to confirm that he made these comments. 01:16 - Source: CNN Young Catholics flock to Rome for Youth Jubilee Pope Leo XIV received a rock star's welcome and led a prayer vigil with young people participating in the Jubilee of the Youth in Rome. CNN's Christopher Lamb reports. 01:23 - Source: CNN Witkoff visits controversial Gaza aid site US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff spent over five hours in Gaza, and visited the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid site. He said the purpose of the visit was to give Trump 'a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.' CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports. 01:53 - Source: CNN United Nations' Relief Chief: If anyone can shift Israeli Government, 'It's of course, the Americans' UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher tells CNN's Christiane Amanpour that if anyone can shift the Israeli government, it's the US, and addresses reports of how food aid is being intercepted. 02:09 - Source: CNN Amusement park ride splits in half in Saudi Arabia At least 23 people were injured, three of them critically, when a fairground ride buckled in Saudi Arabia, sending passengers crashing to the ground, according to state media. 00:33 - Source: CNN Soldiers in Ukraine battle Russian drones CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports from the frontlines of Ukraine, where soldiers rush to bring in the wounded as drones constantly look for a target. 01:38 - Source: CNN US diminished a key weapons stockpile fighting Iran The US used about a quarter of its supply of high-end missile interceptors during the Israel-Iran war, exposing a gap in supplies, and raising concerns about US global security posture. CNN's Tamara Qiblawi reports. 01:35 - Source: CNN Carney says Canada will recognize Palestinian state Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has joined France and Britain in announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations, as international pressure builds on Israel over the ongoing war and starvation crisis in Gaza. President Donald Trump reacted to the announcement by threatening to derail trade talks with Canada. 00:30 - Source: CNN Two leading Israeli human rights groups accuse Israel of genocide Two leading Israeli human rights groups have accused Israel of 'committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,' becoming the first such organizations to make the claim. B'Tselem's Executive Director Yuli Novak and Physicians for Human Rights Israel's Executive Director Guy Shalev tell CNN's Christiane Amanpour what was behind their groups' decisions to use the word genocide. 04:59 - Source: CNN Watch F-18 fighter jet perform evasive maneuvers to avoid crashing into audience at airshow A video verified by Reuters shows the moment when a Spanish F-18 fighter jet was forced to perform "evasive maneuvers" to avoid crashing into attendees during the Gijón Air Festival. The military praised the pilot's actions which ensured the safety of the attendees. 00:35 - Source: CNN Mothers risk their lives to get food in Gaza Palestinian women face an awful choice between risking their own lives, which could deprive their families of their only remaining provider, or watching their children starve. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports. 01:33 - Source: CNN Medics perform surgery during earthquake Video shows medics in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, continuing a surgery on a patient despite a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck off Russia's far eastern coast on July 30. 00:47 - Source: CNN Tsunami warnings triggered after major earthquake The strongest earthquake on the planet since 2011 has triggered tsunami warnings for parts of Russia, Japan, and Alaska, as well as all of Hawaii. CNN's Will Ripley reports on the 8.8-magnitude quake. 00:41 - Source: CNN Israeli settler kills activist who worked on Oscar-winning film Odeh Hathalin, a prominent Palestinian activist who had worked on an Oscar-winning documentary, was killed on Monday during an attack by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, according to local journalists and officials. CNN's Jeremy Diamond explains video circulated on social media that shows the gunman firing a hand gun in the vicinity of where Hathalin was said to be killed. 01:36 - Source: CNN Fans in England celebrate Women's Euro 2025 final win Fans celebrate in London as England has been crowned champion of Europe for the second successive time after defeating Spain 3-1 on penalties in the Women's Euro 2025 final. 00:30 - Source: CNN Breaking down Israel's aid drops into Gaza In the midst of a hunger crisis in Gaza, Israel and other countries have begun dropping aid by plane into the area. CNN's Nic Robertson breaks down how much effect this measure can offer, while the UN calls for substantial relief to come from aid trucks moving in quickly through open corridors. 01:15 - Source: CNN People fight for scraps of food in Gaza CNN's Nic Robertson reports on the scarce food conditions in Gaza, with children and mothers fighting off starvation as soup kitchens face shortages. 01:46 - Source: CNN
