International pressure mounts on Israel
Rachel Mealey: It's been two days since Israel partially lifted its blockade of Gaza but these Palestinian people say there's still no sign of the aid that's been allowed in.
Gazan: Our situation is very very difficult and nothing is coming in. There's no flour in any of the houses or inside any of the camps. People don't have flour. I don't know what to do. We want peace. Enough of the war. It's enough. Two years we've been in war and death.
Gazan: Today children will sleep without dinner or with just one meal. They drink salty water. Can you see? This is the real famine that the Palestinian people are now experiencing and no one is paying attention.
Rachel Mealey: Yousra Abu Sherekh is a project manager for Inara, an aid agency in Gaza. She says she hasn't seen evidence the supplies have arrived and expects they'll be a tiny fraction of what's needed.
Yousra Abu Sherekh: Nine trucks after more than 11 weeks of blockade, complete blockade and starvation, they are like a drop in an ocean. People here in Gaza are in need for everything now. Not only the food but they are in need for cooking gas. They are in need for fuel for transportation. They are in need for every single shelter items.
Rachel Mealey: Yousra Abu Sherekh says even with a job she's struggling to feed her own two sons.
Yousra Abu Sherekh: The fear of hunger, the thinking of what and how you will feed your children is way worse and overwhelming than any other fears during this war and during this blockade especially. So this feeling is very heartbreaking.
Rachel Mealey: While the crisis plays out Israel's threats to escalate the war in Gaza continue. Some of Israel's allies are now turning critics. Earlier in the week Britain, France and Canada issued a joint statement calling any escalation disproportionate and egregious. Overnight the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivered his strongest rebuke yet.
Keir Starmer: But first Mr Speaker I'd like to say something about the horrific situation in Gaza where the level of suffering, innocent children being bombed again is utterly intolerable. And I want to put on record today that we're horrified by the escalation from Israel. The recent announcement that Israel will allow a basic quantity of food into Gaza, a basic quantity, is totally and utterly inadequate. So we must coordinate our response because this war has gone on for far too long. We cannot allow the people of Gaza to starve.
Rachel Mealey: The UK and the EU have suspended trade talks with Israel in light of its actions in Gaza. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on social media that Britain, France and Canada were handing a huge prize to Hamas. He accused them of encouraging a repeat of the October 7th attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people with 250 Israelis taken as hostages. US President Donald Trump has remained uncharacteristically silent on the developments. His Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked about reports that the US has been working behind the scenes to relocate Palestinians to neighbouring countries while the conflict plays out.
Marco Rubio: No there's no deportation. What we have talked to some nations about is if someone voluntarily and willingly says I want to go somewhere else for some period of time because I'm sick, because my children need to go to school or what have you, are there countries in the region willing to accept them for some period of time but those will be voluntary decisions by individuals.
Andy Park: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ending that report by Rachel Mealey.
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