Israel to allow humanitarian airdrops over Gaza
'The humanitarian catastrophe that we are witnessing in Gaza must end now,' the governments of Britain, France, and Germany said in a joint statement Friday.
Advertisement
The severity of the humanitarian crisis over 21 months of grinding war has led some Western nations, once sympathetic to Israel's actions in Gaza, to shift their stance toward the entrenched conflict. On Thursday, France said it would soon recognize an independent state of Palestine, adding its name to a growing list of European countries to do so.
Starmer said in his address Friday that he was 'unequivocal' in his support of recognizing a Palestinian state but that it would need to be part of a 'wider plan, which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis.'
Advertisement
Experts criticized the planned airdrops as largely symbolic and warned that they were unlikely to provide enough aid to the roughly two million Palestinians in Gaza, who are in dire conditions after 21 months of war.
Nearly one in three people in the territory is not eating for days at a time, according to the United Nations' World Food Program. Gaza health authorities say that acute malnutrition is rising and that children have died.
Ordinary Palestinians in Gaza recount that basic goods like flour are sold for sky-high prices — or are not available at all. Doctors and health workers say their colleagues are struggling to keep working as they, too, go hungry. Major news agencies, including The Associated Press, said their employees in Gaza were less and less able to feed themselves.
On Friday, the United Nations accused Israel of throwing up 'bureaucratic, logistical, administrative, and other operational obstacles' to the distribution of aid. Those restrictions compound other problems with getting food to hungry people, the UN's office of humanitarian affairs said in a statement, including attacks on convoys by armed criminals inside Gaza.
'Why use airdrops when you can drive hundreds of trucks through the borders?' said Juliette Touma, the chief spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. 'It's much easier, more effective, faster, cheaper,' she added.
Israeli officials say they have not limited the number of trucks entering the territory, and they say the UN has failed to distribute hundreds of truckloads' worth of food and other provisions from border crossings deeper into the Gaza Strip.
Advertisement
Ceasefire talks to end the war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian armed group, have stalled. Many Gaza residents had hoped a truce would allow large amounts of food to flow freely into the enclave.
But on Thursday, the Israeli government and the United States announced that they were recalling negotiators from Qatar, where they had held talks with Hamas.
The announcement paused hopes for an immediate ceasefire, although Israeli and Hamas officials expressed optimism that the negotiations would soon resume.
Throughout Israel's nearly two-year war with Hamas, Israeli authorities have permitted some aid drops, including by the United States. But UN officials have consistently argued that the best way to bring enough food into Gaza is by land, through borders controlled by Israel and Egypt.
Israel permitted hundreds of trucks with aid to enter each day for several weeks during a ceasefire that lasted from January to March. But as further truce talks between Israel and Hamas sputtered to a halt, Israel barred practically all aid from entering the Gaza Strip for more than two months, including food, fuel, and medicine.
Israeli authorities began allowing convoys into Gaza again in May. But relatively little assistance entered the Gaza Strip in June compared with other points during the war, according to official Israeli data.
At least one recent attempt by the UN to bring food into Gaza led to chaotic scenes as Israeli soldiers shot at crowds of Palestinians rushing to seize bags of flour. Gaza health officials reported that dozens of people were killed and wounded.
On Sunday, a 25-truck convoy operated by the World Food Program made its way into the Gaza Strip. Shortly after passing the final checkpoint into Gaza, the trucks encountered huge crowds of hungry Palestinians.
Advertisement
'As the convoy approached, the surrounding crowd came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers, and other gunfire,' the World Food Program said in a statement. 'These people were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation.'
The Israeli military said its forces had fired 'warning shots' after thousands of Palestinians rushed the area. The military disputed the death toll provided by Gaza officials but did not provide an alternate figure.
This article originally appeared in
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
French authorities investigate if Jewish passengers were removed from flight due to religion
French authorities are trying to establish whether a group of young French citizens was removed from a plane bound for Paris from Spain this week because they are Jewish. The airline, Vueling, has denied the claims. Several dozen French passengers on Wednesday were kicked off a flight leaving the Spanish city of Valencia for Paris, for what Spanish police and the airline described as unruly behavior. French authorities are trying to establish whether a group of young French citizens was removed from a plane bound for Paris from Spain this week because they are Jewish. AFP via Getty Images France's ministry for Europe and foreign affairs said in a statement on Saturday that the minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, contacted the CEO of Vueling, Carolina Martinoli, to express his deep concern 'about the removal of a group of young French Jews from one of the company's flights.' Barrot also requested more information to 'determine whether these individuals had been discriminated against on the basis of their religion.' A similar request has been made to the Spanish ambassador to France. 'Ms. Martinoli assured Mr. Barrot that a thorough internal investigation was underway and that its findings would be shared with the French and Spanish authorities,' the ministry said. Vueling previously denied reports that the incident, which involved the removal of 44 minors and eight adults from flight V8166, was related to the passengers' religion. Several dozen French passengers on Wednesday were kicked off a flight leaving the Spanish city of Valencia for Paris, for what Spanish police and the airline described as unruly behavior. AP Some Israeli news outlets reported that the students were Jewish and that their removal was religiously motivated, a claim that was repeated by an Israeli minister online. Spain's Civil Guard said the minors and adults were French nationals. A Civil Guard spokesperson said the agents involved were not aware of the group's religious affiliation. A Vueling spokesperson said the passengers were removed after the minors repeatedly tampered with the plane's emergency equipment and interrupted the crew's safety demonstration. A Civil Guard spokesperson said the captain of the plane ordered the removal of the minors from the plane at Valencia's Manises Airport after they repeatedly ignored the crew's instructions. On Thursday, the Federation for Jewish Communities of Spain expressed concern about the incident. The group said that Vueling needed to provide documentary evidence of what happened on the plane.
UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
Britain, France, Germany call for end to Gaza war as death toll climbs
1 of 3 | Britain, France and Germany are calling for an immediate end Israel's war in Gaza, after dozens of people were killed over a 24-hour period in the Palestinian enclave. Photo by Mahmoud Issa/UPI | License Photo July 26 (UPI) -- Britain, France and Germany are calling for an immediate end to fighting in Gaza after dozens of people were killed over a 24-hour period in the Palestinian enclave. At least 57 people died in Gaza, the Palestinian News Agency reported Saturday, including those killed by airstrikes carried out by the Israeli military. An infant also died from starvation in Gaza, with aid to the territory largely halted. On Friday, Israel said it would give permission to the United Arab Emirates and Jordan to drop aid into Gaza by air. Approximately 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza while waiting for food to be delivered, the United Nations said earlier this week. "The humanitarian catastrophe that we are witnessing in Gaza must end now. The most basic needs of the civilian population, including access to water and food, must be met without any further delay. Withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable," Britain, France and Germany said in the joint statement, while calling for an "immediate ceasefire" and "unconditional release of all hostages." French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said his country would officially recognize a Palestinian state. "We firmly oppose all efforts to impose Israeli sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Threats of annexation, settlements and acts of settler violence against Palestinians undermine the prospects for a negotiated two-state solution," the joint statement from Britain, Germany and France reads. "We are committed to working together with our international partners, including at the United Nations, to develop a specific and credible plan for the next phase in Gaza that will put in place transitional governance and security arrangements, and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid at scale." The statement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters Friday at the White House that Hamas "didn't really want to make a deal" when asked about the possibility of a ceasefire. Trump spoke to reporters before leaving on a four-day trip to Scotland where he will talk trade with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "It was too bad. Hamas didn't really want to make a deal. I think they want to die," Trump told reporters Friday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country is "considering alternative options" in the absence of a ceasefire agreement to bring home the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Earlier in the week, 29 countries issued a joint statement condemning the conflict, saying it had "reached new depths," while calling for an immediate end.
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
No proof Hamas routinely stole UN aid, Israeli military officials say
Now, with hunger at crisis levels in the territory, Israel is coming under increased international pressure over its conduct of the war in Gaza and the humanitarian suffering it has brought. Doctors in the territory say that an increasing number of their patients are suffering from -- and dying of -- starvation. More than 100 aid agencies and rights groups warned this past week of 'mass starvation' and implored Israel to lift restrictions on humanitarian assistance. The European Union and at least 28 governments, including Israeli allies like Britain, France, and Canada, issued a joint statement condemning Israel's 'drip-feeding of aid' to Gaza's 2 million Palestinian residents. Advertisement Israel has largely brushed off the criticism. David Mencer, a government spokesperson, said this past week that there was 'no famine caused by Israel.' Instead, he blamed Hamas and poor coordination by the United Nations for any food shortages. Advertisement Israel moved in May toward replacing the UN-led aid system that had been in place for most of the 21-month war in Gaza, opting instead to back a private, American-run operation guarded by armed US contractors in areas controlled by Israeli military forces. Some aid still comes into Gaza through the United Nations and other organizations. The new system has proved to be much deadlier for Palestinians trying to obtain food handouts. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, almost 1,100 people have been killed by gunfire on their way to get food handouts under the new system, in many cases by Israeli soldiers who opened fire on hungry crowds. Israeli officials have said they fired shots in the air in some instances because the crowds came too close or endangered their forces. The military officials who spoke to The New York Times said that the original UN aid operation was relatively reliable and less vulnerable to Hamas interference than the operations of many of the other groups bringing aid into Gaza. That's largely because the United Nations managed its own supply chain and handled distribution directly inside Gaza. Hamas did steal from some of the smaller organizations that donated aid, as those groups were not always on the ground to oversee distribution, according to the senior Israeli officials and others involved in the matter. But, they say, there was no evidence that Hamas regularly stole from the United Nations, which provided the largest chunk of the aid. A Hamas representative did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An internal US government analysis came to a similar conclusion, Reuters reported Friday. It found no evidence of systematic Hamas theft of US-funded humanitarian supplies, the report said. Advertisement 'For months, we and other organizations were dragged through the mud by accusations that Hamas steals from us,' said Georgios Petropoulos, a former UN official in Gaza who oversaw aid coordination with Israel for nearly 13 months of war. The senior military officials and others interviewed by the Times spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on behalf of the military or government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a statement, the military said that it has been 'well documented' that Hamas has routinely 'exploited humanitarian aid to fund terrorist activities.' But the military did not dispute the assessment that there was no evidence that Hamas regularly stole aid from the United Nations. The Israeli government and military have often clashed over how to conduct the war in Gaza. Early last year, top commanders urged a cease-fire with Hamas to secure the release of hostages. Netanyahu's government instead expanded the ground operation in southern Gaza. Israel used the rationale that Hamas steals aid when it cut off all food and other supplies to Gaza between March and May. In March, after a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel collapsed, Netanyahu said: 'Hamas is currently taking control of all supplies and goods entering Gaza,' and he declared that Israel would prevent anything from entering the territory. That blockade, and problems with a new aid system that launched in May, brought hunger and starvation in Gaza to the current crisis levels. For most of the war, the UN was the largest single source of aid entering Gaza, according to data from the Israeli military unit that oversees policy in the territory. Advertisement Now, the new aid system is managed instead by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private American company led by a former CIA agent. It was intended to eventually replace international aid organizations and the UN role. But it has only a few distribution hubs, compared with hundreds under the former UN-run operation. The new system's rollout at the end of May was quickly followed by near-daily episodes of deadly violence near distribution sites. Desperate and hungry Palestinians must go to the few aid distribution sites located in areas controlled by Israeli forces. The hours of operation are limited and supplies run out, so crowds arrive early, with some walking for miles to get there. Since May 19, when Israel allowed emergency supplies to resume entering Gaza after its two-month blockade, half of the aid has been distributed by the United Nations and international organizations, with the other half coming through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Israeli military says. Petropoulos welcomed the notion that some Israeli officials had recognized the UN-led aid system as effective during the war. But he said he wished that endorsement had come much sooner. 'If the UN had been taken at face value months ago, we wouldn't have wasted all this time and Gazans wouldn't be starving and being shot at trying to feed their families,' he said. This article originally appeared in
