Aid airdrops into Gaza begin as Israeli military confirms pauses in bombing
Military activity will stop from 10am-8pm until further notice in Al-Mawasi, a designated humanitarian area along the coast, in central Deir al-Balah and in Gaza City, to the north.
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates parachuted 25 tons of aid into the Gaza Strip on Sunday in their first airdrop in months, a Jordanian official source said.
The official said the air drops were not a substitute for delivery by land.
Palestinian health officials in Gaza City said at least 10 people were injured by falling aid boxes.
The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. starting from Sunday.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the designated areas.
"Our teams on the ground ... will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window," he said on X.
Health officials at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in the central Gaza Strip said Israeli firing killed at least 17 people and wounded 50 waiting for aid trucks on Sunday. Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.
ADVERTISEMENT
The ministry reported six new deaths over the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total deaths from malnutrition and hunger to 133 including 87 children.
On Saturday, a five-month-old baby, Zainab Abu Haleeb, died of malnutrition at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, health workers said.
"Three months inside the hospital and this is what I get in return, that she is dead," said her mother, Israa Abu Haleeb, standing next to the baby's father as he held their daughter's body wrapped in a white shroud.
The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was sending more than 100 trucks carrying over 1,200 metric tons of food to southern Gaza on Sunday.
A Palestinian official source said on Sunday afternoon that trucks were still being inspected at Kerem Shalom and had not yet entered Gaza.
Aid groups said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people and international alarm over the humanitarian situation has increased, driving French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September.
A group of 25 states including Britain, France and Canada last week condemned the "drip feeding of aid" and said Israel's denial of essential humanitarian aid was unacceptable.
Israel, which cut off aid to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by militants.
It says it has let enough food into Gaza during the war and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's people.
Israel and the US appeared on Friday to abandon ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying the militants did not want a deal.
HOPE, UNCERTAINTY
Many Gazans expressed some relief at Sunday's announcement, but said fighting must end permanently.
"People are happy that large amounts of food aid will come into Gaza," said Tamer Al-Burai, a business owner. "We hope today marks a first step in ending this war that burned everything up."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue to allow the entry of humanitarian supplies whatever path it took, and it was making progress on both fighting and negotiations.
"We will continue to fight, we will continue to act until we achieve all of our war goals - until complete victory," he said.
Hamas denounced the Israeli measures to allow more aid into Gaza, saying Israel was continuing its military offensive.
"What is happening isn't a humanitarian truce," said Hamas official Ali Baraka in a statement on Sunday.
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the aid decision was made without his involvement. He called it a capitulation to Hamas' deceitful campaign and repeated his call to choke off all aid to Gaza, conquer the territory and encourage Palestinians to leave.
A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a question about Ben-Gvir's comments.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israel's offensive has killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced nearly the entire population.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Irish Independent
‘She won't drink it' – desperate parents in Gaza use ground chickpeas and tahini juice as food substitutes for infants
'If the baby could speak, she would scream at us, asking what we are putting into her stomach,' her aunt, Abir Hamouda, said. Muntaha grimaced and squirmed as her grandmother fed her the paste with a syringe. Muntaha's family is one of many in Gaza facing dire choices to try to feed babies, especially those below the age of six months who cannot process solid food. Infant formula is scarce after a plummet in aid access to Gaza. Many women cannot breastfeed due to malnourishment, while other babies are separated from their mothers due to displacement, injury or, in Muntaha's case, death. Her family says the baby's mother was hit by a bullet while pregnant, gave birth prematurely while unconscious in intensive care, and died a few weeks later. The director of Al-Shifa Hospital described such a case in a Facebook post on April 27, four days after Muntaha was born. 'I am terrified about the fate of the baby,' her grandmother, Nemah Hamouda, said. 'We named her after her mother... hoping she can survive and live long, but we are so afraid, we hear children and adults die every day of hunger.' Muntaha now weighs about 3.5kg, her family said, barely more than half of what a full-term baby her age would normally weigh. She suffers stomach problems like vomiting and diarrhoea after feeding. Health officials, aid workers and Gazan families said many families are feeding infants herbs and tea boiled in water, or grinding up bread or sesame. It's a desperate move to compensate for the lack of food Humanitarian agencies also reported cases of parents boiling leaves in water, eating animal feed and grinding sand into flour. Feeding children solids too early can disrupt their nutrition, cause stomach problems, and risk choking, paediatric health experts say. ADVERTISEMENT 'It's a desperate move to compensate for the lack of food,' Unicef spokesperson Salim Oweis said. 'When mothers can't breastfeed or provide proper infant formula they resort to grinding chickpeas, bread, rice, anything that they can get their hands on to feed their children... it is risking their health because these supplies are not made for infants to feed on.' Gaza's spiralling humanitarian crisis prompted the main world hunger monitoring body on Tuesday to say a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding and immediate action is needed to avoid widespread death. Images of emaciated Palestinian children have shocked the world. Gazan health authorities have reported more and more people dying from hunger-related causes. The total so far stands at 154, among them 89 children, most of whom died in the last few weeks. With the international furore over Gaza's ordeal growing, Israel announced steps over the weekend to ease aid access. But the UN World Food Programme said on Tuesday it was still not getting the permissions it needed to deliver enough aid. Israel and the US accuse militant group Hamas of stealing aid – which the militants deny – and the UN of failing to prevent it. The UN says it has not seen evidence of Hamas diverting much aid. Hamas accuses Israel of causing starvation and using aid as a weapon, which the Israeli government denies. I am using this instead of milk Humanitarian agencies say there is almost no infant formula left in Gaza. In the paediatric ward of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, the infant formula supply is mostly depleted. One mother showed how she poured thick tahini sesame paste into a bottle and mixed it with water. 'I am using this instead of milk, to compensate her for milk, but she won't drink it,' Azhar Imad (31), the mother of four-month-old Joury, said. 'I also make her fenugreek, anise, caraway, any kind of herbs (mixed with water),' she said, panicked as she described how instead of nourishing her child, these attempts were making her sick. Medical staff at the hospital spoke of helplessness, watching on as children's health deteriorated with no way to safely feed them. 'Now, children are being fed either water or ground hard legumes, and this is harmful for children in Gaza,' Dr Khalil Daqran said. 'If the hunger continues ... within three or four days, if the child doesn't get access to milk immediately, then they will die,' he said.
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Irish Independent
US special envoy Steve Witkoff lands in Israel to discuss Gaza aid chaos as deaths continue to soar
Mr Witkoff and US ambassador Mike Huckabee will inspect food distribution in Gaza today, the White House said. At least 91 Palestinians were killed and more than 600 wounded while attempting to get aid in the past 24 hours, the Gaza Health Ministry said yesterday. This included 54 people killed while awaiting food in northern Gaza near the Zikim crossing on Wednesday, the ministry said. The toll is expected to rise further as many of those killed or wounded were brought to isolated, undersupplied hospitals in northern Gaza and have not yet been counted. The Israeli military said Palestinians surrounded aid trucks and the Israeli military fired warning shots into the crowd, but reported no awareness of injuries resulting from Israeli fire. A security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations said the gunfire came from within the crowd and resulted from altercations between Palestinians attempting to access aid. They haven't eaten or drank anything for two days Scenes of desperation and chaos played out again yesterday as scores of Palestinians ran towards food aid dropped from the air in Zawaida, a city in central Gaza. Aid providers have turned to the skies as border crossings remain closed amid severe food insecurity across the Gaza Strip. The drops have set off stampedes and skirmishes as hungry crowds scream, fight and jostle for the parcels. Eslam al-Telbany, a displaced woman from Jabalia, said she was carrying a bottle of cooking oil and a sack of flour when she was attacked and bitten, ultimately dropping the items and returning home without aid. 'I went and my children prayed that I'd return with food. They haven't eaten or drank anything for two days,' she said as she wept. Ahmed al-Khatib said someone stole a bag of flour from him, and he broke a tooth in the struggle. Meanwhile, Rana Attia, another displaced woman, said people felt more dignified receiving text messages telling them where to collect aid rather than randomly chasing falling parcels under the scorching heat. 'We don't want them to help us that way,' she said. Despite the airdropped parcels, the amount getting into Gaza remains far lower than the 500 to 600 trucks per day that aid organisations say are needed. The Israeli defence body in charge of co-ordinating humanitarian aid in Gaza said 270 trucks of aid entered Gaza on Wednesday, and 32 pallets of aid were airdropped into the Gaza Strip. Under heavy international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza. The international community has heaped criticism on Israel over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. International organisations said that Gaza has been on the brink of famine for the past two years, but that recent developments, including a complete blockade on aid for two-and-a-half months, mean that the 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza'. German foreign affairs minister Johann Wadephul arrived in Israel yesterday on a two-day trip that will also take him to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Germany, traditionally a staunch ally of Israel, has been increasingly critical recently of Israel's actions in Gaza. It has insisted Israel must do more to increase aid supplies and pushed for a ceasefire. For Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state stands rather at the end of the process Berlin hasn't joined major allies France, Britain, and Canada in saying it will recognise a Palestinian state in September. But in a statement ahead of his departure yesterday, Mr Wadephul underlined Germany's position that a two-state solution is 'the only way' to ensure a future in peace and security for people on both sides. 'For Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state stands rather at the end of the process. But such a process must begin now. Germany will not move from this aim,' Mr Wadephul said. Mr Witkoff, President Trump's special envoy, arrived in Israel yesterday and was expected to speak with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the humanitarian situation and a possible ceasefire, according to an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. This is the first meeting between Mr Witkoff and Mr Netanyahu since both Israel and the US called their negotiation teams home from Qatar one week ago. Mr Witkoff said at the time that Hamas 'shows a lack of desire' to reach a truce. 'The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!' Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform yesterday morning. He sent Mr Witkoff to the region 'in an effort to save lives and end this crisis,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, calling the president 'a humanitarian with a big heart'. The war started when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under Hamas. The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Irish Post
2 days ago
- Irish Post
Ireland commits to sending €2m funding for food as Gaza faces famine
IRELAND has committed €2m in funding to support a programme delivering food to Gaza. Humanitarian agencies have warned this week that the war-torn region faces famine as deaths due to malnutrition and starvation are increasing as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues. The IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) has issued an alert claiming that the 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip'. 'Conflict and displacement have intensified, and access to food and other essential items and services has plummeted to unprecedented levels,' they said in a statement. 'Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths,' they add. The IPC has warned that famine thresholds have been reached in war-torn Gaza (Pic: IPC) The IPC further confirmed that famine 'thresholds' have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City. 'Malnutrition has been rising rapidly in the first half of July,' they explained. 'Over 20,000 children have been admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition between April and mid-July, with more than 3,000 severely malnourished. 'Hospitals have reported a rapid increase in hunger-related deaths of children under five years of age, with at least 16 reported deaths since July 17.' They added: 'Immediate action must be taken to end the hostilities and allow for unimpeded, large-scale, life-saving humanitarian response. 'This is the only path to stopping further deaths and catastrophic human suffering." Yesterday Tánaiste Simon Harris confirmed Ireland would send €2m to support the World Food Programme (WFP) to deliver food to Gaza. 'Deliberately denying food to people, including babies, in Gaza is beyond comprehension,' he said. 'Children are starving in what is a catastrophic situation on the ground,' he added. 'In recent days I've asked my officials to examine how best Ireland can play a part in helping. 'This emergency package of funding being announced today will support the World Food Programme to get food to people who urgently need it. 'The WFP managed to deliver 4,000 tonnes of food to people in Gaza last week. 'This is life-saving work but WFP estimate that 62,000 tonnes of food aid is needed per month. 'Once again, we call on Israel to remove the many restrictions and delays on transport into and within Gaza. 'This is the only feasible way to avert famine in Gaza.' Ireland's Minister for International Development, Neale Richmond, said the situation in Gaza is 'catastrophic'. 'People are being deliberately denied food and are now on the brink of famine, this must stop," he said. 'The World Food Programme is best placed to deliver food to people in Gaza," the minister added. :This is the only way to avert a famine in Gaza. Ireland will continue to support their life-saving work.' See More: Famine, Food, Funding, Gaza, Ireland, Israel
