US Ambassador to Israel says Gaza aid set to resume 'very soon'
The United States Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, announced on Friday the initiation of a new system for the delivery of humanitarian aid and food to Gaza, with operations expected to commence 'very soon'.
Recognising reports of starvation and the dire humanitarian crisis, Huckabee stated that various charities, nonprofits, and multiple governments would collaborate on this new aid distribution framework, intended to supersede the current United Nation-led effort.
'Notable amount of effort, and it is going to require the partnership not only of governments, but of NGOs, charitable organisations, nonprofits from around the world,' said Huckabee.
'There are several partners who have already agreed to be a part of the effort. We're not prepared to name them as of yet because some of the details of their participation are being worked out,' he continued.
Huckabee did not offer much detail on the logistics of this new initiative, but emphasised that Israel would ensure the security of the deliveries.
'The first is that food be distributed efficiently, but also that it's distributed safely inside Gaza to the people who desperately need it. The other factor, and this is an important one, that all of this be done in a way so that Hamas is not able to get their hands on it.'
Huckabee asserted that Israel will only provide security details to ensure aid reaches the people it's intended to reach. The system at large however, is to be managed independently.
Israel has expressed worries about looting and diversion of intended to Hamas fighters, allegations that have been refuted by UN officials and humanitarian workers.
In light of these concerns, Israel continues to enforce its blockade on essential supplies such as food, fuel, and medicine.
Although Israel has declared that it will permit aid to enter Gaza only under a system that allows it to oversee distribution, Huckabee stressed that this new system should not be labelled as Israel's.
The UN have routinely rejected any plans which hand over control of the distribution of aid to Israel.
UN officials say any arrangement in which Israel decides who receives what and how much violates the organisation's humanity principles which vow to ensure humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality.
Welcome to Kazakhstan for the first day of judo at the 2025 Qazaqstan Barysy Grand Slam.
Hosted in the Martial Arts Palace, the event featured some spectacular entertainment from local performers, and was officially opened by the President of International Judo Federation, Mr Marius Vizer, Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Mr Yermek Kosherbayev and President of the Kazakhstan Judo Federation, Mr Kuanyshbek Yessekeyev.
Local fans filled the arena in anticipation of what was to be an action-packed day of Judo.
At -48kg Junior World Champion Xinran Hui showed her class with some incredible ground work, forcing her opponent to submit, earning her the gold medal.
IJF President Mr Marius Vizer awarded the medals, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ERG Mr Shukhrat IBRAGIMOV, awarded the prize money.
At -60kg Iznaur SAAEV took on home favourite Talgat ORYNBASSAR, clinching the victory with a dynamic ko-uchi attack.
He was awarded his medals by Kazakhstan Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Yermek Kosherbayev.
In -52kg, Mascha BALLHAUS of Germany fought Ayumi LEIVA SANCHEZ of Spain. With the fight going into golden score, Ballhaus utilised a great change direction, switching from her signature technique uchi-mata, to o-uchi-gari.
Scoring a Yuko, she earned Germany their first gold of the tournament.
She was awarded her medals by IJF General Treasurer Mr Naser Al Tamimi.
The -66kg final saw A perfectly-timed footsweep from 4 time grand slam winner Ramazan ABDULAEV against Kazakhstan's Gusman KYRGYZBAYEV.
The medals were awarded by Kazakhstan Judo Federation President, Mr Kuanyshbek Yessekeyev
At -57kg Faiza MOKDAR of France met Momo TAMAOKI of Japan in a high energy final. It was MOKDAR who took gold, with waza-ari from a well executed seoi-otoshi.
She was awarded the gold medal by Harvest Group CEO Mr Almaz Alsenov.
There were more medals for the home nation with bronzes for both Magzhan SHAMSHADIN and Aman BAKYTZHAN in the -60kg category as well as a whole day filled with action packed judo keeping the fans up on their feet.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
38 minutes ago
- Euronews
Israel orders mass evacuations in northern Gaza
US President Donald Trump pleaded for progress in ceasefire talks, calling for a deal that would halt the fighting in the 20-month-long conflict as Israel and Hamas appeared to be inching closer to an agreement. An Israeli official stated that plans are being made for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to travel to Washington in the coming weeks. The official declined to discuss the focus of the visit and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that had not yet been finalised. Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer was already set to travel to Washington this week for talks on a ceasefire. Hours before Trump's calls for a ceasefire, on Saturday, at least 60 people were killed across Gaza by Israeli strikes, health workers said. The strikes began late Friday and continued into Saturday morning, among others killing 12 people near the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, which was sheltering displaced people, and eight more living in apartments, according to staff at Shifa Hospital, where the bodies were brought. More than 20 bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital, according to health officials. A strike midday Saturday killed 11 people on a street in eastern Gaza City, and their bodies were taken to Al-Ahli Hospital. Trump: Make the deal, get the hostages back! 'Make the deal in Gaza. Get the hostages back!!!' Trump wrote on his social media platform on Sunday morning. Earlier on Friday, Trump raised expectations for a deal, stating that a ceasefire agreement could be reached within the next week. Taking questions from reporters, he said, 'We're working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of.' In Israel, relatives of the remaining hostages and their supporters gathered for their weekly rally demanding a ceasefire and a deal to return the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. Despite an eight-week ceasefire reached just as Trump was taking office earlier this year, attempts since then to bring the sides toward a new agreement have failed. Meanwhile, Trump has called Netanyahu's corruption trial a "political witch hunt" claiming similarity to his own trials in the US. According to Trump, the legal proceedings should end, and the court should let Netanyahu go, so that he can negotiate a deal with Hamas to take back the hostages. Despite Trump's popularity in the country, this was seen as a dramatic interference by an international ally in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state by many in Israel. New evacuation orders in Gaza Netanyahu is scheduled to hold a high-level discussion on Sunday with Defence Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir to evaluate the next steps in the Gaza Strip, including potential steps to embark on a wider military operation differing from previous offences, according to Israeli media. The Israeli military on Sunday ordered new mass evacuations of Palestinians in northern Gaza. Col. Avichay Adraee, a military spokesperson, posted the order on social media, as the IDF will expand its attacks to the city's northern section. The evacuation area includes multiple neighbourhoods in eastern and northern Gaza City, as well as the Jabaliya refugee camp. The military will expand its escalating attacks to the city's northern section, calling for people to move southward to the Muwasi area in southern Gaza, Adraee said. Rights groups say this movement would amount to a forcible transfer. Humanitarian situation is 'unbearable,' Austrian minister says Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met his Austrian counterpart, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, in Cairo on Saturday, and the two held a news briefing. The Austrian minister said the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip was "unbearable." "It's high time, especially in political and diplomatic talks, to push for a ceasefire. It's time for peace, for the guns to fall silent, also in Gaza," Meinl-Reisinger said. The war has killed over 56,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. It says more than half of the dead were women and children, including 6,089 killed since the end of the latest ceasefire.
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
Student-led protesters in Belgrade call for snap elections in Serbia
ADVERTISEMENT Riot police clashed with anti-government student-led demonstrators who rallied in the Serbian capital of Belgrade on Saturday to demand early parliamentary elections after nearly eight months of protests. The students have been a key force in driving anti-corruption protests across the nation following the deadly collapse of a newly renovated train station canopy in the city of Novi Sad in November 2024, which killed 16 people. Many Serbians blamed the collapse on alleged government corruption and negligence in state infrastructure projects, leading to recurring mass protests. The huge crowd chanted 'We want elections!' as they filled the capital's central Slavija Square and several blocks around it, with many unable to reach the venue. Several protesters were handcuffed by police, and an officer was seen injured on the ground during the ongoing street battles. It was unclear whether others were injured. As the protest formally ended, the demonstrators threw eggs, plastic bottles and other objects at riot police who were preventing the crowd from approaching a downtown park. Serbian police said 36,000 people were present at the start of the protest Saturday. An independent monitoring group that records public gatherings said around 140,000 people attended the student-led rally. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) have rejected calls for early elections, accusing protesters of seeking to incite unrest under foreign influence without providing evidence. Despite the government's demands for the protests to end, the large turnout at Saturday's rally suggested that public anger persisted. Hours before the student-led rally, the ruling SNS party bused in scores of its own supporters to Belgrade from other parts of the country, many wearing T-shirts reading: 'We won't give up Serbia.' They were joining a camp of pro-government protesters in central Belgrade, where they have been staying in tents since mid-March. Presidential and parliamentary elections in Serbia are scheduled for 2027. Although Vučić and the SNS-led government have repeatedly stated that they want Serbia to join the European Union, Belgrade still maintains good relations with Russia and China.
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Iran could resume uranium enrichment 'in a matter of months', UN nuclear watchdog says
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi says Iran likely will be able to begin to produce enriched uranium"in a matter of months," despite damage to several nuclear facilities from US and Israeli attacks, CBS News said Saturday. Israel launched a bombing campaign on Iranian nuclear and military sites on June 13, saying it was aimed at keeping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon – an ambition the Islamic republic has consistently denied. The United States subsequently bombed three key facilities used for Tehran's atomic program. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the extent of the damage to the nuclear sites is "serious", but the details are unknown. US President Donald Trump insisted Iran's nuclear program had been set back "decades". But Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said "some is still standing". "They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that," Grossi said Friday, according to a transcript of the interview released Saturday. Another key question is whether Iran was able to relocate some or all of its estimated 408.6-kilo (900-pound) stockpile of highly enriched uranium before the attacks. The uranium in question is enriched to 60 percent – above levels for civilian usage but still below weapons grade. That material, if further refined, would theoretically be sufficient to produce more than nine nuclear bombs. Grossi admitted to CBS: "We don't know where this material could be." "So some could have been destroyed as part of the attack, but some could have been moved. So there has to be at some point a clarification," he said in the interview. For now, Iranian lawmakers voted to suspend cooperation with the IAEA and Tehran rejected Grossi's request for a visit to the damaged sites, especially Fordo, the main uranium enrichment facility. "We need to be in a position to ascertain, to confirm what is there, and where is it and what happened," Grossi said. In a separate interview with Fox News's "Sunday Morning Futures" programme, Trump said he did not think the stockpile had been moved. "It's a very hard thing to do plus we didn't give much notice," he said, according to excerpts of the interview. "They didn't move anything." US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday underscored Washington's support for "the IAEA's critical verification and monitoring efforts in Iran," commending Grossi and his agency for their "dedication and professionalism". The full Grossi interview will air on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Sunday.
