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Straits Times
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Israel says Gaza got 120 trucks of aid on day one of pause
Find out what's new on ST website and app. JERUSALEM - Israel said July 28 that more than 120 truckloads of food aid were distributed by the UN and aid agencies in the Gaza Strip on the first day of a promised limited break in fighting. On July 27, Israel declared a 'tactical pause' in military operations in part of Gaza and promised to open secure routes for aid, urging humanitarian groups to step up food distribution. 'Over 120 trucks were collected and distributed yesterday by the UN and international organisations,' said Cogat, an Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories. 'An additional 180 trucks entered Gaza and are now awaiting collection and distribution, along with hundreds of others still queued for UN pickup,' Cogat said in a post on X. Separately, Israel, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have conducted parachute air drops of smaller quantities of aid. More than two million Palestinians live in Gaza and, before the eruption of the latest 21-month-old conflict between Israel and Hamas, it took roughly 500 trucks per day of commercial trade and humanitarian aid to supply the territory. In recent weeks UN agencies have been warning of a life-threatening famine as aid supplies dry up, and international pressure has been building for a ceasefire to allow a massive relief operation. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Tanjong Katong sinkhole backfilled; road to be repaved after LTA tests Asia Gunman kills 5 security guards near Bangkok's Chatuchak market before taking own life Singapore HPB looking for vaping, smoking counselling services for up to 175 secondary school students Asia Cambodia says immediate ceasefire is purpose of talks; Thailand questions its sincerity Singapore Jail for former pre-school teacher who tripped toddler repeatedly, causing child to bleed from nose Singapore Police statements by doctor in fake vaccine case involving Iris Koh allowed in court: Judge Singapore Woman allegedly linked to case involving pre-schooler's sexual assault given stern warning Singapore Singapore lion dance troupe retains title at Genting World championship Israel's government, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, furiously denies that it is using hunger as a weapon of war, and instead accuses the aid agencies of failing to pick up and distribute aid delivered to Gaza's border crossing points. 'More consistent collection and distribution by UN agencies and international organisations equals more aid reaching those who need it most in Gaza,' Cogat said. AFP
RTHK
14 hours ago
- Politics
- RTHK
Over 120 truckloads of food aid 'distributed in Gaza'
Over 120 truckloads of food aid 'distributed in Gaza' Trucks carrying aid line up near the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Photo: Reuters Israel said on Monday that more than 120 truckloads of food aid were distributed by the UN and aid agencies in the Gaza Strip on the first day of a promised limited break in fighting. On Sunday, Israel declared a "tactical pause" in military operations in part of Gaza and promised to open secure routes for aid, urging humanitarian groups to step up food distribution. "Over 120 trucks were collected and distributed yesterday by the UN and international organisations," said Cogat, an Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories. "An additional 180 trucks entered Gaza and are now awaiting collection and distribution, along with hundreds of others still queued for UN pickup," Cogat said in a post on X. The post came as United Nations chief Antonio Guterres urged the international community to reject hunger as a weapon of war. "Climate change is disrupting harvests, supply chains, and humanitarian aid. Conflict continues to spread hunger from Gaza to Sudan and beyond," he told a UN conference in Ethiopia by video. "Hunger fuels instability and undermines peace. We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war." Separately, Israel, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have conducted parachute air drops of smaller quantities of aid. More than two million Palestinians live in Gaza and, before the eruption of the latest 21-month-old conflict between Israel and Hamas, it took roughly 500 trucks per day of commercial trade and humanitarian aid to supply the territory. In recent weeks UN agencies have been warning of a life-threatening famine as aid supplies dry up, and international pressure has been building for a ceasefire to allow a massive relief operation. Israel's government, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, furiously denies that it is using hunger as a weapon of war, and instead accuses the aid agencies of failing to pick up and distribute aid delivered to Gaza's border crossing points. "More consistent collection and distribution by UN agencies and international organisations equals more aid reaching those who need it most in Gaza," Cogat said. (AFP)
AsiaOne
6 days ago
- General
- AsiaOne
No aid supplies left, staff starves in Gaza, Norwegian Refugee Council says, World News
GENEVA — The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), one of the largest independent aid organisations in Gaza, told Reuters on Tuesday (July 22) its supplies were exhausted and some of its staff starving, and the group accused Israel of paralysing its work. "Our last tent, our last food parcel, our last relief items have been distributed. There is nothing left," Jan Egeland, the secretary general of the council, told Reuters in an interview via video link from Oslo. The council, which has 64 Palestinian and two international staff on the ground in Gaza, echoed comments on Tuesday by the head of the Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA who said its staff were fainting on the job from hunger and exhaustion. The NRC said that for the last 145 days, it has not been able to get tents, water, sanitation supplies, food and education materials into Gaza, where Israel has been at war against Palestinian group Hamas since October 2023 and the United Nations has warned of a worsening hunger crisis. "Hundreds of truckloads have been sitting in warehouses or in Egypt or elsewhere, and costing our Western European donors a lot of money, but they are blocked from coming in… That's why we are so angry. Because our job is to help," Egeland said. "Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyse our work," he added. Cogat, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said in a statement that Israel does not restrict aid trucks entering Gaza, but international organisations face challenges in collecting the trucks on the Gaza side of border crossings. Israel is working with the groups to improve the system, Cogat said, adding that more than 4,500 aid trucks carrying food for the UN and international organisations have entered the enclave in the last two months. Many truckloads were still waiting to be picked up. Cogat said 950 shipments were on the Gaza sides of "the Kerem Shalom Crossing in the southern side of the Strip, and the Zikim Crossing in the northern part, pending collection and distribution". Cogat has accused Hamas of stealing food, which Hamas denies. The NRC said its supplies of safe drinking water were running out due to dwindling fuel to run desalination plants. The water has reached 100,000 people in central and northern parts of Gaza in recent weeks An Israeli official told Reuters that the UN has been given approval to bring in half a million liters of fuel. "They're bringing in fuel and collecting, but they can bring in and they can collect more, and we are having discussions with them," the official said. [[nid:719739]]
Euronews
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
First aid trucks enter Gaza after almost three-month blockade, UN says
The first aid trucks have entered Gaza after an almost three-month long blockade of the territory by Israel, the United Nations has confirmed. Five trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including baby food, entered the territory of over two million Palestinians via the Kerem Shalom crossing on Monday, according to the Israeli defence body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, Cogat. The UN called the delivery a "welcome development" but said much more aid is needed to address the humanitarian crisis in the Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier on Monday that the decision to resume limited deliveries of aid to Gaza after a blockade that started on 2 March came after pressure from allies who said they couldn't support Israel's renewed military offensive if there are "images of hunger" coming out of the Palestinian territory. Israel has meanwhile launched a new wave of air and ground operations across the territory and the army ordered the evacuation of Gaza's second-largest city, Khan Younis, where Israel carried out a massive operation earlier in the war that left much of the area in ruins. On Sunday, Israel said it would allow a "basic" amount of aid into Gaza to prevent a "hunger crisis" from developing. Experts have already warned of potential famine if the blockade imposed on the territory's roughly two million Palestinians is not lifted. Israel has stepped up its offensive in Gaza in what it says is a bid to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages abducted in the 7 October 2023 attack that ignited the war. Hamas has said it will only release them in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli military withdrawal from the territory. Netanyahu said that Israel plans on "taking control of all of Gaza," and establishing a new system to distribute aid that circumvents Hamas. He has also said Israel will encourage what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of Gaza's population to other countries. The Trump administration has voiced full support for Israel's actions and blames Hamas for the toll on Palestinians, though in recent days it has expressed growing concern over the hunger crisis. Trump, who skipped Israel on his trip to the Middle East last week, voiced concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, as did Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said on a visit to Turkey that he was "troubled" by it. In a video statement posted to social media, Netanyahu said Israel's "greatest friends in the world" had told him, "We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger. We cannot stand that. We will not be able to support you." Netanyahu said the situation was approaching a "red line" but it was not clear if he was referring to the crisis in Gaza or the potential loss of support from allies. The video statement appeared aimed at pacifying anger from Netanyahu's nationalist base at the decision to resume aid. Two far-right governing partners have pressed Netanyahu not to allow aid into Gaza. At least one of them, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, appeared to be on board with the latest plan. "No more raids and going in and out, but conquering, cleansing and remaining until Hamas is destroyed," he said. "We are destroying what is still left of the Strip, simply because everything there is one big city of terror." Israel says its new distribution plan is meant to prevent Hamas from accessing aid, which Israel says it uses to bolster its rule in Gaza. But UN agencies and aid groups have rejected the proposal, saying supplies won't reach enough people and would weaponise aid in contravention of humanitarian principles.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
BBC joins Gaza children as they are evacuated to Jordan for treatment
We were flying through the warm light of the setting sun. There were villages and small towns where the lights were coming on. It was a peaceful landscape where people walked and drove without constantly looking to the sky. We were over the suburbs of Amman when Safa'a Salha held up her mobile phone so that I could read a message she'd written. "Oh my God," this Gaza mother wrote, "Jordan is so beautiful." The evacuees had come to the Jordanian border by road. I joined them there for the final part of the journey by helicopter to Amman. Safa'a spoke very little English, and in any case the noise of the helicopter made it impossible to converse. She showed me another message. "We used to see this [helicopter] every day and it was coming to bomb and kill. But today the feeling is totally different." Next to her sat her 16-year-old son Youssef who showed me the scar on his head from his last surgery. He smiled and wanted to speak, not of Gaza but ordinary things. How he was excited by the helicopter, how he liked football. Youssef said he was very happy and gave me a fist bump. Beside him was nine-year-old Sama Awad, frail and scared-looking, holding the hand of her mother, Isra. Sama has a brain tumour and will have surgery in Amman. "I hope she can get the best treatment here," said Isra, when we were on the ground and the noise of the engines faded. I asked a question which had been answered for me many times by looking at images, but not face to face by someone who had just left. What is Gaza like now? "It is horrible. It is impossible to describe. Horrible on so many levels. But people are just trying to get on with living," Isra replied. Four sick children were evacuated to Jordan along with twelve parents and guardians. They left Gaza by ambulance on Wednesday morning and travelled through Israel without stopping until they reached the border crossing. The plan to evacuate children was first unveiled during a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Jordan's King Hussein in February. Jordan's stated aim is to bring 2,000 sick children to the kingdom for treatment. So far only 33 have been evacuated to Jordan, each travelling with a parent or guardian. Jordanian sources say Israel has delayed and imposed restrictions and this - along with the resumption of the war - has impeded the evacuation process. Sick Gazans have also been evacuated to other countries via Israel. We put the Jordanian concerns to the Israeli government organisation responsible - Cogat (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories) - who told us that since "the beginning of the year, and especially in recent weeks, there has been a significant increase in the number of Gazans evacuated through Israel for medical care abroad." Cogat said thousands of patients and escorts had gone to countries, including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the US and others. The statement said that "the ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip pose a challenge to the implementation of these evacuation operations." Israel broke the last ceasefire in March launching a wave of attacks on what it said were Hamas positions. Construction sites appear in Gaza ahead of Israeli-US aid plan rejected by UN, images show Israeli strikes across Gaza kill 80, hospitals and rescuers say Entire Gaza population at critical risk of famine, UN-backed assessment says Gaza remains a claustrophobic zone of hunger and death for its residents. Those who get out for medical treatment are the exception. According to the UN the population of 2.1 million is facing the risk of famine. The organisation's head of humanitarian affairs, Tom Fletcher, has appealed to the UN Security Council to act to "prevent genocide" in Gaza. These are strong words for a man trained in the sober traditions of the British Foreign Office and who has served as an ambassador and senior government advisor. The Israeli blockade is preventing essential aid supplies from reaching the population. That along with the continued bombing explain Isra Abu Jame's description of a place horrible beyond words. The children who arrived in Jordan on Wednesday from Gaza will join a small community of other wounded and sick youngsters in different Amman hospitals. Since January we have been following the case of Habiba Al-Askari, who came with her mother Rana in the hope doctors might be able to save three gangrene infected limbs - two arms, and a leg. But the infection - caused by a rare skin condition - had gone too far. Habiba underwent a triple amputation. When I met Habiba and Rana again this week, the little girl was using the toes of her remaining foot to scroll, and play children's games on her mum's phone. She blew kisses with the stump of her arm. This was a very different child to the frightened girl I met on the helicopter evacuation five months ago. "She's a strong person," Rana said. Habiba will be fitted with prosthetic limbs. Already she is determined to walk, asking her mother to hold under her armpits while she hops. Some day, Rana hopes, she will take Habiba back to Gaza. Mother and child are safe and well cared for in Amman, but their entire world, their family and neighbours are back in the ruins. Concerns about Habiba's health make Rana reluctant to contemplate going back soon. "We have no house. If we want go back where will we go? We would be going back to a tent full of sand…[but] I truly want to return. Gaza is beautiful, despite everything that has happened. To me Gaza will always be the most precious spot on this entire earth." They will return. But to war or peace? Nobody knows. With additional reporting by Alice Doyard, Suha Kawar, Nik Millard and Malaak Khassouneh. Israel issues major evacuation order for Palestinians sheltering in Gaza City Scared and malnourished - footage from Gaza shows plight of children and aftermath of Israeli strike US-Israeli hostage reunites with family after being freed by Hamas
