Latest news with #MichelleNichols
Japan Today
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
Israeli officials signal they want U.N. to remain key Gaza aid channel
By Michelle Nichols Israeli officials have signaled they want the United Nations to remain the key avenue for humanitarian deliveries in Gaza, the deputy head of the World Food Program said on Friday, noting the work of a controversial U.S. aid group was not discussed. "They wanted the U.N. to continue to be the main track for delivery, especially should there be a cease fire, and they asked us to be ready to scale up," Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the U.N. food agency, told reporters on Friday after visiting Gaza and Israel last week. The U.S., Egypt and Qatar are trying to broker a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in Gaza. Hamas said on Wednesday that the flow of aid was one of the sticking points. Israel and the United States have publicly urged the U.N. to work through the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but the U.N. has refused, questioning the group's neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarizing aid and forcing displacement. Skau said he met with Israeli authorities at different levels last week and that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation "did not come up in those conversations." "I think there were rumors of the U.N. being pushed out, but it was very clear in my engagement that they want the U.N. to continue to be the main track in delivery," Skau said. Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited U.N. deliveries to resume. The GHF launched its operation, using private U.S. security and logistics firms to transport aid to distribution hubs, a week later. The United Nations human rights office said on Friday that it had recorded 615 deaths near GHF sites and 183 deaths "presumably on the route of aid convoys" operated by the U.N. and other relief groups. GHF has repeatedly said there have been no deaths at any of its aid distribution sites. The group said on Friday that it has so far delivered more than 70 million meals in Gaza. The U.S. State Department has approved $30 million in funding for the GHF, which touts its model as "reinventing aid delivery in war zones." Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of stealing aid from the U.N.-led operations, which the militants deny. Throughout the conflict, the United Nations has described its humanitarian operation in Gaza as opportunistic - facing problems with Israel's military operation, access restrictions by Israel into and throughout Gaza, and looting by armed gangs. But the U.N. has said its aid distribution system works, and that was particularly proven during a two-month ceasefire, which Israel abandoned in mid-March. The U.N. said it got 600-700 trucks of aid a day into Gaza during the truce and has stressed then when people know there is a steady flow of aid, the looting subsides. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
United Nations to vote to demand immediate Gaza ceasefire over US, Israel opposition
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United Nations General Assembly will vote on Thursday on a draft resolution that demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza after the United States vetoed a similar effort in the Security Council last week. The 193-member General Assembly is likely to adopt the text with overwhelming support, diplomats say, despite Israel lobbying countries this week against taking part in what it called a "politically-motivated, counter-productive charade." General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry weight as a reflection of the global view on the war. Previous demands by the body for an end to the war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas have been ignored. Unlike the U.N. Security Council, no country has a veto in the General Assembly. Thursday's vote also comes ahead of a U.N. conference next week that aims to reinvigorate an international push for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. The United States has urged countries not to attend. In a note seen by Reuters, the U.S. warned that "countries that take anti-Israel actions on the heels of the conference will be viewed as acting in opposition to U.S. foreign policy interests and could face diplomatic consequences." The U.S. last week vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that also demanded an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" and unhindered aid access in Gaza, arguing it would undermine U.S.-led efforts to broker a ceasefire. The other 14 countries on the council voted in favor of the draft as a humanitarian crisis grips the enclave of more than 2 million people, where the U.N. warns famine looms and aid has only trickled in since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade last month. 'FALSE AND DEFAMATORY' The draft resolution to be voted on by the General Assembly on Thursday demands the release of hostages held by Hamas, the return of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. It demands unhindered aid access and "strongly condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and the unlawful denial of humanitarian access and depriving civilians ... of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supply and access." "This is both false and defamatory," Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon wrote in a letter to U.N. member states, sent on Tuesday and seen by Reuters. Danon described the General Assembly draft resolution as an "immensely flawed and harmful text," urging countries not to take part in what he said was a "farce" that undermines hostage negotiations and fails to condemn Hamas. In October 2023 the General Assembly called for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza with 120 votes in favor. In December 2023, 153 countries voted to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Then in December last year the body demanded - with 158 votes in favor - an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire. The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in an October 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies. Many of those killed or captured were civilians. Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. They say civilians have borne the brunt of the attacks and that thousands more bodies have been lost under rubble.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
UN says most flour delivered in Gaza looted or taken by starving people
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United Nations said on Monday that it has only been able to bring minimal flour into Gaza since Israel lifted an aid blockade three weeks ago and that has mostly been looted by armed gangs or taken by starving Palestinians. The organization has transported 4,600 metric tonnes of wheat flour into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, the only entry point Israel allows it to use, Deputy U.N. spokesperson Fahan Haq told reporters. Haq said aid groups in Gaza estimate that between 8,000 and 10,000 metric tonnes of wheat flour were needed to give each family in Gaza a bag of flour and "ease the pressure on markets and reduce desperation." "Most of it was taken by desperate, starving people before the supplies reached their destinations. In some cases, the supplies were looted by armed gangs," Haq said. According to World Food Programme guidelines, 4,600 metric tonnes of flour would provide roughly eight days' worth of bread for Gaza's 2 million residents, based on a standard daily ration of 300 grams per person. Haq called for Israel to let in far more aid via multiple crossings and routes. The U.N. has mostly delivered flour along with limited medical and nutrition items since Israel lifted the 11-week blockade in mid-May. Experts warn Gaza is at risk of famine, with the rate of young children suffering acute malnutrition nearly tripling. Israel and the United States want the U.N. to work through the controversial new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but the U.N. has refused, questioning its neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarizing aid and forcing displacement. Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of stealing aid from the U.N.-led operations, which the militants deny. The GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics firms to operate. It began operations in Gaza on May 26 and said on Monday so far it has given out 11.4 million meals. Israel makes the U.N. offload aid on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, where it then has to be picked by the U.N. and aid groups already in Gaza. The U.N. has accused Israel of regularly denying access requests.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Conditions in Gaza are catastrophic despite renewed aid, UN says
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The situation in Gaza is the worst since the war between Israel and Hamas militants began 19-months ago, the United Nations said on Friday, despite a resumption of limited aid deliveries in the Palestinian enclave where famine looms. Under growing global pressure, Israel ended an 11-week long blockade on Gaza 12 days ago, allowing limited U.N.-led operations to resume. Then on Monday, a controversial new avenue for aid distribution was also launched - the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by the United States and Israel. "Any aid that gets into the hands of people who need it is good," U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York. But, he added, the aid deliveries so far overall have had "very, very little impact." "The catastrophic situation in Gaza is the worst since the war began," he said. The U.N. and international aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral and has a distribution model that forces the displacement of Palestinians. Israel ultimately wants the U.N. to work through the GHF, which is using private U.S. security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza for distribution by civilian teams at so-called secure distribution sites. However, Israel will allow aid deliveries "for the immediate future" via both the U.N. and the GHF operations, Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said this week. GHF said on Friday that it has so far managed to distribute more than 2.1 million meals. Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. The war in Gaza has raged since 2023, when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies, and Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. LOOTING, ACCESS The U.N. says that in the past 12 days it has only managed to transport some 200 truckloads of aid into Gaza, hindered by insecurity and Israeli access restrictions. It was not immediately clear how much of that aid reached those in need. It said some trucks and a World Food Programme warehouse have also been looted by desperate, hungry people. U.N. officials have also criticized Israeli limitations on what kind of aid they can provide. "Israeli authorities have not allowed us to bring in a single ready-to-eat meal. The only food permitted has been flour for bakeries. Even if allowed in unlimited quantities, which it hasn't been, it wouldn't amount to a complete diet for anyone," said Eri Kaneko, U.N. humanitarian affairs spokesperson. Some of recipients of GHF aid said the packages include some rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar. Under a complex process, Israel inspects and clears aid shipments, which are then transported to the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing. There the aid is offloaded and then reloaded on to other trucks for transport to warehouses in Gaza. Several hundred more truckloads of aid currently await U.N. collection from the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom. "More aid would actually get to the people if you would collect the aid waiting for you by the crossings," COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said to the U.N. in a posting on X on Friday. However, the U.N. said that on Tuesday the Israeli military denied all its requests to access Kerem Shalom to pick up the aid. And on Thursday, when 65 trucks of aid managed to leave the crossing, all but five turned back due to intense fighting. Five trucks of medical aid managed to reach the warehouses of a field hospital, but "a group of armed individuals stormed the warehouses... looting large quantities of medical equipment, supplies, medicines and nutritional supplements that was intended for malnourished children," Dujarric said. CEASEFIRE PROPOSAL Israel says it has been facilitating all aid deliveries. COGAT said this week that since the war 1.8 million tonnes of aid, including 1.3 million tonnes of food, had reached Gaza. A U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in the conflict - accepted by Israel and currently being considered by Hamas - would see humanitarian aid delivered by the United Nations, the Red Crescent and other agreed channels. During a two-month ceasefire, which ended when Israel resumed its military operation in March, the U.N. said it got 600-700 trucks of aid a day into Gaza. It has stressed then when people know there is a steady flow of aid, the looting subsides. "To prevent chaos, aid must flow in steadily," Corinne Fleischer, the U.N. World Food Programme's Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe director, posted on X on Thursday. "When people know food is coming, desperation turns to calm."
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Russia tells UN West must stop arming Ukraine during any ceasefire
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -Russia is prepared to consider a ceasefire in Ukraine to pave the way for a lasting settlement, but during any truce Moscow wants Western states to stop arming Kyiv and for Ukraine to stop mobilising troops, Russia's U.N. ambassador said on Friday. However, Vassily Nebenzia told the U.N. Security Council that a simple ceasefire was not enough to end Moscow's more than three-year war in Ukraine. "To achieve a sustainable and lasting settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, we need to address its root causes," Nebenzia said. "What we're proposing is a second round of talks in Istanbul this coming Monday ... where we can exchange memoranda about both parties' approaches to the negotiations process." The United States wants Russia to agree to a comprehensive 30-day land, air, sea and critical infrastructure ceasefire. A first round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine on May 16 failed to yield a truce deal. A U.S. diplomat told the Security Council on Friday: "We share the concern expressed by other members of this council that Russia could be uninterested in peace and instead bent on achieving a military victory." Moscow initially said its combat mission was to "disarm" Ukraine so it could not be a threat to Russia, and "denazify" it by rooting out leaders it characterized as nationalists. Western countries believe Russia's true initial aims were to defeat Ukraine's military and overthrow its pro-Western government. "We will continue fighting for as long as that's necessary - no threats to our borders, no anti-Russian, neo-Nazi education in neighbouring countries. We won't allow for any of that to happen," Nebenzia said.
