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Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
No aid supplies left, staff starves in Gaza, Norwegian Refugee Council says
FILE PHOTO: Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo GENEVA - The Norwegian Refugee Council, one of the largest independent aid organisations in Gaza, told Reuters on Tuesday 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. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Two found dead after fire in Toa Payoh flat Singapore Singaporeans aged 21 to 59 can claim $600 SG60 vouchers from July 22 Singapore Singaporeans continue to hold world's most powerful passport in latest ranking Singapore Singapore, Vietnam agree to step up defence ties, dialogue between leaders Asia Malaysia govt's reform pledge tested as DAP chief bows over unresolved 2009 death of political aide Tech Singapore to increase pool of early adopters in AI to complement data scientists, engineers Singapore Prosecution says judge who acquitted duo of bribing ex-LTA official had copied defence arguments Singapore Ports and planes: The 2 Singapore firms helping to keep the world moving Israel is working with the groups to improve the system, COGAT said, adding that more than 4,500 aid trucks carrying food for the U.N. and international organizations 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 U.N. 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. REUTERS
Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
No aid supplies left and staff starving in Gaza, says Norwegian Refugee Council
FILE PHOTO: Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo GENEVA - The Norwegian Refugee Council told Reuters on Tuesday its aid stocks are completely depleted in Gaza, with some of its staff now starving, and the organization 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's comments echo those made earlier on Tuesday by the head of the Palestinian refugee agency, who said UNRWA's staff were fainting on the job from hunger and exhaustion. The NRC says that for the last 145 days, it has not been able to get hundreds of truckloads of tents, water, sanitation, food and education materials into Gaza. COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, and Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has denied accusations that it is preventing aid from reaching Gaza, and has accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of stealing food, which Hamas denies. "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. The NRC has 64 Palestinian and two international staff on the ground in Gaza. On Sunday the NRC had to move 33 of its staff out of Deir al Balah following Israeli evacuation warnings. The NRC said its supplies of safe drinking water are also running out, due to dwindling supplies of 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 there is about a half a million liters of fuel that the U.N. has been given approval to bring in. "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. The official also said that there are about 700 trucks of unpacked aid on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing which have not been distributed. REUTERS
Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
No aid supplies left and staff are starving in Gaza, says Norwegian Refugee Council
FILE PHOTO: Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo GENEVA - The Norwegian Refugee Council told Reuters on Tuesday its aid stocks are completely depleted in Gaza, with some of its staff now starving, and 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's comments echo those made earlier on Tuesday by the head of the Palestinian refugee agency, who said UNRWA's staff were fainting on the job from hunger and exhaustion. The NRC says that for the last 145 days it has not been able to get its hundreds of truckloads containing tents, water, sanitation, food and education materials into Gaza. COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, and Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel's military has previously told Reuters that it is working to facilitate aid entry in coordination with the international community. It has denied accusations it is preventing aid from reaching Gaza and has accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of stealing food, which Hamas denies. "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. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Two found dead after fire in Toa Payoh flat Singapore Singaporeans aged 21 to 59 can claim $600 SG60 vouchers from July 22 Singapore Singaporeans continue to hold world's most powerful passport in latest ranking Singapore Singapore, Vietnam agree to step up defence ties, dialogue between leaders Asia Malaysia govt's reform pledge tested as DAP chief bows over unresolved 2009 death of political aide Singapore Woman evacuated from lift in Supreme Court building after falling glass triggers emergency halt Singapore Prosecution says judge who acquitted duo of bribing ex-LTA official had copied defence arguments Singapore Ports and planes: The 2 Singapore firms helping to keep the world moving "Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyse our work," he added. The NRC has 64 Palestinian and two international staff on the ground in Gaza. On Sunday the NRC had to move 33 of its staff out of Deir al Balah following Israeli evacuation warnings. The NRC said its supplies of safe drinking water, which have reached 100,000 people in central and northern parts of Gaza in recent weeks, are also running out, as fuel availability to run desalination plants reaches its limit. REUTERS
GMA Network
5 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Hamas says no interim truce possible without work toward permanent ceasefire deal
Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that hit a tent sheltering displaced people, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 12, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed CAIRO - Hamas' armed wing spokesperson said on Friday that while the group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict. Hamas has repeatedly offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech. Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war that has laid waste to the Palestinian enclave. Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel's efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire, "have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas". As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians. "If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives," said Abu Ubaida. Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday. The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion. Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. — Reuters
Barnama
6 days ago
- Politics
- Barnama
Doctors Without Borders Slams EU's 'Hypocrisy' Over Gaza
Palestinians inspect the site of an overnight Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, in Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed GENEVA, July 17 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Thursday sharply criticised the EU for its continued failure to act decisively to stop what the organisation calls "orchestrated ethnic cleansing" in Gaza, accusing the bloc of complicity in the face of deliberate mass suffering. According to Anadolu Ajansi (AA), in a post on X, the MSF said it had sent an open letter to EU leaders nearly a month earlier, on June 16, urging immediate action to stop the mass atrocities unfolding in the Palestinian enclave. "The EU can and must act now to stop mass atrocities in Gaza," it wrote. "Yet, amid EU member states' inaction, orchestrated ethnic cleansing in Gaza continues." bootstrap slideshow According to MSF, more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the conflict, including 12 of its own staff members. The group said the most recent MSF staffer was killed on July 3 while attempting to retrieve a bag of flour. "The human carnage and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza are deliberate. Humanitarian aid is weaponised and blocked. Healthcare services are targeted daily," the organisation stated. MSF also condemned the EU Foreign Affairs Council's latest conclusions, adopted on Tuesday, calling them "yet another sign of the unwillingness to exert pressure on Israel to stop the genocide in Gaza." "Once again, the EU demonstrated hypocrisy and shocking double standards when it comes to protecting civilians and ensuring the respect of international humanitarian law," it said. Calling on the EU to "turn its words into actions and to end its double standards," MSF concluded by emphasising the legal and moral responsibilities of all states to stop the ongoing atrocities in Gaza. "Every state has a moral and legal responsibility to recognise and stop the ongoing atrocities in Gaza," it wrote.
