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The Guardian
5 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on annihilation in Gaza: the deaths mount, but the pressure has ebbed
'We cannot be asking civilians to go into a combat zone so that then they can be killed with the justification that they are in a combat zone.' It defies belief that the Unicef spokesperson, James Elder, should have needed to spell that out this week. And yet each day Palestinians continue to be killed while attempting to collect aid for their families from food hubs in Gaza, forced to make a lethal choice between risking being shot and letting their families slowly starve. More than 500 have died around the centres since the system was introduced – yet, with attention fixed on Israel's attacks on Iran, there has been little to spare for recent deaths. The Israeli military has given shifting accounts of events. But soldiers told the newspaper Haaretz that commanders ordered troops to shoot at crowds that posed no threat. The Israeli prime minister and defence minister attacked the allegations as 'blood libels'. Médecins Sans Frontières has accurately described the system as 'slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid'. Meanwhile, Israel has closed crossings into the north. Overall, Gaza's health ministry says that 56,331 people have died in Israeli attacks since war began. Researchers who assess war casualties suggested this week that, far from being exaggerated, this undercounts the toll. They estimated that violent deaths had reached 75,000 by this January, with another 8,500 excess deaths due to the war. The toll of hunger has yet to be reckoned. The ceasefire with Iran has prompted talk that Benjamin Netanyahu may be contemplating an early election, hoping to ride to victory on the glory. That would be tough without the release of hostages and at least the impression of an end to the war in Gaza. Yet it remains unclear whether there is actual movement towards a deal with Hamas. Donald Trump's hazy vision of a grand deal for the Middle East is built upon a fantasy of Arab state acquiescence without any concrete offer for Palestinians. Without a proper agreement, the threat of strikes resuming would loom large, there would be no promise that proper aid would follow, and recovery would be impossible. The far-right coalition partners upon whom Mr Netanyahu depends want the 'day after' to bring not a resurgence of life but the disappearance of Palestinians from Gaza – and beyond. The surging violence and mass displacements in the occupied West Bank, which have seen 943 Palestinians killed by settlers or security forces since 7 October 2023, have been described as 'Gazafication'. Meanwhile, Israel entrenches its control politically. As Israel's allies stand by – or, like Mr Trump, spur on horrors such as the food scheme – the necessary destination of a two-state solution is becoming a mirage. Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, has suggested openly that the US no longer sees an independent Palestinian state as a goal. European nations, including the UK, which had edged towards recognising one, have backed off since Israel attacked Iran. A review by the diplomatic service of the EU – Israel's biggest trading partner – found that the country was probably breaching human rights duties under their trade deal, yet the bloc has not acted accordingly. The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, rightly urged the EU to suspend the accord. While the arms and trade still flow, Israel's allies are complicit in the destruction of lives in Gaza. They must instead make themselves central to building a future for Palestinians in a state of their own. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
The Guardian
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on annihilation in Gaza: the deaths mount, but the pressure has ebbed
'We cannot be asking civilians to go into a combat zone so that then they can be killed with the justification that they are in a combat zone.' It defies belief that the Unicef spokesperson, James Elder, should have needed to spell that out this week. And yet each day Palestinians continue to be killed while attempting to collect aid for their families from food hubs in Gaza, forced to make a lethal choice between risking being shot and letting their families slowly starve. More than 500 have died around the centres since the system was introduced – yet, with attention fixed on Israel's attacks on Iran, there has been little to spare for recent deaths. The Israeli military has sought to shrug off accountability with shifting accounts of events. But officers and soldiers have told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that commanders ordered troops to shoot at crowds that clearly posed no threat. Médecins Sans Frontières has accurately described the system as 'slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid'. Meanwhile, Israel has closed crossings into the north. Overall, Gaza's health ministry says that 56,331 people have died in Israeli attacks since war began. Researchers who assess war casualties suggested this week that, far from being exaggerated, this undercounts the toll. They estimated that violent deaths had reached 75,000 by this January, with another 8,500 excess deaths due to the war. The toll of hunger has yet to be reckoned. The ceasefire with Iran has prompted talk that Benjamin Netanyahu may be contemplating an early election, hoping to ride to victory on the glory. That would be tough without the release of hostages and at least the impression of an end to the war in Gaza. Yet it remains unclear whether there is actual movement towards a deal with Hamas. Donald Trump's hazy vision of a grand deal for the Middle East is built upon a fantasy of Arab state acquiescence without any concrete offer for Palestinians. Without a proper agreement, the threat of strikes resuming would loom large, there would be no promise that proper aid would follow, and recovery would be impossible. The far-right coalition partners upon whom Mr Netanyahu depends want the 'day after' to bring not a resurgence of life but the disappearance of Palestinians from Gaza – and beyond. The surging violence and mass displacements in the occupied West Bank, which have seen 943 Palestinians killed by settlers or security forces since 7 October 2023, have been described as 'Gazafication'. Meanwhile, Israel entrenches its control politically. As Israel's allies stand by – or, like Mr Trump, spur on horrors such as the food scheme – the necessary destination of a two-state solution is becoming a mirage. Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, has suggested openly that the US no longer sees an independent Palestinian state as a goal. European nations, including the UK, which had edged towards recognising one, have backed off since Israel attacked Iran. A review by the diplomatic service of the EU – Israel's biggest trading partner – found that the country was probably breaching human rights duties under their trade deal, yet the bloc has not acted accordingly. The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, rightly urged the EU to suspend the accord. While the arms and trade still flow, Israel's allies are complicit in the destruction of lives in Gaza. They must instead make themselves central to building a future for Palestinians in a state of their own. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Louise Thompson dropped huge clue that her brother Sam had split with Samie Elishi before break-up was announced
LOUISE Thompson dropped a huge clue that her brother Sam had split with Samie Elishi before their break-up was even announced. 5 Louise Thompson dropped a huge clue that her brother Sam had split with Samie Elishi before their break-up was even announced Credit: PA 5 The Sun exclusively revealed today the pair had decided to go their separate ways Credit: Rex But, during a very recent appearance on Sam's podcast with Pete Wicks, At one point in Wednesday's installment, Louise was asked to describe Sam's ideal girlfriend. The former Made In Chelsea star replied: "I'd love for you to try dating someone that has a normal job, that's outside of the media space. I think that could be exciting. "You definitely need somebody that slightly puts you in your place, so who's gonna talk back to you, and not let you get away with everything." read more on LOUISE Thompson Louise added: "If you're going to go down the fame route, can you just find someone that I would get along with. I'm thinking young British actress." She suggested a good match for Sam would be The Sun confirmed earlier today Sam and Samie had split after dating for just two months. A source said: "It was a mutual thing and there is no bad blood between them. Most read in Reality "They both just have really busy schedules, particularly "It's a shame but sometimes things just don't work out." Louise Thompson's fiance Ryan admits he 'resented her' after traumatic birth of son where she asked him 'am I dying?' Sam and Samie confirmed they were dating in early May when they were Sam was pictured snogging Samie and holding her face as they smooched outside They were also snapped walking arm in arm afterwards and he tenderly placed a hand on her waist. While the pair didn't share their relationship on social media, Grilled by his best mate, he was relatively tight-lipped but said: "What I will say though, really awesome chick. You met her that night. Really, really lovely. Super down to earth, super nice, beautiful, obviously." Samie, meanwhile, Chatting to host Chloe Smith, the interviewer asked Samie: "Obviously, you don't have to talk about it too much but the guy you're currently speaking to, do you have that gut feeling? Like do you think it's gonna be really good?' She responded: "There's been no bad stuff at the minute. So yeah, I suppose it is all positive right now. It's early days." Sam was cagey, however, when quizzed about Samie while promoting his Soccer Aid challenge for Unicef earlier this month. Asked if she would be there to support him, Sam told MailOnline : "I feel like… this is so much more than who I'm dating or hooking up with. "And I feel like it would take away from what it is going on. You know what I mean? "You know, If I had a wife or something like, like a girlfriend of years it might be a different. "I just think that I don't want to do anything that will take away from this challenge and Unicef - the spotlight needs to be on them." Samie also Sam and Samie started dating several months after his split from Zara McDermott. The pair called it A source close to the couple told "But after a tough year of working hard at their romance, they have split and will be focusing on their individual careers going forward into 2025. "There has been no scandal or fallout between them, it's just the result of a difficult year, where they both had to spend a lot of time focused on their own projects." Zara has since moved on with One Direction star Louis Tomlinson, who Sam awkwardly came face to face with at 5 Sam attended the TRIC Awards earlier this week without Samie Credit: Splash 5 Sam split from Zara McDermott in January after five years together Credit: Getty 5 Samie failed to acknowledge Sam's charity challenge. Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach Gaza, John Swinney says
Following a meeting with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, John Swinney said the situation in Gaza is "sickening" with the trickle of aid from private contractors "inhumane and inadequate". Speaking with UNRWA Europe manager Marc Lassouaou, Swinney said Scotland stands with 70 other countries in supporting established humanitarian agencies to deliver aid to those who need it most in Gaza. Swinney said: "The scenes we are witnessing in Gaza are heartbreaking. READ MORE: Children are dying of thirst in Gaza, Unicef says "More than 56,000 people have already been killed and many more are now being left to starve at the hands of the Israeli Government as they continue to block humanitarian aid reaching Gaza. 'The rhetoric of Israeli politicians has become increasingly extreme, and the trickle of aid being delivered by private contractors is inadequate and inhumane. "For many civilians, simply queuing to collect what little humanitarian aid is allowed to enter Gaza has resulted in their death by Israeli gunfire. There are reports that over 400 people have been shot near aid distribution points since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operations. "This situation is sickening. The international community cannot allow this to continue and must demand that the international rule of law is enforced." (Image: AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Since the outset of the current conflict, the Scottish Government has provided £1.3 million for Gaza and the wider Middle East, including £750,000 for UNRWA and a further £550,000 to the Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal, Mercy Corps and SCIAF. Lassouaoui said: 'In Gaza, starving people are being killed when they try to collect food. The new supply scheme continues to force thousands of hungry and desperate people to walk for tens of miles, excluding the most vulnerable. "Mass starvation in Gaza can be stopped. Aid deliveries and distribution must be at scale and safe. "UNRWA warmly welcomes Scotland's strong commitment to its work, its mandate, and to Palestine refugees.' The United Nations has condemned what it said was Israel's "weaponisation of food", urging its military to "stop shooting at people trying to get food". READ MORE: 'Lifesaving' £250K aid pledged for DR Congo crisis The organisation also called a new US- and Israel-backed food-distribution system in the Gaza Strip an "abomination". The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began handing out food in Gaza on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into the occupied Palestinian territory for more than two months, sparking warnings of mass famine. The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF – an officially private effort with opaque funding – over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. Unicef reported earlier this week children are dying of thirst in Gaza. The UN agency said the Palestinian territory of more than two million people was hitting "rock bottom", adding that 400 aid distribution points in Gaza had dwindled to just four as Israel continues to impose restrictions. Children are beginning to die of thirst in Gaza as fuel for trucks to distribute water across the territory has not been allowed in, the organisation said.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Hoping that viruses will go away is not enough – what is needed is continuous vigilance
In the public debate about pandemics, there is a belief as persistent as it is dangerous: the idea that epidemics end, that viruses – once contained – will disappear like a summer storm. But virology and epidemiology teach us that viruses do not disappear. Viruses adapt and mutate. They lurk in the folds of health inequalities and gaps in global surveillance. The latest alarm comes from Sierra Leone, which, after reporting its first two cases of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) in January and declaring a public health emergency, is now facing a significant expansion of the epidemic. According to official sources, the country has reported over 3,000 confirmed cases and at least 15 deaths, with infections concentrated particularly in Western Area Urban, Western Area Rural, and Bombali. National health authorities, assisted by the WHO, Unicef, Africa CDC, and Gavi, have implemented a comprehensive emergency plan: strengthening surveillance, isolating cases, contact tracing, and launching awareness campaigns in schools and rural communities. As a result, 61,300 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine are expected to arrive in the coming weeks, and hundreds of health workers are being trained on diagnostic, treatment, and prevention protocols. This outbreak is becoming particularly worrisome due to the high vulnerability of children, who face a mortality risk up to four times higher than adults, especially in conditions of malnutrition or poor hygiene. On a continental scale, Africa is witnessing a rise in cases, with over 50,000 reported since the beginning of the year and more than 1,700 deaths. A critical factor is the viral clade involved. While full genomic mapping is still underway, the Africa CDC has reported that clade IIb, which has been associated with faster human-to-human transmission and potentially exponential spread, is likely the dominant strain in Sierra Leone. Despite Sierra Leone's improved emergency response capacity, gained during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, healthcare infrastructure remains under strain. Patients often share beds, and clinical recognition delays persist, reflecting systemic pressures that could hamper containment efforts. Viruses return when the world 'moves on' Recent history, from Covid-19 to polio, shows that viruses do not 'die out' with a decree or a short-lived vaccination campaign. Zoonotic viruses, in particular, have an inherent ability to remain in circulation between animal and human hosts, often with different symptomatologies, and to re-emerge under favourable conditions. When surveillance loosens, when public health is underfunded, when the world 'moves on,' viruses return. Mpox is emblematic in this regard. For decades considered a virus confined to parts of central Africa, it has found new vectors, new susceptible populations, and new routes of transmission. Its recent mutations – linked to clade IIb – suggest adaptations to human infection that could make it endemic even in hitherto unaffected areas. Its apparent disappearance in high-income countries after the 2022-2023 wave is illusory: it was not a biological defeat, but a logistical suspension. Yet there are examples of good health behaviour from which the whole world should draw inspiration. In Tanzania in 2023, a small outbreak of Marburg virus – one of the world's deadliest pathogens, belonging to the same family as Ebola – was contained through a timely, transparent and coordinated response. The Tanzanian Ministry of Health quickly put in place measures for contact tracing, case isolation, effective public communication and cooperation with WHO. Similar efficiency was demonstrated in Rwanda, where preparedness for potential Marburg cases became a pillar of public health strategy, despite the fact that no outbreaks had occurred. Both countries invested in decentralised surveillance systems, widespread health training, and integration of human and veterinary medicine-embodying the concept of 'One Health'. These examples show that prevention is not a luxury of rich countries, but a strategic choice that is possible everywhere if supported by political will and real, non-paternalistic international cooperation. The new mpox outbreak in Sierra Leone must be interpreted in light of a fundamental fact: the transmissibility of viruses knows no geopolitical boundaries. Emerging diseases are now more than ever a global health security issue. A delay in diagnosis in Freetown can trigger an infection in Paris, London or Toronto within days. Yet funding for surveillance and diagnostic laboratories remains concentrated in a few areas. Large regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America lack sentinel systems capable of detecting new threats in real time. Where the first patient is not identified, the virus has already won the first round. Continuing to hope that 'it won't happen here,' or that 'this time it is just a small outbreak,' is a mistake we have already paid dearly for. The mpox emergency in Sierra Leone is not yet a pandemic, but it is already an opportunity: to invest, to coordinate, to train. Epidemiological surveillance must become a structural and continuous investment, not an emergency response. We need a global network that not only responds, but predicts. One that recognises the global potential in seemingly minor outbreaks, and that funds local health systems not just to treat, but to monitor and to anticipate. Hoping that viruses will disappear is an understandable but naive wish. The only scientifically sound response is permanent, equitable, multilevel surveillance. We can no longer afford to ignore weak signals. Every contained outbreak is a shared victory; every ignored outbreak is a global defeat waiting to happen. Francesco Branda is an Adjunct professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security
