Latest news with #UnitedNationsReliefandWorksAgency
Roya News
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Roya News
Queen Rania shares UNRWA warning: "Man-made famine in Gaza"
Queen Rania of Jordan has amplified a dire warning from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), stating that the worst-case scenario of famine is now unfolding in Gaza. In a message reposted by the Queen on social media, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini declared that Gaza is facing "an entirely man-made famine," with leading global experts confirming that the threshold for famine has been crossed. 'The worst case scenario of famine is now happening in Gaza,' Lazzarini said. 'More than 100 people have died due to hunger in the past few weeks alone.' He added that starvation and severe malnutrition are now widespread throughout the war-torn enclave, including among children. Lazzarini emphasized that the only way to reverse the catastrophic situation is to immediately allow large-scale humanitarian aid into the Strip. 'The United Nations, including UNRWA, have the expertise and resources available,' he said. 'UNRWA alone has the equivalent of 6,000 trucks of food and medicine ready to cross into Gaza.' He urged all parties to allow humanitarian organizations to work 'without restrictions, in safety and dignity.' The Queen's repost highlights growing international concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as calls for unimpeded aid access intensify. View this post on Instagram A post shared by UNRWA (@unrwa) Palestine
a day ago
- Politics
Jordan requesting US help with Gaza aid airdrops but Trump administration has no plans to assist, officials say
As international pressure to deliver more food aid to Gaza builds, the Kingdom of Jordan is "continuing to request assistance in the form of pledges to contribute aircraft, supplies, humanitarian aid, and logistical support" for its airdrop operation -- but the Trump administration has no active plans to join European allies in helping with the mission at present, according to an internal State Department communication reviewed by ABC News on Monday and two U.S. officials familiar with the matter. Per the communication, Jordan has informed the State Department of its intention to launch a three-week airdrop operation beginning in early August -- in addition to the drops conducted with the United Arab Emirates that took place Sunday -- and the department is tracking various pledges to assist with the operation from Spain, Belgium, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. "Emphasizing the irreplicable role of land routes and minimizing the risk of casualties due to airdrops are continued concerns among potential contributors," the department communication noted. Some aid organizations have also publicly expressed concerns about the efficacy and safety of airdrops. "Airdrops are the most expensive & inefficient way to deliver aid. It is a distraction to the inaction," Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency Philippe Lazzarini wrote in a post on X on Friday. Earlier Monday, President Donald Trump promised the U.S. would be "even more involved" when it comes to delivering aid to Gaza, saying this administration would work with European allies to set up "food centers" with fewer restrictions on access. He also suggested that additional assistance could come in the form of the U.S. helping with air drops if his administration chose to do so. "We did some airlifts before, some airdrops," he said following a meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "It's not very hard to do, actually." Jordan has also informed the State Department that it encountered significant delays when moving aid into Gaza by ground on Sunday, stating that the Israeli government allowed only 25 out of 60 trucks traveling from Jordan to enter the enclave. According to the internal communication, the Jordanian Armed Forces reported that the screening of the aid convoy "went substantially slower" than it has for three previous convoys organized by the country. The 25 trucks that were permitted entry on Sunday were carrying World Food Programme contents, while the delayed trucks were carrying food supplies from other organizations, including World Central Kitchen and the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization, it added. Jordan has informed the department of its intention to move two more convoys into Gaza this week, according to the communication. "President Trump wants to alleviate suffering for the people of Gaza because he has a humanitarian heart. He announced a new aid plan today to help Gazans obtain crucial access to food – details are forthcoming," White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a comment to ABC News. Trump said earlier that European countries would also help with his plan to set up food centers but shared few other details about his vision. "We have all of the European nations joining us, and others also have called. So, we're going to set up food centers and where the people can walk in and no boundaries. We're not going to have fences," he said. Regarding ABC News reporting on Jordan's request for assistance with its air drop operation and the reported delay moving ground aid into Gaza caused by Israel, a State Department spokesperson responded, "President Trump has called for creative solutions 'to help the Palestinians' in Gaza, and we welcome any effective effort that delivers food to Gazans and keeps it out of the hands of Hamas." "At this time, GHF remains the best mechanism for getting aid into the hands of people in desperate need in Gaza while also keeping aid out of the hands of Hamas," the spokesperson said, referring to the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. "A track record of distributing over 94 million meals to date while preventing any Hamas looting is absolutely incredible and should be commended and supported. We call on other aid agencies and the UN to participate in this secure aid delivery system and take GHF up on its offer to use its system to deliver food to Gazans in need," the spokesperson said. The Trump administration has pledged at least $30 million to the GHF and thrown its full support behind the controversial charity despite concerns from critics regarding its aid distribution practices. Earlier this month, more than 160 charity groups and NGOs called for the GHF to be shut down, claiming that more than 500 Palestinians had been killed while seeking aid from the organization and that its distribution locations 'have become sites of repeated massacres in blatant disregard for international humanitarian law.' The United Nations has also rejected requests to cooperate with GHF. 'We welcome working with any other partners. All we ask is that those partners work based on the most basic humanitarian principles, one of them being that don't set up an operation that will increase the risk of people to be shot at or trampled while trying to get food,' U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a press conference last week. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation pushed back on the criticism in a statement to ABC News. "While Oxfam, MSF and these other groups hold press conferences and send out threatening letters, GHF is on the ground feeding people," a GHF spokesperson said. "We've offered to help them deliver it safely. They've refused. The humanitarian community must return to its core mission -- feeding people -- not protecting outdated systems or avoiding the discomfort of change. In a letter sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday, a group of 21 Democratic senators called for the Trump administration to immediately cease funding for the GHF and resume support for the existing U.N-led aid coordination mechanisms.
The Citizen
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
Words won't feed Gaza Strip
Now it is a systematic attempt to destroy a particular group of people, also known as genocide. Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip near Beit Hanoun, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, 27 July 2025. Picture: EPA/ATEF SAFADI I have no words. I have a million words, I want to speak about Gaza, but what can I add about Gaza? More words won't feed anyone, yet people are starving; no, being starved to death. Because this is an entirely manmade famine. Just a few kilometres away, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) has 6 000 truckloads of food and medical supplies lined up to enter Gaza, but Israel blocks them. Even Unrwa's own staff in Gaza are weak with hunger, though they still have salaries to buy food. The reality is there's just no food. Meanwhile, as over 100 aid agencies warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the region, on Saturday, Benjamin Netanyahu's government declared it would start airdropping wheat, sugar and tinned food, a sop to the international outcry. ALSO READ: Children starve in Gaza as EU powers push ceasefire talks Here is a settlement of Palestinian refugees, packed in tight, with nowhere to go. It was always difficult, the political landscape intractable, rights and wrongs on both sides, and people – like me – were wary of saying anything because it was complex, fearing accusations of anti-Semitism, but now it's become impossible. Now it is a systematic attempt to destroy a particular group of people, also known as genocide. They say when someone tells you who they are, you should listen, so the recent words of far-right Israeli government minister Amichai Eliyahu should be noted. 'There is no nation that feeds its enemies,' he said on the radio, likening the situation to Russia feeding Ukraine, as if Gaza were an autonomous country, adding that the Israeli government was 'rushing toward Gaza being wiped out', and 'driving out the population that educated its people on the ideas of Mein Kampf.' ALSO READ: More than 100 NGOs warn 'mass starvation' spreading across Gaza Netanyahu responded that this wasn't government policy, but actions tell a different story. Eliyahu is correct about the decimation: 70% of buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed, over 58 000 are dead, 2 000 families have been entirely wiped out. This is not a country they're annihilating in Gaza so much as a vast refugee camp created after the 1948 Palestine War, which Israel has continued to encroach upon, control and occupy, contrary to international convention and law. So perhaps it's no surprise that existing arrest warrants for war crimes do not faze Netanyahu, who reasons his people were ever victimised. Yet he forgets that sometimes victims become abusers too. READ NEXT: Israeli strikes kill children collecting water in Gaza
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Anthony Albanese demands Israel to stop aid blockade to Gaza, calls for urgent action
Anthony Albanese has made his strongest demand to Israel to date, urging the Netanyahu government to 'immediately' stop the blockage of aid in Gaza, with the Prime Minister stating the situation ' has gone beyond the world's worst fears'. In what was his strongest comments to date, Mr Albanese said the conflict had 'stolen far too many innocent lives,' and Israel's actions could no longer be 'defended or ignored'. 'Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel's denial of aid and the killing of civilians, including children, seeking access to water and food cannot be defended or ignored,' he said in a statement issued on Friday. 'We call on Israel to comply immediately with its obligations under international law. 'This includes allowing the United Nations and NGOs to carry out their lifesaving work safely and without hindrance. 'Any proposals for the permanent forced displacement of the Palestinian population must be abandoned.' Earlier in the week, Australia was one of 27 countries, including the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and France, which condemned Israel's 'drip feeding of aid' and the 'inhumane killing' of Palestinians. Signatories said they were also 'prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region'. In recent days the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has said one in every five children are malnourished, with its frontline health workers surviving on just one small meal a day. It says more than 6000 aid trucks carrying food and medicine have been blocked from entering Gaza. World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also described the situation in Gaza as a 'man-made mass starvation,' with the Gaza health ministry stating at least 111 people had died from starvation. On Friday, the US also confirmed it had withdrawn from the ceasefire talks between Israel in Qatar, with Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff blaming Hamas. Mr Albanese condemned the 'terror and brutality of Hamas' and reiterated calls for the 'immediate release of the remaining hostages'. He also confirmed Australia still supported a two-state solution, and was 'proud' to support the modern state of Israel' while also 'recognising the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people'. 'The reason a two-state solution remains the goal of the international community is because a just and lasting peace depends upon it,' he said. 'Australia is committed to a future where both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples can live in peace and safety, within secure and internationally recognised borders. 'Until that day, every effort must be made here and now to safeguard innocent life and end the suffering and starvation of the people of Gaza.' Coalition foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said that while the opposition agreed that Israel needed to 'urgently' resume aid delivery into Gaza, Mr Albanese's response should have placed more direct blame on Hamas. She added that Hamas could 'end the suffering of the people of Gaza by freeing the remaining Israeli hostages and laying down their weapons'. 'It is disappointing that Prime Minister Albanese's statement about Gaza once again fails to place any blame on Hamas, a listed terrorist organisation, for the delays in aid reaching the people of Gaza,' she said. 'Any moral outrage about the situation in Gaza should be directed at Hamas. Hamas and its allies have tried to disrupt the flow of aid into Gaza and have stolen humanitarian aid for their own purposes. 'This war began because of Hamas's abhorrent attack on Israeli civilians, where over 1200 were murdered in cold blood, and they bear responsibility for the continuation of this conflict.' Mr Albanese's statement also follows a chaotic start to the 48th parliament, with hundreds of protesters gathering on the lawns of parliament calling for a tougher response against Israel. A protest which erupted in Parliament House's public Marble Hall resulted in police detaining and removing 17 people. ACT Policing has also confirmed that they will be issued with formal banning notices at a later date. Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi was also sanctioned for holding up a sign which read: 'Prime minister, Gaza is starving, will you sanction Israel?' during Governor-General Sam Mostyn's address to parliament. The NSW senator has now been banned from participating in overseas parliamentary delegations of the remainder of the 48th parliamentary term.
West Australian
5 days ago
- Politics
- West Australian
Anthony Albanese demands Israel to stop aid blockade to Gaza, calls for urgent action
Anthony Albanese has made his strongest demand to Israel to date, urging the Netanyahu government to 'immediately' stop the blockage of aid in Gaza, with the Prime Minister stating the situation ' has gone beyond the world's worst fears'. In what was his strongest comments to date, Mr Albanese said the conflict had 'stolen far too many innocent lives,' and Israel's actions could no longer be 'defended or ignored'. 'Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel's denial of aid and the killing of civilians, including children, seeking access to water and food cannot be defended or ignored,' he said in a statement issued on Friday. 'We call on Israel to comply immediately with its obligations under international law. 'This includes allowing the United Nations and NGOs to carry out their lifesaving work safely and without hindrance. 'Any proposals for the permanent forced displacement of the Palestinian population must be abandoned.' In recent days the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has said one in every five children are malnourished, with its frontline health workers surviving on just one small meal a day. It says more than 6000 aid trucks carrying food and medicine have been blocked from entering Gaza. World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also described the situation in Gaza as a 'man-made mass starvation,' with the Gaza health ministry stating at least 111 people had died from starvation. On Friday, the US also confirmed it had withdrawn from the ceasefire talks between Israel in Qatar, with Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff blaming Hamas. Mr Albanese condemned the 'terror and brutality of Hamas' and reiterated calls for the 'immediate release of the remaining hostages'. He also confirmed Australia still supported a two-state solution, and was 'proud' to support the modern state of Israel' while also 'recognising the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people'. 'The reason a two state solution remains the goal of the international community is because a just and lasting peace depends upon it,' he said. 'Australia is committed to a future where both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples can live in peace and safety, within secure and internationally-recognised borders. 'Until that day, every effort must be made here and now to safeguard innocent life and end the suffering and starvation of the people of Gaza.' More to come
