Latest news with #aid
Al Jazeera
4 hours ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
UK parliamentary committee seeks answers over US firm BCG's role in Gaza
A United Kingdom parliamentary committee is demanding that a US consulting giant explain its activities in Gaza, including its role in establishing a controversial aid group under scrutiny over the killings of hundreds of Palestinians. Labour Party MP Liam Byrne, who chairs the House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee, asked Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in a letter on Wednesday for 'clarification and information' about its work in the besieged enclave, adding that the query was part of the committee's 'scrutiny of the UK's commercial, political and humanitarian links to the conflict'. Byrne's letter to BCG CEO Christoph Schweizer comes after The Financial Times reported on Friday that the firm had drawn up an estimate of the costs of relocating Palestinians from Gaza and signed a multimillion-dollar contract to help create the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Gaza health authorities say that more than 700 Palestinians have been killed trying to access aid at distribution centres run by the GHF, which has been disavowed by the United Nations and numerous aid organisations. The UK newspaper also reported on Monday that the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), run by the former British prime minister, participated in message groups and calls for a post-war development plan for Gaza that relied on BCG modelling. In his letter, Byrne asked for a 'clear and comprehensive response' to a list of questions, including a 'detailed timeline' of when BCG began work on establishing the GHF. Byrne also demanded information from BCG about other companies and institutions, as well as funding sources, linked to the creation of the group. The GHF, which began operating in the bombarded Palestinian enclave in late May, has drawn widespread criticism amid numerous reports that its US security contractors and Israeli forces have opened fire on aid seekers. While noting that BCG had ended its involvement with the GHF, and that some of the associated work had been 'unauthorised', Byrne said the firm should provide specific details on what activities were not authorised, 'when and how' the work was undertaken, and what actions were made to correct those activities. Byrne also called for more information about BCG's work on proposals to relocate the population of Gaza, which have been condemned by Palestinians in the enclave, rights groups and the UN. 'Who commissioned or requested this work? Which individuals or entities . . . did BCG engage with in this context? Is any such work ongoing or active in any form? Were any UK-based organisations – including companies, NGOs, academics or think-tanks – involved?' Byrne said in the letter. Byrne directed BCG to respond by July 22, 'given the seriousness of these issues and the high level of public interest'. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also floated the idea of relocating Palestinians during his meetings this week with US President Donald Trump at the White House. In a statement issued earlier this week, BCG said that 'recent media reporting has misrepresented' the firm's potential role in the post-war reconstruction of Gaza. The firm said that two of its partners 'failed to disclose the full nature of the work' they carried out without payment in helping to establish the GHF. 'These individuals then carried out subsequent unauthorised work. Their actions reflected a serious failure of judgment and adherence to our standards,' the company said, adding that the two partners had been fired.
Al Jazeera
11 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Palestinian children killed at GHF aid sites in Gaza
Palestinian children killed at GHF aid sites in Gaza NewsFeed Over 700 Palestinians have been killed while trying to collect aid from the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites. Several children are among the victims. Here are some of their stories. Video Duration 00 minutes 21 seconds 00:21 Video Duration 01 minutes 05 seconds 01:05 Video Duration 01 minutes 03 seconds 01:03 Video Duration 01 minutes 31 seconds 01:31 Video Duration 01 minutes 23 seconds 01:23 Video Duration 01 minutes 20 seconds 01:20 Video Duration 03 minutes 26 seconds 03:26
The National
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
WFP ready for another surge in aid for Gaza if sides agree to ceasefire
The World Food Programme is standing by to deliver a much-needed surge in aid to Gaza if negotiations for a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory succeed, the agency's deputy executive director Carl Skau told The National. The coastal enclave's more than 2 million residents have suffered extreme levels of hunger after Israeli blockades and strict controls over aid delivery before the collapse of a ceasefire in March. A recent WFP assessment found nearly one person in three in Gaza is not eating for days at a time. Also, nearly half a million people are expected to face catastrophic hunger between May and September this year. As many as 600 lorries of aid entered Gaza each day during a truce that began on January 19, and Mr Skau said the WFP had been told to be 'ready to bring the scale that we had last time around'. He said the agency has enough aid waiting to feed civilians in Gaza for two months, but needed to be given "full access" to the territory. "We need those routes. We need those entry points, but whether that will happen or not, that I can't say because I'm not privy to these negotiations,' he said, referring to ceasefire negotiations taking place in Qatar. "We have food on what we call the borders in Egypt, in Jordan, in [the Israeli port city of] Ashdod, to feed the entire population for the next two months if needed," Mr Skau said. "People have never been more desperate, certainly on the food-security front." The current ceasefire proposal would see Hamas hand over 10 live hostages and the bodies of 18 others during a 60-day ceasefire, with large numbers of Palestinians released from Israeli jails in exchange. The proposal includes a provision for a surge in deliveries of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Mr Skau said that during the last ceasefire, the WFP "showed what was possible: delivering over 8,000 trucks of food in only 42 days. We can do it again". He said the need for agreement on a new truce was "urgent". "If there is no ceasefire, I frankly don't know how we're going to continue and how the situation then could or can evolve." The responsibility for distributing aid is still undecided in the truce talks, with Hamas insisting that it be carried out by the UN and associated agencies and Israel insisting that it be done by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, sources say. Obstacles to aid Mr Skau said that although the WFP was being allowed to take aid into Gaza, despite challenges, it was not enough and was not reaching everyone. "We are not getting the variety of commodities that are required," he said. He added that the agency was unable to distribute the aid where it is needed most, including in the north of Gaza. "We don't have spare parts for our vehicles and our trucks, we don't have the communication equipment needed to stay in touch. We're not getting the clearances fast enough so that we can move when there are crowds that put risk to our trucks," he said.
The Guardian
20 hours ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Rafah field hospital overwhelmed by casualties from IDF food distribution site shootings
Waves of wounded people arriving from so-called aid distribution centres in southern Gaza are driving operations beyond maximum capacity in Rafah's last operational hospital. The operating theatre nurse Haitam al-Hasan said the number of cases dealt with by him and his team had tripled since the centres opened in May. The Red Cross said the field hospital treated more than 2,200 patients who had been wounded by weapons, most of them across more than 21 separate 'mass casualty incidents' linked to the sites
Al Arabiya
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Gaza-bound aid flotilla to set sail again after previous ship seized by Israeli forces
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said it is going to set sail to Gaza once again to provide aid to Palestinians facing acute starvation, weeks after Israeli forces seized one of its vessels in international waters. The group confirmed that its next boat, named 'Handala' will depart from the Italian port of Siracusa on July 13 as part of a renewed effort to break Israel's blockade on the besieged Gaza Strip. 'This mission is for the children of Gaza,' the coalition said in a post on X. It said the vessel is named after the Palestinian cartoon figure 'Handala' – a 10-year-old refugee boy who has come to symbolize Palestinian struggle. 'The children of Gaza – who make half of the population – have been living under a brutal blockade and siege for their entire lives,' the group said in a statement. 'All now face famine, disease, and trauma few of us can imagine.' According to a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), one in five Palestinians in Gaza is facing starvation because of Israel's three-month long total blockade of the Strip. Israel eased the blockade partially in May, allowing some aid to go through. Some 1.95 million people, or 93 percent of the beseiged enclave's population, are facing acute food shortages. Volunteer medics, lawyers, social justice activists, journalists and community organizers are expected to be on board the vessel. Flotillas have in the past tried to break the blockade on Gaza. Israeli forces previously intercepted the aid ship 'Madleen' about 185 kilometers off the coast of Gaza and detained 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. They were all later deported. Another aid ship while preparing to set sail to Gaza on May 2 was struck twice by armed drones, 25 kilometers off the Malta coast. The vessel called the 'Conscience' was significantly damaged in the attack, forcing the 30 activists to desperately throw out water to prevent the ship from sinking. Four people were injured.
