Latest news with #humanitarian aid
Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
Gaza civil defence: Dozens killed as Israeli troops fire on hungry crowd
GAZA CITY, July 31 — Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 30 people when they opened fire Wednesday on a crowd waiting for humanitarian aid in the north of the Palestinian territory. The Israeli military said it had no knowledge of casualties in the incident north of Gaza City, as the United Nations said that pauses in Israel's offensive against Hamas were not enough to help the population through a deepening hunger crisis. The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, said that four days into Israel's 'tactical pauses', people were still dying from hunger and malnutrition, alongside casualties among those seeking aid. Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 'at least 30 martyrs were killed' and 300 wounded when Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for aid north of Gaza City. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said his facility had received 35 bodies from the shooting, which reportedly struck about three kilometres south-west of the Zikim crossing point for aid trucks entering Gaza. The Israeli army said that dozens of Gazans were seen 'gathering around aid trucks in northern Gaza, and in close proximity to IDF (army) troops operating in the area. 'The troops fired warning shots in the area, not directed at the gathering, in response to the threat posed to them. According to an initial inquiry, the IDF is not aware of any casualties as a result of IDF fire. The details of the incident are still being examined.' Hours earlier, 14 Palestinians were killed in four other incidents, three near aid distribution sites, the civil defence agency said. In two of the incidents, the Israeli army said it had fired warning shots. Pauses not enough Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP cannot independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence and other parties. Gaza has been in the grip of war for almost 22 months and, according to a UN-mandated report, its two-million-plus inhabitants now face an unfolding famine. The war was triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 60,138 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run government's health ministry. Food aid air-drops Amid an international outcry over Gaza's food crisis, Israel has observed a daytime pause in military operations since the weekend on secure routes and in built-up areas to boost aid delivery and distribution. Air drops of food have also been staged by the Jordanian air force, the United Arab Emirates and Britain. France said it plans to start delivering 40 tonnes of aid from Friday. OCHA said that the conditions for delivering aid were 'far from sufficient' to meet the immense needs of its 'desperate, hungry people'. Israel's pauses alone 'do not allow for the continuous flow of supplies required to meet immense needs levels in Gaza', OCHA said in an update. 'For example, for UN drivers to access the Kerem Shalom crossing — a fenced-off area — Israeli authorities must approve the mission, provide a safe route through which to travel, provide multiple 'green lights' on movement, as well as a pause in bombing, and, ultimately, open the iron gates to allow them to enter.' 'Desperate, hungry people' offload the small amounts of aid from the trucks that are able to exit the crossings, it added. Ceasefire talks halted Amid deadlocked talks on a ceasefire, US special envoy Steve Witkoff was scheduled to visit Israel on Thursday. Witkoff has been involved in indirect ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. The discussions broke down last week when Israel and the United States recalled their delegations from Doha. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel and the United States were 'considering alternative options to bring our hostages home'. Witkoff 'will meet with officials to discuss next steps in addressing the situation in Gaza', a US official told AFP. Arab countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt called this week on Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza, in a bid to end the devastating war. — AFP
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Aid cuts will push Nigerians into arms of Boko Haram militants, WFP warns
Drastic cuts to humanitarian aid in north-eastern Nigeria could prove a boon to one of the world's most deadly militant groups, Boko Haram, aid agencies have warned. A reduction of funding in recent months has forced the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) to ration its support, and now it has completely run out. "It will be much easier for militants to lure youths to join them and spiral insecurity across the whole region," Trust Mlambo, head of operations in the area for WFP, told the BBC. Notorious around the world for kidnapping more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok more than a decade ago, Boko Haram has taken thousands of people captive during its raids and forced more than a million from their village homes. Boko Haram was initially a religious Muslim group founded in the early 2000s that was opposed to Western education. It went on to launch military operations in 2009 with the political aim of creating an Islamic state, causing mayhem across the region - including in neighbouring countries such as Cameroon, Chad and Niger. It has been classified as one of the world's deadliest jihadist groups, and a splinter group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2015. Aisha Abubakar has lost more than half her family because of attacks on her village in Borno state and illness. "My husband and six children were killed in the bush," the 40-year-old told the BBC. Four of her children survived, including one recently rescued from captivity after being kidnapped by the insurgents. She fled to Gwoza, a garrison town to the west of the city Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. Gwoza is set at the foot of a stretch of breathtaking rocky hills. But beyond the hills, camped out in dense forested areas lies the danger the town's tens of thousands of camp residents fear - Boko Haram. "I could never go back to the village," said Ms Abubakar. "Life in the village was unbearable, we were always on the run." She has been trying to rebuild her life after it was shattered. She has found a new husband at Gwoza's camp for internally displaced persons and together they have a seven-month-old baby. Ms Abubakar is among close to 1.4 million displaced people in north-east Nigeria who are fully dependent on humanitarian aid for survival. She spoke to the BBC after bringing her youngest child to the aid distribution centre at Gwoza. She rocked the baby while waiting for her turn at the registration centre, holding her blue debit card. The support for the month is credited onto the card and the amount depends on the holder's family size. Ms Abubukar received $20 (£15) - and with it, she bought a sack of maize and several other food items. She said she was grateful for the money, but the amount could not sustain her family for a month. "We don't have any more to give after this [month's] cycle," said Mr Mlambo of the WFP. "Our warehouses are empty, and we just are desperate for any generous donations." The US State Department acknowledged its recent reorganisation of humanitarian assistance programmes had resulted in some cuts, in line with President Donald Trump's America First policy. "The United States continues to be the most generous nation in the world, and we urge other nations to increase their humanitarian efforts," a senior State Department official told the BBC. It has said previously that the US government's global support to the WFP - about 80% - has not been affected. On the ground in Nigeria, the lower support from all donors to the WFP this year has already resulted in a spike in malnutrition rates. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said the number of children with the most severe and deadly form of malnutrition more than doubled in the first half of the year. "Six-hundred-and-fifty-two children have already died in our facilities since the beginning of 2025 due to lack of timely access to care," the medical charity said. The true scale of the crisis exceeds all expectations, MSF's country representative for Nigeria Ahmed Aldikhari said in a statement. He added that 2024 had "marked a turning point in northern Nigeria's nutritional crisis", as major donors including the US, UK and the European Union had scaled down or halted their support altogether. Nigeria is one of Africa's largest economies and its most populous nation but has long been beset by rampant corruption. It has also undergone massive inflation and currency devaluation in recent years and failed to bring under control the insurgency in the north-east of the country. However, its leadership has lately publicly recognised the malnutrition challenge the government faces. Two weeks ago, Vice-President Kashim Shettima said malnutrition had deprived "40% of Nigerian children under five their full physical and cognitive potential", and promised to tackle it. The statement followed the inauguration, last month, of a nutrition board, which he described as a "war room to battle against malnutrition in every corner of the country". But beyond the rallying call, the question is how fast and how far it can act to halt and reverse the staggering levels of undernutrition amid the sweeping and sudden cuts to funding much of the region relied on for years. More than 150 donor-funded clinics that have been treating malnutrition in the north-east of the country are also facing imminent closure. Back in Gwoza, a mother of two feels defeated after learning her first child, Amina, is now malnourished despite her best efforts to provide healthy food. "I feel bad, because every mother wants her baby to be healthy," 25-year-old Hauwa Badamasi told the BBC. She said she had been unable to access her family's farm near her home village for years because of insecurity. "The aid has stopped and people are killed on the farm. What are we going to do with our lives?" she asked as three-year-old Amina ate the nutritional supplement she had just been given at the Hausari B clinic. It serves some 90,000 people, many of them farmers - like Ms Badamasi - displaced by the insurgency. "We will be in a dire situation with no food and no medicine," said Ms Badamasi. "Our survival depends on these essentials." She was given a bag of the supplement - peanut paste - to continue treatment at home. It may well be the last, unless the funding situation changes. The WFP's Mr Mlambo offered a bleak assessment of things to come, suggesting the lack of food could push desperate people back into the hands of the militants. "If people here feel that their livelihood [is gone], they can't even have the next meal, for sure, they will be pushed to go just across the [hills] to enrol," said Mr Mlambo. While those living in Gwoza feel protected by the military's presence there, they have little faith in the army's ability to end the insurgency - and fear for their future. Additional reporting by the BBC's Kyla Herrmannsen You may also be interested in: Nigeria's Chibok girls: Parents of kidnapped children heartbroken - again What is USAID and why is Trump closing it? Trump global aid cuts risk 14 million deaths in five years, report says Nigeria's kidnap crisis: Inside story of a ransom negotiator Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica BBC Africa podcasts Focus on Africa This Is Africa
Wall Street Journal
3 hours ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
Gaza Starvation Photos Tell a Thousand Lies
The Gaza Strip Over the weekend, I embedded with the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza, where I saw the enormous quantities of humanitarian aid the United Nations has been refusing to distribute. What struck me most were the thousands upon thousands of pounds of baby food, baking under the Middle Eastern sun—jar after jar of mashed carrots, pureed potatoes and fruit blends. This food could have gone to children like Mohammed al-Mutawaaq.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Trump aid cuts will push Nigerians into the arms of Boko Haram militants
Drastic cuts to humanitarian aid in north-eastern Nigeria could prove a boon to one of the world's most deadly militant groups, Boko Haram, aid agencies have warned.A reduction of funding in recent months has forced the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) to ration its support, and now it has completely run out."It will be much easier for militants to lure youths to join them and spiral insecurity across the whole region," Trust Mlambo, head of operations in the area for WFP, told the around the world for kidnapping more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok more than a decade ago, Boko Haram has taken thousands of people captive during its raids and forced more than a million from their village Haram was initially a religious Muslim group founded in the early 2000s that was opposed to Western education. It went on to launch military operations in 2009 with the political aim of creating an Islamic state, causing mayhem across the region - including in neighbouring countries such as Cameroon, Chad and has been classified as one of the world's deadliest jihadist groups, and a splinter group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in Abubakar has lost more than half her family because of attacks on her village in Borno state and illness. "My husband and six children were killed in the bush," the 40-year-old told the BBC. Four of her children survived, including one recently rescued from captivity after being kidnapped by the fled to Gwoza, a garrison town to the west of the city Maiduguri, the capital of Borno is set at the foot of a stretch of breathtaking rocky hills. But beyond the hills, camped out in dense forested areas lies the danger the town's tens of thousands of camp residents fear - Boko Haram."I could never go back to the village," said Ms Abubakar. "Life in the village was unbearable, we were always on the run."She has been trying to rebuild her life after it was shattered. She has found a new husband at Gwoza's camp for internally displaced persons and together they have a seven-month-old baby. Ms Abubakar is among close to 1.4 million displaced people in north-east Nigeria who are fully dependent on humanitarian aid for spoke to the BBC after bringing her youngest child to the aid distribution centre at Gwoza. She rocked the baby while waiting for her turn at the registration centre, holding her blue debit support for the month is credited onto the card and the amount depends on the holder's family size. Ms Abubukar received $20 (£15) - and with it, she bought a sack of maize and several other food said she was grateful for the money, but the amount could not sustain her family for a month. "We don't have any more to give after this [month's] cycle," said Mr Mlambo of the WFP. "Our warehouses are empty, and we just are desperate for any generous donations."The US State Department acknowledged its recent reorganisation of humanitarian assistance programmes had resulted in some cuts, in line with President Donald Trump's America First policy."The United States continues to be the most generous nation in the world, and we urge other nations to increase their humanitarian efforts," a senior State Department official told the has said previously that the US government's global support to the WFP - about 80% - has not been the ground in Nigeria, the lower support from all donors to the WFP this year has already resulted in a spike in malnutrition rates.Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said the number of children with the most severe and deadly form of malnutrition more than doubled in the first half of the year."Six-hundred-and-fifty-two children have already died in our facilities since the beginning of 2025 due to lack of timely access to care," the medical charity true scale of the crisis exceeds all expectations, MSF's country representative for Nigeria Ahmed Aldikhari said in a added that 2024 had "marked a turning point in northern Nigeria's nutritional crisis", as major donors including the US, UK and the European Union had scaled down or halted their support altogether. Nigeria is one of Africa's largest economies and its most populous nation but has long been beset by rampant has also undergone massive inflation and currency devaluation in recent years and failed to bring under control the insurgency in the north-east of the its leadership has lately publicly recognised the malnutrition challenge the government weeks ago, Vice-President Kashim Shettima said malnutrition had deprived "40% of Nigerian children under five their full physical and cognitive potential", and promised to tackle statement followed the inauguration, last month, of a nutrition board, which he described as a "war room to battle against malnutrition in every corner of the country".But beyond the rallying call, the question is how fast and how far it can act to halt and reverse the staggering levels of undernutrition amid the sweeping and sudden cuts to funding much of the region relied on for than 150 donor-funded clinics that have been treating malnutrition in the north-east of the country are also facing imminent in Gwoza, a mother of two feels defeated after learning her first child, Amina, is now malnourished despite her best efforts to provide healthy food."I feel bad, because every mother wants her baby to be healthy," 25-year-old Hauwa Badamasi told the BBC. She said she had been unable to access her family's farm near her home village for years because of insecurity."The aid has stopped and people are killed on the farm. What are we going to do with our lives?" she asked as three-year-old Amina ate the nutritional supplement she had just been given at the Hausari B serves some 90,000 people, many of them farmers - like Ms Badamasi - displaced by the insurgency."We will be in a dire situation with no food and no medicine," said Ms Badamasi. "Our survival depends on these essentials."She was given a bag of the supplement - peanut paste - to continue treatment at home. It may well be the last, unless the funding situation WFP's Mr Mlambo offered a bleak assessment of things to come, suggesting the lack of food could push desperate people back into the hands of the militants."If people here feel that their livelihood [is gone], they can't even have the next meal, for sure, they will be pushed to go just across the [hills] to enrol," said Mr those living in Gwoza feel protected by the military's presence there, they have little faith in the army's ability to end the insurgency - and fear for their reporting by the BBC's Kyla Herrmannsen You may also be interested in: Nigeria's Chibok girls: Parents of kidnapped children heartbroken - againWhat is USAID and why is Trump closing it?Trump global aid cuts risk 14 million deaths in five years, report saysNigeria's kidnap crisis: Inside story of a ransom negotiator Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
News.com.au
6 hours ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Gaza civil defence says 30 killed in food queue by Israeli fire
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 30 people when they opened fire Wednesday on a crowd waiting for humanitarian aid in the north of the Palestinian territory. The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident north of Gaza City, as the United Nations said that pauses in Israel's offensive against Hamas were not enough to help the population through a deepening hunger crisis. The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, said that four days into Israel's "tactical pauses", people were still dying from hunger and malnutrition, alongside casualties among those seeking aid. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that "at least 30 martyrs were killed" as they waited for aid north of Gaza City, and 300 wounded. Bassal said Israeli forces opened fire on the crowd waiting for food. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said his facility had received 35 bodies from the shooting, which reportedly struck about three kilometres (two miles) southwest of the Zikim crossing point for aid trucks entering Gaza. Hours earlier, 14 Palestinians were killed in four other incidents, three near aid distribution sites, the civil defence agency said. In two of the incidents, the Israeli army said it fired warning shots at people approaching the aid sites. - Pauses not enough - While the military did not comment on the incident at Zikim, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office did say that Hamas militants were "stealing" food from the latest deliveries. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP cannot independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence and other parties. Gaza has been in the grip of war for almost 22 months and, according to a UN-mandated report, its two-million-plus inhabitants now face an unfolding famine. The war was triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 60,138 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run government's health ministry. - Food aid air-drops - Amid an international outcry over Gaza's food crisis, Israel has observed a daytime pause in military operations since the weekend on secure routes and in built-up areas to boost aid delivery and distribution. Air drops of food have also been staged by the Jordanian air force, the United Arab Emirates and Britain. France said it plans to start delivering 40 tonnes of aid from Friday. OCHA said that the conditions for delivering aid were "far from sufficient" to meet the immense needs of its "desperate, hungry people". Israel's pauses alone "do not allow for the continuous flow of supplies required to meet immense needs levels in Gaza", OCHA said in an update. "For example, for UN drivers to access the Kerem Shalom crossing -- a fenced-off area -- Israeli authorities must approve the mission, provide a safe route through which to travel, provide multiple 'green lights' on movement, as well as a pause in bombing, and, ultimately, open the iron gates to allow them to enter." "Desperate, hungry people" offload the small amounts of aid from the trucks that are able to exit the crossings, it added. - Ceasefire talks halted - Amid deadlocked talks on a ceasefire, US special envoy Steve Witkoff was to visit Israel on Thursday. Witkoff has been involved in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal. But the discussions broke down last week when Israel and the United States recalled their delegations from Doha. Netanyahu announced the following day that Israel and the United States were "considering alternative options to bring our hostages home". Witkoff "will meet with officials to discuss next steps in addressing the situation in Gaza", a US official told AFP. Arab countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt called this week on Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza, in a bid to end the devastating war.
