On Friday, trucks carrying crucial aid for Gaza entered the area for the first time through a recently opened US port. This happened after Israel’s restrictions and fighting made it hard to bring food and other things to the people there.
The delivery is the first one in a plan that American military officials think could increase to 150 truckloads every day. At the same time, Israel continues to attack the southern city of Rafah in its seven-month fight against Hamas. At the White House, a person named John Kirby said that the initial delivery of aid included more than 300 pallets, which were given to the UN to distribute.
Kirby said the US has received signs that some of the help was already going to Gaza.
The US, UN, and aid groups are saying that the floating pier project is not enough to replace bringing in food, water, and fuel to Gaza by land. Before the fighting started, over 500 trucks came into the Palestinian area every day.
The operation might not be successful because there is a risk of attack by militants, there are many logistical problems, and there isn’t enough fuel for the aid trucks because of the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Attackers killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others in southern Israel. The attacks by Israel have killed over 35,000 people in Gaza, according to local health officials. Many others have also been killed in the West Bank.
Help organizations are saying they don’t have enough food in the southern part of Gaza, and the UN World Food Program says there is already a famine in the northern part of Gaza.
Soldiers finished putting in the floating platform on Thursday, and the US military’s Central Command said the first aid went into Gaza at 9 am Friday. It was reported that no American soldiers landed during the operation.
The Pentagon said there will be no extra supplies in the distribution process. The US wants the United Nations, using the World Food Program, to be responsible for the aid after it leaves the pier. This will involve making sure that empty trucks arrive and get registered, overseeing the transfer of goods from the floating dock to the trucks, sending the trucks to different warehouses in Gaza, and giving the supplies to aid groups for delivery.
On Friday evening, the WFP announced that supplies brought to the pier were taken to their storage in Deir al-Balah and are now ready to be picked up and given out.
The UK sent aid to Gaza in the first shipment, which included 8,400 kits to make temporary shelters using plastic sheets. It said that more help is coming soon, including 2,000 shelter kits, 900 tents, five forklift trucks, and 9,200 hygiene kits.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said this is the result of a huge effort from many countries working together. “We understand that traveling by sea is not the only solution. ” We want more land routes to open, like the Rafah crossing, so we can get more aid to people who really need it.
The UN agency that helps with humanitarian aid said it’s good to start the operation, but it can’t replace delivering aid by land.
Jens Laerke, who speaks for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that everyone involved in the operation agrees that any help for Gaza is good, no matter how it gets there. He said this to reporters in Geneva on Friday. Helping people in Gaza should not rely on a faraway floating platform.
Anastasia Moran, who works for the International Rescue Committee, says that the pier is taking attention away from the growing humanitarian crisis.
In the last few months, the maritime route has been using a lot of time, energy, and resources. This is happening at a time when aid has not been increased. “Now that the sea route is open and working well, the land crossings are closed. ”
Between May 6 and May 15, 154 trucks brought food and 156 trucks brought flour into Gaza from Israel. This happened while Israel was attacking Rafah. Farhan Haq, a UN spokesperson, shared this information on Friday. This week, Haq said that hardly any fuel is making its way through.
Israel is worried that Hamas will use fuel in the war, but it says it is not stopping any humanitarian aid from coming in. It says the UN is responsible for the slow distribution of goods in Gaza. Israel has opened two crossings to send aid to the north of the territory, because the US asked them to.
Hamas attacks at Kerem Shalom crossing have caused problems with delivering goods. The UN says that it has been difficult to deliver aid because of fighting, Israeli firing, and bad security conditions. Israeli people have also had angry protests that stopped aid from being delivered.
Israel took control of the Rafah border crossing near the Egyptian border to fight against Hamas. This has led to concerns about the safety of civilians and has also blocked the main way for aid to enter the Gaza Strip.
US President Joe Biden said to start building the pier, which will probably cost $320 million. The aid will be brought by boats to a port made by Israelis near Gaza City. The US has worked closely with Israel to keep ships and workers on the beach safe.
Last month, people were worried about the safety of aid workers after an Israeli attack killed seven workers from World Central Kitchen. Their trip had been planned out.
Tag: Gaza conflict
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New American pier being crossed by trucks into Gaza
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Israel-Gaza war: Hamas responds to request for ceasefire in Gaza
Hamas said it has given its answer to a plan for a new truce in Gaza.
The information about the deal made by Israel, the US, Qatar and Egypt has not been shared yet.
It was said before that there would be a six-week break, during which more Israeli hostages would be swapped for Palestinian prisoners.
Israel and the US are looking at what Hamas said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in the Middle East, said he will talk about what Hamas said with officials in Israel on Wednesday.
Mr Blinken hasn’t said how the US feels about the response, but President Joe Biden thinks it’s too much, which means the Israeli leaders might not agree to what the group wants easily.
A top member of Hamas told the media that the group gave a good idea in response to the plan but wanted some changes about rebuilding Gaza, bringing people back to their homes, and helping those who had to leave.
The official said that Hamas wanted to change how injured people are treated, including sending them back home and moving them to hospitals in other countries.
The plan was sent to Hamas about a week ago. A person from Hamas told the Reuters news agency that they didn’t respond until Tuesday because they found some parts of the plan confusing.
The Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al Thani, thinks that Hamas has responded in a good way.
The fighting in Gaza started when Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7th. About 1,300 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage.
More than 27,500 people have died in Gaza. Gaza has been controlled by Hamas and blocked by Israel and Egypt since 2007.
Hamas is banned as a terrorist group in many countries.
For a week in late November, a break in fighting allowed 105 Israeli and foreign people who were being held captive to be released. In return, 240 Palestinians who were in Israeli jails were also set free.
The Israeli military is working on finding Hamas’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. This might make it difficult to make a new deal at this time.
Nevertheless, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a lot of pressure from people in his own country to make sure the rest of the hostages are released.
The situation in the region is getting worse, which makes Mr. Blinken feel like he needs to move quickly to make progress on the deal when he goes to Tel Aviv.
The US is trying hard to stop a situation from getting worse after a drone strike killed three American soldiers in Jordan last week.
Washington launched air attacks against militia groups in Syria and Iraq that are supported by Iran. They are also saying that there may be more attacks in the future.
The US thinks that a ceasefire agreement in Gaza is the best way to reduce tensions in surrounding areas.
On Tuesday, Israel said that 31 out of the 136 hostages in Gaza were found dead.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, who speaks for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said that the families of the captives had been told and that the authorities will keep working to bring back the rest of the captives.
Mr Hagari said that we have a duty to do what is right, not just in our country but also around the world. This is the direction we will keep following. -
Questions raised as Israel admits violation of rules in Gaza conflict
Israeli officials have conceded a breach of “rules of engagement” after the killing of three hostages waving a white flag, a violation considered against the Laws of Armed Conflict.
The rules of engagement (ROE) are typically classified to maintain a strategic advantage. ROEs are meant to establish clear guidelines for armed forces personnel on when and under what circumstances the use of lethal force is legally justified.
The incident in Gaza underscores the challenging and dangerous nature of the conflict, prompting Israel’s Chief of Staff Lt Gen Halevi to personally remind troops not to shoot non-combatants, especially those surrendering with a white flag.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to address these concerns during his visit to Israel.
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5 Israeli soldiers lose their lives in Gaza conflict
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have reported the loss of five more soldiers in Gaza. Three of them fell in the intense fighting in southern Gaza, an area marked by fierce clashes.Additionally, one soldier succumbed to injuries sustained last week, and another member of the elite counter-terrorism Duvdevan Unit, known for undercover operations, was among those who lost their lives.
Despite Israel’s military superiority, its forces face vulnerability to ambushes by militants utilizing underground tunnels in civilian zones.