The foreign minister of South Africa says that people from her country who fight in the Israeli army or with them in Gaza will be arrested when they come back. This has made the relationship between the two countries even worse, especially after South Africa accused Israel of genocide at the United Nations.
Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor spoke at a Palestinian solidarity event that was attended by officials from South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party.
She told people to protest outside the embassies of five countries that support Israel and its military actions in Gaza. She didn’t say their names but she was probably talking about the United States and the U. Kand also Germany and other countries.
“I have already warned South Africans who are fighting with or in the Israeli Defense Forces: We are prepared. ” “When you get home, we’re going to catch you,” Pandor said, and the audience clapped loudly.
In December, the South African government said it was worried that some of its citizens or residents had joined the IDF to fight in Gaza. They warned that these people could get in trouble if they didn’t have permission to do so under South Africa’s laws.
People who have citizenship in both South Africa and Israel may lose their South African citizenship, according to the foreign ministry.
Pandor’s comments showed that the government is taking a stricter position.
It’s not known how many people from South Africa have fought for Israel in the current Gaza war. South Africa has a lot of Jewish people, about 70,000.
South Africa’s government has always supported the Palestinian people and criticized Israel, even before the recent war.
Many South Africans and the ruling ANC party see similarities between how Israel treats Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and how non-whites were treated during apartheid in South Africa.
Israel says no to South Africa’s accusation that it is treating Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza in a way that is similar to apartheid. Israel also strongly disagrees with South Africa’s claim in the International Court of Justice that it is committing genocide in Gaza. The decision in that case might not come for a very long time.
Israel said that South Africa is supporting the Hamas group that attacked southern Israel on Oct. and is not on their side. The fighting between Israel and Gaza started when 1200 Israelis were killed and 250 hostages were taken back to Gaza.
Israel’s attack on Gaza has caused a lot of damage. More than 31,000 Palestinians have died, and many of the 2. 3 million people who live there have been forced to leave their homes. This has caused a big problem, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in danger of starving.
Pandor asked people at the event to make signs that say “Stop Genocide” and protest outside the embassies of the countries that support Israel.
âDonât just come to this dinner. “Be seen supporting the people of Palestine,” she said.
Tag: Gaza
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Those fighting for Israel in Gaza should be detained – South African minister
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About 150 tonnes of supplies from UK reach Gaza
The UK has dispatched 150 tonnes of aid to Gaza today. This includes 13,000 blankets and 840 tents for families. UNICEF and the Foreign Office will give out the aid.
This also includes about 3,000 shelter and repair kits, 6,000 sleeping mats and over 3,000 dignity kits for women and girls.
A hospital tent that can be changed to fit what’s needed will come later this week. The building left Manchester on 5 March and can start working in just 48 hours.
It can help more than 100 patients each day. It has a pharmacy, a place to assess how sick people are, a unit for serious injuries and a place to help people who are very sick, as well as a special area for pregnant women.
The hospital will have doctors and nurses from the local area as well as from other countries, like the UK.
The foreign secretary said the UK will give an additional £10m in aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, making the total amount given this year over £100m.
The money will help UN agencies give important help to people in need. They will provide things like tents to help keep them safe.
Lord Cameron said: “There are too many people in Gaza who are going through a lot of pain and hardship. ” Everyone should have a place to live and sleep, and everyone should have hygiene products to stay clean. Our big help delivery, together with a new hospital paid for by the UK, will help people stay alive.
“But we need to stop the fighting right away so we can send the aid that Gaza desperately needs. ” This will also help to safely let hostages go.
We can try to achieve a lasting peace that will not lead to any more destruction, violence, or loss of life. -
Families who saved loved ones from Gaza believe Canadian government has deceived them
The young woman felt hopeful for the first time that she might survive the terrible situation in the Gaza Strip, on the same night she thought she and her family would be killed.
Last year, Canada government said it would help bring more family members of its citizens out of the dangerous area. However, in the past month, the 20-year-old woman lost hope that the Canadian government would help her family leave due to the delays.As the weeks passed, she and her family endured frequent attacks. On some days, when they couldn’t find canned food, the grown-ups chose to go without eating so that the kids could still have food.
In the middle of February, things got better for them. She and her family got permission to go into Egypt. Their names were on a list.
The Canadian government was not involved.
In a very desperate situation, the young woman’s family in Canada paid over $70,000 to a private company to talk with Egyptian and Israeli officials and leave the country.
The news made her family so happy that they were jumping for joy that night.
Shortly after, people in the Rafah area, which was thought to be one of the safest places, became very scared because it was bombed by Israel.
The doors and windows were blown out of a small apartment where a young woman slept with 40 other women and children.
They survived the night and as the sun came up, the family gathered their few belongings and carefully went to the border.
She didn’t realize she was really leaving her life behind until she was on the bus. After that, they would all begin again in Canada, and her family would definitely get a visa since they had escaped. But that’s what she believed.
“The young woman said in Arabic, using a translator, that we thought the only problem would be leaving Gaza, and then it would be simple. ” The Canadian Press promised not to say her name because they were worried about getting in trouble with the Egyptian or Canadian authorities.
“She begged to go to Canada because that’s our only hope. ” But that hope is almost gone.
She and her family have not heard from the Canadian government about visas, even though their legal status in Egypt is about to end soon.
At the same time, the family can’t go to work or see a doctor. Their family overseas is giving them all the help they need, and they already paid a lot of money to keep them safe.
The people in Canada feel tricked because they don’t know what will happen.
“The woman’s aunt in Canada said they tricked us. She has been trying to bring her relatives to safety since the war started in October. ” The text cannot be “rewritten in simple words” as it is not complete. Can you please provide additional details or the full text for me to help you. The Canadian Press promised not to say the aunt’s name so that people wouldn’t know who the family is.She said the Immigration Department asked for money to apply for the program that Ottawa announced in December, but she hasn’t seen Canada doing much to help her family.
“She said Canada isn’t putting in enough effort for this program, and it’s a big question. ”
“They only come up with reasons. ”
The government started a program in January to give short-term visas to about 1,000 people in the Gaza Strip. They can go to Canada if their family there agrees to help them.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller is upset that Canada can’t help approved family members come to Egypt.
He didn’t answer right away when asked about the problems people had escaping on their own.
The government won’t tell us how many people have applied to the program that helps family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents stay in Canada temporarily. The husbands, wives, and kids of those other family members can also apply.
As of March 4, we have accepted 986 applications for processing. Only 12 people were able to leave Gaza, complete the screening process, and get permission to come to Canada, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
The war started when Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7 airplanes crashed, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages.
Israel quickly attacked with planes and then sent soldiers to fight on the ground in a war that has killed over 30,000 Palestinians, as reported by the Health Ministry in Gaza, run by the group Hamas.
The war made 80% of the 2. 3 million people in Gaza leave their homes, and a quarter of them don’t have enough food to eat, according to the United Nations.Immigration lawyer Debbie Rachlis from Toronto is helping about 50 Palestinians in Egypt who escaped on their own and are now waiting for a Canadian visa. She said she knows about 100 similar cases that other lawyers are working on.
It’s sad because some people won’t be able to leave because their family doesn’t have the money or connections.
She said that people who didn’t finish the Canadian application process are worried that they may not qualify anymore.
Rani Hemaid gave a lot of money to a company to help his family leave Gaza and go to Cairo. Now they don’t have much money and are waiting to hear from the Canadian government.
He said it’s not sure if they still meet the requirements because they came before Canada’s visa program started.
In Gaza City, his sister, her husband and their five children are waiting too. They are in danger from military attacks and not having enough food to eat. Hemaid said this.
His 10-year-old nephew, Yamin, has a broken leg that can’t be fixed because all the hospitals are gone, he said.
Yamin said sorry to his mom for always being choosy about food, his uncle said.
“I will eat whatever food you give me right now,” Hemaid said emotionally from his home in Hamilton, Ontario.
Hemaid was a Palestinian Canadian who wanted to help bring the families of Canadians to safety.
When the visa program started, people called him to say thank you for his help. They said their families would be safe now, he said.
Now they are calling him to say that they wish it had never opened – the false hope has crushed them.
“We, as Palestinian Canadians, feel that the Canadian government has tricked and deceived us,” he said. “They don’t care about us. ”
He is afraid that Palestinians will remain in Gaza and may starve or die because they are unsure about the Canadian visa program.
It’s not sure who will be approved, or how much time it will take. A lot of people in Cairo don’t have enough money to live day-to-day without knowing if they will have enough money to pay for a hotel or rent a room from Airbnb.
I am really in need. “I feel very discouraged,” he said.
The rules say that if extended family members want to apply for the program, they have to be in Gaza when they apply. Yaman Marwah, a lawyer who helps people with immigration in Ottawa, said this.
Canada has not given any money or help with living to family members who are allowed to come to Canada, and they also did not reduce the cost of applying for a visa. The application fee is about $185 for each person.
People who were applying for their families had to sign a paper saying they don’t get welfare and will pay for everything themselves.
Marwah said he’s not sure if it’s better to give people hope and encourage them to fight for it, like Canada did, or to not give them any hope from the beginning and tell them we can’t help.
The young woman in Egypt said she feels more fortunate than those who are still in Gaza.
She said that simple things like taking a shower or having a bag of chips feel great, and she really just wants to go back to her normal life.
She said the Canadian government has to make this hope happen. -
Attempt to transport aid by sea to Gaza progressing – Report
A ship from the US Army is bringing equipment to build a temporary pier in Gaza, following President Joe Biden’s plan to send more help to the area by sea. Many Palestinians in Gaza are starving and need the aid.
In the last hours before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, there is a new effort to give help. Ramadan might start soon, depending on the sighting of a crescent moon. Hopes for a new agreement to stop fighting before Ramadan are no longer likely, as talks seem to be stuck and no progress is being made.
The sea corridor and airdrops by the US, Jordan, and others, showed that people are very worried about the bad situation in Gaza. They are willing to find new ways to help, instead of depending on Israel for deliveries. Israel said it is happy to receive shipments by sea and will check the cargo before it goes to Gaza from Cyprus.
However, experts who help people say that sending things by air and sea cannot replace the lack of ways to send things on land. In the last five months, fewer aid trucks have been coming into Gaza by land compared to before the war.
A boat from a Spanish organization called Open Arms is going to test a new route with 200 tons of food. They want to do this test very soon. The ship stayed at the port in Cyprus, and the situation was changing quickly.
Biden said that Netanyahu is not helping Israel in the war with Hamas and is actually making things worse. They have been fighting for six months.
On Saturday, the President of the United States said on MSNBC that he supports Israel’s right to go after Hamas after the attack on southern Israel. He also said that the Prime Minister of Israel needs to care more about the innocent people who are getting hurt. He said that too many Palestinians have already died.
The Health Ministry in Gaza reported that over 31,000 Palestinians have died since the war started. The ministry counts women and children as two-thirds of the dead, without distinguishing between civilians and soldiers. The ministry is part of the government run by Hamas, and its numbers from past wars have mostly been the same as those from the UN and other experts.
More and more Palestinians are getting hurt or killed. The Civil Defense Department reported that a house in Gaza City was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Saturday night, resulting in the deaths of at least nine Palestinians, including children. Video that was shared showed one person who saved someone putting the body of a dead baby on a couch in the middle of the wreckage.
In another place, 15 people, including women and children, were brought to the main hospital in the town of Deir al-Balah. Family members said that the Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombing at a camp for displaced people in the southern part of Gaza.
Israel doesn’t usually talk about specific things that happen during the war. It says that Hamas is to blame for hurting innocent people because they hide among civilians.
Meanwhile, the US started to build a temporary pier in Gaza for boats to bring in supplies. The US Central Command said that the first US Army ship, the General Frank S. Besson left Virginia on Saturday and was going to the Eastern Mediterranean with construction equipment.
American officials said that it will probably take a few weeks before the pier is able to be used again.
The European Union, United States, United Arab Emirates, and other countries support the sea corridor. The European Commission said that the UN agencies and the Red Cross will be involved.
The boat in Cyprus will take two to three days to reach a secret place. The World Central Kitchen started building a jetty in Gaza on Sunday, but they didn’t say exactly where it is.
A person from the charity said on social media that when the ship’s barge reaches Gaza, aid will be taken off by a crane, put on trucks, and taken to northern Gaza. This area has not been getting much aid and was the first place where Israel attacked.
Israel started a war in October. After Hamas fighters killed around 1,200 people, mostly innocent civilians, and captured 250 hostages. Israel has attacked Gaza’s air and ground, causing a lot of damage and forcing 80% of the 2. 3 million people to leave their homes.
The US, Egypt, and Qatar wanted to have a break from fighting for six weeks during Ramadan. But Hamas is waiting for guarantees that the temporary peace will stop the fighting for good.
Mediators wanted to make the immediate crisis better with a temporary break from fighting. This would mean that Hamas would let some Israeli hostages go, Israel would release some Palestinian prisoners, and aid groups could bring a lot of help to Gaza. -
Palestinians in Gaza start Ramadan with hunger
Palestinians started fasting for Ramadan on Monday. The ceasefire talks are at a standstill, and people in Gaza are getting hungrier. The war between Israel and Hamas has been going on for five months, and there is no sign of it ending.
People prayed outside among the wreckage of destroyed buildings on Sunday night. Some people put up lights and decorations in crowded tent camps. At a UN-school-turned-shelter, children were dancing and playing with foam while a man sang into a loudspeaker.
However, there wasn’t much to be happy about after five months of fighting, which has resulted in the deaths of over 30,000 Palestinians and caused extensive damage to Gaza. Families usually eat big meals to end their daily fast during holidays. But even if there is food, it’s mostly canned and too expensive for many people to buy.
Sabah al-Hendi, who was buying food in Rafah on Sunday, said that no one looked happy. “Every family feels unhappy. ” Every family has someone who sacrifices a lot for the family.
The United States, Qatar, and Egypt were trying to help make a peace agreement before a special month of fasting. They wanted to free Israeli and Palestinian prisoners and bring in a lot of aid. But the talks stopped last week.
Hamas wants to make sure that any deal will bring an end to the fighting, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to keep fighting until they defeat Hamas and free all the hostages.
The fighting started when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on Oct. Seven attacks happened, and they killed about 1,200 people, most of them were not soldiers, and they also took about 250 people as hostages. Hamas still has around 100 people and the bodies of 30 others after an exchange last year.
The fighting made almost 80% of the 2. 3 million people in Gaza leave their homes, and many are struggling to find enough food to eat. Health experts say that at least 20 people, mostly kids, have passed away from not eating enough and not drinking enough water in northern Gaza.
Israeli soldiers have mostly blocked the north since October. Aid groups say it’s very difficult to safely deliver much-needed food there because of Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting, and the lack of law and order.
Israel has promised to attack the southern city of Rafah, where many people from Gaza have gone for safety. But they haven’t said where the civilians will go to stay safe. The United States. President Joe Biden said if Rafah is attacked, it is a serious issue for him, but the US will still give military help to Israel.
Biden said in his yearly Ramadan message that the holy month is happening “when there is a lot of suffering. ”
“As Muslims come together in the next few days and weeks to eat after fasting, many will be thinking about the hardships faced by the Palestinian people. ” “I’m thinking about it a lot,” he said.The United States and other countries are dropping aid from the air to help people in need. But some groups say this is expensive and not enough to help everyone. The US military is moving equipment to build a sea bridge for delivering aid. It will take a few weeks for it to be ready.
A boat from the Spanish aid group Open Arms with 200 tons of food was going to sail to Gaza from Cyprus, but it wasn’t known when it would leave. Israel is okay with ships bringing stuff to Gaza from the sea. But first, they want to check the stuff on the ships before it goes from Cyprus to Gaza.
The boat in Cyprus will take two to three days to reach a secret place in Gaza. The food is given by a group called the World Central Kitchen, from the United States. A charity started by famous chef José Andrés has started building a jetty in Gaza. Once the ship gets to Gaza, the aid will be taken off using a crane, put on trucks, and driven to the north.
The United States has helped Israel with their military and defended them from other countries asking for a stop to the fighting. They have also told Israel to try to avoid hurting innocent people and make it easier for people to get help.
The Health Ministry in Gaza reported on Monday that 31,112 Palestinians have died since the war started. This includes 67 bodies that were brought to hospitals in the last day. The government doesn’t separate civilians from soldiers when counting the dead, but it says that two-thirds of the dead are women and children.
Israel says that many innocent people are dying because Hamas is fighting in crowded neighborhoods where there are a lot of houses, schools, and mosques. They also place their fighters, tunnels, and rocket launchers near these places. The army claims to have killed 13,000 Hamas soldiers, but there is no proof of this.
On Saturday, Biden told MSNBC that Israel had the right to react to the Oct. 7 attacks, but Netanyahu needs to care more about the innocent people who are being killed. He said you can’t have 30,000 more Palestinians dead. -
Canada declares humanitarian situation in Gaza “catastrophic”
Canada is giving money again to the United Nations to help Palestinian refugees in the Near East. Canada will also help send supplies to Gaza from the air.
Ahmed Hussen, tasked with providing aid to other nations, stated on Friday that they had decided to help the Palestinian people in need.They want to act quickly to help them.
Canada and other countries stopped giving money to UNRWA because they think some UNRWA workers helped Hamas attack Israel in October. On July 7, 2023.
Hussen said that Canada has looked at the UN’s preliminary report and is happy with what it says. He also mentioned that UNRWA is working to improve how it oversees, is accountable, and is transparent.
“Canada will help other countries and organizations to make sure that the suggestions from the OIOS investigation and independent review are followed through,” said a statement from Hussen’s office that came with the minister’s announcement.
No payments were missed when the pause started in January. The Canadian government will send $25 million to the agency in April. Hussen said this is to make sure the organization doesn’t fail, because it’s really important for helping people in the area.
“I was in Rafah just two weeks ago and met brave Canadian volunteers who were working hard to save lives in Gaza. ” I saw many trucks with important supplies stuck at the border,unable to go through.
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Hussen said Canada will help the government of Jordan and the World Food Programme give important supplies to Gaza by dropping them from the air.
The government is giving $100,000 to buy food, blankets, and warm clothes.
The Canadian military will give the Royal Jordanian Air Force about 300 cargo parachutes from the Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Centre in Trenton, Ont. , to help with airdrops.
The minister said these parachutes will help deliver 75 tons of supplies to Gaza, where there is a really bad humanitarian situation getting worse each hour.
Hussen pointed out that Canada is the first G7 country to start giving money to UNRWA again.
In an interview on CTV News, Canada’s UN Representative Bob Rae was asked why he thought it was necessary to resume funding.
Rae explained that the humanitarian situation is terrible, and the government can’t wait any longer for the Israeli government to share information about the UNRWA probe because it’s taking too much time.
He said that the information from Israel is coming slowly, and Israel has not met with the investigating team yet.
Rae said we need to move. “We can’t let the investigation work stop us from helping people in need. I think we are doing the right thing. ” I believe it considers everyone’s opinions, but it puts the most focus on helping the people who need it the most.
Rae also told CTV News that the pressure and protests in Canada about how politicians are dealing with the Israel-Gaza war did not affect the government’s decision in this case.
The Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) said they are happy that Canada is starting to give money again. They mentioned that many people in society didn’t like the decision to stop the funding.
However, CJPME also warned about the airdrop plans, mentioning that five people in Gaza were killed when an aid package parachute didn’t work properly.
Earlier this week, Canada’s future funding for UNRWA was uncertain. NDP MP Heather McPherson said the Liberals were uncertain about what to do while people were dying. Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman called Friday’s decision “vile. “ -
At least five people dead in Gaza after airdropped aid lands on them
At least five people have died and 10 others got hurt when aid packages were dropped on them in the Al Shati camp, near Gaza City. This was reported by a journalist at the scene.
Khader Al Zaanoun told the media that he saw the aid packages falling from planes over the Al Shati camp on Friday, but he doesn’t know for sure which country did the air drop.
Muhammad Al-Sheikh, who heads the Emergency Care Department at Al Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, said that five people died in the incident.
Some of the people hurt in the accident and taken to Al Shifa hospital are in very bad condition, says Al-Sheikh.
The media got a video on Friday that shows a problem with an airdrop. The parachute on a pallet doesn’t work properly. The thing on the pallet is falling really fast towards a building in Gaza.
As the plane falls to the ground, bags are also seen falling apart and hitting the ground with loud thuds.
Most of the parachutes opened correctly, but the pallets are still falling fast and could be dangerous for anyone on the ground.
The video was recorded in a place called Al-Suddaniya, close to the northern town of Beit Lahia. People are yelling when the parachutes come down towards the ground.
The United States Several countries have been using airplanes to drop food and supplies into Gaza. The United Nations is warning that many people in Gaza are in danger of not having enough food to eat.
The first United States A delivery happened on Saturday. 38,000 meals were delivered along the Gaza coastline with help from Jordan.
After the U.S announced their plans. Last Friday, aid agencies said President Joe Biden’s help for Gaza was not enough for the number of people who need it.
Richard Gowan, the UN director for the International Crisis Group, said: “People who help others in need always say that dropping supplies from planes might look good in pictures, but it’s not a very good way to actually get the aid to the people who need it. ”
A reporter in northern Gaza told the media that people there are having a hard time getting the aid that was dropped by the U.S Jordan does not have enough food to eat.
Abdel Qader Al Sabbah said to the media that giving aid by dropping it from the air is not helpful. He wants to give things that can be saved and used for many days, instead of just one serving to eat right away.
“You are lucky if you can even get these meals. I don’t even bother to look for the aid parcels because people are always fighting over them,” he said. -
Biden to unveil plans for temporary relief port on Gaza’s shore
The U.S. military, according to the Biden administration, will create a temporary port on Gaza’s coast.This is part of an international effort to bring food and other help to Palestinian people who are in need. They can’t get help because of the war and Israeli rules that make it hard for humanitarian aid to get through.
The statement shows that the United States is getting more involved in something. President Joe Biden is under pressure to do more to help the 2. 3 million people in Gaza who are facing near-famine conditions because of the fighting in the region.
The government tried to find a different way to help Gaza after asking Israel for a long time to let trucks bring humanitarian supplies into the area.
Currently, hopes for a ceasefire before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan seem to have stopped. Ramadan is starting soon. Hamas said its group had left Cairo where they were having meetings. The plan for the ceasefire would have included giving a lot of help to the people in Gaza.
The UN says that the people of Gaza are in a big crisis because they don’t have enough food. This is because of the war and because Israeli aid trucks can’t bring enough food to the people. Doctors in northern Gaza said that 15 children have died from not having enough food, and six more children are very close to dying. At a meeting, the U. Surged the Israel Ambassador, Michael Herzog, to allow more aid trucks to access and provide security in the country. Samantha Power, who is in charge of helping other countries, said that Gaza is in danger of not having enough food to eat.
Israel says that Hamas took control of some of the aid that was supposed to be delivered.
The United States Government workers, who did not want to be named, talked about Biden’s plan before his speech. They said that the operation will not need troops to go to Cyprus and build a pier. The pier will help bring more food, medicine, and other important things to the country. They didn’t give many details right away, including how many people were involved. soldiers would be involved.
America Authorities stated that it will probably be a few weeks before the pier is ready to use.
One idea being looked at is for the military to use a floating pier called a JLOTS, or Joint Logistics-Over-the-Shore. An official who didn’t want to give their name said that they wanted to talk about the choices before a decision is made. The big pier that floats allows supplies to be brought without needing a fixed dock, which means troops don’t have to be on the shore. Boats can sail to the pier and use anchors to stay in place.
The person who speaks for the Defense Department, Major General. Pat Ryder said on Thursday in a statement that the U.S Government workers and other countries were considering using private companies and workers to help with the delivery.
Government officials from the United States, Europe, Israel, and the Middle East have been talking about and getting ready to possibly open a sea route.Charity groups are having a hard time getting essential supplies to Gaza because it’s tough to work with the Israeli military, there’s still fighting, and the situation is out of control. It is very hard to get help to the remote north.
The United Arab Emirates is working with a chef named Jose Andres and his organization, World Central Kitchen, to send food by sea. They are finalizing all the details and the timing for the deliveries.
officials said on Monday Egypt had blocked the humanitarian convoy in the beginning in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. The officials said Egypt had agreed to let the convoy enter but only if it was inspected in a crossing point in the northern Sinai. The official said a high State Department official had asked the Egyptian government to weigh humanitarian needs and let the convoy pass. Administration officials said that Biden has instructed them to provide humanitarian aid to Israelis without waiting.
Sigrid Kaag, a UN leader for helping Gaza, said that sending supplies by air and sea is not enough. It is important to also have more ways to get supplies on the land, which is the best solution.
The Biden administration is finding new ways to get aid into Gaza without using Israel. They are using airdrops to deliver the aid, which started last week.
Biden has been a very important supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attack on Hamas in October. There were 7 attacks in Israel. This means giving bombs and other weapons to Israel and stopping any attempts to criticize Israel at the United Nations for the increasing number of deaths of innocent people in Gaza.
Administration officials are annoyed with Netanyahu because they feel like he is not taking much notice of the U. SIsrael is being asked to do more to stop civilians from getting hurt and to let in humanitarian aid.
The World Food Program says that in February, only 99 aid trucks entered Gaza each day, which is one-fifth of the amount needed.
Brian Finucane, who used to work for the State Department and now works for the International Crisis Group, said that this is a costly and not very effective way to fix a problem that has simpler solutions. An announcement about a temporary port and a sea route for wartime.
“It’s another sign that the way the war in Gaza is being handled is not good. ” The Biden administration doesn’t want to use U. SFinucane said that Netanyahu is trying to use power, either on his own or with others, to control how the war is carried out.
The Biden administration faced more pressure last week after reports of over 100 people being killed during an aid delivery in isolated north Gaza. Israel’s soldiers shot warnings when people in the crowd started to approach them. People who saw what happened and medical workers told The Associated Press that most of the people who got hurt were shot by Israeli forces when they fired into the crowds of hungry people.
International helpers wanted to make things better by stopping fighting for six weeks. During this time, they wanted Hamas to let go of some Israeli hostages, Israel to let go of some Palestinian prisoners, and aid groups to give help to Gaza.
It is believed that Palestinian fighters have about 100 people they have captured and are keeping as prisoners. They also have the bodies of 30 other people who were captured during a Hamas attack in October.
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said in November that aid could be sent to the Palestinian area from Cyprus using the port in Larnaca, which is 230 miles away.
Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Union Commission, was going to Larnaca on Friday to look at some buildings.
Cyprus asked leaders from Israel and the U. Sto come early. Cypriot agents are checking all shipments to make sure Hamas can’t use them against Israel, and they want other European countries to help. -
Israel under pressure to expand its humanitarian access to Gaza
The European Union is pushing for a sea route from Cyprus to Gaza, and the British Foreign Minister is saying that Israel’s friends are getting tired of waiting for the aid to get through.
Aid groups say that Gaza is in a very bad situation, but the north part is especially bad. Many of the around 300,000 people still living there have to eat animal food to stay alive. The United Nations States that one out of every six young children in the northern region is suffering from severe malnutrition.
In response to the crisis, Israel has agreed to let aid go directly to northern Gaza and help with a sea route from Cyprus.
Israel said that on Friday, they will let 20 to 30 trucks with aid go into northern Gaza from Israel. This will happen more often in the future. They will start checking aid in Cyprus on Sunday before sending it to Gaza by sea, the official said. The ship will be used in a test to see if it’s possible to use the sea route. The help is funded by UAE and made possible with US involvement.
The officials talked without giving their names because they were not allowed to talk about the upcoming deliveries to the media.
Charities say it’s really hard to bring in supplies to most of Gaza because it’s tough to work with the Israeli military, there’s still fighting, and it’s chaotic. It is even harder to get help to the north.
Trucks with aid need to drive from the south of Gaza through the conflict zone to reach the areas in the north that are hard to reach. They can go through either the Rafah crossing with Egypt or the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.
The Israeli military tried to help with aid last week, but it ended in a tragedy. Over 100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces or trampled in a fight.
On Wednesday, many people ran by the sea in Gaza City to get bags of flour, water, and canned food given by Turkey and Egypt. It was part of a delivery brought from southern Gaza.
David Cameron, the British Foreign Secretary, talked to Benny Gantz, who is a member of Israel’s war Cabinet. He asked him to send more help to Gaza.
“We still aren’t seeing things getting better in the area. ” “This needs to change,” Cameron said in a statement on X, which used to be called Twitter.
South Africa asked the court to make Israel allow aid for hunger in Gaza.
Meanwhile, a top leader from the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen, will go to Cyprus on Friday to see the port of Larnaca and decide if they can send help to Gaza from there. Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said this.
The EU spokesman Eric Mamer said the group is optimistic that the corridor will open “very soon. ”
The United States, Jordan, and other countries are dropping food and supplies from airplanes because many people don’t have enough to eat. But, aid groups say that using airplanes can only help a small amount of the people who need it.
The fighting started when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October. Seven Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. Over 100 of them were let go during a week where fighting stopped in November.
The attack made Israel go into the area with 2. 3Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday that 30,717 Palestinians have died in the war. The ministry is part of the government led by Hamas and keeps careful track of people who have been hurt or killed. It doesn’t separate between regular people and fighters in its counts, but it says that around two-thirds of those who are killed are women and children.
Israel claims to have killed more than 13,000 Hamas soldiers, but has not shown any proof.
Charity organizations say that the fighting has forced most of the people in the area to leave their homes, and that a quarter of the population is very close to not having enough food to eat.
So far, the attempts to agree on a break from fighting before the start of Ramadan have not been successful. -
US to increase aid to Gaza as Vice President Harris of US hosts member of Israeli War Cabinet
The United States of America Vice President Kamala Harris met with a member of Israel’s wartime Cabinet on Monday. The member came to Washington against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s wishes. The Biden administration is working harder to send more humanitarian aid to war-torn Gaza.
White House officials said Benny Gantz, who is a rival of Netanyahu, asked for the meeting. The Democratic administration thought it was important for Harris to talk with Gantz, even though Netanyahu didn’t want it.
The United States President Joe Biden, Vice President Harris, and other top government officials are openly expressing their unhappiness about the growing number of deaths in Gaza and the suffering of innocent Palestinians as the war continues for almost five months.
“The president and I have been on the same page since the beginning,” Harris told reporters before meeting with Gantz. Israel can protect itself. Many innocent Palestinian people have been killed. We need to bring in more help and rescue the hostages. “That is still what we believe. ”
The White House said that Harris and Gantz talked about how important it is to free over 100 hostages in Gaza held by Hamas. Seven attacks on Israel. She also said the administration supports a short-term cease-fire to free hostages and give more help to people in Gaza.
Gantz thinks like Netanyahu on most things, but he is more willing to make deals on important issues, such as giving more help to people in need.
The meeting is happening after the United States. On Saturday, they dropped off food and supplies to help the people in Gaza. It was the first of many planned drops.
The situation shows that the relationship between the U.S and Israel is becoming more uncomfortable. Had to fly much-needed help over its close friend’s area to increase support for people in Gaza who really need it. The first airdrop happened shortly after more than 100 Palestinians were killed while trying to get food from an Israel-organized convoy.
The White House said yes to meeting with Gantz, even though someone from Netanyahu’s party said Gantz didn’t have the prime minister’s approval for the meeting in Washington. Netanyahu spoke sternly to Gantz about the visit, showing that there is a growing division within Israel’s wartime leaders.
“We have been talking to all the important people in charge of making decisions about the war, like Mr. Smith” “Gantz,” said John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House’s national security team. “We think this is a normal result of those talks. ” We won’t miss that chance.
Besides meeting with Harris, Gantz also met with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and National Security Council Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk. Gantz had a meeting with the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and he will also meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday.
Before his White House meetings, Gantz told a reporter from Israel’s public broadcaster that there will be a frank discussion between two friendly and important countries.
Biden is staying at Camp David, a place near Washington, until Tuesday. He is getting ready to give the State of the Union speech later this week.
During the weekend, Harris strongly asked for a short break in fighting in Gaza. It would stop the fighting for at least six weeks, according to administration officials. She also told Israel to not stop aid from getting into the region. The White House has been pushing for that agreement for weeks.
A senior official from the Biden administration said that Israel has basically agreed to the deal. The White House has said that it’s up to Hamas to also agree to the deal.
Biden is under a lot of political pressure because many people are unhappy with how he’s dealing with the fighting between Israel and Hamas. It all started when militants from Hamas attacked, and a lot of people were killed or taken hostage.
In the Michigan presidential primary last week, over 100,000 Democratic voters chose “uncommitted” on their ballots. Biden still won the primary, but the “uncommitted” votes showed that many left-leaning voters are not happy with the president’s strong support for Israel, especially after their military actions in Gaza resulted in over 30,000 Palestinian deaths. The number of votes is worrying for Democrats in a state that Biden won by a small margin in 2020.
Gantz is considered a strong candidate for prime minister. He is seen as a moderate in politics. But he has not clearly said whether he supports the idea of Palestinians having their own country. Biden thinks it’s important for a peaceful resolution, but Netanyahu strongly disagrees.
It is also believed that when the intense fighting calms down, Gantz will quit the government, which could make early elections more likely.
Gantz joined Netanyahu’s war Cabinet with two other ministers in October. Authorities have found that he is easier to work with than Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
So far, there haven’t been many calls for elections because of the war. But experts believe that when Gantz leaves the government, it will show the Israeli people that the time for working together is over and the push to remove Netanyahu’s government can start.
Gantz wanted to make connections with the U. S, get more help for Israel and try to bring back Israeli hostages. The officials talked without giving their names because. -
No agreement reached at conclusion of most recent round of negotiations over Gaza – Officials
Egyptian officials said that after talking with Hamas for three days about stopping the fighting in Gaza and freeing Israeli hostages, they did not make any progress. This happened just a few days before the start of Ramadan, which was the deadline for reaching an agreement.
The US, Qatar, and Egypt have been working hard for weeks to make a deal with Hamas. The deal would have Hamas release up to 40 hostages. In exchange, there would be a monthlong break from fighting, some Palestinian prisoners would be released, and humanitarian aid would be given to help the people in the area.
Two government workers from Egypt said that the most recent talks have finished. They said Hamas gave a plan for mediators to talk about with Israel soon.
Hamas won’t let go of the about 100 people it’s holding captive and the bodies of around 30 more unless Israel stops attacking, leaves the area, and sets free many Palestinian prisoners, including high-ranking fighters who are serving life in prison.
Hamas spokesperson Jihad Taha said talks were still happening, but it’s up to Israel to make a decision. Israel has not agreed to Hamas’ requests for allowing people to return to northern Gaza, and for a promise of stopping the fighting and leaving completely.
“Hamas is willing to consider ideas and plans that align with their stance for stopping the fighting, pulling out troops, bringing back people who had to leave their homes, allowing aid trucks to get in, and rebuilding. ” Taha explained
The leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, said no to what Hamas wanted and promised to keep fighting until Hamas is gone and all the hostages are safe. Israel did not send a group of people to the most recent meeting.
An Israeli leader said that Israel is still waiting for Hamas to give a list of hostages who are still alive and the number of prisoners they want in exchange. It was not known if the latest proposal included that information.
The Israeli and Egyptian officials talked without giving their names because they were not allowed to tell the media about the discussions.
Benny Gantz, who is a member of Netanyahu’s War Cabinet and his main political opponent, had a meeting with senior U. SGovernment officials from Washington visited Israel and received criticism from the prime minister, showing that there is a growing disagreement within Israel’s leadership.
Mediators wanted to make a deal before Ramadan, a month when people fast from dawn to dusk. This time often leads to more tension between Israelis and Palestinians over access to a holy site in Jerusalem. The month is likely to start on March 10, but it depends on when the moon is seen.
The talks are delicate. I can’t say if people are feeling hopeful or worried, but we still haven’t been able to make a peace agreement, said Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Monday.The war started when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. In 7 days, Palestinian fighters killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. Over 100 of them were set free in a week-long break from fighting in November.
The attack led to Israel invading the area where 2. 3 million people live. The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed. Help organizations are saying that the fighting has forced many people to leave their homes and has left a quarter of the population very close to starving.
The UN says that at least 10 children in northern Gaza have died because they didn’t have enough to eat and drink.
“Many children in Gaza’s hospitals are very sick and need help. In the north, some children can’t get any medical care at all,” said Adele Khodr, who works for UNICEF in the Middle East and North Africa.
She said these deaths were caused by people, could have been foreseen, and could have been stopped.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported that 15 kids have died from hunger at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. Six more kids are also in danger of dying from not having enough food and water. It wasn’t clear if the kids had any existing health problems that made them more likely to get sick.
Israel attacked Northern Gaza first and caused a lot of destruction. The World Food Program stopped sending food to the north because the area is not safe. Last week, the Israeli military tried to bring in aid but it ended in a tragedy when more than 100 Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli forces or trampled to death in a chaotic situation.
Approximately 300,000 Palestinians are thought to still be living in northern Gaza after Israel told everyone to leave the area, including Gaza City, in October. Many people have to eat animal food to stay alive. The UN says that one out of every six young children in the north are very hungry and not getting enough food.
The US and other countries have dropped supplies from airplanes recently, but aid groups say it’s not enough to help all the people who need it.
Israel is still attacking Gaza and has said it might also attack the city of Rafah. Many people from Gaza have gone to Rafah for safety. Gantz said the Rafah operation might start during Ramadan if there is no deal on the hostages.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that 97 people died in the past day. The total number of Palestinians who have died is now 30,631. The ministry counts everyone who has been hurt or killed, without separating civilians from people who are fighting. They say that about two-thirds of the total casualties are women and children.
Israel says it tries not to hurt innocent people and says that the high number of casualties is because Hamas fighters are in crowded neighborhoods. However, the military hardly keeps track of each time they attack, and this often results in the deaths of innocent women and children. -
Israel intensifies its criticism of Gaza-based UN organisation
Israel has increased its criticism of the struggling UN agency for Palestinian refugees on Monday. They said that 450 of its workers in Gaza are part of militant groups, but they did not show any proof for their claim.
Many big donors have not given a lot of money to UNRWA because Israel said 12 of its workers helped in a bad event. Israeli authorities say that Hamas has attacked Israel 7 times, killing 1,200 people and holding 250 others hostage in Gaza.
Philippe Lazzarini, the leader of UNRWA, said at a press conference on Monday that he has never been told or shown any evidence of Israel’s claims, and this isn’t the first time.
Each year, he stated that UNRWA gives Israel and the Palestinian Authority a list of its employees. He never received any worries about the staff they hire.
He was told that 12 UNRWA workers were accused of being involved in the October incident. He said there have been 7 attacks that seemed really serious, so they have been reported and two investigations by the UN are happening now.
The UN representative for sexual violence in war, Pramila Patten, said on Monday that there is evidence to believe that Hamas committed rape and other forms of cruel treatment towards women during the attack.
The attack caused Israel to invade the area where 2. 3 million people live, called Gaza. Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed. Help organizations say that ongoing battles have forced almost all the people living in the area to leave their homes, causing a big human crisis.
UNRWA is the largest organization that helps people in Gaza, and it has about 13,000 workers there.
On Monday, the accusations against the agency got much more serious. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, who is in charge of Israel’s military, did not give any names or proof to support the claim that a lot more UNRWA employees are militants.
More than 450 UNRWA workers are involved in terrorist groups in Gaza. This is not just a random event. This is organized and follows a specific system. Hagari said we can’t say “we didn’t know” to avoid taking responsibility.
UNRWA said that Israel has arrested some of its workers and made them confess to untrue things by torturing them. They said that Israel is trying to link UNRWA, Hamas, and an event in October. 7 violent attacks on Israel.
The Israeli authorities are making people say things they don’t mean because they are hurting them. They are doing this to make people believe that UNRWA is not a good organization. They want to get rid of UNRWA. “This is making our staff in Gaza unsafe and has a big impact on our work in Gaza and the surrounding area. ”
After Israel accused UNRWA, the agency fired the accused employees and many countries stopped giving money. UNRWA lost about $450 million, which is almost half of its yearly budget.
Juliette Touma, who is in charge of talking to the public for UNRWA, did not directly respond to the new claims made by Israel.
“UNRWA wants anyone with information about the serious allegations against UNRWA staff to tell the UN investigation. ”
The EU said it will give 50 million euros to UNRWA after the agency agreed to let EU experts check how it checks its staff for extremists. This happened while two UN investigations into Israel’s accusations were already happening.
Hagari shared a recording of a phone call where a teacher from UNRWA talked about what he did in the October. There were 7 attacks.
“We have women who are held captive. ” “I got one,” a man’s voice said in Arabic. A man who is said to be a member of Islamic Jihad and also a teacher for UNRWA, was heard on a second phone call saying “I’m inside with the Jews. ”
The military identified the men, even though the man in the first call said a different name. The army said that the name might have been a nickname. The military did not show proof that they worked for UNRWA.
Benny Gantz, a top leader in Israel during war, met with U.S while facing accusations. “Government leaders in Washington were meeting while negotiations were happening in Egypt to stop the fighting in Gaza before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts next week. ”
At the same time, fighting broke out between Israel and Lebanon, as tensions got worse in the area.
A missile shot from Lebanon into northern Israel killed a person who was not from Israel and hurt seven others on Monday, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service. The Hezbollah group in Lebanon has not said they did the attack on Monday.
Later, a bombing by Israel in southern Lebanon killed three paramedics from Hezbollah’s health group, as reported by Lebanon’s state media.
United States Amos Hochstein came to Beirut on Monday to talk to Lebanese leaders and try to calm things down.
Fights happen often between Hezbollah and Israeli soldiers, and more than 200 Hezbollah fighters and 37 civilians in Lebanon have been killed. About 20 people, including civilians and soldiers, have been killed in Israel. -
Thousands of meals airdropped into Gaza by US military aircraft
On Saturday, military planes dropped food from the sky over Gaza. The food was in big boxes. Authorities reported that two days after over 100 Palestinians were killed in a chaotic clash with Israeli soldiers while trying to take goods from an aid convoy.
Three airplanes from the Air Forces Central dropped 66 packages with around 38,000 meals into Gaza at 8:30 in the morning. According to two officials who didn’t want to be named, the announcement will be made soon.
The airdrop is the first of many that the U. Splans to announce. President Joe Biden spoke on Friday. Jordan will work together with others to give food to Gaza by dropping it from airplanes.
At least 115 Palestinians died and many more were hurt in the attack on Thursday. They were trying to get help when it happened. The Health Ministry in Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas, said this. Israel says a lot of people were killed in a big rush for food aid, and their soldiers fired warning shots when the crowd started to move towards them in a dangerous way.
John Kirby, who speaks for the White House about national security, said on Friday that they are planning to drop supplies from the air to help people in a safe way.
The C-130 cargo plane is a popular military plane used to deliver aid to hard-to-reach areas because it can land in rough environments and carry a lot of cargo.
A C-130 can carry up to 42,000 pounds of cargo. The crew knows how to secure the cargo, which can even include vehicles, onto large pallets that can be safely dropped out of the back of the aircraft.
The Air Force loadmasters put packages on pallets and tie them down with nets in the back of a C-130 airplane. When the plane gets to the right place, the packages are released with a parachute.
The Air Force’s C-130 plane has been used in the past to drop supplies to places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, and other places. Every year, it is also used in an event called “Operation Christmas Drop” where it drops toys, supplies, food, and fishing equipment to remote areas in Micronesia and Palau.
The war started on October first. Israel has stopped food, water, medicine, and other things from coming in, but a little bit of aid is allowed to come in from Egypt and Israel.
The United Nations says that 25% of the 2. 3 million people in Gaza might not have enough food to eat. Aid officials say that dropping aid from airplanes is not a good way to give people help, and it should only be done if there are no other options. -
US conducts first air drop of aid for Gaza
The United States conducts its inaugural air drop of aid for Gaza, delivering over 30,000 meals via three military planes.
A spokesperson for the US Central Command informed AFP news agency that the drop was carried out by three C-130 transport planes.
According to sources from the US, as reported by CBS, this air drop marks the beginning of a series of such deliveries.
President Joe Biden has pledged increased aid to the region following the tragic incident on Thursday, where over 100 individuals lost their lives while seeking assistance from a convoy.
This developing news story is continuously updated, and additional details will be provided shortly. Please refresh the page for the latest information.
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UN reports numerous gunshot wounds in Israel-Gaza aid rush
The UN has indicated that a large number of those receiving medical attention for wounds after a rush on an aid convoy in Gaza on Thursday were shot.
UN observers saw some of the approximately 200 patients still receiving care at the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Israel has been accused of firing at civilians by Hamas, the group in charge of Gaza, but Israel has responded that there was a “stampede” after its troops fired warning shots.
Global leaders have demanded a thorough investigation.
The incident started in the early hours of Thursday morning when hundreds of people descended on an aid convoy that was being followed by the Israeli military along a coastal road.The World Food Programme has issued a warning that there will soon be a famine in northern Gaza, where an estimated 300,000 people lack access to clean water and food. The region has received very little aid in recent weeks.
There are gunshots audible in the video from the scene, and witnesses can be seen scurrying over lorries and hiding behind them.
According to the health ministry run by Hamas in Gaza, the incident resulted in at least 112 deaths and 760 injuries.In a statement on social media, Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said, “Dozens of Gazans were injured as a result of pushing and trampling.”
The IDF’s Lt Col Peter Lerner also told Channel 4 News that a “mob stormed the convoy” and that Israeli troops “cautiously [tried] to disperse the mob with a few warning shots”.
Mark Regev, special adviser to the Israeli prime minister, had earlier told CNN that Israel had not been involved directly in any way and that the gunfire had come from “Palestinian armed groups”, though he did not provide evidence.
Giorgios Petropoulos, head of the Gaza sub-office of the UN Co-ordinator for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told the BBC he and a team sent to al-Shifa hospital found a large number of people with gunshot wounds.
He said all but a handful of the 70 to 80 patients in the emergency room he visited had been injured during the convoy incident.
In addition to those with gunshot wounds, he said doctors had treated many who had fallen down or been trampled – but he was unable to say with certainty which group was larger.
Mr Petropoulos said those with gunshot injuries had suffered wounds in the upper and lower body. One patient told him he had been shot in the chest and who had walked to Shifa to get treatment.
“He said they (Israeli troops) usually shoot in the air. This time, they shot into the thickest part of the crowd,” Mr Petropoulos said.
However, Mr. Petropoulos emphasized that because UN personnel were not present during the incident, it was extremely difficult to determine the exact course of events.
Prior to this, the BBC was informed by Dr. Mohamed Salha, the temporary hospital manager at al-Awda hospital, that 176 patients had been admitted, 142 of whom had gunshot wounds.He added that the others had suffered broken limbs.
Responding to the incident, UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron called the deaths “horrific” and said there “must be an urgent investigation and accountability”.
“This must not happen again,” he said.
He added that the incident could not be separated from the “inadequate aid supplies” entering Gaza and called the current levels “simply unacceptable”.
US President Joe Biden announced that the US would begin dropping aid into Gaza by air, saying: “Innocent people got caught in a terrible war, unable to feed their families. We need to do more, and the United States will do more.”
After Hamas gunmen killed roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7 and kidnapped 253 more, the Israeli military launched a massive air and ground campaign to destroy the organization, which is banned as a terrorist organization by Israel, the UK, and other countries.
More than 30,000 people, including 21,000 women and children, have died in Gaza since then, according to the health ministry run by Hamas. At least 70,450 people have also been injured. -
Over 100 people reportedly killed as crowd awaits aid for Gaza
The health ministry in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, says that 112 Palestinians has been killed while waiting for help in the northern part of Gaza.
The government said Israeli forces shot at the crowd, and Palestinian media reported that medical sources said the same thing. An Israeli military official said that Israeli soldiers shot at some people in the crowd because they were moving too close in a way that could harm the soldiers.
One person who saw it happen told the media that most of the people who got hurt were hit by trucks, not shot by Israelis.
An IDF spokesperson said that Israeli soldiers shot at some civilians who were coming near a checkpoint, but it was not a big response.
Videos on social media show dead bodies in Gaza City being put onto trucks and a cart pulled by a donkey.This news story is still being updated. Come back later for more information.
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25% of Gaza’s population is a step from starvation – UN
At least 576,000 people in the Gaza Strip are very close to not having enough food. A senior UN aid official said this to the Security Council. If we don’t do something, a lot of people could go hungry.
“Not much can happen as long as fighting continues and there’s a chance it could move into the crowded areas in the south of Gaza. ” Ramesh Rajasingham, who works for the UN, said again that we want a ceasefire.
One out of every six children under the age of two in northern Gaza is very malnourished and not growing properly. Almost everyone in the Palestinian enclave, which has 2. 3 million people, depends on food aid that is not enough to survive.
Rajasingham said that it’s very hard for the UN and aid groups to bring even the basic things into Gaza because there are many things getting in the way, like closed crossings, rules about where they can go, and difficult screening processes. Also, there is fighting, broken roads, and bombs that haven’t exploded yet.
Israel wants to help the people in Gaza, but they can only give as much aid as the UN and other agencies can handle.
Israel has been straightforward about its rules and decisions. “There is no maximum amount of humanitarian aid that can be sent to the people of Gaza,” Miller said to the Security Council.
‘Israel needs to do better’
The United States of America The US asked Israel to keep border crossings open for aid to reach Gaza and to open more crossings. “Robert Wood, who represents the US at the UN, spoke to the Security Council. ”
He said Israel needs to do more. “We ask Israel to make sure aid can be delivered safely and securely by improving deconfliction procedures. ”
The World Food Programme is prepared to increase our help quickly if there is a truce, said WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau to the Security Council.
“But right now, there is a high risk of not having enough food in Gaza because we can’t bring in enough supplies, and it’s very difficult for our staff to work there,” Skau explained.
The fighting in Gaza started when fighters from Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 people died, about 1,200 people were killed and 253 hostages were taken, as reported by Israel. Israel has attacked Gaza by air and ground, and around 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to health officials in Gaza.
“Guyana’s UN Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett said that starving people on purpose as a way of fighting is against the law, and Guyana is against those who are doing this to the people in Gaza. ”
Israel’s attack on Gaza “is hurting all the innocent people in Palestine,” said Algeria’s UN Ambassador Amar Bendjama to the Security Council. “When we don’t speak out, we allow people to harm and deprive the Palestinian population. “ -
Over 30,000 people have died in Gaza – Health ministry headed by Hamas
Over 30,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since 7 October, according to the health ministry run by Hamas.
The number is about 1. 3% of the 2. 3 million people who live there. It shows how many people have been hurt by the war.
The government says most of the people who died were women and children. It doesn’t separate between civilians and fighters when counting the people who were killed.
The ministry said that 81 people died in the past day, and the total number of deaths is now 30,035.
The number of people who have died is probably much higher because the count doesn’t include those who haven’t gone to the hospital. This includes thousands of people who are still trapped under collapsed buildings from Israeli air strikes.
Over 70,000 people have been injured in Gaza, according to the health ministry. The United Nations and other global groups use its information.
The World Health Organization works closely with the health organization in Gaza and it is good at collecting and analyzing data. The UN agency thinks the previous reports are believable and well written.
The WHO says that more civilians, including children and women, are being killed in Gaza now compared to past conflicts.
Israel’s military told the BBC that about 10,000 terrorists have been killed, but did not give specific numbers for civilian and fighter casualties.
For a Palestinian death to be recorded in Gaza, the hospital staff or medical workers must see the body or remains. Every day, hospitals send a list of all the people who got hurt or died to the Ministry of Health. The list has their names, ID numbers, when they got hurt or died, and what injuries they have. Its workers are now located in Rafah.
The Palestinian Red Crescent also gives information.
During the war, it has been very hard to report the numbers because there are too many dead bodies in the morgues, fighting near hospitals and clinics, and not good internet and phone service.
But, if a longer ceasefire is agreed or the war ends, finding and identifying the bodies of the missing people will help us know how many people were killed, including how many soldiers were killed. The UN, rights groups, and Israeli military will likely each do their own investigations.
People are saying that the current numbers don’t show how Palestinians were killed. They want to know if it was from Israeli air strikes, artillery shelling, or other ways like Palestinians’ rockets not working correctly. All the people who got hurt are being called victims of “Israeli aggression” right now.
Lately, the Gaza Ministry of Health has reported more cases of what the World Health Organization (WHO) calls “indirect mortality” – which means people dying because of the war but not directly from the fighting.
On Wednesday, it was reported that six children had died from not having enough water and food at hospitals in northern Gaza. Two people were at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and four people were at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the town of Beit Lahia.
The UN is saying that a lot of people in Gaza don’t have enough food to eat and are getting very sick. There isn’t enough medicine or medical help for them.
The fighting started when many Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7th. They killed around 1,200 people and took 253 hostages. This is according to the counts by Israel. -
States back demands for “an immediate suspension of hostilities” in Gaza
Jersey’s political leaders have expressed their desire for an end to the conflict in Gaza and for lasting peace to be achieved.
The proposal from Deputy Montfort Tadier was accepted by all politicians after the External Relations Minister made some changes.
Before, about 60 people met in the Royal Square in St Helier to ask for peace.
Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas have been fighting since the beginning of October 2023.
States Members agreed that a ceasefire should be put in place right away so that hostages and people held unfairly can be released. They also want urgent help for people in need and a long-term ceasefire to be established.
They also agreed to be very sad and upset about the many innocent people who died in Gaza and Israel. They also said they don’t like when people take hostages or do violent things that hurt civilians, especially women and children.
The proposal was changed many times before the final vote.
Mr Tadier wanted to say that countries should follow international laws to prevent more people from dying and to stop any possible genocide.
He mentioned a temporary decision from the top UN court that told Israel to do everything it can to stop genocide in Gaza.
‘Promote peaceful discussion’
Israel strongly denied the accusations,saying they are completely false and have no basis.
Deputy Ian Gorst was able to convince the group to take out some mentions of.
Possible mass killings.
He said some people felt uneasy or scared about the words in the proposition.
Mr Gorst said his new version of the text is meant to help stop the fighting,make the cease fire last, stop people from dying and buildings from getting destroyed, and promote peaceful solutions to the conflict.
“I can make changes when dealing with the United Kingdom. This shows that Jersey is a fair and mature place that understands and respects unity within its own borders. “
The government of Jersey has been asked to tell the UK government about the views of the States Assembly as a result of the vote. -
Accessing food in Gaza now a privilege – 22-year-old medical student and volunteer doctor
Nagham Atef Mezied, a 22-year-old medical student and volunteer doctor based in Deir el-Balah, recounts her morning routine and mealtime struggles:
At 9 am, I sit down to my breakfast, a meal that I used to have much earlier at 6 am. However, we’ve adjusted our schedule to delay breakfast in an effort to limit ourselves to one meal per day.
My breakfast consists of mankouche, a type of bread topped with cheese, herbs, pepper, and olive oil.
This simple fare sustains me until the evening, if we’re fortunate enough to have another meal. Otherwise, it’s all we have until the next day.
Despite our challenges, we consider ourselves fortunate compared to our brethren in the north who lack any food at all.
In the past, our breakfast table was laden with a variety of dishes like potatoes, salad, eggs, falafel, and beans. However, due to skyrocketing prices, many families, including ours, now rely solely on bread for survival. Affording even the most basic necessities has become increasingly difficult, making a decent meal of meat or chicken a luxury.
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‘I want my children to be comfortable, but my money will soon run out’ – Tech entrepreneur in Gaza cry out
Salah Ahmed, aged 41, stands as a beacon of resilience amidst the tumult of conflict in Gaza.
As a tech entrepreneur, he orchestrates a vital lifeline from his hub in Rafah, granting access to the internet for individuals eager to engage in remote work opportunities with companies abroad. His journey through displacement, from Gaza City to Nuseirat and finally to Rafah, mirrors the harrowing experiences of many in the region.
Alongside his two teenage daughters and eight-year-old son, Salah recounts the daily struggle to stretch limited resources in the face of soaring prices and scarce essentials like meat and sugar.
Each morning, Salah embarks on a familiar routine, awakening at 06:00 to tend to household necessities before immersing himself in the tasks of the day at his tech hub.
Despite his capacity to afford the inflated costs of living through earnings garnered as both a freelancer and business owner, Salah recognizes the stark contrast between his circumstances and those of the vast majority in Gaza.
While he endeavors to shield his children from the hardships surrounding them, Salah knows that his financial resources are finite. Inevitably, the day looms when he must swallow his pride and seek assistance to sustain his family’s well-being.
The stark reality is that nearly all Gazans rely on subsidized water and aid for survival, with food often sourced from schools or distribution centers. For some, the only recourse is to sell these provisions in exchange for much-needed cash, while others with means opt to purchase essentials to retain a semblance of dignity amidst the pervasive hardship.
Amidst the backdrop of economic turmoil, the specter of violence further compounds the daily struggles of Gazans. Targeted attacks on police vehicles by the IDF and the looming presence of armed individuals cast a shadow of fear over the populace.
For Salah, navigating the precarious landscape means exercising caution, avoiding aid centers where the threat of danger looms ominously.
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Israel Gaza: Biden anticipates truce by next week
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, wants the fighting in Israel and Gaza to stop by next Monday.
His remarks came as reports surfaced about potential advancements in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas representatives in Qatar.
My national security advisor informs me that we are nearly at our goal. Biden added.
Israel started a big air and ground attack in Gaza after Hamas fighters killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel on 7 October.
The bad people took 253 people as captives, but some of them have been let go.
The Gaza Strip’s Health Ministry,controlled by Hamas, says that 29,782 people have died in the area, with 90 deaths on Sunday.
President Biden, who is a close friend of Israel, was talking to reporters in New York City about the chance of stopping the fighting.
“We’re near,” he said on Monday. “We still have more to do. “I hope that by next Monday there will be a ceasefire.
A person from the US State Department said that there has been some progress in talks to free the Israeli hostages. But it’s still not clear if Hamas will agree to the new deal.
Matthew Miller, the spokesperson, said that we have made progress in the talks between Egypt, Israel, the United States, and Qatar.
Last week, many people were up set with the US for saying no to a UN request to stop fighting in Gaza right away. Instead, it suggested a short-term agreement to stop fighting, and also cautioned Israel not to attack the city of Rafah in the south of Gaza.
Israel is getting ready to send its soldiers to Rafah to fight with Hamas fighters. On Sunday, the prime minister’s office announced that the military has made plans to help people leave the city.
Many countries are telling Israel not to attack Rafah, where 1. 5million Palestinians are living after fleeing fighting in the north.
In another news, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mohammed Shtayyeh, and his government in the West Bank have stepped down.
President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to his decision, which could make it possible for a government of experts to be formed.
The US wants Mr Abbas to make changes in the PA so that it can control Gaza after the war between Israel and Hamas is over. Mr Abbas is feeling stressed about this.
Last week, Mr. Netanyahu shared a plan for the land that did not include any involvement from the PA. -
Gazan man loses 103 relatives in Israel-Hamas war
Ahmad al-Ghuferi managed to survive the bomb that killed his family.
103 of his family members died in an attack on their home in Gaza City. He was 50 miles (80km) away in the town of Jericho in the West Bank.
Ahmad was working on a construction site in Tel Aviv when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th. Because of the war and Israel’s military blockade, he couldn’t go back home to his wife and three young daughters.
Every day, he talked to them at the same time when the phones worked. On the evening of December 8th, he was on the phone with his wife, Shireen, when the attack happened.
“She knew she was going to die,” he said. “She asked me to forgive her for anything wrong she may have done to me in the past. ” I told her she didn’t have to say that. “And that was the final time we spoke to each other. ”
That night, a big bomb exploded at his uncle’s house and it killed his wife and three young daughters – Tala, Lana, and Najla.
It also killed Ahmad’s mother, four of his brothers, and their families, as well as many of his aunts, uncles, and cousins. Over 100 people have died. It has been over two months, and some of their bodies are still stuck under the collapsed buildings.
He celebrated his youngest daughter’s birthday last week. Najla would have been two years old. Ahmad is still having a hard time dealing with the loss.
He can’t hold his kids or be at their quick funerals. But he still talks about them like they are here, and he doesn’t show any emotion on his face even though he’s crying.
“He said his daughters are like little birds to him. ” I feel like I’m in a dream. I feel like I’m dreaming. I can’t believe what has happened to us.
He deleted the girls’ photos from his phone and computer screens, so he doesn’t see them unexpectedly.
He has to figure out what happened by asking some family and neighbors who are still alive.
They said a missile hit the front of his family’s house first.
“He said they quickly left and went to my uncle’s house close by. ” “Fifteen minutes later, a military airplane crashed into that house. ”
A family was killed in a four-story building near Sahaba Medical Centre in Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City.
It’s a pile of broken concrete with bits of colorful things in it, like a green cup and torn clothes.
The smashed up silver car with a twisted windshield is sitting under some concrete rocks.
Ahmad’s family member, Hamid al-Ghuferi, said to the BBC that people who ran up the hill when the strikes started lived, but those who stayed in the house died.
“It was a belt of fire,” he said. “There were bombs hitting the four houses beside ours. ” They were attacking a house every 10 minutes.
“He said 110 people from our family were there – including our kids and other relatives. ” “Almost all of them were killed, only a few survived. ”
Survivors said the oldest person who died was a 98-year-old grandma, and the youngest was a baby boy who was only nine days old.
Another family member, a cousin named Ahmad, talked about two large explosions from a bombing.
He said they didn’t tell us ahead of time. “If some people hadn’t left this area, I think hundreds would have died. ” The place looks very different now. There was a place to park cars, a place to store water, and four houses; three small houses and one big house. The explosion destroyed an entire neighborhood full of homes.
Hamid told that the people who lived through the accident had worked late into the night to get the bodies out from the fallen buildings.
Airplanes were flying in the sky, and small helicopters were shooting at us while we tried to get them down, said Ahmad.
“We were sitting in the house and then we were trapped under the debris,” Umm Ahmad al-Ghuferi said to the BBC. I was tossed back and forth. I don’t understand how they managed to rescue me. We saw someone die right in front of us.
It has been two and a half months, and they are still trying to reach some of the bodies that are buried under the collapsed buildings. The family saved money to rent a small machine to remove the rubble.
“We found four bodies today,” Ahmad said to the BBC. “This includes my brother’s wife and my nephew Mohammed, who was found in pieces. ” They were trapped under the fallen building for 75 days.
Their temporary graves are on a piece of empty land close by, and they are marked with sticks and plastic sheets.
Ahmad hasn’t been able to visit them in Jericho.
“Why can’t I be with my mom, wife, kids, and brothers. ” he wondered “They were all regular people. ”
We talked to the Israeli army about the family’s claim that they were attacked with air strikes. The army said it didn’t know about the attack and that they did their best to avoid hurting civilians in their fight against Hamas.
Israeli soldiers and Hamas gunmen fought very hard in the area of Shejaiyya, not far from the al-Ghuferi house, around the time when Ahmad’s family was killed.
On December 9th, the army said that they found some terrorists with missiles getting close to the soldiers in Shejaiyya. They called in a helicopter to attack them.
It also said that military planes had been attacking places where terrorists are. -
Children in Gaza hunt for food to keep families alive
In some places and times, just being alive is an accomplishment for a boy. It’s even harder for him to go out every day and find food for his family to eat.
Every morning, 11-year-old Mohammed Zo’rab goes out into the southern Gaza city of Rafah to do something important.
He brings a large plastic bowl to schools and makeshift camps where people who are like his own family are suffering. He hopes to find food for the children of strangers in these places.
Mohammed also goes to hospitals where people who are hurt come at all times, and anywhere else there might be a pot cooking on a fire.
He said, “When I bring this food to my family, they are happy and we eat together. ”
“Sometimes I don’t have anything with me and it makes me feel unhappy. ”
Mohammed is the oldest of four kids and lives with his mom, dad, and brothers and sisters in a weak shelter made of plastic and tarp.
Khaled’s dad walks around Rafah to find small jobs to make five shekels (about $1. 38; £108) to buy diapers for their two-month-old daughter, Howaida.
Mohammed is one of many kids who have to find food for their families.
“I am good at moving through big crowds without causing trouble. Once, there were nearly 100 people in line in front of me, but I managed to squeeze my way through,” he explains.
At home, he gives the bowl of baked beans to his mom, Samar. She gives the food to the other kids. She looks thin and hardly eats.
“I have bone cancer,” she says. I am 31 years old, but people often think I look 60. I am unable to walk.
“When I walk, I feel really exhausted. ” “My whole body hurts and I need medical care and good food. ”
Samar and her family moved to Rafah from their home in Khan Younis because the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it would be a safe place to go. That happened three months ago.
Since then, the war has been getting closer to Rafah. Over 70 people died a little over two weeks ago when Israel attacked to free two hostages held by Hamas.
The Zo’rab family’s house is leaking and the floor is getting wet from the rain. Sometimes, baby Howaida doesn’t have new diapers.
Every day, a lot of people are living in a small area next to the Egyptian border, and they face a lot of problems.
85% of people in Gaza have had to leave their homes. The help that is being sent to Gaza is not enough to meet the needs of the people there.
The UN says we need 500 trucks of help every day. On average, it has been ninety each day.
The situation in northern Gaza is very difficult.
Israel believes that the United Nations is not giving out aid properly in the northern area. They also say that there are a lot of aid supplies that need to be picked up on the Gaza side of the border.
The organization stopped sending food to northern Gaza because it’s not safe for the truck drivers. They have been attacked by criminals and people are stealing the food.
A truck was hit by a shell from an Israeli boat, according to the UN.
Also, the police in charge in Gaza don’t want to protect food trucks anymore because they are scared of getting shot by the IDF.
“Return our people to us” .In Israel, most people still support the military’s conduct of the war.
No one seems to agree on helping the people in Gaza more. A survey found that 68% of Jewish people don’t want to send aid to Gaza as long as Hamas is holding Israeli hostages.
On the other hand, Arab Israelis were 85% in favor of aid.
Zvika Mor, whose oldest son, Eitan, is being held captive in Gaza, talks about how much he and his family miss Eitan, who was the first to call him “Daddy. ” He also mentioned how Eitan’s absence has affected their family of seven other children.
Eitan was working as a security guard at the Nova music festival. Unfortunately, Hamas killed about 360 people at the festival. Eitan did not have a weapon to protect himself or others.
MrMor leads a small group of families of hostages who want their loved ones to be returned before talking to Hamas about anything. They don’t want the government to make a deal unless there is a ceasefire, more help for people in Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Israel is causing a big problem for the people in Gaza. Mor says that we want to set our people free.
“We want our people back. Before anything else, give us our people back. ”
He said it might seem harsh, but we have to think about the babies, women, and older people in Gaza.
“It’s really easy. ” If you bring us our friends, we will give you food and medicine. That’s really easy.
In Gaza, charities are giving the little food they have left to help people.
Mahmoud Al-Quishawi from the charity Pious Projects of America was near the hot pots of beans where Mohammed got food for his family.
“We work hard every day to help these people and let them know that we are here for them and will support them,” said Mr Al-Quishawi.
The charity doesn’t have any more bottled gas to cook food, so volunteers are gathering wood and making fires to cook instead.
“He says the air feels sad. ” “The situation is really bad. ”
In northern Gaza, children are getting sick and dying because they don’t have enough food. The British charity Action Aid said a doctor in northern Gaza found that many children had died.
DrHussam Abu Safiya, who is in charge of children’s health at Kamal Adwan Hospital, said that many children are not getting enough food and are getting sick with stomach problems.
Action Aid found that out of every six young children who were checked at shelters and health centers for displaced people in January, one was very malnourished.
The charity says that there has been a big drop in the amount of food people have in just three months, which is a very unusual thing all around the world.
Another doctor at Al-Shifa Medical Complex in northern Gaza said he helped a two-month-old boy named Mahmoud Fatouh, but unfortunately, the baby died shortly after reaching the hospital.
“This baby couldn’t get milk. “Amjad Aliwa said that his mother didn’t have enough food to breastfeed him.
“He was very dehydrated and was hardly breathing when he arrived. ”
In Gaza, the people are stuck because of war and hunger. -
Netanyahu of Israel lays out post-conflict plan for Gaza
Benjamin Netanyahu outlined his thoughts on the future state of Gaza following the conflict.
In his plan, Israel would keep control of security for a long time, and Palestinians who are not part of any groups that are unfriendly to Israel would govern the area.
The United States, Israel’s close friend, wants the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank to control Gaza after the war.
However, the brief paper that Mr. Netanyahu showed to ministers last night does not talk about the PA.
He said the internationally supported organization won’t have a role after the war.
He thinks Gaza should be made less like a military zone. Israel would need to remove any military equipment that’s not needed for keeping the peace.
The Southern border of the territory would be closed near Egypt to stop illegal trading.
And they will promote programs to help people who have become radicalized to change their beliefs in all religious, educational, and welfare organizations. The paper says that Arab countries that have done similar programs before will be part of this one. But Netanyahu did not say which countries specifically.
Under the plan, Israel would continue to have security control over the area on the west side of the Jordan River, including land, sea, and air.
Mr Netanyahu has been feeling stressed because people in his country and other countries want him to share his ideas for fixing the situation in Gaza. This pressure started when he started his military operation. He really wants to fix his bad reputation as a leader who can protect Israel. He also wants to get support from the most conservative people in his government.
A person who speaks for Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, said that Mr. Netanyahu’s plan was going to fail.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that to make the region safe and stable, the world should stop Israel from controlling Palestinian land and should acknowledge that Palestinians have their own country.
Mr Netanyahu said again that he doesn’t support Western countries recognizing Palestine as a state without both sides agreeing.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the US does not want Israel to take over Gaza again or make it smaller.
Gaza Terrorism is not allowed on this platform. Israel should not go back into Gaza. He said at a meeting of ministers in Argentina that the size of Gaza should not be made smaller.
At the same time, people who are trying to make a short break in fighting and free Israeli captives are planning to meet in Paris.
The US wants to make a deal before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts in about two weeks.
The situation is getting worse in Gaza, and many countries want the war to stop. The Health Ministry controlled by Hamas says that over 29,500 people, mostly women and children, have been killed since the war started in October.
Israel’s attack was caused by Hamas’ very serious attack on 7 October when gunmen killed about 1,200 people – most of them were not soldiers – and took 253 people as hostages back to Gaza.
Last night, the leader of the UN group in charge of helping Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) said that Gaza is in big trouble. This could cause problems for peace, safety, and human rights in the region.
Philippe Lazzarini wrote a letter to the president of the UN general assembly. In the letter, he said that Unrwa is in a very difficult situation. Israel keeps asking for Unrwa to be taken apart, and donors are not giving money to Unrwa when there are a lot of people in need in Gaza.
Last month, some of Unrwa’s main supporters stopped giving money to the agency because Unrwa fired some of its workers. Israel accused the workers of being involved in the attacks in October.
Mr Netanyahu wants to shut down the agency as part of his plan after the war and put different international aid groups in its place.
He said he will keep fighting until Israel gets rid of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and all Israeli hostages come home.
At the end of 2023, Mr Netanyahu said the war might continue for a long time.
The US said that Israel’s building of houses in the West Bank goes against the law.
“Our government strongly disagrees with building more settlements. We think it makes Israel less safe, not safer,” said Mr.
It changes a decision made in 2019 by the Trump administration, which Israel liked. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US no longer thought that settlements broke international law. -
PM Netanyahu of Israel outlines after-war strategy for Gaza
The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has outlined his aspirations for the post-war transformation of Gaza.
In his plan, Israel will keep security control for a long time, and Palestinians without ties to groups against Israel will govern the area.
The US, who is a big supporter of Israel, wants the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank to rule Gaza after the war.
However, the brief paper that Mr. Netanyahu showed to ministers last night does not talk about the PA.
He has said before that the internationally supported group will not have a role after the war.
He imagines a Gaza Strip without any military equipment. Israel would have to make sure there is only enough military equipment for keeping public order.
A “Southern Closure” will be set up on the border with Egypt to stop people from smuggling things in and out.
And we will encourage programs to help people who have been radicalized to let go of those beliefs in religious, educational, and welfare organizations. The paper says that Arab countries that have done similar programs before might help, but Mr. Netanyahu did not say which ones.
Under the plan, Israel will have control over the entire area west of the Jordan River to ensure security from land, sea, and air.
Mr Netanyahu is being asked to share his plans for Gaza because people are worried about the situation there. This is happening both in his own country and in other countries. It started when he began his military operation. He really wants to fix his bad reputation and show that he can make Israel safe. He also wants to get support from the very conservative people in his government.
A person who speaks for Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, said that Mr Netanyahu’s plan was going to fail.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that to have peace in the region, the world should stop Israel from controlling Palestinian land and accept Palestine as its own country.
Mr Netanyahu again said he does not agree with Western countries recognizing a Palestinian state on their own.
At the same time, people who are trying to make a deal for a short break in fighting and the freeing of Israeli hostages are planning to meet in Paris.
The US wants to have a deal before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts in a little over two weeks.
The situation is getting worse in Gaza, and people around the world are putting pressure on both sides to stop the war. The Ministry of Health controlled by Hamas says that over 29,500 people, mostly women and children, have died since the war started in October.
Israel’s military started fighting because Hamas attacked on 7th October. The attack killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and 253 people were taken as hostages to Gaza.
Last night, the leader of the UN group in charge of helping Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) said that Gaza is in big trouble and this could cause problems for peace, safety, and human rights in the region.
Mr Netanyahu wants to shut down Unrwa and replace it with other international aid groups because he believes Unrwa workers were involved in the October attacks. This is part of his plan after the war.
He said he will keep fighting until Israel destroys Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza and all Israeli hostages are released. -
WHO concerned about hospital’s surviving patients at Nasser in Gaza
The World Health Organization is worried about 130 patients at Nasser hospital in Gaza because the hospital is not working properly after an Israeli attack.
The UN agency helped transfer 32 very sick Palestinians from the complex in Khan Younis on two missions.
It means there is no electricity or water, and medical waste and garbage can make people sick.
Israel’s soldiers are giving help to make sure the hospital can keep working while they fight against Hamas.
The Israeli military has caught many “terrorists” and found weapons and medicine for Israeli hostages in a place controlled by Hamas. This happened last Thursday.
Hamas is accused of using hospitals as cover, but they say it’s not true and that it’s just an excuse to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system. Israel and the UK call Hamas a terrorist group.
Out of the 36 hospitals in Palestinian territory, only 11 are still partly working after four months of fighting. Three hospitals are only working at a little bit.
At the same time, the Word Food Programme said it was stopping food deliveries to northern Gaza because there is a lot of confusion and violence since the civil order has broken down.
It said that because of the looting and the attack on a driver, things will get worse there and more people might die because they don’t have enough food.
The Israeli army started a big attack in Gaza after Hamas soldiers killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 253 people as hostages.
The health ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, says that 29,195 people have died in the area, including at least 103 in the last day.
The WHO moved 23 very sick patients, including two kids, from the Nasser Medical Complex. They also gave medicine and food to the hospital.
Four ambulances from the Palestinian Red Crescent took the patients to different hospitals in Khan Younis, Deir al-Balah, and Rafah.
“Some of the patients moved during the missions had paralysis, and two of them had tracheostomy. Others had external fixators for serious bone injuries. ” Two paralyzed patients needed someone to help them breathe during the whole trip because there were no portable ventilators available.
WHO workers said the area around the hospital was very bad. Many buildings were burnt and destroyed, there was lots of debris, and the roads were gone.
It said that if the hospital can’t continue to help the 130 sick and injured patients, as well as at least 15 doctors and nurses inside, more people will die.
The WHO said its staff were not allowed to go to the hospital to check on patients and had heard that at least five patients in the intensive care unit had died.
They said that the destruction of Nasser hospital is a big problem for Gaza’s healthcare system.
The health ministry in Gaza said that Israeli forces had turned Nasser hospital into a place for soldiers, and the situation there is really bad, putting the lives of patients and staff in danger.
On Monday, the Israeli defense ministry department that manages policy for the Palestinian territories, Cogat, said that the Nasser hospital was still open and running even though Hamas members were pretending to be medical workers during the Israel Defense Forces’ operations.
“We helped send medical supplies to the hospital and worked with the UN to move the patients to safety,” they posted on X, which used to be called Twitter.
The UN sent a big truck with diesel fuel, water bottles, food, bread, a new generator, and medicine to help.On Sunday, the Israeli military said they caught many terrorists and other suspects at the hospital. Some of them were involved in the 7 October attacks and had connections to the hostages. They also caught important members of Hamas.
They found lots of weapons, two vehicles, and boxes of medicine. The medicine was supposed to be given to Israeli hostages as part of a deal.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said that there is a problem at another big hospital in Khan Younis, called al-Amal. There are about 180 patients, doctors, and people who had to leave their homes and stay there, because two weeks ago Israeli soldiers went there.
“Al-Amal hospital is being attacked by Israeli forces. They have hit the third floor, and two rooms are on fire,” said a post on X. “Also, someone attacked the hospital’s water pipes. ”
The IDF did not comment right away. -
World Food Programme halts supplies to northern part of Gaza
The World Food Programme has stopped giving food to people in northern Gaza because there has been a lot of chaos and violence, and it’s not safe for the aid convoys to deliver the food.
The agency said they made the decision with a lot of thought and the crews had to deal with large groups of people, gunshots, and stealing.
The UN has been saying that there might be a famine in the north since December.
The WFP says that these new reports show a rapid increase in hunger and illness.
The Israeli military told 1. 1 million Palestinian people to leave the north of Wadi Gaza and go to the south when they started their ground attack in October. The area where people had to leave included Gaza City. It was the most crowded place in the territory before the war.
Most people obeyed the Israeli order, but many hundreds of thousands stayed or couldn’t leave when Israeli soldiers surrounded the area and mostly took over Hamas’ bases there.
Last month, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, said that at least 300,000 people in northern Gaza rely on its help to survive.
Not many aid deliveries have been made to the north because they need approval from the Israeli military for safety reasons.
This weekend the WFP planned to start delivering food for a whole week. They were going to send 10 trucks each day to help stop hunger and desperation.
But last Sunday, when a group of vehicles approached the Wadi Gaza checkpoint, they were surrounded by a lot of hungry people. Some people even tried to get onto the vehicles. When they entered Gaza City, there was gunfire, a lot of tension, and angry outbursts.
Also, some trucks driving from the southern city of Khan Younis to the central town of Deir al-Balah were robbed and a driver was attacked.
The WFP said in the last two days, their teams saw very high levels of desperation in the Gaza Strip.
“There is not enough food and clean water, and many people are getting sick. This is making it harder for women and children to stay healthy, and many are becoming very malnourished. ”
“People are dying because they don’t have enough food to eat,” it added.
A report from WFP and UNICEF says that the situation in the north of Gaza is very bad.
Nutrition checks at shelters and health centers in the north showed that over 15% of children under two years old were very malnourished, according to the WFP.
The agency promised to find a safe way to start sending supplies again and asked for more help for northern Gaza. It said that more food should come into Gaza from many different ways and asked for the crossing points between Israel and northern Gaza to be opened.
It also asked for a system that tells people when there is a need to help others, a strong way to talk to each other, and safety for its workers and friends, and for the people in Gaza.
“Gaza is in a very bad situation and WFP needs to be allowed to prevent thousands of people from starving,” it says.
Israel started fighting in Gaza after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7. About 1,200 people were killed, and over 240 others were taken hostage during the attack.
According to the health ministry run by Hamas, 29,000 people in the Palestinian territory have been killed by the Israeli military’s campaign against Hamas. -
Peace negotiations between Israel and Gaza no promising – Qatar
According to the mediator Qatar, the talks to halt the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza have not been progressing.
Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said he still feels hopeful, but he also mentioned that time is running out for us.
The Prime Minister of Israel wants to continue with plans to invade Rafah, even though many other countries are telling him not to.
Hamas says Israel is to blame for not making progress on reaching a ceasefire agreement.
High-ranking officials from the US, Israel, Egypt and Qatar are meeting in Cairo to try to stop the fighting.
Sheik Mohammed said that the recent pattern has not been very encouraging. However, he always stays positive and determined to keep pushing forward. He spoke at a meeting of world leaders at the Munich Security Conference.
“I think we are talking about a big agreement, and we still have some problems with the humanitarian part of these negotiations,” he said.
But he said the truce should not depend on making a deal to free the hostages held by Hamas.
“We have been in a difficult situation where many countries have misused the idea that a ceasefire will only happen if a hostage deal is made,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he sent people to talk with Hamas after US President Joe Biden asked him to. But they didn’t go back for more talks because Hamas’s requests were unrealistic.
The group wants some things to happen, like trading hostages for Palestinian prisoners, Israel’s soldiers leaving completely, and for the war to stop after a 135-day break in fighting, divided into three parts.
Israel started fighting back with its military because a group called Hamas attacked and hurt a lot of people and took hostages in a surprise attack on October 7th.
More than 28,800 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s attack, according to the health ministry run by Hamas.
MrNetanyahu said in Jerusalem on Saturday that he wants to defeat Hamas and his forces will keep fighting until Israel wins completely.
He said that people who don’t want to take military action in Rafah are basically telling the country to give up in the war, and he also said that his soldiers would go into Rafah even if a deal to release hostages was made.
At the beginning of the war, Israel told Palestinians to go to Rafah for safety while the Israeli military attacked the cities in the north.
This week, Israeli officials said they want people to move to a “humanitarian zone” called al-Mawasi, which is a small area along the coast where farming is the main activity.
President Biden told Israel not to attack Rafah unless they have a plan to protect civilians.
MrNetanyahu is under pressure in his own country to bring back the hostages still in Gaza.
Many people got together in Tel Aviv to ask for elections to happen sooner, even though they are not supposed to happen until 2026. Israel’s leader said no to his party’s request for an election right after the conflict with Gaza. He thinks it would cause too much disagreement.
Meanwhile, Hamas said Israel is not helping to make a ceasefire happen. They also said they might stop helping unless they get aid for the north of Gaza. Aid groups are worried because there isn’t enough food, water or medicine in the area. -
Israel-Gaza war: US requests brief truce in UN document
The United States is seeking a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, and is urging the UN Security Council to support this.
It also told Israel not to attack the crowded city of Rafah.
The US used to not say “stop fighting” during UN votes on the war, but President Joe Biden has said similar things.
The US is going to reject a new proposal from Algeria that asks for a quick ceasefire to help people in need.
Over a million Palestinians who had to leave their homes now live in Rafah, which is half of Gaza’s population.
Before the war, only 250,000 people lived in the southern city near Egypt.
Many people who have been forced from their homes are living in temporary shelters or tents in very dirty and unhealthy conditions, with little access to clean water or food.
The UN has warned that an Israeli attack in the city might cause a lot of people to be killed.
Israel started fighting in Gaza after Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October. The attack caused about 1,200 people to die and more than 240 people to be taken captive.
According to the health ministry in the Palestinian territory, 29,000 people have been killed by the Israeli military campaign.
Many countries are telling the US to stop Israel from its very damaging attacks. The US has been supporting Israel’s right to defend itself during the war.
It said it will stop the Algerian plan, but its own text does show that it doesn’t agree with Israel’s plans.
Discussions will start on the US plan this week, but it’s not sure when or if the idea will be voted on.
This is the first time the US has asked for a temporary break in fighting in Gaza at the UN. Before, the US said no to other proposals to stop the fighting.
The US plan also says that a big attack in Rafah could hurt more people and make them leave their homes, possibly going to Egypt.
It also says that doing this could cause big problems for peace and safety in the area.
The draft resolution asks for a temporary stop to the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible, like what President Joe Biden talked about with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.
MrNetanyahu is not changing his plan even though other countries are asking him to. He promises to save the hostages and beat Hamas in Gaza.
Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli war cabinet, said they will attack Hamas unless they release all their hostages by March 10th. Ramadan starts today, it’s a special time for Muslims to fast and pray.
The Arab countries say the Security Council must listen to the international community and stop the fighting. -
“We leave patients to scream for endless amounts of time” – Gaza doctors
In Gaza, doctors have said they are doing surgery on patients without giving them pain medicine, not able to help people who are sick for a long time, and trying to heal really bad wounds with not enough medical supplies.
“We don’t have enough painkillers, so we have to let patients scream in pain for a long time,” a person told the media.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the health care in Gaza is really bad.
As of Sunday, 23 hospitals in Gaza were not working at all. Twelve were only partly working and one was barely working.
The health agency stated that air strikes and a shortage of supplies have made the health system even more stretched.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says that Hamas often uses hospitals and medical centers for its terrorist activities.
The IDF told the BBC that they didn’t attack hospitals, but went into certain areas to stop Hamas from using their equipment and to catch the terrorists. They said they were very careful when doing this.
It said it will let in help for people in Gaza, like medicine.
Help groups, like the WHO, have been stopped from getting to places and not allowed to help.
Gaza’s hospitals are very full and don’t have enough supplies, say healthcare workers. There are reports that some hospitals in southern Gaza are very full and are taking care of more patients than they usually do.
Four hospitals have been built in Gaza with a total of 305 beds, as reported by the WHO.
Israeli forces attacked a hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday, causing it to stop working.
The IDF found weapons and medicines with the names and photos of hostages at the hospital. They also caught many terrorists hiding there. Hamas is putting many innocent people in danger by using hospitals for their own violent purposes. They are not using the hospitals to help people, but to hurt them.
Workers at the hospitals nearby are saying that the operation at Nasser has made their job more difficult.
Yousef al-Akkad, who runs the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis, said the situation there is the worst it’s been since the war started.
“The situation was really bad before, so what do you think it’s like now with thousands more people who have been forced to leave their homes and are staying in the hallways and public areas. ”
He said the hospital didn’t have enough beds for the patients who needed treatment. So, the staff were putting sheets over metal frames and wood and putting many patients on the floor with nothing.
Other doctors in different parts of the Gaza Strip have also described similar situations. “We put people with heart problems on the floor and start to help them right away,” said Dr. Marwan al-Hams, the director of Rafah’s Martyr Mohammed Yusuf al-Najjar Hospital.
A group from Hamas chose the leaders of the hospitals in Gaza. Sometimes, these leaders were there before Hamas took over the area.Medicine and things needed for treatment.
Doctors are having a hard time because they don’t have enough medical supplies to do their work. “We can’t find any oxygen,” someone told the media.
Dr al-Akkad said we don’t have enough medicine for anesthesia, supplies for the intensive care unit, antibiotics, and painkillers. “Many people were badly burned and we don’t have the right medicine to help with their pain. ”
A doctor said that surgeries were being done without pain medicine.
A group of doctors from the WHO met a little girl at a hospital. She had very bad burns on 75% of her body. The hospital didn’t have enough medicine to help her feel better.
Dr Mohamed Salha, who is in charge of Al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza, said that people were brought to the hospital for treatment on donkeys and horses.
“The catastrophe is when the patients have wounds that are decaying because they have been open for more than two or three weeks,” he said.
He said the doctors there had done surgeries using head torches because they didn’t have enough electricity.
Staff are away from their families.
The WHO says there are about 20,000 healthcare workers in Gaza, but most of them are not working because they are having a hard time supporting themselves and their families.
Dr al-Akkad said that the hospital has more staff and volunteers now because people who had to leave their homes came to help. But he said they didn’t have enough to handle all the patients and injuries they were getting.
After the bombings, he said badly hurt people come to the hospital and they look like the dish kofta made with ground meat.
“The hospital sees many people with different injuries like brain injuries, broken ribs, broken limbs, and sometimes even losing an eye. We see all kinds of injuries here. ”
He said that one patient might need five or more doctors who are experts in different areas to treat all of their injuries.
Some doctors are still working and can’t be with their families.
“Dr Salha in northern Gaza misses her family very much. They have been away for over three months and she wishes she could hug them. Her family is staying in the south to stay safe. ”
I am happy that I can help kids, women, and old people get medical care and stay healthy. I feel good about saving their lives.
We do not have space for patients who need long-term medical care.
Doctors told the BBC that people in Gaza with long-term illnesses suffered a lot.
“Really, we don’t have any beds for them, and we can’t keep in touch with them,” Dr. al-Akkad explained
“For anyone who used to have dialysis four times a week, now they only have it once a week. ” If this guy used to work 16 hours a week, now he will only work for one hour.
Some women are having their babies in tents without medical help because the hospitals that provide midwifery care are full.
“A person dies in one department, but a baby is born in the other. ” Babies are born and there is no milk for them. Dr Salha said that the hospital gives every child one box of milk.
People are going to hospitals because they have caught diseases in crowded and dirty places.
“Many people are sick and we can’t find a cure,” said Abu Khalil, who is 54 years old and living in Rafah, southern Gaza.
We have to leave early in the morning and wait in line, you might end up behind 100 people. “You come back with nothing. “ -
Israel’s raids have rendered Gaza’s Nasser Hospital inoperable – WHO reports
The World Health Organization said that the Nasser hospital in Gaza has stopped working because of an attack by Israel.
Israeli soldiers went into the building on Thursday because they had information that hostages taken by Hamas were being kept there.
The WHO said they were not able to go to the place to see what was happening.
The IDF said its Nasser operation was careful and not very big. It also accused Hamas of using hospitals for terror.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of WHO, said that the Nasser hospital in Gaza can no longer operate after being under siege for a week and ongoing raids.
“The WHO team tried to go to the hospital yesterday and the day before, but they were not allowed inside to see the patients and their serious medical needs. They were only able to deliver fuel to the hospital compound with their partners. ”
“Approximately 200 people are still in the hospital. ” At least 20 people need to go to other hospitals right away to get medical help. Every patient has the right to be referred to another doctor.
The hospital in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, only has four medical staff left to take care of the patients.
The media could not go to the hospital and could not check the situation there by itself.
Someone who works at the hospital said that 11 patients died because the electricity and oxygen supply stopped. They also said that some doctors were taken by the police.
The Israeli army says nobody was killed because of what they did, and they were instructed to keep the hospital working.
The report said that they brought diesel and oxygen to the site, and that they are using a temporary generator.
“We don’t give patients any medicine to stop them from feeling pain, so they have to yell for many hours. ”
There has been a lot of fighting around the Nasser site for several weeks. Israel keeps saying that Hamas is using hospitals and schools as places to plan and carry out their actions.
The Israeli army says it has killed around 20 Hamas soldiers and taken many weapons near the hospital.
The IDF said that in the last day, many terrorists were killed and a lot of weapons were taken.
At least 1,200 people died in attacks in Israel by Hamas-led gunmen on 7 October last year.
Israel started a war in the Gaza Strip as a reaction. More than 28,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and more than 68,000 injured since the war started, says the health ministry run by Hamas.
It said that in the last day, at least 127 Palestinians died and 205 were hurt.Even though there is still fighting in Gaza, people are trying to make peace between Israel and Hamas in Cairo. But the mediators from Qatar said that the progress hasn’t been very good lately.
Sheik Mohammed said that things haven’t been going well lately, but we will stay positive and keep working hard.
Israeli leader Netanyahu said he sent people to talk after US President Biden asked, but they didn’t come back because Hamas’s requests were not realistic.
Hamas said that Israel is the reason why they haven’t been able to make a deal to stop fighting.
The group has set out some rules. They want the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, Israel’s forces to leave completely, and the war to stop after 135 days of fighting, divided into three parts.
Mr Netanyahu said that Israel is still sending troops into Gaza, even though other countries are telling them not to do it until they have a plan to get the Palestinian people out of the area. They are now moving towards Rafah in the south.
Around 15 million people are in Rafah, near the border with Egypt. They were told by Israeli forces to go there for safety while Hamas targets were being attacked in northern and central Gaza.
Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, said again that he does not want Palestinians to be moved forcefully into Egypt’s Sinai desert.
During a phone call, the French President and another leader agreed that it is important to quickly stop the fighting.
Mr Sisi believes that the best solution is for Palestinians to have their own independent country.
On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu said his government all agreed to officially not support the idea of recognizing Palestine as a state on its own.
He said that any agreement must be made by Israelis and Palestinians talking to each other directly.
“Israel refuses to follow international demands for a final agreement with the Palestinians. ” “A deal can only be made if both sides talk to each other directly, without any conditions,” said a statement from the government. -
Israel denounces Lula of Brazil for comparing Gaza War to Holocaust
Israel is angry at Brazil’s president for saying Israel is killing a lot of people in Gaza, and that it’s like the Holocaust.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that in Israel’s military campaign, there was a strong army fighting against women and children.
The foreign minister of Israel said that Lula’s comments were antisemitic and that he is not welcome in the country until he takes back what he said.
The top Jewish group in Brazil also disapproved of Lula’s remarks.
Lula, who was at an African Union meeting in Ethiopia, said the situation in Gaza with the Palestinian people is unlike anything from the past. It really happened when Hitler chose to kill the Jews.
“It’s not a fight between soldiers. ” It’s a fight between a strong army and women and children.
The experienced politician on the liberal side criticized Hamas for attacking Israel on 7 October, killing over 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages.
But he has been openly against Israel’s military attack, which the health ministry in Gaza says has killed more than 28,800 people, mostly women and children.
His most recent words come after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to continue attacking Rafah – the southernmost city in Gaza, where around 1. 5 million people have fled – even though there is more and more pressure from other countries.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said they will remember and not forgive.
“It is a very harmful attack on Jewish people. ” From me and the people of Israel – tell President Lula that he is not welcome in Israel until he takes back what he said.
Mr Netanyahu said that Lula’s comments were making the Holocaust seem less important and trying to hurt the Jewish people and Israel’s right to protect itself.
“He said it’s not okay to compare Israel to the Holocaust of the Nazis and Hitler. ”
Hitler’s Nazi government killed six million Jewish people in the 1930s and 1940s.
Israel asked the Brazilian ambassador to come for a meeting on Monday.
The main Jewish organization in Brazil, the Brazilian Israelite Confederation, said that Lula’s comments were a twisted version of the truth that hurt the memory of Holocaust victims and their descendants.
Lula supported South Africa’s accusation of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last year.
In January, judges at the ICJ said that South Africa can keep going with its case against Israel.
The court told Israel to stop its military from doing things that could be considered genocidal, to stop and punish actions that encourage genocide, and to make sure the people of Gaza receive help.
However, the court did not demand that Israel stop its military operations in Gaza right away.
Brazil and South Africa are part of a group called Brics. It’s a team of important developing countries that are working together to challenge richer Western nations.
The World Health Organization said that the Nasser hospital in Gaza can no longer work after it was attacked by Israel. The IDF said it did a careful and small operation and blamed Hamas for using hospitals for terrorism.
“Right now, people are trying to make Israel and Hamas stop fighting in Cairo. But the people from Qatar who are helping don’t think it’s going very well. “ -
Israel gives Gaza’s ground offensive in Rafah until March
Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli government, said that if Hamas doesn’t release all the people they are holding captive in Gaza by 10 March, the Israeli military will attack Rafah.
This is the first time Israel has mentioned when its soldiers might go into the crowded city of Gaza in the south.
Many people around the world are speaking out against the attack in Rafah, where 1. 5 million Palestinians live.
Before, the UN public health agency said that a important hospital in Gaza stopped working after an attack by Israel.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it wasn’t allowed to go into Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis to check on things.
The IDF went into the building on Thursday because they had information that Hamas had taken hostages and were keeping them there.
The IDF said their mission in Nasser was careful and not big, and they blamed Hamas for using hospitals for terror.
Mr Gantz, who used to be in charge of defending the country, said on Sunday that if our hostages are not returned by the end of Ramadan, there will be more fighting in many places, including the Rafah area.
Ramadan is the important month of fasting for Muslims, and it starts on 10 March this year.
Mr Gantz said that Israel will work together with the US and Egypt to help civilians leave safely and try to avoid hurting them.
The Israeli war cabinet is made up of the most important people in charge of keeping the country safe. It was created a few days after Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7th, killing over 1,200 people and holding 253 hostages. Hamas has 130 hostages in Gaza, according to Israel.
Mr Gantz mentioned Egypt, which could mean Israel thinks some Palestinians may leave Gaza and go to Egypt. It seems like Egypt is making a big wall to keep them safe. This was reported by the BBC’s Paul Adams.
But the Israeli government has not shared any information about how they will evacuate people.
In three weeks Ramadan will start. Some people in Rafah are leaving and going to the coast, but most are still waiting and don’t know what to do.
Even though other countries are telling him not to, the leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has promised to send troops into Rafah to get rid of the Hamas fighters there.
Egypt and some other Arab countries have said many times that if Israel attacks there, it could force a lot of Palestinians into Egypt. They don’t think this is okay. Saudi Arabia has promised that there will be big consequences if Rafah is attacked.
Many countries have told Israel not to attack a city in Gaza where the people are living in very bad conditions. The US, which is an important friend of Israel, warned that attacking the city without careful planning would be a very bad idea.
Israel has been attacking Hamas since 7 October and has caused a lot of damage to the Gaza Strip.
Over 28,400 Palestinians, mainly women and children, have died and over 68,000 have been injured since the war started, according to the health ministry run by Hamas.
The government says that at least 127 people from Palestine have died and 205 others were hurt in the last day.
Even though the conflict in Gaza is still going on, people have been trying to make a peace agreement between Israel and Hamas in Cairo. However, mediators from Qatar said that there hasn’t been much progress.
Mr Netanyahu said he sent people to talk after President Biden asked, but they didn’t go back for more talks because Hamas wanted things that were not reasonable.
Hamas said Israel is not making progress in getting a ceasefire. -
Israel stands firm against unilateral imposition of Palestinian state
Israel has officially declared its opposition to what it perceives as the unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood, insisting that any such recognition must be achieved through direct negotiations.
Prime Minister Netanyahu brought the “declaratory decision” to a vote in the cabinet, which was unanimously approved, as reported earlier in the day.
Netanyahu emphasized during the weekly meeting that this move follows recent discussions in the international community about potential attempts to unilaterally impose a Palestinian state on Israel.
Efforts to establish a two-state solution, with a Palestinian state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza alongside Israel, have remained stagnant for decades.
According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, Israel categorically rejects any international mandates regarding a permanent agreement with the Palestinians. It asserts that any agreement must be reached through direct negotiations without preconditions.
The statement further asserts that Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. It warns that such recognition, especially following recent events, would reward terrorism and impede any prospects for future peace agreements.
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Patients at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital afraid as Israeli raid goes on
The Israeli military says its special forces are still in the Nasser hospital in Gaza and they are carrying out a mission against Hamas there.
Israel started a mission on Thursday that it said was careful and not too big. The army says it has arrested many people they think are involved in terrorism.
Hamas said the claim was not true.
The WHO said the facility urgently needs fuel to keep providing life-saving services.
The hospital in Khan Younis had a power outage and couldn’t give oxygen, so five people died, the health ministry said.
These deaths have not been confirmed by another source.
Nasser is the main hospital in southern Gaza. It is one of the few hospitals still open and there has been a lot of fighting between the IDF and Hamas there for days.
On Wednesday, the Israeli army told lots of people who had been staying there to go away.
Tarik Jasarevic, who works for the WHO, said that there are now reports that the orthopaedic unit has been damaged.
“He said it’s harder to give quick medical help. There are still very sick patients at the hospital. ”
“The more the hospital gets worse, the more people die. ”
Nahed Abu-Teima, the director of Nasser hospital, said to the media that the situation inside the hospital is really bad and very risky.
Pictures confirmed by the media showed doctors and nurses quickly moving patients on beds through a hallway that was full of smoke or dust.
“Nasser Hospital is surrounded and we have no water or food,” said Raed Abed, a man who was injured and forced to leave the hospital. He told the Associated Press.
“Trash is everywhere, and there is sewage overflowing in the emergency room. ”
The IDF thinks that Hamas has been using hospitals and other places where civilians go for protection while doing military activities.
“We can’t let Hamas go free, we need to make sure they are found and stopped,” said Lt Col Peter Lerner, spokesperson for IDF, in an interview with the media.
He said the military worked very hard to move people from the hospital to keep them safe and denied targeting civilians.
The IDF caught 20 Hamas members at the hospital who were involved in the 7 October attacks on Israel.
It also reported that it found weapons, like grenades, at the building.
The army is also looking for Israeli hostages’ bodies that might be hidden in the hospital based on information from intelligence.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that Israeli tanks were attacking the nearby Al-Amal hospital and causing a lot of damage to two nursing rooms.
They posted on social media that no one had been injured.
There have been a lot of fights near the hospital lately. The PRCS was “raided” last week because 8,000 people had to leave.
On Friday, they said that two doctors who were taken by the police were let go, but 12 other staff members were still in jail.Israel started to attack after groups of Hamas fighters crossed into Israel on 7 October. They killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 253 others as hostages to Gaza.
The health ministry in charge of Hamas says that over 28,700 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s attack.
Israel is being told to be more careful by other countries, but talks to stop the fighting haven’t worked yet.
A top Palestinian official involved in the talks about stopping the fighting said to the BBC that the two sides still disagree on many of the ideas for how to make peace.
Top leaders from the US, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar are in Cairo this week to try to make a deal.
The official said the main problem is the disagreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about what happens after the war ends. The US wants the Palestinian Authority to be stronger, but Israel doesn’t want one government to control both the West Bank and Gaza.
Another argument is about Israel’s goal of completely eliminating Hamas, which the US believes will be hard to do in the near future.
The US is trying to make both sides agree to stop fighting for a long time, so they don’t start fighting again. -
Israel’s special forces enter Nasser Hospital in Gaza
Israel’s army says its special forces have entered the Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, which is surrounded and under attack.
It means a small and specific mission is happening. Hamas fighters are inside and Israeli hostages’ bodies may be there too.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told many people to leave the area yesterday.
The hospital is the biggest one in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Earlier video shows medical workers hurrying to move patients on stretchers through a hallway filled with smoke.
This new story is still being worked on and we will have more information soon. -
Netanyahu promises to continue Rafah offensive
The leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, says his soldiers will keep moving toward the city of Rafah in Gaza, even though others are asking them to stop.
French President Emmanuel Macron was telling Mr Netanyahu that the human cost of Israel’s operation in Gaza was too high. He warned him to stop it.
However, Netanyahu has told his army to get ready for a land attack.
Around 14 million Palestinians are living in the city of Rafah, and it has already been attacked.
Mr Netanyahu promised to continue with a strong attack and said that Hamas, the group in charge of Gaza, needs to be removed from the southern city.
“We will keep fighting until we win and we will also take strong action in Rafah after we let the civilians leave the battle areas,” he said.
President Macron called Mr. Netanyahu on Wednesday and said that Israel’s actions in Gaza need to stop.
He said that France is strongly against Israel attacking Rafah. He thinks it would cause a big humanitarian disaster.
The leaders of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand are very worried about a military operation in Rafah. They think it would be very bad.
“We ask the Israeli government not to choose this way,” the statement said. It added, “If they expand the military operation, it will be very bad for the Palestinian people. ”
The German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who was in Israel, said that the people in Rafah who have nowhere to go cannot just disappear out of nowhere.
Spain and the Republic of Ireland, who are members of the EU, have requested a quick review to see if Israel is following its human rights duties in Gaza, as stated in a trade agreement.
The health ministry in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, says that at least 28,576 people, mostly women and children, have been killed because of Israel’s attack.
Israel decided to do something after gunmen led by Hamas killed at least 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in a sudden attack on its land on 7 October.
During the start of the war, Israel told Palestinians to go to Rafah for safety while the Israeli military fought in the northern cities.
Rafah is at the bottom of Gaza and has a crossing into Egypt where humanitarian help can go into the area.
Now, Israel wants people to move to a safe area called a “humanitarian zone” along the coast called al-Mawasi. This area is mainly used for farming.
One of the people who had to leave their home in Rafah was Ahlam Abu Assi. She told the news agency AFP that she would rather stay in Rafah, even if it meant she might die there, than go back to the terrible conditions her relatives in Gaza City had to endure.
“My son and his kids don’t have any food to eat. ” “They make a little bit of rice and keep it for tomorrow,” she said.
Another city called Khan Younis has been the main area where Israel has been concentrating its military operations in the southern part of Gaza.
Many Palestinians who had to leave their homes went to the Nasser hospital for safety. Now they are being told to leave there too.
Mr Netanyahu said he will continue despite the peace talks involving officials from the US, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar not reaching a conclusion.
The leader of Israel said that Hamas did not offer anything new for a hostage deal, and Israel will not agree to the militant group’s unreasonable requests.
It said that if Hamas changes its positions, the negotiations can make progress. -
Negotiations for Gaza cease-fire coincide with gunfire in Rafah
Talks to stop the fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza have started again in Cairo, according to Egyptian news.
High-ranking leaders from the US, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar are having a meeting because there is a lot of pressure from different countries for Israel to stop bombing the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Around 15 million people are crowded into this little town near the border, and there are worries that Israel might send in troops.
The leader of Israel said no to the ceasefire idea from Hamas and called it “delusional” last week.
Benjamin Netanyahu said it was possible to completely win in Gaza in a few months.
Later, he told Israeli soldiers to get ready to go into more areas on the ground, and promised to win against Hamas fighters who are hiding in Rafah.
But the UN human rights chief Volker Türk said that any attack would be very frightening and many innocent people would probably be killed.
US President Joe Biden wants to keep people in the area safe.
Rafah has been hit by a lot of bombings from Israel in the past few days, and there have been reports of people being killed and hurt.
The talks in Cairo are still happening even though Israel has said no to what Hamas wants.
The leader of the US Central Intelligence Agency William Burns, Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea, Egyptian intelligence officials, and Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani are working together.
Reuters reported that people who know about the talks said they are planning to use a three-step plan to release the rest of the Israeli hostages and have a longer break from fighting.
Qatar and Egypt, with help from the US, have been trying to make a deal between Israel and Hamas.
Israel has not been able to find 134 of the 253 people who were taken by Hamas-led gunmen during the attacks on southern Israel on 7 October. Some people who were held captive have been let go, including two men from Israel and Argentina. Unfortunately, some people did not survive the situation.
At least 1,200 people died in the attacks led by Hamas.
Israel started fighting in the Gaza Strip because of what they did. About 28,473 Palestinians have died and over 68,000 have been injured in Gaza since 7 October, according to the health ministry run by Hamas.
Over half of the 2. 3 million people in Gaza are now living in Rafah, which used to have only 250,000 people before the war between Israel and Hamas.
Many of the homeless people are living in temporary shelters or tents in dirty conditions, with little access to clean water or food.
Many countries and groups have told Israel not to start its planned attack, along with the US.
The UK Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, said that Israel should think carefully before doing anything else in Rafah.
Josep Borrell, who is in charge of the EU’s foreign policy, asked countries that support Israel to stop giving them weapons because a lot of people are being killed in Gaza.
Last week, Saudi Arabia said there would be big problems if Rafah was attacked. -
Israel-Gaza war: Mortality and Israel’s pursuit of “complete triumph”
I would prefer to write this story in the Gaza Strip instead of Jerusalem. I have been covering wars for many years, starting from El Salvador in 1989, and I believe that there is nothing better than reporting from the front lines.
I’m sorry, but in this awful war, reporters from other countries can’t do that. Israel and Egypt, who control Gaza’s borders, do not want us to report freely from there. Israel lets some people visit its army, but they have to be closely watched. I went on a trip in November, but it was only once.
Because we are unable to enter, we depend on Palestinian journalists who are unable to leave. I really look up to them for being brave and dedicated to telling the truth in their reporting.
Thankfully, in today’s world, it is not possible to completely stop a war. That’s because regular people can use their phone to take videos, and then easily put them on the internet with just a few clicks. We can also speak to them, if the communication is still working. Israel and Hamas post their own videos. We need to make sure and double check everything, especially since it’s now easier to use artificial intelligence.
Considering all the rules, this is what the war looks like in February from Jerusalem.
Humanitarian crisis
Right after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, Yoav Gallant, who is in charge of keeping Israel safe, said that they are going to block off Gaza completely. This means no electricity, no food, no water, and no gas – everything is shut down.
“We are battling people who act like animals,” he said, “and we are responding in a similar way. ”
Under pressure from Joe Biden, the US President, Israel is now letting a small amount of food, water, and medicine to go into Gaza. However, it still limits the amount of aid going into Gaza and the movement of aid convoys within the area.
Israel says that what comes in is enough. International groups that help people in other countries say that not only are innocent people in Gaza being killed and hurt, but they are also not getting enough food and medical care. The Geneva Convention says that it’s a war crime to punish innocent people for something that others did.
Since October 7th, the Americans have been asking Israel to follow the rules of war in Gaza. They want Israel to stop killing a lot of innocent Palestinian people. American officials, including President Biden, keep saying strong criticisms because they think Israel is not listening to them.
This week, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized Israel’s actions in the war. He said that even though Hamas is attacking Israel in a violent way, this does not mean that Palestinians should be treated violently in return.
“He said that Israelis were treated very badly on October 7th,” he said at a press conference in Tel Aviv. The hostages have been treated very badly every day since. But we can’t treat others badly.
“Most people in Gaza didn’t have anything to do with the attacks on October 7,” Mr. The families in Gaza need aid from Israel to survive, just like our families. They are parents and children who want to make enough money to live well, send their kids to school, and have a regular life. That’s who they are. This is what they are like. “They want that. ”
However, the US has decided not to set any requirements for its large military and diplomatic aid to Israel. It keeps giving weapons to Israel, even though it doesn’t like how they are using them.
Philippe Lazzarini, who leads the UN’s work in Gaza, said the war will have bad effects on young people in Gaza when I talked to him this week.
“He said he is very worried. ” “They are all very hurt by this terrible war that has never happened before. ” They are living in really bad conditions. If the war stops tomorrow, our most important job is to make sure these children can go to school again. If we don’t, they might become angry and hateful in the future.
Israel does not care about Mr. Lazzarini’s comments It accused UNRWA of helping Hamas. Mr Lazzarini has been working hard to protect the agency after Israel gave the Americans some information saying that about 12 UNRWA workers were involved in the attacks on October 7th.
UNRWA fired the men who were accused and is trying to make the 16 main countries that give money feel better about giving money again. Mr Lazzarini is very concerned about the accusations and wants to find and remove any Hamas supporters. However, Israel has not given him the file they sent to the US. Israel thinks UNRWA is very bad. The problem with the agency is definitely making it harder to help people.
It’s really hard for the UN and other aid groups to reach Northern Gaza. Local people are saying that there is not enough food and many kids are not healthy. This could lead to long-term health problems for the kids who make it through.
We have got more news from southern Gaza, where almost two million people are trying to survive. About 14 million people live in Rafah, close to the border with Egypt. Many people live in tents made of plastic, near dirty water.
Unlike reporters, people who help in the relief effort can come and go from Gaza. I talked to many UN officials who have a lot of experience in areas affected by war. Everyone said it’s the worst they’ve ever seen. Someone said to me, “I have never seen anything like this before. It’s very big and impressive. ”
Someone else said that Gaza was the scariest and toughest place they had ever been to.Israel is not going to be influenced by what Mr. It has accused UNRWA of helping Hamas. Mr Lazzarini has been working hard to keep the agency open after Israel gave a report to the Americans about some UNRWA staff being involved in the 7 October attacks.
UNRWA fired the men who were accused and is trying to make the 16 big donor countries feel better because they stopped giving money. Lazzarini is very concerned about the allegations and wants to find any Hamas supporters. However, Israel has not given him the information it sent to the US. Israel thinks that UNRWA is very bad inside. The problems with the agency are definitely making it harder for the aid operation to happen.
It’s really hard for the UN and other aid groups to reach Northern Gaza. People living in the ruined area have said that many of them don’t have enough food and the children are very undernourished. This could cause long-term health problems for the children who manage to survive.
In southern Gaza, nearly two million people are struggling to stay alive and we are receiving more information from there. Around 14 million people live in Rafah, close to the border with Egypt. Many people live in tents made of plastic next to places where sewage collects.
Unlike reporters, people who work for charities involved in the aid effort can enter and leave Gaza. I talked to many experienced UN officials who have worked in areas where there was fighting for many years. Everyone has said that it is the worst they have ever seen. Someone said to me, “I have never seen something this big, extensive, and deep before. ”
Another person said that Gaza was the scariest and hardest place he had ever been. This wasn’t just because of the bombing from Israel, but also because there was no law and order. He said that there are a lot of guns and angry men with clubs in Gaza. The UN was moving aid convoys early in the morning to prevent them from being robbed.
The fighting in Gaza.
People in Rafah are getting really scared about Israeli soldiers coming into their town. A person from BBC Arabic talked to Jabr al-Burdini who was digging up dead kids from a destroyed house in Rafah. He is middle-aged.
“If Israel did attacks here, many people would die. ” The children are really scared and the grown-ups are too. Watch the kids. They are unable to sleep.
MrLazzarini said that if Israel attacks Rafah, it would make things even worse in Gaza.
He said that about 100,000 people, which is 5% of the population, had been killed, injured, or gone missing in the last four months, probably dead under the rubble.
“And now most of the people are living outside in Rafah. ” If you start a military operation in this area, it will only make the tragedy worse. And we must absolutely avoid this.
Air attacks are currently killing many people in Rafah. Even though America is asking for the attacks to stop, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the army to keep attacking the town, but only after they have a plan to move Palestinian civilians out of Rafah. Because people in Gaza feel unsafe everywhere, they are not comforted. Maybe Mr Netanyahu is trying to make Mr Biden feel less upset.
Another group of people who might be interested is the International Court of Justice in The Hague. They have said that there is a possibility that Israel is committing the serious crime of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel has set a very difficult goal to achieve and it might be impossible to reach it, even after many months. It wants to get rid of Hamas, make Israel safe again, and release the people that Hamas captured on October 7th. A lot of Israeli families and their supporters don’t believe the prime minister’s argument that only using force will free the hostages held in Gaza. They want a peace agreement because they’re worried that if the war goes on for longer, they might never see their loved ones again.
Israel has caused a lot of harm to Hamas, but it has not completely stopped them from fighting. A high-rank intelligence official said that Israel has killed one-third of Hamas fighters and destroyed one-third of their secret tunnels.
MrNetanyahu wants to eliminate Hamas leaders, starting with Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to have organized and directed the attacks on October 7th. Until now, people think Mr. Sinwar and his closest followers are still alive. They might be living in tunnels protected by Israeli hostages.
The fighting in the Middle East.
In four months, the effects of the war in Gaza have traveled throughout the Middle East. Iran has a group of friends that it calls the “axis of resistance,” and they are involved in a big fight.
After three American soldiers were killed in Jordan by a group supported by Iran, the US began a series of air attacks in Syria and Iraq. The UK has also bombed the Houthis in Yemen who are attacking ships in the Red Sea. Some people in the US and Israel want the US military to attack Iran with bombs.
The Houthis and Iran’s friends say they are supporting the Palestinians in Gaza. Iran’s strongest friend is Hezbollah in Lebanon. The fighting at the border between Israel and the country is getting worse every day. Israel is feeling more and more pressure to send soldiers into southern Lebanon.The people from America are working to make a way for peace in the Middle East. Secretary of State Blinken thinks Saudi Arabia and Israel should be friends if Israel lets the Palestinians have their own country. Prime Minister Netanyahu says that the Palestinians will not become an independent nation. He says Israel will keep fighting until they win completely.
This fighting is continuing and there’s no sign of it stopping soon. The more time goes by, the more difficult it will be to manage the results of what is happening in Gaza. -
Gazans surviving on animal feed as food supply runs low
People in the remote part of Gaza say that kids there are not getting enough food because aid trucks are not allowed to come in. Some people are grinding animal feed into flour to survive, but they are running out of grains for that too.
People have also talked about digging into the ground to get to water pipes for drinking and washing.
The UN said that a lot of young children in the north are very malnourished, and it’s now higher than the 15% level that is really bad.
The UN’s group that helps plan aid efforts, Ocha, says that last month, more than half of the aid missions to the north of Gaza were not allowed to go there. They also say that Israeli forces are getting in the way of how and where aid is given.
It means that around 300,000 people in the northern areas are not getting help and are at risk of not having enough food to eat.
A person who speaks for the Israeli military agency that helps with aid in Gaza said last month that there is no lack of food in Gaza. Cogat, the agency, keeps saying it doesn’t stop sending help to Gaza.
The news talked to three people who live in Gaza City and Beit Lahia. They also saw videos and interviews made by local reporters in Jabalia.
Mahmoud Shalabi, who helps with medical care in Beit Lahia, said that people have been turning animal feed into flour, but even that is about to run out.
“He said that people can’t find it in the market. ” “You can’t find it right now in the north of Gaza and Gaza City. ”
He also mentioned that canned food is running out.
“We only had supplies for six or seven days during the truce in November, and all the help that was allowed into the north of Gaza has been used up. ” People are only eating rice right now.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said to the media this week that Israeli forces stopped four out of the last five aid convoys going to the north. This caused a two-week gap between deliveries to Gaza City.
‘High chance of not having enough food’
“We need to give a lot of food regularly to avoid a really bad hunger problem in Gaza,” Matt Hollingworth, the head of WFP in the region, said.
The UN office that helps with emergencies says that more and more aid deliveries are being blocked from getting to northern Gaza. In January, 56% of deliveries were stopped, compared to 14% in the three months before that.
The Israeli military sometimes asked for reasons why certain amounts of fuel were being sent to health facilities. They also cut down on the aid, like reducing the amount of food being given.
The news reporters asked the army of Israel for a reply. They told us to ask the army our questions because they couldn’t help us.
Duha al-Khalidi, a mother of four in Beit Lahia, said two weeks ago that she walked six miles (9. 5km) to her sister’s house in Gaza City because her children were hungry and she couldn’t find any food for them for three days.
“I don’t have any money, and even if I did, there’s nothing to buy at the town’s main market,” she said. My sister and her family are having a hard time too. She gave me the last bit of pasta she had at home.
“We think that death is going to happen,” her sister Waad said. “We lost the top floor of our house, but we’re still living here even though we’re scared it might fall down. ” For two weeks, we couldn’t find anything in the market. And if we did see some things for sale, they cost 10 times more than usual.
A study by the UN says that many people in the northern areas may not have enough food. But it’s hard to know for sure because it’s difficult to go there and check.
Families in the north are having difficulty finding water they can depend on.
“A lot of us are drinking water that is not safe to drink. ” “There are no pipes, so we have to dig for water,” said Mahmoud Salah in Beit Lahia. -
Israel-Gaza war: US declares it will not support impromptu Rafah offensive
The US told Israel that attacking Gaza’s southern city of Rafah without good planning would be very bad.
About 15 million Palestinians are living in a city next to Egypt in very difficult living conditions.
The White House said it would not support big operations without thinking about the refugees living there.
Days after Israel’s leader said that the military is getting ready to work in Rafah, these comments were made.
Many people in Rafah had to leave their homes because of fighting in other parts of Gaza, so they are now living in tents.
Israel attacked Rafah from the air on Thursday morning and Israeli tanks also started shooting.
Garda al-Kourd, a mother of two, has been forced to move six times because of the war. She thinks Israel might attack, but she is hoping for a ceasefire before it happens.
“If they come to Rafah, it will be the end for us. It feels like we are waiting to die. ” “We don’t have anywhere else to go,” she said to the BBC. She was staying with 20 other people at a relative’s house in Rafah.
Emad, who is 55 years old and has six children, is staying in Rafah after running away from his home. He told the Reuters news agency that he is most scared of a ground attack because he has nowhere else to go.
“We are standing with our backs to the fence on the border and looking towards the Mediterranean,” he said. “Where do you want to go. ”
A lot of northern and central Gaza has been destroyed by constant bombing from Israel since the war started on 7 October.
On Thursday evening, US President Joe Biden said that Israel’s actions in Gaza were too much. He did not mention Rafah.
Before, a spokesperson for the US National Security Council named John Kirby said that the Israeli military has a responsibility to protect innocent civilians when they are carrying out operations in Gaza or anywhere else.
“He said that starting a war right now would be really bad for those people, and it’s not something we would agree with,” He also said that there is no evidence to show that Israel is going to start a big war in Rafah soon. ”
Deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel agreed with Mr. Kirby, saying that the US would not support doing something like this without careful and believable planning.
The BBC asked where refugees in Rafah could go if there was an operation. Patel said these were important questions that the Israelis should answer.
In Tel Aviv, Israel, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that any military action by Israel must focus on protecting civilians. “and that’s especially true for Rafah”
The US doesn’t usually talk about what Israel will do next in Gaza, but this time they gave a clear warning.
Every year, the United States gives $3. 8 billion in military aid to Israel, making it the country that receives the most military aid in the world.
Israeli officials say about 1,300 people were killed by Hamas attacks in southern Israel on October 7th.
Israel started a war and more than 27,800 Palestinians have been killed and at least 67,000 injured in response. This information is from the Hamas-run health ministry.
“The UN leader said people are living in crowded shelters without clean water, electricity, or enough food. ”
“We strongly spoke out against the terrible actions of Hamas. ” We also strongly disapprove of breaking the rules of war in Gaza.
On Tuesday, Israel’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he told soldiers to get ready to go to Rafah and that Israel would soon have complete success over Hamas in just a few months. -
8,000 displaced individuals leave southern Gaza Red Crescent hospital and headquarters
The Red Crescent helped around 8,000 people leave their homes at the Palestine Red Crescent Society building and Al-Amal hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis on Monday.
Around 80 patients and injured people, 40 older people who had to leave their homes, and 100 staff are still there, the report said.
The Red Crescent organization said that many people who were staying at their building and the hospital have started to go away. On Friday, a group that helps people in need asked for a safe way for people to leave an area. Israeli tanks were around the area and shooting at people, and four people were killed.
For many days, people are worried about the hospital because it is being bombed and shot at a lot. The Red Crescent said their medical workers are very scared and worried. -
Children’s clothing strewn on shore as protests against Gaza War continue
A long line of old children’s clothes, stretching for 3 miles, has been placed along Bournemouth beach to show unhappiness about the war in Gaza.
Activists from the Led by Donkeys group said they were laying out more than 11,000 sets of clothes to represent children who have been killed on both sides of the conflict since 7 September.
A group of 80 people spent five hours putting the clothes in place.
Israel said it wants to keep civilians safe, but more than 11,500 children have been killed, according to Palestinian health officials.
Led By Donkeys said that the US and UK governments should work to stop the fighting right away.
“All kids are innocent, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli,” it said.
The line went from Canford Cliffs on the left all the way to almost reaching Boscombe on the right.
The person in charge, James Sadri, said that if you walked along this line, it would take an hour to pass by 5km of children who have been killed. This should make us all realize how serious the situation is.
“We want to show how many people were killed – you can’t understand it just by reading a number or hearing it on the news, you have to see it and feel it for yourself. ”
The clothes will be taken away, washed, and given to charities and thrift stores.
Rebecca Ross said the installation was “surprising” to those on the beach who saw it.
“It’s really sad – each one represents a life lost and it makes me feel sick,” she said.
Another person at the beach, Sheila Dayman, also said she was really sad and surprised.
“All of them are kids, innocent lives on Israel and Palestine’s sides. ” “I don’t talk about politics, but we just hope for peace,” she said.
Led By Donkeys started in 2018 as a group against Brexit. They have done things like painting the road in front of the Russian Embassy in London with the Ukrainian flag colors.
They also arranged a fake plan to catch the ex-health secretary Matt Hancock and ex-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng talking about how much money they would get to give advice to a fake company in March 2023. -
Blinken to advocate for cease-fire and hostages’ release
The topic of conversation is about taking a pause in the conflict in Gaza. The people involved are waiting for Hamas to give an answer to the plan.
The intelligence leaders of the US, Qatar, Israel, and Egypt all agreed on the framework.
Reports say it has at least three parts. Each would involve freeing Israeli captives in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
But Israel is not yet promising to stop fighting with Hamas. That’s a big issue because the Palestinian militant group wants the truce to bring about a lasting peace.
Importantly, if the fighting stops, more help can go to Gaza. The UN says people there might not have enough food.
If Hamas agrees to make a start on the plan, there are still a lot of things to figure out.
Israel’s security cabinet would also need to agree with it. Some members on the extreme right don’t like the terms. -
Officials from the West object to Israel’s Gaza policy
Over 800 officials in the US and Europe have signed a statement saying that their governments’ actions in the Israel-Gaza war might break international law.
The “transatlantic statement” says that their governments could be involved in a bad situation, but their advice has not been taken seriously.
This shows that some important countries that are friends with Israel are not happy with its government.
One person who signed the statement is a US government official who has worked in national security for over 25 years. They told the BBC that their concerns are still being ignored.
“The official said that the people who knew the area well were not heard. ”
The big difference here is that we are not just failing to stop something, we are actually helping it happen. “That is very different from any other situation I can remember,” said the official, who didn’t want to share their name.
Civil servants from the US, the EU, and 11 European countries, including the UK, France, and Germany, have signed the statement.
Israel has been using its military in Gaza without limits. This has led to many civilians dying. They have also stopped aid from getting in, which has put many civilians in danger of not having enough food and getting sick.
“Our governments’ actions may be breaking international laws and committing serious crimes like war and genocide,” the statement said.
The names of the people who supported the statement have not been shared with the public. The BBC hasn’t seen a list of names, but they believe that almost half of them are government officials who have been working for at least ten years.
A former US ambassador told the media that it was unusual for civil servants in different governments to work together in this way.
Robert Ford, a former American ambassador to Algeria and Syria, said that he has never seen anything like it in the last 40 years when it comes to foreign policy.
He compared it to worries in the US government in 2003 about wrong information before invading Iraq. But this time, many officials with concerns didn’t want to stay quiet.
“Some people knew that intelligence was being selectively used and that there was no plan for what would happen next, but they didn’t speak up. ” “He said it was a big problem,”
He said the problems with the Gaza war are very serious and have serious consequences, which is why they feel the need to make it public.
The leaders are saying that their government’s help for Israel could cause more Palestinians to die and put the lives of hostages and Israel’s safety at risk. They believe that the support should have some conditions and be held accountable. This could also cause problems in the region.
“Israel’s military actions are not using the important anti-terrorism knowledge they have learned since 9/11. The operation is not helping Israel to defeat Hamas and is actually making groups like Hamas and Hezbollah more popular. ”
The officials say they have talked about their worries at work, but their opinions were ignored because of politics and beliefs.
The US government, the European Union, and the UK government have been asked to share their thoughts on the matter.
The statement says that Israel’s attack on Gaza has caused a lot of damage, but there is no plan to get rid of Hamas or to find a long-term solution for Israel’s safety. The US and European governments are being asked to stop telling people that there is a good reason for the Israeli operation.
Israeli leaders always say no to that kind of criticism. The Israeli embassy in London said it had to follow international law because of the new statement.
Israel is still fighting against a terrorist group that is trying to kill a whole race of people. This group is doing very bad things in war and against innocent people.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says we need to use strong military force on Hamas to get more hostages released. The army also destroyed important places used by Hamas, like command centers, weapons areas, and places where they keep hostages.
On Saturday, the Israeli army said they killed more than 2,000 terrorists in Khan Yunis, both above and below the ground.
Israel keeps saying it doesn’t try to hurt regular people on purpose. They say that Hamas is using civilian places to hide.
Since the war began, more than 26,750 Palestinians have been killed and at least 65,000 injured, according to health officials in the Gaza Strip. Gaza has been ruled by Hamas and blocked off by Israel and Egypt since 2007.
Israeli officials say that 9,000 of the people who were killed were members of Hamas, but they have not shown proof for this claim. Israeli officials say that more than 1,200 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas attacks on October 7th, and another 100 died from their injuries. Over 250 people were captured and taken to Gaza.The US government has said many times that too many Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, and Israel has the right to make sure that something like October 7th never happens again.
It has started being more strict about some things the Israeli government is doing, like speaking out more about not stopping settlers from being violent in the West Bank. On Thursday, President Biden said the first US penalties ever against settlers who hurt Palestinians.
The Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, has tried to talk to the people in the State Department about their concerns about US policy. He told them in November that he is listening to what they have to say and it’s influencing the decisions they make and the things they say.
During the Vietnam War, the department created a way for diplomats to share their disagreements with US positions without being punished. It was called a “dissent channel. ”
In the most recent statement, the most people who signed are working in EU offices, the Netherlands and the US. Many of the people who signed are believed to work for the State Department, with others working at the White House, Homeland Security, Justice, and other government departments.
The media has said that some UK Foreign Office workers are disagreeing about how the civilian deaths in Gaza are being shown.
It is known that in the past, the staff counsellors in the Foreign Office collected internal worries. But now, people are unhappy because there is no official way to share their concerns about the Israel-Hamas war. -
Largest aid organisation in Gaza “desperate” after funding stopped
Several countries have ceased funding the largest UN organization in Gaza due to accusations against some staff members for their alleged involvement in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. This is making the crisis in Gaza worse.
Japan and Austria have decided to temporarily stop giving money to the UN agency that helps Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
The US, UK, Germany, and Italy have also stopped giving money.
UNRWA told the media that they are very desperate and that the needs for help in Gaza are getting bigger all the time.
The company fired some of its employees because they were accused of being involved in an incident on 7 October, when Hamas fighters entered Israel, killing about 1,300 people – most of whom were not military and taking about 250 others as hostages back to Gaza.
More than 26,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza since Israel started a big military operation. Hamas runs the health ministry in the territory. Another 17 million people have left their homes, and many of them are staying at UNRWA buildings for shelter.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is really upset by the accusations, but he asked donor countries to make sure that UNRWA can keep working.
On Sunday, he said that 9 out of the 12 people involved were fired by the UNRWA’s leader. One person has died and they are figuring out who the other 2 people are.
He said Gaza should not be punished. Because of the current funding, in February the agency will not have enough money to help all of the two million people in Gaza who rely on it for important assistance.
Japan’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that they are very worried about UNRWA staff members being involved in a terror attack on Israel. They have decided to stop giving money to UNRWA.
It said it had been pushing UNRWA to look into the claims quickly and thoroughly.
In 2022, Japan is the sixth highest contributor to UNRWA.
On Monday, Austria also said it wants a thorough and fast investigation into the accusations.
Juliette Touma, who is in charge of talking to people for UNRWA, told our reporters that the claims were very serious. She also said that Mr. Lazzarini did something very unusual by firing the staff members right away.
We are very, very worried. “It came at a time when the people in Gaza need help more and more,” she said. She also mentioned that she had been to Gaza herself last week.
“People are still being forced to leave their homes and move somewhere else. ” People don’t have enough food to eat. The clock is moving quickly towards a food shortage.
We are doing everything we can to prevent famine. “We don’t have enough money because the biggest donors have stopped giving for now. This will have a very big impact on the important work we are doing to help people in Gaza. ”
She said UNRWA hasn’t seen the proof, but the claims are being looked into by the UN’s oversight office in New York.
On Friday, a person who gives advice to the leader of Israel told the media that the Hamas attacks on 7 October involved “people who are getting paid by UNRWA”.
Mark Regev said there was evidence that teachers at UNRWA schools were openly celebrating the attacks that happened on October 7th. -
UNRWA: UN Gaza aid agency faces diplomatic challenges
In Gaza, a small area of land is being depleted and harmed, with only a handful of international aid organizations able to provide assistance.- They are joined by the United Nations.
The Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, or UNRWA, started in 1949. It helps Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. It takes care of 700,000 Palestinians who had to leave their homes when Israel was created.
The person in charge of the agency said that the help that two million people in Gaza depend on might stop because some Western governments are stopping their funding. They are doing this because they think some UNRWA staff were part of the attacks on Israel on 7th October.
The mission runs shelters for people who have been forced to leave their homes and gives out the aid that Israel allows. But it also does other important things. UNRWA gives Gaza important things like buildings and everyday items that it has really needed because there has been a lot of fighting, blockades, and poverty for a long time.
It runs hospitals and schools, including places where teachers are trained, and almost 300 elementary schools. It also makes the books that teach young Palestinians. In Gaza, it gives jobs to 13,000 people. As the largest UN organization working in Gaza, it has been very important in helping people in need.
And it has also become something that politicians argue about and use for their own gain over the years. Israel doesn’t like that it exists because it makes Palestinians feel like they can still return to the land they were forced to leave in 1948.
A list of the 10 countries that gave the most money to Unrwa in 2022, with the United States in first place. In that year, it gave away $343. 9 million (£270 million).
The situation of refugees is very important in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Many Palestinians have a dream of going back to the land of historic Palestine, which is now in Israel.
‘Hate and intolerance’ mean disliking and not accepting others who are different from you.
Additionally, Israeli leaders have criticized the agency’s education and books because they believe they promote anti-Israel beliefs.
In 2022, IMPACT-se, a group in Israel, said that UNRWA’s school books told students that Israel was trying to erase Palestinian culture, steal and change their history, and eliminate the cultural history of Jerusalem. They also said that the UNRWA promoted hate and intolerance and was not neutral.
The European Commission found bad and violent material in the schoolbooks that promoted hate against Jewish people. The European Parliament keeps saying that the European Union should only give money to the Palestinian Authority if they stop including harmful material. UNRWA says that reports about its school books were wrong and that most of the books mentioned were not used in its schools.
In 2018, Donald Trump’s administration, who strongly supports Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stopped giving money to UNRWA because they thought it had too many problems and couldn’t be fixed.
Now, because some Western governments have stopped giving money, the agency could be in big trouble again. This could affect the 5. 3 million Palestinian refugees who are helped by the agency. The US is the biggest donor, giving around $340 million in 2022. Germany has stopped giving money too. They have sent $162 million that year.
Israel has been saying for a long time that some parts of the UN are unfair, against Jewish people, and even worse. The government is using this chance to improve its argument and change the focus, as it is getting a lot of criticism for the war in Gaza.
Israel’s friends in the West can use this opportunity to show they support Israel, but also want its government to stop the offensive.
Even though the money has been stopped, the White House National Security Adviser John Kirby made sure to say that the actions of a few staff members should not make the whole agency look bad. He also said the agency has helped save thousands of lives in Gaza. “They do very important jobs. ”
Israel’s foreign minister said that UNRWA is linked to Hamas and should not help rebuild Gaza after the conflict. This raises the question: If the United Nations can’t help, then who will. -
Israel and Hamas have differences, despite mediators push for ceasefire agreement in Gaza
There is a lot of pressure to make a new agreement to stop the fighting and let the hostages go, so that the people in Gaza and the remaining hostages in Israel can feel better.
So far, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to help with negotiations, but with no success so far, even with US help.
Recently, there have been more reports indicating that important progress is being made in talks between representatives from Israel and Hamas.
On Wednesday, some Israeli officials said there is a big difference on important matters.
Based on what the media found out, the biggest problem seems to be the major disagreements on how to stop the war completely.
A high-ranking Palestinian official who knows about current discussions told us that Cairo has given Hamas officials a plan with five steps.
It is said that a ceasefire will begin, and during this time, Hamas will let go of the rest of the people it is keeping captive, like women, kids, and old people.
In return, some Palestinians would be released from Israeli prisons and more much-needed help would go to Gaza.
At last, there would be a long-lasting agreement to stop fighting completely.
Our source said that if the rest of the Israeli hostages are released, more Palestinian prisoners will also be let out of prison.
It seems like they want to free some important Palestinian prisoners in return for the Israeli soldiers who are being held captive.
The Palestinian leader said that Israel wanted to keep its soldiers in place until the very end of the process.
Hamas wants Israeli troops to leave and for people to go back to their homes soon.
Other news from around the world says that Hamas wants the fighting to stop completely, but Israel is only willing to agree to a temporary break that could last for a few weeks and might be extended depending on how things change.
At a meeting on Tuesday, Majed al-Ansari, who speaks for Qatar’s foreign ministry, said that they have given some ideas to both sides and are getting responses. This makes them feel hopeful.
Later, a person from the White House named John Kirby said that the US envoy to the Middle East, Brett McGurk, was in Cairo and would keep having important talks in the area about a new agreement to bring back hostages and make sure there is a break for humanitarian help.
“Mr Kirby told reporters that the conversations are very solemn and serious. ”
In late November, there was a ceasefire for a week. During this time, 105 Israeli and foreign hostages were set free. They had been kidnapped in the Hamas attacks on 7 October, which caused the war in Gaza. More than 250 people had been kidnapped in these attacks.
Israel and Hamas are upset with each other for not agreeing to continue releasing hostages every day in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. They are blaming each other for breaking the truce.
Now, there are big differences between what is said publicly and what can be talked about in negotiations.
This week, the leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, said again that only “complete victory” in Gaza is acceptable.
Many people think it’s not realistic to completely destroy Hamas, the group that has been in charge of the area for 15 years.
Israel and its Western allies don’t want to give in on the idea that Hamas leaders need to be taken out of power in Gaza. They want to make sure there are no more attacks like the one three months ago that killed over 1,300 people.
This week, there were reports in the news that Israel might be willing to let important Hamas leaders in Gaza move to other countries as part of a deal to stop fighting and free hostages. However, these reports have not been confirmed. Hamas said it didn’t agree to that idea.Over 25,000 people have been killed in Gaza, and there’s a big problem with people’s health. Many countries are asking Israel to stop fighting, and it’s getting harder for them to ignore.
At the same time, loud protests and gatherings by the families of Israeli hostages are making sure that their request to bring their loved ones back home is a top priority in the country’s politics. They have a lot of people feeling sorry for them.
The recent news from Israel saying that talks with Hamas about exchanging hostages are not making progress will make a lot of people worried.
Unidentified diplomats spoke to Israeli media and said that reports of good news are not true. They say Hamas didn’t agree to make a compromise.
With people trying to help, the best thing is that Israel and Hamas have not said they will stop talking yet. -
Kerem Shalom crossing: Israeli demonstrators block Gaza relief vehicles
Many Israeli protesters are stopping aid trucks from going into Gaza for three days.
Protesters, including the families of people still held captive in Gaza, held Israeli flags at a key crossing and shouted against “helping the enemy”.
The people protesting want to stop sending any help to Gaza until all the hostages are freed.
Despite the US asking for aid to be allowed into Gaza without being stopped, it is still not happening.
For the third day in a row, the demonstrators went to the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza to try to stop aid from getting into Gaza. A line of trucks with aid supplies, some with Egyptian flags, waited for a long time at the crossing. The protesters wanted the government to stop sending aid until Hamas releases the rest of the captives.
The UN office that helps with emergencies (OCHA) said that on Wednesday, the first day of the protests, only nine trucks could go through at Kerem Shalom. They sent 114 trucks to the Rafah crossing in Egypt instead.
The UN said that only 153 trucks went into Gaza on Wednesday, which was much less than usual.
The government of Israel is being asked by many countries to let more help into Gaza. They are also feeling pressure from people in their own country to bring the hostages back home.
The protestors think it’s wrong to send aid to Gaza while their loved ones are still being kept by Hamas. They believe it’s not morally right.
They are worried that the help might go to the group.
Israeli news says that some of the people protesting have family members who are being held hostage, some are parents of soldiers in Gaza, and others are right-wing activists who want Jewish settlements to be brought back to Gaza.
There was a protest and some people said that officials from Israel and America will have important talks about hostages in Europe soon. They will talk with mediators from Qatar and Egypt.
The CIA director, William Burns, and the Mossad chief, David Barnea, are going to meet with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, to talk about getting more than 100 Israeli hostages released and stopping the fighting in Gaza for a while.
The White House said the discussions were serious and involved important people who helped make a deal in November.
However, Hamas still wants a complete stop to fighting and for Israeli soldiers to leave Gaza.
A leader from Palestine said to the BBC that people who are helping to make peace have suggested letting Israeli hostages go little by little in exchange for a truce that can be continued, letting Palestinian prisoners go, and giving more help.
There is still a lot of fighting in Gaza. Israeli planes bombed many Hamas targets around Khan Younis during the night.
The health ministry run by Hamas says that Israeli attacks in the last day have killed 183 people and hurt almost 400 others.
Israel started a military attack to destroy Hamas because Hamas killed 1,300 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 others as hostages in an attack on southern Israel on 7 October last year.
Since then, more than 26,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza according to health officials.