Food arrives in Gaza after Israel pauses some fighting
"For the first time, I received about five kilos of flour, which I shared with my neighbour," said 37-year-old Jamil Safadi, who shelters with his wife, six children and a sick father in a tent near the Al-Quds hospital in Tel al-Hawa.
Safadi, who has been up before dawn for two weeks searching for food, said Monday was his first success. Other Gazans were less fortunate; some complained aid trucks had been stolen or that guards had fired at them near US-backed aid centres.
"I saw injured and dead people. People have no choice but to try daily to get flour. What entered from Egypt was very limited," said 33-year-old Amir al-Rash, still without food and living in a tent.
Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza on March 2 after talks to extend a six-week ceasefire broke down. Nothing was allowed into the territory until late May, when a trickle of aid resumed.
Now, the Israeli defence ministry's civil affairs agency says the UN and aid agencies had been able to pick up 120 truckloads of aid on Sunday and distribute it inside Gaza, with more on the way Monday.
Basic supplies
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have begun air-dropping aid packages by parachute over Gaza, while Egypt has sent trucks through its Rafah border crossing to an Israeli post just inside Gaza.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, cautiously welcomed Israel's "humanitarian pauses" but warned Gaza needed at least 500 to 600 trucks of basic food, medicine and hygiene supplies daily.
"We hope that UNRWA will finally be allowed to bring in thousands of trucks loaded with food, medicine and hygiene supplies. They are currently in Jordan and Egypt waiting for the green light," the agency said.
"Opening all the crossings and flooding Gaza with assistance is the only way to avert further deepening of starvation among the people of Gaza."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly denied Israel was deliberately starving civilians as part of its intense 21-month-old war to crush the Palestinian group Hamas.
Military spokesmen say the UN and aid agencies should quickly make use of the lull in fighting and secure aid routes, urging them to pick up and distribute aid delivered to Gaza border crossings.
"An additional 180 trucks entered Gaza and are now awaiting collection and distribution, along with hundreds of others still queued for UN pickup," said COGAT, a defence ministry body that oversees Palestinian affairs.
"More consistent collection and distribution by UN agencies and international organisations equals more aid reaching those who need it most in Gaza."
UNRWA insisted it was ready to step up distribution, with 10,000 staff inside Gaza, waiting for deliveries.
"According to our latest data one in every five children is malnourished in Gaza City. More children have reportedly died of hunger; bringing the death toll of starving people to over 100," the statement said.
Over the weekend aid trucks began arriving from Egypt and Jordan and dropping their loads at distribution platforms just inside Gaza, ready to be picked up by agencies working inside the war-shattered territory.
But their number still falls far short of what is needed, aid agencies warn, calling for a permanent ceasefire, the reopening of more border crossings and a long-term large-scale humanitarian operation.
Field hospital C-section
Truce talks between Israel and Hamas -- mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States -- have stumbled, and Netanyahu remains determined to push on with the campaign to destroy Hamas and recover Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said they included five people killed in an overnight strike on a residential building in the southern Gaza district of Al-Mawasi.
A pregnant woman was among the dead, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, which said its teams saved the woman's foetus by performing a Caesarean section in a field hospital.
The violence in Gaza came against the backdrop of a UN conference in New York where France and Saudi Arabia will lead a diplomatic effort to revive the moribund push for a two-state peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.
© 2025 AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
'Enough was enough': Why France is now taking a stand on Palestinian statehood
France and Saudi Arabia are co-chairing a high-level summit at the United Nations this week in a bid to generate momentum for international recognition of a Palestinian state. More than 100 countries are attending the three-day meeting in New York, from July 28-30. Israel, which opposes the two-state solution, is boycotting the summit, which has also been described by the United States as "counterproductive". The talks follow an announcement made by French President Emmanuel Macron last Thursday that France will formally recognise the state of Palestine in September, during the United Nations General Assembly. The meeting was postponed from late June and downgraded from a four-day meeting of world leaders amid surging tensions in the Middle East, including the 12-day Israel-Iran war, and the war in Gaza. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Monday that 'this must be a turning point and a transformational juncture for the implementation of the two-state solution". "We must work on the ways and means to go from the end of the war in Gaza to the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," he told delegates. In 1947, the United Nations approved a resolution to partition Palestine – then under British mandate – into separate Jewish and Arab states. Israel was declared the following year. For decades, most UN member states have long supported the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. But after more than 21 months of war in Gaza, the rapid expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and public statements by Israeli leaders rejecting Palestinian sovereignty, fears have grown that a viable Palestinian state may be slipping out of reach. Barrot warned it would be an "illusion to think that you can get to a lasting ceasefire without having an outline of what's going to happen in Gaza after the end of the war and having a political horizon". 06:24 A diplomatic U-turn The move marks a significant shift for France, whose policy has walked a diplomatic tightrope since the October 2023 Hamas-led attacks in Israel. At the time, Macron travelled to Israel and pledged 'unconditional' support for the country, even calling for an international coalition to eradicate Hamas – a stance that surprised even Israeli officials. Last November, France refused to act on the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, both accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. (A similar warrant was issued for Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas's armed wing, whom Israel claims to have killed on July 13, 2024.) The shift began during Macron's return from Egypt in early April. Speaking aboard the presidential plane, Macron announced that France would recognise the state of Palestine 'in the coming months'. At the time, the French presidency and the foreign ministry outlined conditions for recognition, including the demilitarisation of Hamas, the release of Israeli hostages and the reform of the Palestinian Authority. From precondition to demand Critics have pointed out that none of these conditions have been fully met. Despite being significantly weakened by Israel's military campaign, Hamas still controls Gaza and holds 49 hostages, 27 of whom the Israeli army has declared dead. Now, Macron continues to call for the "demilitarisation" of Hamas but no longer makes it a prerequisite for recognition, according to Adel Bakawan, an associate researcher at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI). Jean-Paul Chagnollaud, honorary president of the Institute for Research and Studies on the Mediterranean and the Middle East (iReMMO), said France had "boxed itself in" by making demands it had "no ability to enforce". Still, the disarmament of Hamas remains central to the discussion, he added. In a letter to Macron in early June, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas pledged that any future Palestinian government would exclude Hamas. But France's diplomatic balancing act is playing out amid heightened global tensions since the Hamas attacks of October 7. A growing number of countries from the Global South have voiced frustration at what they see as double standards from Western powers: harsh condemnation of Russia's war in Ukraine and silence over Israel's actions in Gaza. Starving Gaza, shifting lines In 2024, three Western European countries – Norway, Spain and Ireland – officially recognised the Palestinian state, joining dozens of others across the continent. Today, more than 140 of the UN's 193 member states recognise Palestinian statehood. According to Bakawan, Macron's pivot represents a "reassessment" of French diplomacy in light of its recent shortcomings. Paris is now trying to align itself more clearly with the "Global South". The humanitarian crisis in Gaza – and in particular, the growing threat of famine – appears to have been a turning point for Paris. In late July, images of starving children circulated widely on social media and in global media outlets. Amnesty International on Saturday accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war, which the NGO said constitutes a war crime. Amnesty called on France to 'move from words to action'. That tipping point extended beyond humanitarian circles. Even US President Donald Trump — a staunch ally of Israel — said on Monday he saw signs of "real famine" in Gaza. For France, that may have marked a breaking point. "It created a sense that enough was enough," Chagnollaud said. According to Gaza's health ministry, more than 60,000 people have been killed in the territory since October 2023. Macron's gamble Still, France's decision also appears driven by strategic calculations. According to Bakawan, the war in Gaza remains locked in a stalemate between three actors – Israel, Hamas and the United States – none of whom, he said, are currently seeking an end to the conflict. Trump, who has positioned himself as a would-be mediator, has floated a plan to relocate Gaza's population to third countries. In this context, Macron saw an opening to 'offer another perspective, a political way forward', Bakawan added. If Paris follows through in September, it would become the first G7 country to officially recognise the state of Palestine. Whether such a diplomatic gesture can help bring peace to the Middle East remains to be seen. 'It's an important step,' said Chagnollaud. 'When a major power like France says the only path to a just and lasting peace is through international law, that carries weight.'
LeMonde
3 hours ago
- LeMonde
France strives to revive the two-state solution at UN conference
As Jean-Noël Barrot walked up to the podium at the United Nations headquarters on Monday, July 28, he hoped that his speech would make history, placing France at the forefront of global diplomacy by laying out a path to peace between Israel and Palestine. Yet the foreign minister's words could also just vanish into thin air, fueling well-intentioned – yet ultimately futile – rhetoric that had already been heard at the UN countless times. The French Foreign Affairs Ministry has, therefore, been working to turn his words into action. Barrot had been tasked with confirming the promise President Emmanuel Macron had made four days earlier, his pledge to recognize the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September. In his speech, Barrot reiterated how this position, which has been criticized by Israel and its ally, the United States, is clearly in line with France's longstanding political philosophy. From Charles de Gaulle to Jacques Chirac, French presidents have always been mindful of the "right of peoples to self-determination." This principle led France to recognize Israel in 1949, and it now compels it to recognize the State of Palestine, the foreign minister said at a conference on the two-state solution co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia. "Nothing is more precious to man than the dignity of standing free and upright on the land where their roots run deep. Because, to deprive them of this right inevitably leads to resentment, violence and war," Barrot said, speaking before an audience of over 100 representatives of UN member states.
Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
Exclusive: Cross-party MEPs call for EU sanctions on Israel over Gaza
A group of 40 cross-party MEPs are pressing on the European Union to suspend its trade deal with Israel and impose sanctions on the Netanyahu-led government, as an UN-backed body warns of signs of famine and widespread starvation in the Gaza Strip. In a joint statement seen exclusively by Euronews, the lawmakers call on the EU to hold the Israeli government accountable for actions that 'blatantly breach the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law.' The statement also urges Hamas to immediately release Israeli hostages still held captive in Gaza after they were kidnapped from Israel during October 7 2023 attacks. 'Future generations will judge today's leaders on their response, or lack thereof, to the atrocities in Gaza. Failing to act now will be remembered as a moral stain on humanity,' the statement reads. 'The time for moral cowardice is over, and action must be swift.' The coalition of MEPs explicitly call for sanctions on the Israeli government, a move the EU has so far avoided despite allies including the United Kingdom and Norway moving to sanction two Israeli ministers considered extremist, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. On Tuesday, the Netherlands imposed travel bans on both ministers in response to the deepening crisis in Gaza. The 40 signatories also press on the Commission to suspend the EU's Association Agreement with Israel, which defines the trading and political relations between both sides, and which has often been touted as the best tool at the EU's disposal to pressure Israel into improving a spiralling humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. A previous review by the EU's diplomatic arm found indications Israel had breached the human rights obligations enshrined in its Association Agreement with the bloc, but the process failed to trigger any concrete reprisals beyond a discussion between the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas and her Israeli counterpart, foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar. Those talks resulted in an 'agreement' by Israel to scale up the humanitarian assistance reaching Gaza. But concerns about the humanitarian situation on-the-ground have mounted since. On Monday, the European Commission tabled the partial suspension of Israel's access to the EU's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme in response to its actions in Gaza. But the signatories of the statement call for a much more stringent response, warning "mere words of condemnation are inadequate." They represent 14 of the EU's 27 countries and six different political groups, from The Left to the centre-right European People's Party (EPP). Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has exposed deep political and national fault-lines in the European Union. But the deepening humanitarian crisis is prompting lawmakers from ideologically opposed groups to join forces in calling for more decisive EU action. 'MEPs from across the spectrum of pro-European, pro-democratic parties have united behind this statement,' MEP Evin Incir, who sits on the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group, told Euronews, adding that more signatories were expected to support the statement in the coming hours. 'Our concerns are directed at both the European Commission and EU member states, who all need to be more decisive in their response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis,' she added. The statement comes as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global watchdog monitoring hunger with the backing of governments and the UN, said there is 'mounting evidence' that 'widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths' in the besieged territory. Israeli government officials have either denied that there is famine in Gaza or deflected the blame. There have been multiple reports of armed gangs looting aid deliveries and selling the contents on the black market, which could be exacerbating the crisis.
