M'sia urges Palestine recognition, full UN membership
Malaysia's permanent representative to the UN, Ahmad Faisal Muhamad, said this at the UN High-Level Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine on Wednesday.
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The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
US promises Gaza food plan after envoy visit
GAZA CITY, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: President Donald Trump's special envoy promised a plan to deliver more food to Gaza after inspecting a US-backed distribution centre on Friday, as the United Nations said Israeli forces had killed hundreds of hungry Palestinians waiting for aid over the past two months. The visit by US envoy Steve Witkoff came as a report from global advocacy group Human Rights Watch accused Israeli forces of presiding over 'regular bloodbaths' close to aid points run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The UN human rights office in the Palestinian territories said at least 1,373 Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza had been killed since May 27 -- 105 of them in the last two days of July. 'Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli military,' the UN office said, breaking down the death toll into 859 killed near GHF sites and 514 along routes used by UN and aid agency convoys. Witkoff said he had spent more than five hours inside Gaza, in an online post accompanied by a photograph of himself wearing a protective vest and meeting staff at a GHF distribution centre. The visit intended to give Trump 'a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza,' Witkoff said. Trump echoed this in a phone call with US news site Axios touting a plan to 'get people fed'. 'We want to help people. We want to help them live. We want to get people fed. It is something that should have happened long time ago,' Trump said according to Axios. 'Gunning them down' The US president did not say whether his plan would involve reinforcing GHF or a whole new mechanism, the report said. The GHF largely sidelined the longstanding UN-led aid distribution system in Gaza just as Israel in late May began easing a more than two-month aid blockade that exacerbated existing shortages. The foundation said it had delivered its 100-millionth meal in Gaza during the visit by Witkoff and US ambassador Mike Huckabee. Gaza's civil defence agency said 22 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and air strikes on Friday, including eight who were waiting to collect food aid. In its report on the GHF centres, Human Rights Watch accused the Israeli military of using starvation as a weapon of war. 'Israeli forces are not only deliberately starving Palestinian civilians, but they are now gunning them down almost every day as they desperately seek food for their families,' said HRW's associate crisis and conflict director, Belkis Wille. 'US-backed Israeli forces and private contractors have put in place a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.' The Israeli military said in response that the GHF worked independently, but that troops operated near aid sites 'to enable the orderly delivery of food' while trying to 'minimise... any friction between the civilian population' and its forces. The military accused Hamas of trying to prevent food distribution, and said it was conducting a review of reported deaths. Witkoff on Thursday held talks with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to destroy Hamas and rescue hostages seized in the Palestinian group's October 2023 attack that triggered the war. But Netanyahu is under mounting international pressure to end the bloodshed that has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry, and threatened many more with famine. Hostage video Following his discussions with Witkoff, Netanyahu met Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who warned that 'the humanitarian disaster in Gaza is beyond imagination.' Wadephul urged Israel 'to provide humanitarian and medical aid to prevent mass starvation from becoming a reality'. In an investigative report published on Friday, British public broadcaster the BBC said it had gathered accounts from witnesses, medics and other sources of more than 160 children shot in the war, including 95 hit in the head or chest, some by Israeli forces. Responding in a statement to AFP, the Israeli military said any 'intentional harm to civilians, and especially to children, is strictly prohibited' by international law and the army's orders. Hamas's 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures. The retaliatory Israeli offensive has killed at least 60,249 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP cannot independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence and other parties. Of the 251 people taken hostage during the Hamas attack on southern Israel, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 declared dead by the Israeli military. After Witkoff's Gaza visit, the armed wing of Hamas released a short online video showing 24-year-old Israeli hostage Evyatar David, looking emaciated and weak in a narrow concrete tunnel. - AFP
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
US tariff cut signals global trust in Malaysia, says Nga
PETALING JAYA: The United States' decision to reduce tariffs on Malaysian exports to 19% reflects international confidence in Putrajaya's economic governance and diplomatic efforts, says Nga Kor Ming (pic). The Housing and Local Government Minister described the revised tariff rate as a testament to Malaysia's credibility as a reliable economic partner and its effective diplomatic engagement. 'We are grateful for this positive development. It sends a strong signal of trust in Malaysia's economic governance, policy reforms and commitment to fair and rules-based trade. 'The 19% rate achieved without compromising our national sovereignty underscores Malaysia's maturity in international negotiations,' he said in a statement yesterday. Nga, who is president of the UN-Habitat Assembly – which sets policy direction on Sustainable Urban Development and Human Settlements, credited the sustained bilateral negotiations led by the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry under the guidance of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. He said progressive trade developments would have a positive impact across sectors, particularly construction and manufacturing. Nga said Malaysia's export of furniture, lighting signs and prefabricated building materials to the United States was valued at US$1.55bil (about RM7bil) in 2024. 'Lower tariffs can enable greater access to quality construction material and technologies at competitive prices, supporting our goal to build smarter, greener and more liveable homes and cities,' he said. Nga also welcomed the planned visit of US President Donald Trump to Kuala Lumpur in October for the 47th Asean Summit, as announced by Anwar on Thursday.
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Some Gazans given cash for food, but find few supplies to buy: UN
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Relief workers have handed cash to more than 10,000 hungry families in Gaza, who find little food on the market to spend on, UN humanitarians said on Friday. "Market prices remain highly volatile and out of reach for many," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. OCHA said that nearly a week after the Israelis allowed the scale-up of aid and the safe passage for relief convoys, the assistance that has entered Gaza remains insufficient. Convoys continue to face obstacles and danger along the routes mapped out by the Israeli authorities. The office said the months-long deprivation of most life-sustaining basics has led to a deepening of the crisis, and large numbers of people reportedly continue to be killed and injured searching for food. More than 100 people were killed in the past two days along food convoy routes or near Israeli militarized distribution hubs. UN Children's Fund Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban, who just returned from Israel and Gaza, described some of the mission to reporters at the UN headquarters in New York. "We called for more humanitarian aid and commercial traffic to come in, moving closer toward 500 trucks a day, to stabilize the situation and reduce the desperation of the population ... We need to flood the strip with supplies using all channels and all gates," he said. OCHA said fuel remains in short supply, although limited quantities have been allowed to enter Gaza in recent days. "The United Nations and our partners need hundreds of thousands of liters of fuel every day to power critical facilities, including health, water and sanitation, as well as emergency telecommunication services," the office said. OCHA said that while fewer humanitarian movements are denied outright, approved missions still take hours to complete because they are being forced to halt at various points along the approved routes.
