logo
Greece joins EU in Gaza food aid air-drops amid humanitarian crisis

Greece joins EU in Gaza food aid air-drops amid humanitarian crisis

The Sun3 days ago
ATHENS: Greece has participated in an EU-coordinated effort to deliver food aid to Gaza via air-drops.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis confirmed the operation on Facebook.
'Two aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force dropped 8.5 tonnes of essential food supplies in areas of Gaza,' he said.
The initiative involved collaboration with EU and Middle Eastern nations to address urgent humanitarian needs.
Mitsotakis emphasised Greece's commitment to ending hostilities and ensuring aid reaches Gaza.
'Greece will continue to undertake initiatives for the immediate cessation of hostilities,' he stated.
Western nations like Britain, France, and Spain have also conducted similar aid missions.
UN official Philippe Lazzarini warned that airdrops alone cannot prevent famine in Gaza.
The UN estimates 600 aid trucks daily are required to meet basic needs in the enclave.
The humanitarian crisis has deepened after 21 months of conflict following Hamas' 2023 attack on Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing calls for a ceasefire to avert famine.
Recent Israeli military plans to seize Gaza City have drawn international condemnation. - AFP
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Israel military approves plan for new Gaza offensive
Israel military approves plan for new Gaza offensive

New Straits Times

time2 hours ago

  • New Straits Times

Israel military approves plan for new Gaza offensive

TEL AVIV: The Israeli military said Wednesday it had approved the "framework" for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, days after the security cabinet called for the seizure of Gaza City. Armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir "approved the main framework for the IDF's operational plan in the Gaza Strip," a statement released by the army said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has not provided a precise timetable for when Israeli troops will enter the territory's largest city, where thousands have taken refuge after fleeing previous offensives. Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes on Gaza City have intensified in recent days, with the residential neighbourhoods of Zeitoun and Sabra hit "with very heavy air strikes targeting civilian homes, possibly including high-rise buildings." News of the military's approval of the plan comes hours after Hamas said a senior delegation had arrived in Cairo for "preliminary talks" with Egyptian officials on a temporary truce. The Netanyahu government's plans to expand the Gaza war after more than 22 months of fighting have sparked an international outcry as well as domestic opposition. UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in. Hamas's October 2023 attack which triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,599 Palestinians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.

Myanmar military chief calls for heightened security ahead of election
Myanmar military chief calls for heightened security ahead of election

The Star

time2 hours ago

  • The Star

Myanmar military chief calls for heightened security ahead of election

FILE PHOTO: Myanmar's military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin Wall in central Moscow, Russia, March 4, 2025. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo (Reuters) -Myanmar's military chief has called for increased security for political party members and candidates as a newly formed interim government proceeds with a planned election in December and January that has been dismissed in the West as a sham. Min Aung Hlaing, who is also the war-torn country's acting president, asked authorities to take measures for protecting politicians and voters, while warning of a rise in attacks on civil servants in the run up to the polls, the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported on Wednesday. "The Senior General highlighted that the election must be held without fail," the state-run publication said, referring to comments made by Min Aung Hlaing at the first meeting of a new commission formed to hold the polls. With opposition groups either barred from running or refusing to take part, the planned election has been dismissed by Western governments as a move to entrench the generals' power and is expected to be dominated by proxies of the military. Military-backed authorities last year held a nationwide census in an effort to create voter rolls but were only to able to conduct on-ground surveys in 145 out of Myanmar's 330 townships. Myanmar's military this month nominally transferred power to a civilian-led interim administration to conduct the election, four years after Min Aung Hlaing led a coup that unseated an the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The takeover triggered widespread protests and eventually sparked a civil war, where an array of established ethnic armies and newly-formed armed groups are battling the well-armed military on multiple frontlines. In Tuesday's meeting in the capital Naypyitaw, officials reviewed military operations in preparation of the polls and reinforcing security through the formation of "people's security" groups, the newspaper said. A military-led council last month also introduced new electoral laws aimed at improving security, containing punishments ranging from a minimum of three years in prison to the death penalty. (Reporting by Reuters Staff; Editing by Martin Petty)

Estonia expels Russian diplomat over sanctions violations
Estonia expels Russian diplomat over sanctions violations

The Star

time2 hours ago

  • The Star

Estonia expels Russian diplomat over sanctions violations

FILE PHOTO: A view of the Russia's Embassy in Tallinn, Estonia March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Janis Laizans/File Photo STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Estonia is expelling a Russian diplomat over sanctions violations and other crimes against the state, the Baltic country's foreign ministry said on Wednesday, prompting Moscow to say it would retaliate. The first secretary of the Russian embassy in Tallinn has been declared 'persona non grata' and must leave Estonia, the ministry said, without naming the diplomat. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexei Fadeev said the expulsion was a hostile act and that Moscow would respond. Diplomatic relations between Moscow and Estonia, a NATO and European Union member state, have deteriorated sharply following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. "The Russian embassy's ongoing interference in the internal affairs of the Republic of Estonia must end," Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in a statement. An Estonian citizen has been convicted of crimes in connection with the case, the ministry said, without elaborating. It also gave no details on what sanctions had been violated. Western countries have imposed a large array of economic sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. (Reporting by Anna RingstromEditing by Terje Solsvik and Gareth Jones)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store