Some bread and baby food reach Gazans as blockade eases, Palestinians call for more
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
Israel said it allowed 100 trucks also carrying baby food and medical equipment into the enclave on Wednesday, two days after announcing its first relaxation of the restrictions under mounting international pressure.
Israel imposed the blockade on all supplies in March, saying Hamas was seizing deliveries for its fighters – a charge the group denies. The UN said a quarter of Gaza's 2.3 million people were at risk of famine.
'Some bakeries will begin receiving flour to produce bread, and we expect the distribution of bread to begin later today,' Amjad al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network in Gaza, told Reuters.
He said just 90 trucks had got through. 'During the ceasefire, 600 trucks used to enter every day, which means that the current quantity is a drop in the ocean, nothing,' he said.
Bakeries backed the U.N.'s World Food Programme would produce the bread and the agency's staff would hand it out – a more controlled system than previously when bakers sold it directly to the public at a low cost, he added.
'The idea is to try and reach the most needy families, those who are desperate, as it is just the start,' Shawa said.
ATTACKS REPORTED
As the first aid arrived since the blockade, Israeli military strikes on Gaza killed at least 35 Palestinians across the enclave on Thursday, local health authorities said.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reports. It has repeatedly said it seeks to avoid civilian casualties and targets militants.
In Beit Lahiya on the northern edge of the enclave, a tank shell hit a medicine warehouse inside Al-Awda Hospital and set it ablaze, the health ministry said. Rescue workers had been trying to extinguish the fires for hours, it added.
Tanks are stationed outside the hospital, medics say, effectively blocking access to the facility.
The Gaza healthcare system has been barely functioning, with most of the medical facilities out of order, because of repeated Israeli military strikes, raids and the ban on the entry of medical supplies.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday Israel would be open to a temporary ceasefire to enable the return of hostages taken by Hamas-led fighters. But if they were not returned, he said it would press ahead with a military campaign to gain total control of Gaza.
'Netanyahu continues to stall and insist on pursuing the war. There is no value to any agreement that doesn't stop the massacres in Gaza permanently,' senior Hamas official Sami Ab Zuhri said in response to Netanyahu's comments.
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which killed some 1,200 people by Israeli tallies and saw 251 hostages abducted into Gaza.
The campaign has since killed more than 53,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the coastal strip, where aid groups say signs of severe malnutrition are widespread.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald
2 days ago
- The Herald
US group distributing aid in Gaza reopens sites after deadly shootings
A US- and Israeli-backed organisation distributing aid in Gaza reopened two sites on Thursday, a day after halting work in response to deadly shootings close to its operations. The US-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said 26 truckloads of desperately needed food were handed out at two sites in southern Gaza's Rafah area. The GHF, which has been fiercely criticised by humanitarian organisations, including the UN, for alleged lack of neutrality, began distributing aid last week and had been running three sites earlier this week. GHF's interim director John Acree said the group was looking to open more sites, including in north Gaza, and 'ensure safe and more efficient delivery of lifesaving aid'. The UN has warned most of Gaza's 2.3-million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave, with the rate of young children suffering from acute malnutrition nearly tripling. 'The failure to provide urgent therapeutic feeding and health services for children places thousands of lives at immediate risk, and could result in unnecessary and continued loss of life,' UN aid chief Tom Fletcher told the Security Council in a note, seen by Reuters. Meanwhile, Israel announced it had recovered the bodies of two dual-nationality Israeli-American hostages from Gaza. Gadi Hagi and his wife Judy Weinstein-Hagi were killed and taken to Gaza after Hamas' October 7 2023 attack that triggered the war. T total of 56 hostages remain in captivity, with fewer than half believed to be alive. The Israeli military has intensified operations in Gaza since breaking a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in March, taking more territory with the government pushing to wipe out the Islamist militant group. At least 20 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza on Thursday, including four journalists in a hospital in the enclave's north, local health authorities said. The military said it had targeted an Islamic Jihad militant who was operating a command-and-control centre. The Hamas-run government media office said 225 journalists in Gaza have been killed since the war began. The renewed military campaign has further isolated Israel amid mounting international pressure. On Wednesday, a US veto blocked a UN Security Council draft resolution, backed by the 14 other members, demanding an 'immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire' and full, unrestricted aid access to Gaza. Under global pressure, Israel allowed limited UN-led aid deliveries to resume on May 19. A week later, the relatively unknown GHF started a new aid distribution system that bypasses traditional relief agencies.
Eyewitness News
2 days ago
- Eyewitness News
Hamas says ready for 'serious' Gaza truce talks, as rescuers say 37 killed
GAZA CITY - Hamas's lead negotiator said the group was ready to enter a new round of talks aimed at sealing a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, where rescuers said Israeli strikes killed at least 37 people on Thursday. Negotiator Khalil al-Hayya made the declaration in a speech marking the start of Eid al-Adha festivities, typically a joyous date on the Muslim calendar, but one many Gazans say they will not be able to celebrate this year amid crushing shortages. "We reaffirm that we are ready for a new, serious round of negotiations aimed at reaching a permanent ceasefire agreement," Hayya said, adding the group was in contact with mediators. Talks aimed at brokering a new ceasefire have failed to yield a breakthrough since the last brief truce fell apart in March with the resumption of Israeli operations in Gaza. Israel and Hamas appeared close to an agreement late last month, but a deal proved elusive, with each side accusing the other of scuppering a US-backed proposal. STEPPED-UP GAZA CAMPAIGN The Israeli military has recently stepped up its campaign in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war. Gaza civil defence official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said that "37 people have been martyred in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip" as of Thursday afternoon, reporting attacks up and down the length of the territory. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. International calls for a negotiated ceasefire have grown in recent weeks, particularly as the humanitarian situation in the devastated Palestinian territory has worsened. The World Health Organization warned Thursday that Gaza's "health system is collapsing", pointing to the risks faced by the Nasser and Al-Amal medical facilities - the "last two functioning public hospitals in Khan Yunis", where many displaced Gazans are sheltering. "What is happening in Gaza is not a war. It's a genocide being carried out by a highly prepared army against women and children," said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has previously used the legal term to describe the conflict. French President Emmanuel Macron, who has declined to use the term himself, vowed at a joint appearance with Lula to "ramp up pressure in coordination with the Americans to obtain a ceasefire". France is due later this month to co-host with Saudi Arabia a United Nations conference in New York on a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday warned Israel of "further concrete actions" over its Gaza offensive and restrictions on aid. 'REJOICE OVER FLOUR' Israel has faced mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza, after it imposed a more than two-month blockade that led to widespread shortages of food and other essentials. On a normal Eid al-Adha, Gazans would be preparing for large family gatherings, traditionally centred around the sacrifice and eating of a sheep. But this year, "one kilo of meat has become a dream", said Mohammed Othman, 36. "We just hope to find bread to feed our children on the day of Eid, and they will rejoice over flour as if it were meat." Israel recently eased its aid blockade and has worked with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to implement a new distribution mechanism via a handful of centres in south and central Gaza. But since its inception, GHF has been a magnet for criticism from the UN and other members of the aid world - which only intensified following a recent string of deadly incidents near its facilities. The United Nations and other aid groups have declined to work with GHF, citing concerns it serves Israeli military goals. GHF shut down its distribution centres on Wednesday for what it called "reorganisation" to improve its work but said it had reopened two of them on Thursday. The group said it had distributed more than 8.4 million meals' worth of food since opening a little over a week ago. Gaza rescuers and eyewitnesses implicated Israeli troops in instances of deadly gunfire near a GHF centre in Rafah. Israel's military has maintained it does not prevent Gazans from collecting aid, but army spokesperson Effie Defrin said after one such incident on Tuesday that soldiers had fired towards suspects who "were approaching in a way that endangered" the troops. He added that the incident was under investigation. HOSTAGE BODIES RECOVERED During their October 2023 attack, militants abducted 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the remains of two Israeli-Americans killed on 7 October - Judy Weinstein Haggai and Gad Haggai - had been recovered in "a special operation" in Gaza and returned to Israel. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said their return was "a stark reminder of the enduring cruelty" faced by the families of hostages still in Gaza. Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 4,402 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, taking the war's overall toll to 54,677, mostly civilians.
eNCA
3 days ago
- eNCA
US-backed group suspends Gaza aid operations
A US and Israeli-backed group operating aid sites in the Gaza Strip announced the temporary closure of the facilities on Wednesday, with the Israeli army warning that roads leading to distribution centres were "considered combat zones". The announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) follows a string of deadly incidents near the distribution sites it operates that have sparked condemnation from the United Nations. Israeli bombardment on Wednesday killed at least 16 people in the Gaza Strip, including 12 in a single strike on a tent housing displaced people, the Palestinian territory's civil defence agency told AFP. On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a GHF aid site, with the military saying the incident was under investigation. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the deaths of people seeking food aid as "unacceptable", and the world body's rights chief condemned attacks on civilians as "a war crime" following a similar incident near the same site on Sunday. Israel recently eased its blockade of Gaza, but the UN says the territory's entire population remains at risk of famine. - UN vote - AFP | - The GHF said its "distribution centres will be closed for renovation, reorganisation and efficiency improvement work" on Wednesday and would resume operations on Thursday. The Israeli army, which confirmed the temporary closure, warned against travelling "on roads leading to the distribution centres, which are considered combat zones". The GHF, officially a private effort with opaque funding, began operations a week ago but the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. Israeli authorities and the GHF, which uses contracted US security, have denied allegations that the Israeli army shot at civilians rushing to pick up aid packages. Food shortages in Gaza have propelled fresh international calls for an end to the war, but a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas remains elusive. The UN Security Council will vote Wednesday on a resolution calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian access to Gaza, a measure expected to be vetoed by key Israel backer the United States. - 'A trap' - At a hospital in southern Gaza, the family of Reem al-Akhras, who was killed in Tuesday's shooting near GHF's facility, were beside themselves with grief. AFP | - "She went to bring us some food, and this is what happened to her," her son Zain Zidan said, his face streaked with tears. Akhras's husband, Mohamed Zidan, said "every day unarmed people" were being killed. "This is not humanitarian aid -- it's a trap." The Israeli military maintains that its forces do not prevent Gazans from collecting aid. AFP | Eyad BABA Army spokesperson Effie Defrin said the Israeli soldiers had fired towards suspects who "were approaching in a way that endangered" the troops, adding that the "incident is being investigated". UN human rights chief Volker Turk called attacks against civilians "unconscionable" and said they "constitute a grave breach of international law and a war crime". The International Committee of the Red Cross meanwhile said "Gazans face an "unprecedented scale and frequency of recent mass casualty incidents". - Activists' boat - AFP | Eyad BABA Scenes of hunger in Gaza have also sparked fresh solidarity with Palestinians, and a boat organised by an international activist coalition was sailing toward Gaza, aiming to deliver aid. The boat from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition departed Sicily Sunday carrying a dozen people, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg, along with fruit juices, milk, tinned food and protein bars. "Together, we can open a people's sea corridor to Gaza," the coalition said. But Israel's military said Tuesday it was ready to "protect" the country's maritime space. When asked about the Freedom Flotilla vessel, army spokesman Defrin said "for this case as well, we are prepared", declining to go into detail. AFP | Eyad BABA Israel has stepped up its offensive in Gaza in what it says is a renewed push to defeat the Palestinian group Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 4,335 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,607, mostly civilians. Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The army said three of its soldiers had been killed in northern Gaza, bringing the number of Israeli troops killed in the territory since the start of the war to 424. By Afp Team In Gaza City With Louis Baudoin-laarman In Ramallah
