Israeli forces encircles school housing displaced Palestinians in Gaza
According to reports, the Israeli army has also carried out continuous shelling in Jabalya and Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza.
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Middle East Eye
19 minutes ago
- Middle East Eye
World Central Kitchen founder faces backlash for handshake with Israeli president
World Central Kitchen (WCK) founder Chef Jose Andres is facing mounting criticism after meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog to discuss Israel's seven-month blockade that has cut off aid to Gaza. Andres visited Gaza for the first time since the Israel's genocide began, sharing pictures and videos of the decimation and WCK's work along the way. After leaving the Strip, Andres posted that he met with Herzog on Sunday to discuss Israel's aid blockade, which Amnesty International has recently described as a deliberate campaign of starvation. "We talked in detail about how to flood Gaza with food and medicine so there is no hunger and no looting, so we can start rebuilding with hope and humanity," Andres wrote on X. "That means full permits and access for all NGOs who can help end the despair and suffering of Palestinians... they were committed to help all they can with the release of the hostages, end of the war, providing all humanitarian aid necessary and the reconstruction for Gaza." New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Herzog's X post about the meeting, praising WCK and featuring photos with Andres, became the flashpoint of the backlash. I was pleased to meet today with @ChefJoseAndres, founder and head of the world renowned aid organisation, @WCKitchen which has worked with dedication to help provide food to those in need in Israel and in Gaza - and indeed all over the world. True humanitarian assistance comes… — יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) August 17, 2025 Critics slammed Andres after seeing the post, saying the meeting amounted to condoning Israel's actions, including the targeting and killing of seven WCK international aid workers in April 2024. An Israeli air strike killed an additional three workers from the international NGO in November. Middle East Eye reached out to WCK for a response to the criticism they're facing, but did not receive a reply in time for publication. "He accepted a medal from the man who supplied the bombs that killed his @WCKitchen workers," one X user wrote, referencing President Biden awarding Andres the Medal of Freedom earlier this year. "Now he shakes hands with the man directing their murders." Israel murdered 7 of his employees and now he's doing photo ops with them. @chefjoseandres disgraceful. — B L A K E L E Y™℠©® LLC (@_iamblakeley) August 18, 2025 "The people you're shaking hands with have the blood of tens of thousands of Palestinians on their hands, the very people you claim to be helping," journalist Leyla Hamed posted on X. "And let's not forget: they also killed 7 members of your own NGO. Yet you still shake their hands. Disgraceful @chefjoseandres." Greater good? Others countered these criticisms by arguing that meetings like this are a part of Andres's role, and that it is necessary to help the humanitarian crisis Israel has manufactured in the Gaza Strip. "I hate that Herzog gets a photo-op with him (at least it's not you know who), I hate that this can be seen as disrespectful to the murdered WCK members, but if it gets food to the Gazan people, I can see why he would make the sacrifice," one user argued on a Reddit thread. "He's done far more for the Palestinian people, and suffering people worldwide, than I ever have, and I'm not going to hold him in judgement over this." Another user replied to this post, arguing that after two years of Israel's genocide in Gaza, it is natural for people to be sceptical of organisations or figures that Israeli officials publicly support. People are criticizing Chef José Andrés for visiting the Israeli President, etc. I'm obviously not in his head, but I think it's admirable that he is keeping his eye on *one* ball: to feed as many people in Gaza as possible. If it takes an annoying meeting, so be it. Life first. — Ami Dar (@AmiDar) August 18, 2025 "If this does lead to more food getting into Gaza without any conditionals, then fine. I'm willing to live with this compromise even if I think it's still fair to call out the hypocrisy," the user wrote. "However, we've also seen the past few months what it looks like when Israel coordinates efforts to let aid into Gaza between the GHF [Gaza Humanitarian Foundation] and the air drops leading to more deaths. I think it's more than a little right to be skeptical about an Israeli official suddenly being fine with aid given how they've weaponized it the past 4 months." Scrutiny over WCK's ties to Israel, which has publicly lauded the group's work, deepened after Israel banned the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (Unrwa) – which is the primary source of humanitarian support for Palestinians across the Middle East – from operating in all of occupied Palestine in January. "No one other than World Central Kitchen has been allowed by Israel to bring aid in by sea, and in the past Israel has attacked and massacred civilian groups attempting to do so," Palestinian journalist Ali Abunimah wrote in the Electronic Intifada last year. "And such a 'venture' or 'pilot project' only makes sense in a context where Unrwa is being eliminated." Israel's inconsistent treatment of WCK compared to other international NGOs, along with Herzog's public praise for Andres, has led to the current backlash. The consistent message in the critics' posts of the meeting between the chef and the president is about the concern that Israel, and the US, are potentially using influential figures like him to "'whitewash" their image. "Israel murdered the workers of his NGO, but the chef forgives: he whitewashes the US and places the 'charity of the sandwich' wherever it benefits his business," one angered user posted on X. "May this photo haunt him wherever he goes."
Dubai Eye
an hour ago
- Dubai Eye
Israel demands release of all 50 Gaza hostages, Israeli broadcaster says
Israel is demanding the release of all 50 hostages held in Gaza, Israeli public broadcaster Kan cited the prime minister's office as saying on Tuesday, as talks on a proposed deal envisaging a 60-day truce and release of half the hostages continue. Efforts to pause the fighting gained new momentum over the past week after Israel announced plans for a new offensive to seize control of Gaza City, and Egypt and Qatar have been pushing to restart indirect talks between the sides on a US-backed ceasefire plan. The deal is nearly identical to a proposal Washington put forward earlier this year, a spokesperson for mediator Qatar said on Tuesday. Hamas rejected that deal in July. Under the deal, ten Israeli hostages held in Gaza will be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. Israel says that of 50 hostages held by Hamas and its allies, 20 are believed to be alive. In exchange, Israel will release 150 detained Palestinians it sentenced to life in prison and 50 Palestinians it sentenced to more than 15 years. For each body Hamas returns, Israel will return the bodies of 10 Palestinian militants. Israel will permit aid to enter Gaza with the involvement of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The proposal includes the release of 200 Palestinian convicts jailed in Israel and an unspecified number of imprisoned women and minors, in return for 10 living and 18 deceased hostages from Gaza, according to a Hamas official. Two Egyptian security sources confirmed the details, and added that Hamas has requested the release of hundreds of Gaza detainees as well. The proposal includes a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, which presently control 75 per cent of Gaza and the entry of more humanitarian aid into the enclave, where a population of 2.2 million people is increasingly facing famine. The last round of indirect talks between the sides ended in deadlock in July, with the sides trading blame for the collapse. Israel had previously agreed to the outline, advanced by US special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, but negotiations faltered over some of its details.
Dubai Eye
an hour ago
- Dubai Eye
Israel studying Hamas reply to Gaza ceasefire proposal
Israel is studying Hamas' response to a Gaza ceasefire proposal, two officials said on Tuesday of a potential deal for a 60-day truce and the release of half the Israeli hostages still held in the battered enclave. Efforts to pause the fighting gained new momentum over the past week after Israel announced plans for a new offensive to seize control of Gaza City, and Egypt and Qatar have been pushing to restart indirect talks between the sides on a US-backed ceasefire plan. The proposal includes the release of 200 Palestinian convicts jailed in Israel and an unspecified number of imprisoned women and minors, in return for 10 living and 18 deceased hostages from Gaza, according to a Hamas official. Two Egyptian security sources confirmed the details, and added that Hamas has requested the release of hundreds of Gaza detainees as well. The proposal includes a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, which presently control 75 per cent of Gaza and the entry of more humanitarian aid into the enclave, where a population of 2.2 million people is increasingly facing famine. The last round of indirect talks between the sides ended in deadlock in July, with the sides trading blame for the collapse. Israel had previously agreed to the outline, advanced by US special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, but negotiations faltered over some of its details. Israel's plans to seize control of Gaza City in the heart of the Palestinian enclave have since stirred alarm abroad and among the estimated one million people presently living there. On the ground, there were no signs of a ceasefire nearing as Israeli gunfire, tank shelling and airstrikes killed at least 20 Palestinians on Tuesday, according to Gaza health officials. Tanks completed taking control of the Zeitoun suburb, an eastern neighbourhood on Gaza City's outskirts, and continued to pound the nearby area of Sabra, killing three civilians, medics said. Local health authorities said dozens of people had been trapped in their houses because of the shelling. The Israeli military said it was checking the report. ISRAELI PROTESTERS DEMAND DEAL In Israel, the threatened offensive prompted tens of thousands of Israelis on Sunday to hold some of the largest protests since the war began, urging a deal to end the fighting and free the remaining hostages held in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to convene discussions about the ceasefire proposal soon, the two Israeli officials said. He faces pressure from his far-right government partners who object to a truce with Hamas. Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir have called for Israel to keep the war going until Hamas' defeat, and annex Gaza. Hamas official Izzat El-Reshiq said the truce proposal it has agreed to is an interim accord that would pave the way for negotiations on ending the war. A source close to the talks said that, unlike previous rounds, Hamas accepted the proposal with no further demands. But prospects for agreeing an end to the war appear remote, with gaps remaining on the terms. Israel is demanding the group lay down its arms and its leaders leave Gaza, conditions which Hamas has so far publicly rejected. The war began when Hamas-led fighters stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, plunged Gaza into humanitarian crisis and displaced most its population.
