Hungry Palestinians in Gaza block and offload dozens of UN food trucks as desperation grows
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have blocked and offloaded dozens of food trucks, the UN World Food Programme has said, as desperation mounts following Israel's months-long blockade while talks of a ceasefire inch forward.
Advertisement
The WFP on Saturday said 77 trucks carrying aid, mostly flour, were stopped by hungry people who took the food before the trucks could reach their destination.
The nearly three-month Israeli blockade on Gaza has pushed the population of more than 2 million to the brink of famine. While pressure slightly eased in recent days as Israel allowed some aid to enter, aid organisations say far from enough food is getting in.
Hamas on Friday said it was reviewing a US proposal for a temporary ceasefire, which Israeli officials had approved. US President Donald Trump said negotiators were nearing a deal.
A ceasefire would pause the fighting for 60 days, release some of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and much-needed food aid and other assistance, according to Hamas and Egyptian officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.
Internally displaced Palestinians gather outside a charity kitchen to receive limited rations amid a shortage of food, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE
According to the WFP, the fear of starvation in Gaza is high despite the aid that is entering now. 'We need to flood communities with food for the next few days to calm anxieties and rebuild the trust with communities that more food is coming,' it said in a statement, adding that it had more than 140,000 metric tons of food – enough to feed Gazans for two months – ready to be brought in.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Standard
2 hours ago
- The Standard
Trump, Xi likely to speak soon on minerals trade dispute, US Treasury Secretary says
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with China's President Xi Jinping at the start of their bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (Reuters)
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Several injured, set on fire in ‘targeted terror attack' at Boulder, Colorado mall
Several people were injured and some may have been set on fire at an outdoor mall in Boulder, Colorado, police said. Police said a man was taken into custody in the attack that the FBI described as a 'targeted' act of terror. 'We are aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado,' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) chief Kash Patel said on social media. While stressing that the information was 'very preliminary', Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said the man was apprehended following calls to the police dispatch of someone with a weapon who was 'setting people on fire'. According to CBS News, which cited witnesses at the scene, a suspect attacked people with Molotov cocktails who were taking part in a walk to remember the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza. Redfearn said he was not in a position to identify the suspect yet, noting that he had been taken to the hospital. He said there were multiple injuries among the victims, ranging 'from very serious to more minor'. 'Our agents and local law enforcement are on the scene already, and we will share updates as more information becomes available,' Patel posted on social media.
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hamas says ready to ‘immediately' hold round of Gaza truce talks
The Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Sunday it was ready to 'immediately' hold a fresh round of negotiations for a truce in Gaza after recent talks appeared to hit a dead end. 'The movement affirms its readiness to immediately begin a round of indirect negotiations to reach an agreement on the points of contention,' Hamas said in a statement after mediators Qatar and Egypt said they would intensify their efforts for a truce in war-battered Gaza. Also on Sunday, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud said the Israeli government's refusal to allow a delegation of Arab ministers into the occupied West Bank showed its 'extremism and rejection of peace'. His statement came during a joint press conference in Amman with counterparts from Jordan , Egypt and Bahrain, after they met as part of an Arab contact group that was going to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. 'Israel's refusal of the committee's visit to the West Bank embodies and confirms its extremism and refusal of any serious attempts for [a] peaceful pathway … It strengthens our will to double our diplomatic efforts within the international community to face this arrogance,' the Saudi minister said.
