‘A human skeleton, buried alive': Brother of emaciated Israeli hostage speaks to CNN
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USA Today
a few seconds ago
- USA Today
Israel says it will allow controlled entry of goods into Gaza via merchants
Aug 5 (Reuters) - Israel says it will allow gradual and controlled entry of goods to Gaza through local merchants, an Israeli military agency that coordinates aid said on Tuesday, as global monitors say famine is unfolding in the enclave, impacting the hostages Hamas holds. Israel's COGAT said a mechanism has been approved by the cabinet to expand the scope of humanitarian aid, allowing the entry of supplies to Gaza through the private sector. The agency said the approved goods include basic food products, baby food, fruits and vegetables, and hygiene supplies. More: More Gazans die seeking aid and from hunger, as burial shrouds in short supply "This aims to increase the volume of aid entering the Gaza Strip, while reducing reliance on aid collection by the U.N. and international organisations," it added. It was unclear how this aid operation would work given the widespread destruction in Gaza. Palestinian and U.N. officials say Gaza needs around 600 aid trucks to enter per day to meet the humanitarian requirements - the number Israel used to allow into Gaza before the war. Images of starving Palestinians including children have alarmed the world in recent weeks, while a video released by Hamas on Sunday showing an emaciated captive drew sharp criticism from Western powers. Israel in response to a rising international uproar, announced last week steps to let more aid reach Gaza, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, approving air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. More: US envoy tells Israeli hostage families he's working on plan to end Gaza War Hamas said it was prepared to coordinate with the Red Cross to deliver aid to hostages it holds in Gaza, if Israel permanently opens humanitarian corridors and halts airstrikes during the distribution of aid. Israel and the United States urged the U.N. in May to work through an organisation they back, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which employs a U.S. logistics firm run by a former CIA officer and armed U.S. veterans. The U.N. refused as it questioned GHF neutrality and accused the distribution model of militarising aid and forcing displacement. Palestinians were killed near GHF sites where limited aid was distributed, with the U.N. estimating that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food since May, most near the organisation's distribution sites. GHF denies that there have been deadly incidents at its sites, and says the deadliest have been near other aid convoys. The war in Gaza began when Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials who do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Hamas, thus far, has barred humanitarian organisations from having any kind of access to the hostages and families have little or no details of their conditions. (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Writing by Tala Ramadan and Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Kim Coghill and Michael Perry)
Associated Press
29 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Iran orders a day of business and office closures to relieve electric grid in heat wave
TEHRAN (AP) — Authorities in Iran ordered government offices and banks across much of the country to close Wednesday as surging summer temperatures and a worsening water crisis strain the power grid. The state television announcement Tuesday is the second this summer. Iran hopes to ease electricity and water demand. As temperatures across the capital, Tehran, have exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), authorities urged residents to avoid outdoor activities during peak heat hours and conserve water and energy. Iran produces some 62,000 megawatts of electric energy per hour at its peak but needs about 80,000 megawatts to meet its needs. Tehran and other cities already face two-hour electricity cuts every other day and experts warn cuts may increase to four hours. Protesters have gathered in front of Iran's national electric provider, Tavanir, demanding better grid management. Years of U.S. sanctions on Iran's oil and banking sectors, as well as difficulty in obtaining parts to operate and repair the electric grid, have made the country unable to properly maintain and upgrade its inefficient energy infrastructure. Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, the country's only nuclear power source, went online in 2011 with Russian help but produces only 1,000 megawatts per hour and goes offline for maintenance each year for two months. Southern Iran is bearing the brunt of the heat. Abadan registered temperatures exceeding 50 Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) on Sunday, ranking the city among the hottest places on Earth during this summer's heat wave. In recent years Tehran has contended with recurring heat extremes and weakened infrastructure. Wednesday's planned office closures echoes a similar one-day public holiday in July 2024 and a two-day action in 2023.
New York Times
31 minutes ago
- New York Times
On Gaza, Germany's Government Faces Pressure from All Sides
Germany has a unique relationship with Israel for obvious reasons. After the Holocaust, a reborn Germany has given Israel unbending support, almost alone among European nations. It is a stalwart Israeli ally, comparable even to the United States. But the tragedy of Gaza, multiplied by reports of malnutrition and even starvation, has put Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a conservative, in an uncomfortable position. Pressures are mounting on his government to take tough action against Israel and to use Germany's influence to push for an end to the war and to Palestinian suffering. German public opinion has tilted steeply against Israel over the last year. Mr. Merz's prime coalition partners, the center-left Social Democrats, are calling for halting or limiting weapons deliveries to Israel. Two of his most important European colleagues, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, are moving to recognize Palestine as a state, even before an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement defines that state. Like President Trump, Mr. Merz has ruled out such a step, arguing that a Palestinian state must emerge from negotiations between the two parties. But Germany wants the process to start. Mr. Merz also has pressure from his own party. Its political sibling, the Bavarian-based Christian Social Union, has been loud in demanding that Germany continue forthright support of Israel and its government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in its battle against Hamas. So Mr. Merz is weighing more modest measures, and has tried to work behind the scenes with both Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump. While publicly supportive of Israel, Mr. Merz has had several tough, even angry telephone conversations with Mr. Netanyahu, a senior German official said, urging him to come to an agreement for a cease-fire in Gaza and to allow much more food and medical aid into the enclave by road. Mr. Merz also joined Mr. Macron and Mr. Starmer in a call to Mr. Trump last Monday, urging him to put more pressure on Mr. Netanyahu to allow much more aid into Gaza, the official said, speaking anonymously, given the sensitivity of the subject. Mr. Merz is considering backing the European Commission's call for a partial suspension of the E.U.-Israel association agreement, which among other things allows for cooperation in technology and culture. It would be an important shift for Germany, even if a largely symbolic gesture, and something Mr. Merz's Social Democratic coalition partners have demanded. The Commission has proposed the partial suspension of Israel's access to Horizon Europe, the European Union program that funds research. But its proposal is very narrow and would not affect most projects. Europe itself is divided on the issue, so German support for a suspension may not be sufficient to enact even this move. Germany has provided aid for airdrops into Gaza from Jordan, and Mr. Merz last week sent his foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, to Israel and the West Bank to talk to Mr. Netanyahu and leading politicians. 'I came here with the goal of preventing a rift from opening between the European Union and Israel,' Mr. Wadephul said on Thursday in Jerusalem. 'This danger exists and both sides must work together to prevent it.' After his report back to Berlin, the government issued a carefully balanced statement noting that there was 'initial, slight progress in providing humanitarian aid' to Gaza, but it was 'far from sufficient to alleviate the emergency situation.' Israel is obligated to provide such aid 'with the support of the United Nations,' the statement said, while also noting, 'The German government is concerned about reports that large quantities of aid are being withheld by Hamas and criminal organizations.' Mr. Merz and Mr. Wadephul both expressed their horror over the weekend at the Hamas videos of emaciated Israeli hostages, demanding that they all be released as part of any cease-fire. Several of the hostages have German passports. Last week, some 200 German cultural figures published an open letter entitled: 'Don't let Gaza die, Mr. Merz.' The letter, echoing the Social Democrats, called for a halt to all German arms exports to Israel, support for the suspension of the E.U.-Israel association agreement and an immediate cease-fire and unhindered access for aid. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany has made great strides toward a tougher foreign and defense policy, becoming 'more relaxed' about increasing its military power and exercising European leadership, said Claudia Major, a security analyst with the German Marshall Fund in Berlin. 'But Israel is not a topic where the usual standards of debate apply,' she said. 'On issues of defending Israel and antisemitism, we tend to overreact.' After the Holocaust and the birth of a post-Nazi, democratic Germany, the promise was 'never again,' Ms. Major noted. After the Hamas invasion of Israel, she said, the slogan in Germany was, 'Never again is now.' For Germans at the time, Ms. Major said, 'everything was clear, and we know where our place is.' The long war and the destruction and privation in Gaza have created obvious fissures in society and in politics. But given German history, on Israel, 'we walk on egg shells,' Ms. Major said, adding, 'Whatever you do in Germany on this topic, you will be criticized.' The discussion is not over, with more meetings of the government scheduled on the issue. Derya Türk-Nachbaur, a Social Democrat legislator, said Germany should coordinate further on the European level, especially with France and Britain, to increase pressure on Israel and allow the partial suspension of the association agreement. Given the shift against Israel in German public opinion, 'Merz faces pressure on multiple fronts for more decisive action,' domestically, inside his own coalition and in Europe, said Thorsten Benner, director of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin. A poll in May, by the Bertelsmann Foundation, found that while 60 percent of Israelis have a positive or very positive opinion of Germany, only 36 percent of people in Germany view Israel positively, and 38 percent view it negatively. This represented a notable change from the last survey in 2021, when 46 percent of Germans had a positive opinion of Israel. The poll also showed that a declining number of Germans — only a third — said that Germany has responsibility toward Israel, and only a quarter that they felt a 'special responsibility.' There are other steps Mr. Merz might take, said Mr. Benner. He could impose sanctions on hard-right ministers in the Israeli government, as the Dutch have done or temporarily halt any weapons shipments to Israel, arguing that Israel has enough to defend itself for the moment. He could also bring more injured Gazan children to German hospitals. Mr. Merz has argued that Israelis listen to its bedrock supporters, like the United States and Germany, while discounting the criticism of countries like Sweden, Ireland and Spain, which had earlier recognized a Palestinian state. 'He says that they do listen to us,' Mr. Benner said. 'But he needs to have something to show for it, to show that it bears fruit.'
