European nations slam Israel's plan to occupy Gaza City
MADRID : Spain and seven other European nations today condemned Israel's plan to occupy Gaza City, warning it would kill large numbers of civilians and force nearly a million Palestinians from their homes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet on Friday greenlighted plans for a major operation to seize Gaza City, triggering a wave of domestic and international criticism.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the eight nations said the decision 'will only aggravate the humanitarian crisis and further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages'.
They estimated the operation could lead to an 'unacceptably high number of fatalities and the forced displacement of nearly one million Palestinian civilians', according to a copy of the statement released by Spain's foreign ministry.
They also warned that the planned offensive and occupation of Gaza City would be 'a major obstacle to implementing the two-state solution, the only path towards a comprehensive, just and lasting peace'.
Besides Spain, the statement was signed by the foreign ministers of Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal and Slovenia.
Foreign powers, including some of Israel's allies, have been pushing for a negotiated ceasefire to secure the hostages' return and help alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the strip.
Despite the backlash and rumours of dissent from Israeli military top brass, Netanyahu has remained defiant over the decision to seize Gaza City.
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New Straits Times
9 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Gazans starve as aid shipments are turned back at border
Boxes of Gaza-bound aid turned back by Israel on Sunday languished atop a truck and flatbed trailer parked metres from its border with Egypt, as exasperated drivers and United Nations (UN) officials criticised delays in sending food and medicine to the enclave. Seven aid officials and three truckers interviewed by Reuters listed a host of obstacles, ranging from rejections of shipments for minor packing and paperwork issues to heavy scrutiny over possible dual military use for a range of goods, as well as short working hours at the Israeli border crossing. The supplies on the stalled truck and trailer outside Egypt's Rafah border crossing carried blue logos of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and labels describing contents like topical medications and suction devices to clean wounds. A WHO employee working at the border said the cargo was blocked for carrying "ille gal medicine s". Reuters visited Egypt's border with Gaza on Monday on a trip organised by the Elders, a group of former world leaders set up by late South African president Nelson Mandela that backs a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some Elders members have been highly critical of Israel's conduct in Gaza, including former Irish president Mary Robinson and former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, who joined the border trip. Israel on July 27 announced measures to let more aid into Gaza. But aid agencies say only a fraction of what they send is getting in. Clark expressed shock at the amount of aid turned back at the b order. "To see this crossing, which should be a place where people interact with each other, where people can come and go, where people aren't under blockade, where people who are ill can leave to come out — to see it just silent for the people, it's absolutely shocking for us." Approvals and clearance procedures that got a shipment through the Rafah border crossing "within a few days" of arrival in Egypt during a ceasefire earlier in the war now took "minimum one month", according to the WHO employee. On Monday, the Gaza government media office said at least 1,334 trucks had entered Gaza through all land crossings, including from Egypt, since the Israeli measures announced on July 27, but this was far short of the 9,000 that would have gone in if 600 trucks had entered per day. The United States has said a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to feed Gaza's population. In mid-July, Israel introduced a requirement that shipments of humanitarian aid arriving from Egypt undergo Customs clearance leading to "additional bureaucratic hurdles, delays, and costs for humanitarian organisations". More than 200 Gazans have died of malnutrition or starvation in the war, according to Palestinian health authorities, adding to the over 61,000 dead they say have been killed by military action. The UN and several expert studies have said the number is probably an undercount. Drivers coming from Egypt go to the Israeli crossing of Kerem Shalom where shipments undergo checks. Kamel Atteiya Mohamed, an Egyptian truck driver, estimated that of the 200 or 300 trucks trying to get through this route every day, only 30 to 50 make it. "They tell you, for example, that the pallet doesn't have a sticker, the pallet is tilted, or the pallet is open from the top. This is no reason for us to return it." He said while the Egyptian crossing was open day and night, drivers often arrived at Kerem Shalom only to find it closed, as it does not normally operate beyond weekday business hours. "Every day it's like this," he said. "Honestly, we're fed up." A logistics site set up by the Egyptian Red Crescent near El Arish town, 40km from the border, where shipments coming from Egypt to Gaza are loaded, has a tarp tent warehouse devoted to goods turned back from the border. A Reuters reporter saw rows of white oxygen tanks, as well as wheelchairs, car tyres and cartons labelled as containing generators and first-aid kits and with logos of aid groups from countries such as Luxembourg and Kuwait, among others. Reuters was not able to verify when the items at the Red Crescent site were turned back or on what grounds. Aid workers describe such rejections as routine. The writer is from Reuters
Malay Mail
11 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Stalled at Rafah: Turned back from Gaza, aid shipments languish in warehouses and roadsides as Palestinians starve
RAFAH (Egypt), Aug 14 — Boxes of Gaza-bound aid turned back by Israel on Sunday languished atop a truck and flatbed trailer parked metres from its border with Egypt, as exasperated drivers and UN officials criticised delays in sending food and medicine to the enclave. Seven aid officials and three truckers interviewed by Reuters listed a host of obstacles, ranging from rejections of shipments for minor packing and paperwork issues to heavy scrutiny over possible dual military use for a range of goods, as well as short working hours at the Israeli border crossing. The supplies seen by Reuters on Monday on the stalled truck and trailer outside Egypt's Rafah border crossing carried blue logos of the World Health Organisation and labels describing contents like topical medications and suction devices to clean wounds. A WHO employee working at the border said the cargo was blocked for carrying 'illegal medicines'. Reuters could not independently verify why the trucks were not allowed to enter Gaza and the Israeli military authority in charge of coordinating aid did not respond to a question about why they were not let into the enclave. Reuters visited Egypt's border with Gaza on Monday on a trip organised by the Elders, a group of former world leaders set up by late South African President Nelson Mandela that backs a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some Elders members have been highly critical of Israel's conduct in Gaza, including former Irish President Mary Robinson and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who joined the border trip. Damaged humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza lies scattered on the ground next to broken-down trucks near the border with the Gaza Strip, close to the Kissufim crossing in southern Israel August 13, 2025. — AFP pic Responding to international outrage sparked by images of starving Gazans, Israel on July 27 announced measures to let more aid into Gaza. But aid agencies say only a fraction of what they send is getting in. Israel strongly denies limiting aid supplies. Speaking to reporters at the Rafah crossing, Clark expressed shock at the amount of aid turned back at the border. 'To see this crossing, which should be a place where people interact with each other, where people can come and go, where people aren't under blockade, where people who are ill can leave to come out — to see it just silent for the people, it's absolutely shocking for us,' Clark said. Trucks carrying humanitarian aid line up near the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, Egypt August 13, 2025. — Reuters pic 'Bureaucratic hurdles, delays' Approvals and clearance procedures that got a shipment through the Rafah border crossing 'within a few days' of arrival in Egypt during a ceasefire earlier in the war now took 'minimum one month,' according to the WHO employee at the border. On Monday, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office said at least 1,334 trucks had entered Gaza through all land crossings, including from Egypt, since the Israeli measures announced on July 27, but this was far short of the 9,000 that would have gone in if 600 trucks had entered per day. The United States has said a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to feed Gaza's population. Reuters could not independently confirm the reasons for the delays described in this article or the specific figures supplied by those interviewed. Asked for its response to allegations of curbs on aid flows, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, Cogat, said Israel invests 'considerable efforts' in aid distribution. It said about 300 trucks had been transferred daily in 'recent weeks,' mostly carrying food, via all land crossings. 'Despite the claims made, the State of Israel allows and facilitates the provision of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip without any quantitative limit on the number of aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip,' Cogat said. The agency did not address specific questions about aid shipment volumes. In mid-July, Israel introduced a requirement that shipments of humanitarian aid arriving from Egypt undergo customs clearance. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israel's move led to 'additional bureaucratic hurdles, delays, and costs for humanitarian organisations.' UN agencies were exempted from customs clearance from Egypt from July 27 to August 3, Ocha said in a report on August 6. While not officially extended, the exemption still appeared to be in place, it said. Other international NGOs could be exempted only on a case-by-case basis and only for health items. More than 200 Gazans have died of malnutrition or starvation in the war, according to Palestinian health authorities, adding to the over 61,000 dead they say have been killed by military action. The UN human rights office and several expert studies have said the number is probably an undercount. Israel has disputed the Gaza health ministry figures, which do not distinguish between fighters and civilians, and says at least a third of the fatalities are militants. On Monday, Cogat said a review by its medical experts found the number of deaths reported by the Gaza health ministry due to malnutrition was inflated and most of those 'allegedly dying from malnutrition' had pre-existing conditions. People stand in front of a warehouse for aid deliveries, waiting to be delivered to Gaza, at a logistics site run by the Egyptian Red Crescent, outside Arish, Egypt August 11, 2025. — Reuters pic A warehouse of rejected goods Drivers coming from Egypt cannot go directly to the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, which had been operated by the Hamas-run border authority but is now closed. Instead, they route to the Israeli crossing of Kerem Shalom, about three km to the south, where shipments undergo checks. Kamel Atteiya Mohamed, an Egyptian truck driver, estimated that of the 200 or 300 trucks trying to get through this route every day, only 30 to 50 make it. 'They tell you, for example, that the pallet doesn't have a sticker, the pallet is tilted, or the pallet is open from the top. This is no reason for us to return it,' he told Reuters. He said that while the Egyptian crossing was open day and night, drivers often arrived at Kerem Shalom only to find it closed, as it does not normally operate beyond weekday business hours. 'Every day it's like this,' he said. 'Honestly, we're fed up.' While Cogat did not address specific questions about the driver's remarks and allegations of inflexible working hours, it said that 'hundreds of truckloads of aid still await collection by the UN and international organisations' on the Palestinian side of the border crossings. A logistics site set up by the Egyptian Red Crescent near El Arish town, 40km from the border, where shipments coming from Egypt to Gaza are loaded, has a tarp tent warehouse devoted to goods turned back from the border. A Reuters reporter saw rows of white oxygen tanks, as well as wheelchairs, car tires and cartons labelled as containing generators and first-aid kits and with logos of aid groups from countries such as Luxembourg and Kuwait, among others. Reuters was not able to verify when the items at the Red Crescent site were turned back or on what grounds. Aid workers describe such rejections as routine. Speaking at the meeting with the Elders that Reuters attended, one World Food Programme worker said that only 73 of the 400 trucks the agency had sent since July 27 had made it in. UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA has not been allowed to send aid into Gaza since March. The Ocha August 6 report said no shelter materials had been allowed to enter Gaza since March 2 and those available on the local market were 'prohibitively expensive and limited in quantity.' The WHO employee who works on the border said the truck and trailer seen by Reuters were among three trucks that had been turned back on Sunday. A manifest given for their cargo, seen by Reuters, included urine drainage bags, iodine, plasters and sutures. — Reuters
Malay Mail
15 hours ago
- Malay Mail
UK PM meets Zelensky in London ahead of US-Russia summit excluding Ukraine
LONDON, Aug 14 — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Thursday in London with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a strong show of support on the eve of a key US-Russia summit from which Kyiv and its European allies have been excluded. Starmer greeted the Ukrainian leader with a warm hug and handshake on the steps of his Downing Street residence, only hours after Zelensky took part in a virtual call with US President Donald Trump. Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet Friday at an air base in Alaska, the first time the Russian leader has been permitted on Western soil since his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine which has killed tens of thousands of people. A stepped-up Russian offensive, and the fact Zelensky has not been invited to the Anchorage meeting Friday, have heightened fears that Trump and Putin could strike a deal that forces painful concessions on Ukraine. But Starmer said Wednesday there was now a 'viable' chance for a ceasefire in Ukraine after more than three years of fighting. Near the front line Thursday, Ukraine fired dozens of drones at Russia overnight into the early morning, wounding three people and sparking fires including at an oil refinery in the southern city of Volgograd. Kyiv calls the strikes fair retaliation for Moscow's daily missile and drone barrages on its own civilians. With such high stakes, all sides were pushing hard in the hours before Friday's meeting. Three-way meeting? Zelensky, who has refused to surrender territory to Russia, joined the call from Berlin with Trump, as did European leaders who voiced confidence afterward that the US leader would seek a ceasefire rather than concessions by Kyiv. Trump has sent mixed messages, saying he could quickly organise a three-way summit afterward with both Zelensky and Putin, but also warning of his impatience with Putin. 'There may be no second meeting because, if I feel that it's not appropriate to have it because I didn't get the answers that we have to have, then we are not going to have a second meeting,' Trump told reporters on Wednesday. But Trump added: 'If the first one goes okay, we'll have a quick second one,' involving both Putin and Zelensky. Zelensky, after being berated by Trump at a February meeting in the White House, has publicly supported US diplomacy but has made clear his deep scepticism. 'I have told my colleagues — the US president and our European friends — that Putin definitely does not want peace,' Zelensky said. As the war rages on in eastern Ukraine, Zelensky was in Berlin Wednesday joining Chancellor Friedrich Merz on an online call with other European leaders, and the Nato and EU chiefs, to show a united stance against Russia. Starmer on Wednesday said Ukraine's military backers, the so-called Coalition of the Willing, had drawn up workable military plans in case of a ceasefire but were also ready to add pressure on Russia through sanctions. 'For three and a bit years this conflict has been going, we haven't got anywhere near... a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire,' Starmer told Wednesday's meeting of European leaders. 'Now we do have that chance, because of the work that the (US) president has put in,' he said. Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte declared: 'The ball is now in Putin's court.' — AFP
