UN confirms 90 aid trucks entered Gaza after three-day delay
The United Nations confirmed on Thursday that over 90 lorry loads of humanitarian aid—including flour, baby food, and medical equipment—had entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing. The deliveries, collected Wednesday night, marked the first major convoy to move after a three-day delay attributed to security concerns.
The aid distribution began promptly, with several bakeries restarting operations using newly delivered flour. The delay followed an 11-week-long blockade, partially lifted by Israel earlier in the week.
Despite the breakthrough, UN officials warned that the supplies delivered fall far short of Gaza's urgent needs. 'This is nowhere near enough to meet the vast needs in Gaza,' said a UN spokesperson. Prior to the conflict, Gaza received an average of 500 aid trucks per day.
The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) estimates that half a million Gazans are at risk of starvation. The Palestinian Authority's Health Minister, Majed Abu Ramadan, told Reuters that at least 29 children and elderly people have recently died from 'starvation-related' causes.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said over 140,000 tonnes of food—equivalent to 6,000 truckloads—are currently ready to be delivered. This could feed the entire population for two months, a WFP official told the BBC. However, delivery remains constrained by security risks and limited access.
Antoine Renard, a WFP official, explained that the only approved route into Gaza places aid workers at risk of attack. 'Each truck full of flour is worth about $400,000 at current market prices inside Gaza,' he said. The WFP avoids using armed escorts and is urging for a longer aid window and ceasefire to ensure safe passage.
Israel has defended its aid restrictions, accusing Hamas of diverting supplies.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated these claims and announced that Israel, with US support, plans to bypass the UN by using American firms to deliver aid directly.
Netanyahu said construction of the first distribution sites is underway. Humanitarian organisations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), have rejected the plan, warning it risks politicizing aid and breaching humanitarian principles. 'A trickle of trucks is woefully inadequate,' the ICRC said.
Israeli airstrikes and ground operations continued across Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry reported 107 deaths in the past 24 hours. More than 81% of Gaza is now designated an evacuation or militarized zone, the UN estimates.
Nearly 600,000 people have been displaced since March, with 161,000 of them fleeing in just the past week.
The current conflict began after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel's retaliatory campaign has since killed at least 53,762 people in Gaza, including more than 16,500 children, according to Gaza's health ministry.
(With inputs from BBC)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
US aerospace industry anxious as tariffs loom
US airlines and aerospace manufacturers insist they have no use for tariff protections, warning that the proposed Trump administration levies could eat into the healthy trade surplus the sector has enjoyed for more than 70 years. At the request of President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's department launched an investigation on May 1 to determine whether to impose tariffs of between 10 and 20 percent on civil aircraft and parts, including engines. The US industry those tariffs were crafted to protect swiftly let the administration know it was not interested. "Imposing broad tariff or non-tariff trade barriers on the imports of civil aviation technology would risk reversing decades of industrial progress and harm the domestic supply chain," the Aerospace Industries Association said in a letter addressed to Lutnick and obtained by AFP. The interested parties were given until June 3 to communicate their positions. The very next day, Lutnick announced that Washington aimed to "set the standard for aircraft part tariffs" by the end of this month. "The key is to protect that industry," he said, adding: "We will use these tariffs for the betterment of American industry." But AIA and the Airlines for America trade association voiced fear that far from helping, the tariffs would end up harming US manufacturers. "Unlike other industries, the civil aviation manufacturing industry prioritizes domestic production of high-value components and final assembly," AIA pointed out. According to the organization, US aerospace and defense exports reached $135.9 billion in 2023, including $113.9 billion for civil aviation alone. This allowed the sector to generate a trade surplus of $74.5 billion and to invest $34.5 billion in research and development, it said. The sector employs more than 2.2 million people in the United States across more than 100,000 companies, which in 2023 produced goods worth nearly $545 billion. In its response to Lutnick, the A4A highlighted how beneficial the international Agreement on Trade in Commercial Aviation had been by helping to eliminate tariffs and trade barriers over nearly half a century. "The US civil aviation industry is the success story that President Trump is looking for as it leads civil aerospace globally," it insisted. A full 84 percent of production was already American, it said, stressing that Washington "does not need to fix the 16 percent" remaining. "The current trade framework has enhanced our economic and national security and is a critical component to maintaining our national security moving forward," it said. For manufacturers, the potential tariffs would act like sand jamming a well-oiled machine that has been running smoothly for decades, experts warned. They would also throw off balance an ultra-sensitive supply chain still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. "To avoid the situation getting worse, we advocate to keep aerospace outside of trade wars," Willie Walsh, head of the International Air Transport Association , told the organization's general assembly last week. AIA meanwhile stressed that "aircraft and parts are already in high demand and have a limited supply." "Integrating new suppliers and expanding capacity is complex, timely, and costly," it warned, pointing out that finding suppliers capable of meeting rigorous safety certifications could "take up to 10 years." Delta Air Lines also argued for sticking with the status quo, cautioning that the proposed tariffs "would hinder Delta's ability to maintain its current trajectory." "If component parts incur tariffs upon entering the United States, Delta will be at a competitive disadvantage to foreign competitors," it said. "The action would also impose an unexpected tax on Delta's purchases of aircraft contracted years in advance." Delta chief Ed Bastian insisted in late April that the airline "will not be paying tariffs on any aircraft deliveries we take," adding that it was "working very closely with Airbus" to minimize the impact. Delta pointed out in its letter to Lutnick that it currently had 100 aircraft on order from Boeing, and that it was demanding that its Airbus A220s be produced primarily in Mobile, Alabama. But if the tariffs are imposed, it warned, "Delta would likely be forced to cancel existing contracts and reconsider contracts under negotiation." elm/tu/ph/nl/aha AIA Group Delta Air Lines Airbus Group BOEING
Economic Times
2 hours ago
- Economic Times
Trump sends National Guard to LA amid immigration protests
NYT News Service Protesters walk the street near the site of a federal immigration raid in Los Angeles on Friday, June 6, 2025. Federal agents in tactical gear armed with military-style rifles threw flash-bang grenades to disperse an angry crowd as they conducted an immigration raid on a clothing wholesaler, the latest sign of tensions between protesters and law enforcement over raids carried out at stores, restaurants and court buildings. (Alex Welsh/The New York Times) Federal agents and demonstrators clashed for a second consecutive day in the Los Angeles suburb of Paramount on Saturday, as immigration raids triggered mass protests. Armed agents in riot gear used flash-bang grenades and tear gas to disperse crowds gathered near a Home Depot staging area reportedly used by chants of 'ICE out of Paramount,' protesters waved Mexican flags, burned American flags, and attempted to block enforcement vehicles. Some formed barricades using shopping carts and cement blocks, forcing authorities to shut parts of a nearby operation came after Friday's high-profile immigration raids across the city, which resulted in 118 arrests. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), among those detained were individuals with links to criminal organisations and others with prior tensions flared, federal officials doubled down. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned protesters on X, formerly Twitter, that 'you will not stop us or slow us down,' and vowed full prosecution for any interference. ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons criticised city leaders for what he called a failure to maintain order. 'Mayor Bass took the side of chaos and lawlessness over law enforcement,' he said. Tom Homan, Trump's border security advisor, told Fox News that the National Guard would be deployed Saturday night: 'We are making Los Angeles safer. Mayor Bass should be thanking us.'FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino confirmed multiple arrests and stated, 'You bring chaos, and we'll bring handcuffs. Law and order will prevail.' — FBIDDBongino (@FBIDDBongino) On the ground in Paramount, the mood remained tense. Footage showed green-uniformed federal personnel lined across a boulevard as tear gas drifted through the air. Protesters wore respiratory masks and held signs reading 'No Human Being is Illegal.'A woman shouted into a megaphone, 'ICE out of Paramount. We see you for what you are. You are not welcome here.'Smoke rose from burning shrubbery and trash. In one incident, protesters surrounded a US Marshals Service bus, prompting further freeway raids also sparked alarm among immigrant advocacy groups. Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), said that legal representatives had been denied access to detainees on Friday. 'It's very worrying,' she agents also carried out operations at a clothing warehouse in the fashion district after a judge found probable cause of fraudulent documentation use by the those arrested during the protests was David Huerta, regional president of the Service Employees International Union. Justice Department spokesperson Ciaran McEvoy confirmed Huerta's detention and upcoming court appearance. It was unclear whether Huerta had legal Chuck Schumer demanded his release, citing a 'disturbing pattern of arresting and detaining American citizens for exercising their right to free speech.'President Donald Trump praised the crackdown and warned that the federal government would intervene if local authorities failed to control the situation. 'If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can't do their jobs… the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!' he posted on Truth Gavin Newsom responded, warning that federal control over California's National Guard would escalate tensions. 'This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust,' he Angeles Mayor Karen Bass condemned the raids as attempts to 'sow terror' in one of America's most diverse cities.'The tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city,' she said in a statement. 'We will not stand for this.'Protests erupted soon after Friday's immigration raids, which targeted sites including garment factories, warehouses, and day labourer pickup points near Home Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and known immigration hardliner, described the scenes as 'an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States.' On Saturday, he escalated his language, calling it a 'violent insurrection.'Protester Ron Gochez, 44, addressed the crowd: 'Now they know that they cannot go to anywhere in this country where our people are, and try to kidnap our workers, our people — they cannot do that without an organised and fierce resistance.' The protest movement appears set to grow, even as federal officials insist they will continue to carry out immigration enforcement operations. ICE has set a daily arrest goal of 3,000 under President Trump's second-term immigration push. The suburb of Paramount, where the standoff took place, is 82% Hispanic or Latino, according to US Census data. Los Angeles remains one of the country's most immigrant-rich cities, with a large population of foreign-born broader standoff pits federal immigration authorities under a Republican White House against a Democratic-led city tear gas clouds clear, the political divisions remain sharp—and the likelihood of continued confrontation grows by the hour.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Trump sends National Guard to LA amid immigration protests
Federal agents and demonstrators clashed for a second consecutive day in the Los Angeles suburb of Paramount on Saturday, as immigration raids triggered mass protests. Armed agents in riot gear used flash-bang grenades and tear gas to disperse crowds gathered near a Home Depot staging area reportedly used by ICE. Amid chants of 'ICE out of Paramount,' protesters waved Mexican flags, burned American flags, and attempted to block enforcement vehicles. Some formed barricades using shopping carts and cement blocks, forcing authorities to shut parts of a nearby freeway. The operation came after Friday's high-profile immigration raids across the city, which resulted in 118 arrests. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), among those detained were individuals with links to criminal organisations and others with prior convictions. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Many Are Watching Tariffs - Few Are Watching What Nvidia Just Launched Seeking Alpha Read Now Undo 'We Will Enforce the Law' As tensions flared, federal officials doubled down. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned protesters on X, formerly Twitter, that 'you will not stop us or slow us down,' and vowed full prosecution for any interference. — Sec_Noem (@Sec_Noem) ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons criticised city leaders for what he called a failure to maintain order. 'Mayor Bass took the side of chaos and lawlessness over law enforcement,' he said. Live Events Tom Homan, Trump's border security advisor, told Fox News that the National Guard would be deployed Saturday night: 'We are making Los Angeles safer. Mayor Bass should be thanking us.' FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino confirmed multiple arrests and stated, 'You bring chaos, and we'll bring handcuffs. Law and order will prevail.' — FBIDDBongino (@FBIDDBongino) Streets become a battleground On the ground in Paramount, the mood remained tense. Footage showed green-uniformed federal personnel lined across a boulevard as tear gas drifted through the air. Protesters wore respiratory masks and held signs reading 'No Human Being is Illegal.' A woman shouted into a megaphone, 'ICE out of Paramount. We see you for what you are. You are not welcome here.' Smoke rose from burning shrubbery and trash. In one incident, protesters surrounded a US Marshals Service bus, prompting further freeway closures. Legal concerns and high-profile arrests The raids also sparked alarm among immigrant advocacy groups. Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), said that legal representatives had been denied access to detainees on Friday. 'It's very worrying,' she said. Federal agents also carried out operations at a clothing warehouse in the fashion district after a judge found probable cause of fraudulent documentation use by the employer. Among those arrested during the protests was David Huerta, regional president of the Service Employees International Union. Justice Department spokesperson Ciaran McEvoy confirmed Huerta's detention and upcoming court appearance. It was unclear whether Huerta had legal representation. Senator Chuck Schumer demanded his release, citing a 'disturbing pattern of arresting and detaining American citizens for exercising their right to free speech.' Polarised politics President Donald Trump praised the crackdown and warned that the federal government would intervene if local authorities failed to control the situation. 'If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can't do their jobs… the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!' he posted on Truth Social. Governor Gavin Newsom responded, warning that federal control over California's National Guard would escalate tensions. 'This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust,' he said. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass condemned the raids as attempts to 'sow terror' in one of America's most diverse cities. 'The tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city,' she said in a statement. 'We will not stand for this.' Unrest and resistance continue Protests erupted soon after Friday's immigration raids, which targeted sites including garment factories, warehouses, and day labourer pickup points near Home Depots. Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and known immigration hardliner, described the scenes as 'an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States.' On Saturday, he escalated his language, calling it a 'violent insurrection.' Protester Ron Gochez, 44, addressed the crowd: 'Now they know that they cannot go to anywhere in this country where our people are, and try to kidnap our workers, our people — they cannot do that without an organised and fierce resistance.' The protest movement appears set to grow, even as federal officials insist they will continue to carry out immigration enforcement operations . ICE has set a daily arrest goal of 3,000 under President Trump's second-term immigration push. The suburb of Paramount, where the standoff took place, is 82% Hispanic or Latino, according to US Census data. Los Angeles remains one of the country's most immigrant-rich cities, with a large population of foreign-born residents. The broader standoff pits federal immigration authorities under a Republican White House against a Democratic-led city government. As tear gas clouds clear, the political divisions remain sharp—and the likelihood of continued confrontation grows by the hour.
