Unrwa chief warns airdropping aid into Gaza can endanger civilians
"Airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation. They are expensive, inefficient & can even kill starving civilians. It is a distraction & screensmoke," he wrote in a post on X.
Lazzarini called for an end to the siege on Gaza to allow UN aid to reach Palestinians by land.
"At UNRWA, we have the equivalent of 6,000 trucks in Jordan & Egypt waiting for the green light to get into Gaza. Driving aid through is much easier, more effective, faster, cheaper & safer. It's more dignified for the people of #Gaza," he added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
United Nations Security Council must issue binding resolutions to stop war on Gaza: Hamas
In a recorded video message broadcast by Al Jazeera Arabic on Monday, Hamas senior representative Osama Hamdan called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to issue firm and binding resolutions to rein in Israel and end the war on Gaza. "What is required is that the UN Security Council issue clear and binding resolutions to the occupation to stop the war of extermination, including massacres, violations, starvation and destruction of civilian life in the Gaza Strip, and to oblige the occupation to withdraw, open the crossings for humanitarian aid, and stop its violations against [Palestinian] prisoners in Israeli prisons," Hamdan said. His statement comes as the UNSC holds a special session on Monday on the conditions of Israeli captives in Gaza, following an appeal by Israel's UN ambassador Danny Danon. Hamdan's video also follows images broadcast by the Hamas military wing, the Qassam Brigades, over the weekend, showing Israeli captives looking emaciated. The images caused outrage in Israel. "The world has witnessed the humane treatment received by the enemy prisoners of the resistance since 7 October 2023 through the duration of their captivity," Hamdan said. "The resistance has always made it clear that the enemy prisoners eat what our besieged and hungry people eat, and they drink from what [our people] drink". Reiterating the statement made by Qassam spokesperson Abu Obeida on Sunday, Hamdan said Hamas is ready to work with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to bring in food and medicine to the Israeli captives it is holding in Gaza, in a bid to "force the occupation to open the humanitarian corridors in a normal and permanent manner for the passage of food and medicine to all our people". "Breaking the siege, opening all the crossings immediately, and bringing food, water and medicine urgently to the entire Gaza Strip will end the humanitarian catastrophe" and leave no need for the scandal-plagued, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), Hamdan said.
Arabian Post
2 hours ago
- Arabian Post
India Must Ignore Trump's Trade Tariff Trap
By Nantoo Banerjee US President Donald Trump is becoming increasingly unpredictable, if not crazy, with his freakish combination of styles to deal with countries and issues – from trade to diplomacy. The 25 percent import tariff on India since last Friday may not considerably hurt India's export trade with the US, but it threatens to develop a crack, or maybe even distrust, in the well-developed India-US diplomatic relations over the past several years. And, that should be a bigger concern before the democratic institutions in both India and the US. Trump is most unlikely to remain as the effective US president after the November 2028 election though he is selling 'Trump 2028' caps suggesting there may be loopholes to the president's two-term limit. He seems to be hell-bent on creating enough confusion around the so-called US allies for the next president to repair them easily. India is not a trade surplus country. Its global merchandise trade deficit has been growing year after year. In 2024-25, the country's trade deficit jumped to $282.83 billion from $241 billion in the previous fiscal year. The Indian government does not seem to be quite concerned. The US too is a big trade deficit country. Last year, the US recorded a historic $1.2-trillion goods trade deficit. Ironically, behind the ballooning trade gap of both the US and India is China. India's goods trade surplus with the US may have doubled over the last decade, rising from $20 billion in 2015 to $40 billion in 2025, but its trade deficit with China has more than doubled during this period, reaching a record high of $99.2 billion in 2024-25. According to the UN COMTRADE database on international trade, China had slashed down imports from India to merely $18 billion, last year. India neither protested nor took action to drastically cut imports from China. If China's anti-India import policy does not hurt the sentiments of the import-insensitive Indian government, the dumping of a mere 25 percent import tariff on India by President Trump on certain select items such as textiles, telecom, gems and jewellery, oil and gas, and food and agriculture with effect from this month should not unduly concern India. Unfortunately, the Indian government and the local media have always been more focussed and sensitive on US policies than Chinese practices. While the US trade policy has always been linked with its foreign policy, India's trade policy seems to totally ignore China's highly aggressive foreign policy that seeks to surround India with its growing military presence all around the country. The so-called Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) continues to import more and more from China. India imports a very large range of low-cost products from China, including electronics, fashion apparel, toys, and industrial machinery despite concerns over their potential impact on India's domestic industries and employment. Massive imports from China are primarily responsible for growing unemployment in India. India has been a major importer of Chinese smartphones, laptops, televisions, and other low-cost electronic devices such as clothing and textiles including activewear, casual wear, and children's fashion, to meet the country's growing local demand. India's significant portion of toy imports come from China. The current size of India's toy market is worth over $1.2 billion. Chinese manufacturers offer a wide variety of affordable and innovative toys. India also imports a wide range of other low-cost products from China, including household goods, kitchenware, baby carriages, and consumer products. The influx of cheap Chinese imports is challenging India's domestic manufacturers, potentially impacting their competitiveness and production. Leave alone the domestic job loss. Trump's trade tantrums apart, India could import a lot more from the US, instead of China, especially in areas where the US has a competitive advantage. A shift in India's trade approach could be driven by factors such as diversification of supply chains, reducing dependence on China, and potentially leveraging the US's technological and manufacturing prowess. The country's reliance on China, particularly in areas like electronics and pharmaceuticals, creates strategic vulnerabilities. India should import more from the US where it has an intrinsic strength that could help India reduce its dependence on China and build more resilient supply chains. The US continues to be a major global exporter of goods across various sectors, including machinery, electronics, and pharmaceuticals. In fact, India could utilise the services of many top US companies which are present in India and doing very good business in the country as well as exporting their wares to influence US trade and business decisions. A number of prominent US multinational companies have significant manufacturing operations in India. They include Ford (exporting engines from its Chennai plant, and making software development), General Electric (GE), Honeywell, Apple, Cisco, Cognizant and Cummins to mention a few. These US giants have chosen India for its skilled workforce and growing market. GE has a long-standing relationship with India. It manufactures various products and technologies across different sectors. Honeywell has a strong manufacturing footprint in India, focusing on aerospace, building technologies, and performance materials. Cummins, a global power technology leader, manufactures engines and related components in India. Apple Inc. has so far ignored the Trump threat to expand India operations and export back to the US. The 3M, a diversified science company, has invested in manufacturing in India to serve both the domestic and export markets. The Boeing company has been expanding its manufacturing activities, leveraging the country's growing aerospace industry. Boeing is using India's capability to outsource products and services with a network of some 300 Indian suppliers. The business is worth $1.25 billion annually. Boeing's engineering and technology centre in Bengaluru is one of its largest outside the US. Apple has also ramped up its manufacturing in India, partnering with such global leaders such as Wistron and Foxconn to produce iPhones. The US e-commerce giant Amazon has invested big in India, creating its own infrastructure and supply chain to support the growing online marketplace. Cisco, a global US leader in networking and cybersecurity, has a strong presence in the country, which covers manufacturing and research and development among others. Whimsical Trump's bid to strongly disturb the matured India-US economic and diplomatic relations may have something to do with his age. President Trump will reach 80 in next June. This may somewhat explain his growing capricious nature in dealing with the complex international issues and markedly strange utterances and suggestions slamming India and Russia as 'dead economies' after tariff stand-off and the US drilling oil in Pakistan which is 85 percent import dependent to meet its energy needs. Having road-tested a hardball tactic in his first term (January 20, 2017 to January 20, 2021), President Trump seems to have taken it to new levels. Earlier this year, a global survey found that India was the most upbeat of any nation about what a second Donald Trump presidency would mean for the country. The survey panel must be having second thoughts now. For India, it must strongly avoid falling into a Trump trap and continue to play cool. (IPA Service)
Gulf Today
6 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Hamas says it will allow aid for hostages if Israel halts airstrikes
Hamas said on Sunday it was prepared to coordinate with the Red Cross to deliver aid to hostages it holds in Gaza, if Israel meets certain conditions, after a video it released showing an emaciated captive drew sharp criticism from Western powers. Palestinian local health authorities said at least 80 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes across the coastal enclave on Sunday. Deaths included persons trying to make their way to aid distribution points in southern and central areas of Gaza, Palestinian medics said. Hamas said any coordination with the Red Cross is contingent upon Israel permanently opening humanitarian corridors and halting airstrikes during the distribution of aid. 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 organizations from having any kind of access to the hostages and families have little or no details of their conditions. A Palestinian man carries aid that entered Gaza through Israel, as other Palestinians ride on a truck, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Reuters On Saturday, Hamas released its second video in two days of Israeli hostage Evyatar David. In it, David, skeletally thin, is shown digging a hole that, he says in the video, is for his own grave. The arm of the individual holding the camera, which can be seen in the frame, is a regular width. The video of David drew criticism from Western powers and horrified Israelis. France, Germany, the UK and the US were among countries to express outrage and Israel's foreign ministry announced that the UN Security Council will hold a special session on Tuesday morning on the issue of the situation of the hostages in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had asked the Red Cross to give humanitarian assistance to the hostages during a conversation with the head of the Swiss-based ICRC's local delegation. A statement from The Hostages Families Forum, which represents relatives of those being held in Gaza, said Hamas' comments about the hostages cannot hide that it "has been holding innocent people in impossible conditions for over 660 days," and demanded their immediate release. Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Reuters "Until their release," said the statement, "Hamas has the obligation to provide them with everything they need. Hamas kidnapped them and they must care for them. Every hostage who dies will be on Hamas's hands." Six more people died of starvation or malnutrition in Gaza over the past 24 hours, its health ministry said on Sunday as Israel said it allowed a delivery of fuel to the enclave, in the throes of a humanitarian disaster after almost two years of war. The new deaths raised the toll of those dying from what international humanitarian agencies say may be an unfolding famine to 175, including 93 children, since the war began, the ministry said. Egypt's state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said two trucks carrying 107 tons of diesel were set to enter Gaza, months after Israel severely restricted aid access to the enclave before easing it somewhat as starvation began to spread. COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, said later in the day that four tankers of UN fuel had entered to help in operations of hospitals, bakeries, public kitchens and other essential services. People mourn during the funeral of Palestinians, who were killed by Israeli fire while trying to receive aid, at Al Shifa Hospital. Reuters There was no immediate confirmation whether the two diesel fuel trucks had entered Gaza from Egypt. Gaza's health ministry has said fuel shortages have severely impaired hospital services, forcing doctors to focus on treating only critically ill or injured patients. Fuel shipments have been rare since March, when Israel restricted the flow of aid into the enclave in what it said was pressure on Hamas fighters to free the remaining hostages they took in their October 2023 attack on Israel. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza but, in response to a rising international uproar, it announced steps last week to let more aid reach the population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, approving air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. UN agencies say airdrops are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and open up access to the territory to prevent starvation among its 2.2 million people, most of whom are displaced amidst vast swathes of rubble. COGAT said that during the past week over 23,000 tons of humanitarian aid in 1,200 trucks had entered Gaza but that hundreds of the trucks had yet to be driven to aid distribution hubs by U.N. and other international organisations. Meanwhile, Belgium's air force dropped the first in a series of its aid packages into Gaza on Sunday in a joint operation with Jordan, the Belgian defence ministry said. A woman reacts during the funeral of Palestinians killed in an overnight Israeli strike on an UNRWA school sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Sunday. Reuters France on Friday started to air-drop 40 tons of humanitarian aid. Looted aid trucks The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said on Sunday that nearly 1,600 aid trucks had arrived since Israel eased restrictions late in July. However, witnesses and Hamas sources said many of those trucks have been looted by desperate displaced people and armed gangs. More than 700 trucks of fuel entered the Gaza Strip in January and February during a ceasefire before Israel broke it in March in a dispute over terms for extending it and resumed its major offensive. Among those killed was a staff member of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which said an Israeli strike at its headquarters in Khan Younis in southern Gaza ignited a fire on the first floor of the building. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in a cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's air and ground war in densely populated Gaza has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to enclave health officials. Reuters
