Aid groups say food is failing to reach north Gaza
As aid trickles into parts of Gaza after a blockade, aid groups say food is failing to reach Palestinians in the north.
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West Australian
3 hours ago
- West Australian
Starving Palestinians empty UN food trucks
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip blocked and offloaded dozens of food trucks, the UN World Food Program says, as desperation mounts following Israel's months-long aid blockade while talks of a ceasefire inch forward. The World Food Program 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 aid blockade on Gaza has pushed the population of over two million to the brink of famine. Hamas on Friday said it was reviewing a US proposal for a temporary ceasefire, which Israeli officials have 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. The World Food Program said the fear of starvation in Gaza is high despite the aid that's 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 has over 140,000 metric tons of food, enough to feed Gazans for two months, ready to be brought in. A witness in the southern city of Khan Younis told The Associated Press the UN convoy was stopped at a makeshift roadblock and offloaded by desperate civilians in their thousands. Most people carried bags of flour. He said at one point a forklift was used to offload pallets. The UN says it has been unable to get enough aid in because of fighting. On Friday, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said it only picked up five truckloads of cargo from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, and the other 60 trucks had to return due to intense hostilities. A new US and Israeli-backed foundation started operations in Gaza this week, distributing food at several sites in a chaotic rollout. Israel says the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation eventually will replace the aid operation that the UN and others have carried out during nearly 20 months of war. It says the new mechanism is necessary, accusing Hamas of siphoning off large amounts of aid. The UN denies that a significant diversion takes place. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation works with armed contractors, which it says are needed to distribute food safely. Aid groups have accused the foundation of militarising aid. Israel continued its military campaign across Gaza, saying it struck dozens of targets over the past day. Gaza's Health Ministry said at least 60 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours. The ministry said three people were killed by Israeli gunfire early Saturday in Rafah. Three others were killed — parents and a child — when their car was struck in Gaza City. An Israeli strike hit another car in Gaza City, killing four. And an Israeli strike hit a tent sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, killing six, said Weam Fares, a spokesperson for Nasser Hospital. The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1200 people, most of them civilians, and taking 250 hostages. Of those taken captive, 58 remain in Gaza. Israel believes 35 are dead and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there are doubts about the fate of several others. Israeli strikes have killed more than 54,000 Gaza residents, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.
Perth Now
3 hours ago
- Perth Now
Starving Palestinians empty UN food trucks
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip blocked and offloaded dozens of food trucks, the UN World Food Program says, as desperation mounts following Israel's months-long aid blockade while talks of a ceasefire inch forward. The World Food Program 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 aid blockade on Gaza has pushed the population of over two million to the brink of famine. Hamas on Friday said it was reviewing a US proposal for a temporary ceasefire, which Israeli officials have 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. The World Food Program said the fear of starvation in Gaza is high despite the aid that's 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 has over 140,000 metric tons of food, enough to feed Gazans for two months, ready to be brought in. A witness in the southern city of Khan Younis told The Associated Press the UN convoy was stopped at a makeshift roadblock and offloaded by desperate civilians in their thousands. Most people carried bags of flour. He said at one point a forklift was used to offload pallets. The UN says it has been unable to get enough aid in because of fighting. On Friday, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said it only picked up five truckloads of cargo from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, and the other 60 trucks had to return due to intense hostilities. A new US and Israeli-backed foundation started operations in Gaza this week, distributing food at several sites in a chaotic rollout. Israel says the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation eventually will replace the aid operation that the UN and others have carried out during nearly 20 months of war. It says the new mechanism is necessary, accusing Hamas of siphoning off large amounts of aid. The UN denies that a significant diversion takes place. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation works with armed contractors, which it says are needed to distribute food safely. Aid groups have accused the foundation of militarising aid. Israel continued its military campaign across Gaza, saying it struck dozens of targets over the past day. Gaza's Health Ministry said at least 60 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours. The ministry said three people were killed by Israeli gunfire early Saturday in Rafah. Three others were killed — parents and a child — when their car was struck in Gaza City. An Israeli strike hit another car in Gaza City, killing four. And an Israeli strike hit a tent sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, killing six, said Weam Fares, a spokesperson for Nasser Hospital. The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1200 people, most of them civilians, and taking 250 hostages. Of those taken captive, 58 remain in Gaza. Israel believes 35 are dead and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there are doubts about the fate of several others. Israeli strikes have killed more than 54,000 Gaza residents, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Arab ministers condemn Israel 'ban' on planned West Bank visit
The foreign ministers of five Arab countries, who had planned to visit the occupied West Bank this weekend, condemned on Saturday Israel's decision to block their trip. The ministers condemned "Israel's decision to ban the delegation's visit to Ramallah (on Sunday) to meet with the president of the State of Palestine, Mahmud Abbas", the Jordanian foreign ministry said. Ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had been expected to take part alongside Turkey and the secretary-general of the Arab League. Israel had announced late Friday that it would not cooperate, effectively blocking the visit as it controls the territory's borders and airspace. Abbas "intended to host in Ramallah a provocative meeting of foreign ministers from Arab countries to discuss the promotion of the establishment of a Palestinian state," an Israeli official said. "Such a state would undoubtedly become a terrorist state in the heart of the Land of Israel. Israel will not cooperate with such moves aimed at harming it and its security." Had the visit gone ahead, the delegation's head, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, would have become the first Saudi foreign minister to visit the West Bank. Israel this week announced the creation of 22 new Jewish settlements in the West Bank, regarded by the United Nations as illegal under international law and one of the main obstacles to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. During a visit to one of the new settlement sites on Friday, Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed to build a "Jewish Israeli state" in the Palestinian territory. - 'Diplomatic confrontation' - Taking aim at foreign countries that would "recognise a Palestinian state on paper", he added: "The paper will be thrown into the trash bin of history, and the State of Israel will flourish and prosper." In June, Saudi Arabia and France are to co-chair an international conference at UN headquarters meant to resurrect the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Saudi Arabia was said to have been close to recognising Israel before the start of the Gaza war, and US President Donald Trump, during a recent visit to Riyadh, called normalisation between the countries "my fervent hope and wish". But de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has repeatedly said Saudi Arabia will not recognise Israel without an independent Palestinian state. Firas Maksad, a fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said Israel's rejection of the visit indicated "how far Saudi and Israel have moved from normalisation to diplomatic confrontation". He added that the planned visit "underscores just how much the Saudi position has shifted away from creating a credible pathway towards a Palestinian state through conditional normalisation with Israel, to one that aims to create such a path via an international coalition in support of Palestinian aspirations". Saudi Arabia is co-hosting with France a conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York aiming to revive the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. French President Emmanuel Macron previously said he could recognise a Palestinian state at that conference, drawing a sharp rebuke from Israel.
