Israel will not renew visa of top UN humanitarian official, World News
Eri Kaneko, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said visas for UN staff were recently renewed for shorter periods than usual and access requests to Gaza were denied for multiple agencies. Kaneko said permits for Palestinian staff to enter East Jerusalem were also withheld. Why it's important
Gaza is in the midst of a devastating Israeli military assault following a deadly October 2023 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants. Israel has come under mounting criticism from the UN during its war in the Palestinian enclave, which has internally displaced Gaza's entire population and caused a hunger crisis. Key quotes
"Last week, it was indicated to us that our current Head of Office, Jonathan Whittall, won't have his visa extended by Israeli authorities beyond August. This came immediately after remarks he made at a press briefing about starving people being killed while trying to reach food," Kaneko said.
Israel's mission to the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has previously dismissed UN criticism as being biased. Context
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The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show.
Gaza's health ministry says Israel's subsequent military assault has killed over 58,000 Palestinians. It has also prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations.
The UN rights office says it recorded nearly 900 killings within the past six weeks near aid distribution sites and aid convoys in Gaza.
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CNA
23 minutes ago
- CNA
Trump says many are starving in Gaza, vows to set up food centres
CAIRO: United States President Donald Trump said on Monday (Jul 28) many people were starving in Gaza and suggested Israel could do more on humanitarian access, as Palestinians struggled to feed their children a day after Israel declared steps to improve supplies. As the death toll from two years of war in Gaza nears 60,000, a growing number of people are dying from starvation and malnutrition, Gaza health authorities say, with images of starving children shocking the world and fuelling international criticism of Israel over sharply worsening conditions. Describing starvation in Gaza as real, Trump's assessment put him at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Sunday "there is no starvation in Gaza" and vowed to fight on against the Palestinian militant group Hamas - a statement he reposted on X on Monday. 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"WHEN YOU GO TO BED HUNGRY, YOU WAKE UP HUNGRY" On Monday, the Gaza health ministry said at least 14 people had died in the past 24 hours of starvation and malnutrition, bringing the war's death toll from hunger to 147, including 88 children, most in just the last few weeks. Israel announced several measures over the weekend, including daily humanitarian pauses to fighting in three areas of Gaza, new safe corridors for aid convoys, and airdrops. The decision followed the collapse of ceasefire talks on Friday. Wessal Nabil from Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza described the struggle of trying to feed her three children. "When you go to bed hungry, you wake up hungry. We distract them with anything ... to make them calm down," she told Reuters. "I call on the world, on those with merciful hearts, the compassionate, to look at us with compassion, to be kind to us, to stand with us until aid comes in and ensure it reaches us." 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Israel cut off aid to Gaza from the start of March in what it said was a means to pressure Hamas into giving up dozens of hostages it still holds, and reopened aid with new restrictions in May. Hamas accuses Israel of using hunger as a weapon.
Straits Times
36 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Trump says many are starving in Gaza, vows to set up food centres
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen in Gaza on July 28. CAIRO/GENEVA - US President Donald Trump said on July 28 that many people were starving in Gaza and suggested Israel could do more on humanitarian access, as Palestinians struggled to feed their children a day after Israel declared steps to improve supplies. As the death toll from two years of war in Gaza nears 60,000, a growing number of people are dying from starvation and malnutrition, Gaza health authorities say, with images of starving children shocking the world and fuelling international criticism of Israel over sharply worsening conditions. Describing starvation in Gaza as real, Mr Trump's assessment put him at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on July 27 that 'there is no starvation in Gaza' and vowed to fight on against the Palestinian militant group Hamas - a statement he reposted on X on July 28. 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'When you go to bed hungry, you wake up hungry' On July 28, the Gaza health ministry said at least 14 people had died in the past 24 hours of starvation and malnutrition, bringing the war's death toll from hunger to 147, including 88 children, most in just the last few weeks. Israel announced several measures over the weekend, including daily humanitarian pauses to fighting in three areas of Gaza, new safe corridors for aid convoys, and airdrops. The decision followed the collapse of ceasefire talks on July 25. Ms Wessal Nabil from Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza described the struggle of trying to feed her three children. 'When you go to bed hungry, you wake up hungry. We distract them with anything ... to make them calm down,' she told Reuters. 'I call on the world, on those with merciful hearts, the compassionate, to look at us with compassion, to be kind to us, to stand with us until aid comes in and ensure it reaches us.' Two Israeli defence officials said the international pressure prompted the new Israeli measures, as did the worsening conditions on the ground. Palestinians carrying humanitarian aid they received at the Rafah corridor in the southern Gaza Strip on July 28. PHOTO: AFP UN agencies said a long-term and steady supply of aid was needed. The World Food Programme said 60 trucks of aid had been dispatched - but that is short of its target. Almost 470,000 people in Gaza are enduring famine-like conditions, with 90,000 women and children in need of specialist nutrition treatments, it said. 'Our target at the moment, every day is to get 100 trucks into Gaza,' WFP regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, Samer AbdelJaber, told Reuters. Mr Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Reuters the situation is catastrophic. 'At this time, children are dying every single day from starvation, from preventable disease. So time has run out.' Mr Netanyahu has denied any policy of starvation towards Gaza, saying aid supplies would be kept up whether Israel was negotiating a ceasefire or fighting. A spokesperson for Cogat, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said Israel had not placed a time limit on the humanitarian pauses in its military operation, a day after UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said Israel had decided 'to support a one-week scale-up of aid'. 'We hope this pause will last much longer than a week, ultimately turning into a permanent ceasefire,' Mr Fletcher's spokesperson, Eri Kaneko, said on July 28. Mr Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Compared to last week, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said, there had only been a 'small uptick' in the amount of aid being transported into Gaza since Israel started the humanitarian pauses. Trump says Hamas difficult to deal with In his statement on July 27, Mr Netanyahu said Israel would continue to fight until it achieved the release of remaining hostages held by Hamas and the destruction of its military and governing capabilities. Mr Trump said Hamas had become difficult to deal with in recent days, but he was talking with Mr Netanyahu about 'various plans' to free hostages still held in the enclave. The war began on Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked communities across the border in southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies. The Gaza health ministry said that 98 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours. Some of the trucks that made it into Gaza were seized by desperate Palestinians, and some by armed looters, witnesses said. A truck carrying parts for water line installation drives past people in Rafah on July 28. PHOTO: AFP The Hamas-run Gaza government said only 87 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on July 28, with the majority of trucks looted due to what it described as 'direct and systematic Israeli complicity'. 'Currently aid comes for the strong who can race ahead, who can push others and grab a box or a sack of flour. That chaos must be stopped and protection for those trucks must be allowed,' said Emad, 58, who used to own a factory in Gaza City. The WFP said it has 170,000 metric tons of food in the region, outside Gaza, which would be enough to feed the whole population for the next three months if it gets the clearance to bring into the enclave. Cogat said more than 120 truckloads of aid were distributed in Gaza on July 27 by the UN and international organisations. More aid was expected on July 28. Qatar said it had sent 49 trucks that arrived in Egypt en route for Gaza. Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped supplies. Israel cut off aid to Gaza from the start of March in what it said was a means to pressure Hamas into giving up dozens of hostages it still holds, and reopened aid with new restrictions in May. Hamas accuses Israel of using hunger as a weapon. Israel says it abides by international law but must prevent aid from being diverted by militants, and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's people. REUTERS
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Houthis say they hold 10 crew from Greek-operated ship they sank off Yemen
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