Gaza ambulance fleet down to a third, Palestinian Red Crescent says
A view of an aid truck entering from Israel into Gaza, near the Kerem Shalom crossing near the Israeli-Gaza border, May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
GENEVA - The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent said on Thursday its operations in Gaza may stop within days in the absence of fresh supplies and its ambulance fleet was running at only a third of capacity due to fuel shortages.
Flour and other aid began reaching some of Gaza's most vulnerable areas on Thursday after Israel let some trucks through, but nowhere near enough to make up for shortages caused by an 11-week Israeli blockade, Palestinian officials said.
Israel said it let in 100 trucks carrying baby food and medical equipment on Wednesday, two days after announcing its first relaxation of the blockade under mounting international pressure amid warnings of starvation in Gaza.
Asked how long his organisation could continue operating in Gaza, Palestine Red Crescent Society President Younis Al-Khatib told reporters in Geneva: "It's a matter of time. It could be days.
"We are running out of fuel. The capacity of ambulances we work with now is one third," he added, saying its gasoline-powered ambulances had already halted but it had some that were running on solar power provided by the United Nations.
The PRCS is part of the world's largest humanitarian network, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and provides medical care in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Al-Khatib criticised the small amount of aid Israel has allowed into Gaza so far, warning of the risk of mob attacks.
"I think that is an invitation for killing. These people are starving," he said.
Israel, at war with Gaza's dominant militant group Hamas since October 2023, has repeatedly defended its controls on aid in the enclave, saying there is enough food there and denying accusations of causing starvation.
He added his voice to criticism of a U.S.-backed organisation that aims to start work in Gaza by the end of May overseeing a new model of aid distribution. "It's not up for discussion. No, no, no," he said.
"The world should not give up on the system as we know it."
The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation intends to work with private U.S. security and logistics firms to provide aid to 300,000 people from distribution hubs in Gaza's south. Gaza's total population is 2.3 million, most of it displaced. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
11 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Marco Rubio praises bravery of Chinese people killed in Tiananmen Square crackdown
Mr Marco Rubio said the CCP actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget. PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on June 3 praised the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed in a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters at Tiananmen Square in Beijing 36 years ago. "Today we commemorate the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed as they tried to exercise their fundamental freedoms, as well as those who continue to suffer persecution as they seek accountability and justice for the events of June 4, 1989," Mr Rubio said in a statement. "The CCP actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget," he said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Chinese tanks rolled into the square before dawn on June 4, 1989, and troops opened fire to end weeks of pro-democracy demonstrations by students and workers. The ruling Communist Party has never released a death toll, though rights groups and witnesses say the figure could run into the thousands. The events are a taboo topic in China and the anniversary is not marked or publicly discussed, although public commemorations take place annually in overseas cities. "Their courage in the face of certain danger reminds us that the principles of freedom, democracy, and self-rule are not just American principles. They are human principles the CCP cannot erase," Mr Rubio said. The statement from the US' top diplomat comes at a rocky time in the US -China relationship. Since beginning his second White House term on January 20, US President Donald Trump has unleashed 145 per cent tariffs on most Chinese goods over what his administration sees as decades of trade abuses by China. Beijing responded with its own 125 per cent tariffs on US products. Officials from the two sides agreed in Geneva to dial back the triple-digit tariffs for 90 days, but have yet to address the underlying reasons for Mr Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods, mainly longstanding US complaints about China's state-dominated, export-driven economic model. Senior US officials have said this week that Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would speak soon to iron out trade issues, including a dispute over critical minerals and China's restrictions on exports of certain minerals. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a regular news briefing on June 3 the Trump administration "is actively monitoring China's compliance with the Geneva trade agreement," and added that "there will be a leader-to-leader talk very soon." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
11 minutes ago
- Straits Times
CDC expert resigns from Covid-19 vaccines advisory role, sources say
Dr Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos was the co-leader of a working group that advises outside experts on Covid-19 vaccines. PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON - Paediatric infectious disease expert Dr Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos of the US CDC resigned on June 3 as co-leader of a working group that advises outside experts on Covid-19 vaccines and is leaving the agency, two sources familiar with the move told Reuters. Dr Panagiotakopoulos said in an email to work group colleagues that her decision to step down was based on the belief she is "no longer able to help the most vulnerable members" of the US population. In her role at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's working group of the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (Acip), she co-led the gathering of information on topics for presentation. Her resignation comes one week after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a long-time vaccine sceptic who oversees the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, said the Covid-19 vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women had been removed from the CDC's recommended immunisation schedule. The move was a departure from the process in which Acip experts meet and vote on changes to the immunisation schedule or recommendations on who should get vaccines before the agency's director made a final call. The committee had not voted on the changes announced by Mr Kennedy and the CDC does not yet have a permanent director. Two days after Mr Kennedy's announcement, the CDC published a vaccine schedule online saying that Covid-19 vaccines remain an option for healthy children aged 6 months to 17 years when parents and doctors agree that it is needed. It had previously recommended updated Covid-19 vaccines for everyone aged six months and older, following the guidance of the panel of outside experts. Two sources said Dr Panagiotakopoulos did not include a specific reason for her departure. Dr Panagiotakopoulos did not return requests for comment. "Unfortunately for me, this is a personal decision," Dr Panagiotakopoulos wrote in an email to members of the working group that was read to Reuters by a source who received it. "My career in public health and vaccinology started with a deep-seated desire to help the most vulnerable members of our population, and that is not something I am able to continue doing in this role." The committee is scheduled to meet on June 25 to June 27 and is expected to deliberate and vote on recommendations for use of Covid-19 vaccines, according to one of the sources who was not authorised to speak publicly. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
29 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Rubio praises bravery of Chinese people killed in Tiananmen Square crackdown
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump's State Department budget request for the Department of State, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday praised the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed in a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters at Tiananmen Square in Beijing 36 years ago. "Today we commemorate the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed as they tried to exercise their fundamental freedoms, as well as those who continue to suffer persecution as they seek accountability and justice for the events of June 4, 1989," Rubio said in a statement. "The CCP actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget," he said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Chinese tanks rolled into the square before dawn on June 4, 1989, and troops opened fire to end weeks of pro-democracy demonstrations by students and workers. The ruling Communist Party has never released a death toll, though rights groups and witnesses say the figure could run into the thousands. The events are a taboo topic in China and the anniversary is not marked or publicly discussed, although public commemorations take place annually in overseas cities. "Their courage in the face of certain danger reminds us that the principles of freedom, democracy, and self-rule are not just American principles. They are human principles the CCP cannot erase," Rubio said. The statement from the U.S.'s top diplomat comes at a rocky time in the U.S.-China relationship. Since beginning his second White House term on January 20, U.S. President Donald Trump has unleashed 145% tariffs on most Chinese goods over what his administration sees as decades of trade abuses by China. Beijing responded with its own 125% tariffs on U.S. products. Officials from the two sides agreed in Geneva to dial back the triple-digit tariffs for 90 days, but have yet to address the underlying reasons for Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods, mainly longstanding U.S. complaints about China's state-dominated, export-driven economic model. Senior U.S. officials have said this week that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would speak soon to iron out trade issues, including a dispute over critical minerals and China's restrictions on exports of certain minerals. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a regular news briefing on Tuesday the Trump administration "is actively monitoring China's compliance with the Geneva trade agreement," and added that "there will be a leader-to-leader talk very soon." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
