Latest news with #AmiraNimerawi
Sky News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Gaza live: UK halts trade talks with Israel and summons ambassador over 'cruel' Gaza blockade - as UN says no aid has reached Palestinians
'I wish it would make a difference' We've just been hearing from the head of Health Workers 4 Palestine about the conditions in Gaza as people wait for much-needed humanitarian aid. Amira Nimerawi tells presenter Jayne Secker that the Israeli army has recently bombed the last well that provides water to civilians in Deir al Balah, central Gaza. "Yesterday there were five trucks. They are expecting around 100 today," she says. "Yet we see a consistent attempt to destroy any infrastructures that are there to nurture life." Nimerawi does not believe that the UK's decision to suspend talks on a new free trade agreement will do much. "Sadly, no," she says. "I wish that it would make a difference. And I wish that these statements were emerging at the beginning of this genocide 19 months ago." "We would like to see other countries place an arms embargo and sanctions on Israel and the supply of weapons," she adds. "Israel needs to be cut off to stop the bloodshed, and to end the occupation once and for all. This is the only thing. This is the only way that Israel is going to stop killing Palestinians."
Sky News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Gaza live: UK halts trade talks with Israel and summons ambassador over 'cruel' aid blockade
15:46:54 In pictures: Piles of humanitarian aid waits at Gaza crossing Here are the scenes today at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel. The UN says Israel has approved "around 100" trucks to cross into Gaza and deliver much-needed food and medical supplies to civilians. Five trucks were allowed into the enclave yesterday, signalling an end to an 11-week Israeli blockade. 15:36:35 'I wish it would make a difference' We've just been hearing from the head of Health Workers 4 Palestine about the conditions in Gaza as people wait for much-needed humanitarian aid. Amira Nimerawi tells presenter Jayne Secker that the Israeli army has recently bombed the last well that provides water to civilians in Deir al Balah, central Gaza. "Yesterday there were five trucks. They are expecting around 100 today," she says. "Yet we see a consistent attempt to destroy any infrastructures that are there to nurture life." Nimerawi does not believe that the UK's decision to suspend talks on a new free trade agreement will do much. "Sadly, no," she says. "I wish that it would make a difference. And I wish that these statements were emerging at the beginning of this genocide 19 months ago." "We would like to see other countries place an arms embargo and sanctions on Israel and the supply of weapons," she adds. "Israel needs to be cut off to stop the bloodshed, and to end the occupation once and for all. This is the only thing. This is the only way that Israel is going to stop killing Palestinians." 15:01:45 'Anti-Israel obsession' behind UK decision to suspend trade talks, Israel says We've just seen some immediate reaction to David Lammy's announcement from Israel. Oren Marmorstein, a spokesperson for the Israeli foreign affairs ministry, says the free trade agreement talks which the UK has now backed out of were "not being advanced at all by the UK government". "More than that, the agreement would serve the mutual benefit of both countries," he adds. "If, due to anti-Israel obsession and domestic political considerations, the British government is willing to harm the British economy - that is its own prerogative." Marmorstein added that the sanctions placed against Israeli settlers in the West Bank were "regrettable". 14:40:16 UK suspends trade talks with Israel and summons ambassador over 'cruel' aid blockade Addressing MPs, David Lammy says the "threat of starvation is hanging over hundreds of thousands of civilians" in Gaza, which he calls "abominable". He says the 11-week blockade stopping humanitarian aid reaching Gaza is "indefensible and cruel". "They are isolating Israel from its friends and partners around the world, undermining the interests of the Israeli people and damaging the image of the state of Israel in the eyes of the world." Lammy says the UK is suspending negotiations with the Israeli government on a new free trade agreement and is summoning the Israeli ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, to the Foreign Office. He says that Middle East minister Hamish Falconer will tell Hotovely that "the 11-week block on aid to Gaza has been cruel and indefensible". "The world is judging. History will judge them," he adds. "Blocking aid, expanding the world, dismissing the concerns of your friends and partners. This is indefensible, and it must stop." 'We will take further action' Lammy goes on: "I say now to the people of Israel, we want I want a strong friendship with you based on shared values and with flourishing ties between our people and societies. "We are unwavering in our commitment to your security and to your future, to countering the very real threat from Iran, the scourge of terrorism and the evils of antisemitism. "But the conduct of the war in Gaza is damaging our relationship with your government. "And as the prime minister has said, if Israel pursues this military offensive as it has threatened failing to ensure the unhindered provision of aid, we will take further action in response." 14:34:08 Lammy statement on Gaza under way Foreign Secretary David Lammy is giving a statement in the House of Commons on the conflict in the Middle East. You can watch along in the stream at the top of the page and we'll bring text updates in the blog. 14:30:01 Nearly 100 killed in Gaza in past 24 hours, health ministry says Nearly 100 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's latest military offensive in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run health ministry has said. According to its latest figures, 53,573 people have now been killed by Israel since 7 October 2023, 87 more than yesterday's number. A further 290 people have been injured during that time, it added. The ministry's figures do not differentiate between Hamas fighters and civilians. Watch: Aftermath of strike on Gaza school-turned-shelter For context: While Israeli officials have cast doubt on the numbers killed in Gaza, several independent groups say the ministry's figures have proved to be largely reliable and broadly in line with those later produced by the UN and Israel itself. Examination of data from previous Gaza conflicts, comparing the ministry's counts with post-war UN analysis, shows the initial data is largely accurate with, at most, a 10-12% discrepancy. 14:02:52 In pictures: Israeli tanks drive into Gaza Israel has embarked on significant escalation in its offensive in Gaza in the last week. Here are the latest images from the border as military vehicles drive from Israel into Gaza. 13:36:25 UK sanctions Israeli settlers in West Bank The UK says it has sanctioned a number of individuals and groups in the West Bank who it says have been linked with acts of violence against Palestinians. Among the individuals sanctioned are Zohar Sabah, Harel David Libi and Daniella Weiss. Weiss is a leading settler activist who was the subject of Louis Theroux's recent documentary Settlers. We'll bring you more on this story as we get it. 13:22:01 Israel says it struck 'over 100 terror targets' across Gaza in 24 hours The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) says its air force struck "over 100 terror targets" throughout Gaza over the past day. It says that targets in northern Gaza included a weapons storage facility, a military structure used by the Islamic Jihad and underground infrastructure. The IDF said military and observation compounds in southern Gaza were also struck. Palestinian health officials have reported that Israeli strikes overnight and into this morning have killed at least 60 people across Gaza (see 9.08am post). Starmer: 'We cannot allow the people of Gaza to starve' Sir Keir Starmer has just been addressing MPs in the House of Commons. He says the level of suffering in Gaza is "utterly intolerable" and he is "horrified by the escalation from Israel". "The recent announcement that Israel will allow a basic quantity of food into Gaza is totally and utterly inadequate," he says. "So we must coordinate our response, because this war has gone on for far too long. We cannot allow the people of Gaza to starve." He says Foreign Secretary David Lammy will soon set out the UK's response in detail.
Middle East Eye
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Prominent health workers accuse BBC of 'censorship' for withholding film on Gaza medics
Prominent health workers have written to the BBC expressing "profound outrage" over its decision to delay the broadcast of a new film about doctors working in Gaza, which they say is "censorship by omission". The documentary, Gaza: Medics Under Fire, was ready to broadcast in February but was pulled because of a scandal that erupted over another BBC documentary on children in Gaza, entitled How to Survive a Warzone. The BBC launched a review into the film after the Israeli embassy in London and British ministers criticised it over revelations that its 13-year-old narrator Abdullah al-Yazuri's father is a technocrat in Gaza's Hamas-administered government. Britain's public broadcaster has said it will broadcast Gaza: Medics Under Fire after the review into the earlier documentary has been concluded, although it is not clear when that will be. The new film has been signed off by the broadcaster's lawyers, and the BBC reportedly abandoned an earlier plan to screen the film despite the review. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Amira Nimerawi, the CEO of Health Workers 4 Palestine, Dr Omar Abel Mannan, its founder and president, and Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah, the rector of Glasgow University who worked in Gaza's hospitals in 2023, were among healthcare workers who signed an open letter to the BBC's Director-General Tim Davie on Thursday. "This is not a neutral editorial choice," they wrote. "The BBC's refusal to air this film constitutes censorship by omission, and it is no less dangerous than overt propaganda. "By denying the public access to this crucial testimony, the BBC is actively shielding war crimes from scrutiny and undermining its own stated commitment to impartiality, truth, and public service." 'No moral or professional reason' Basement Films, the documentary's producer, said it was "deeply disappointed" at the BBC's decision, adding: "There is no moral or professional reason why a mistake in one film should repeatedly prevent the release of another film. "We gathered searing testimony from multiple Palestinian doctors and health workers who had survived attacks on hospitals and their homes that killed both colleagues and loved ones. The Settlers: Louis Theroux takes an unflinching look at the Israelis intent on stealing the West Bank Read More » "We also spoke to multiple medics who had been detained and testified they had been tortured, and we made solemn undertakings that their stories would be told, and done so as soon as possible." Basement Films added: "The film has been made by an experienced and multi-award-winning team both from Basement Films, and the BBC. It has been fact-checked, complied and signed off multiple times within the BBC, as well as experts we consulted with. "We are desperate for a confirmed release date in order to be able to tell the surviving doctors and medics when their stories will be told." The letter on Thursday noted that the health workers featured in the BBC film "have witnessed countless colleagues being killed, and have risked their lives not only to care for their patients, but to document and expose the relentless targeting by Israel of healthcare infrastructure and personnel". A spokesperson for the BBC said: "We are committed to journalism which tells our audiences the stories of this war, including what is happening in Gaza. "This documentary is a powerful piece of reporting and we will broadcast it as soon as possible. We have taken an editorial decision not to do so while we have an ongoing review into a previous documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone." This comes just over a week after the BBC aired Louis Theroux's film The Settlers, which recived enormous attention and focused on Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
