Latest news with #GazaSiege
Jordan Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Aid through action: Jordanian convoys reach war-torn Gaza, break Israel's cruel siege on tiny Strip
-JHCO secretary-general says Jordan begins breaking Gaza siege -Safadi calls for 'immediate', 'effective' int'l action to stop humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, ensure unimpeded access to aid -'Children [in Gaza] tell their parents they want to go to heaven, because at least heaven has food' AMMAN — Jordan has begun breaking the siege Israel is imposing on Gaza, Secretary-General of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation(JHCO) Hussein Shibli said, reinforcing the Kingdom's ongoing efforts to ease the 'unprecedented' humanitarian catastrophe in the war-torn Strip. JHCO said it dispatched on Thursday its fifth humanitarian aid convoy to Gaza, in coordination with the World Central Kitchen (WCK) and the World Food Programme (WFP). Jordan's relief agency said the latest convoy carried 50 trucks loaded with flour, infant formula and other essential foodstuffs. The supplies are to be used in preparing hot meals and directly distributed inside Gaza by WCK teams. The delivery brings the total number of trucks sent since the beginning of the crisis to 181, comprising 7,932 trucks, according to official figures. 'Jordan has begun to break the siege on Gaza and deliver the aid every Jordanian hope to see reaching its people,' Shibli told Al Mamlaka TV. 'All deliveries are backed by political, diplomatic and military efforts led by His Majesty King Abdullah. We face obstacles, political, logistical, and security-related ,but we continue with full determination,' he added. Shibli said the Kingdom relies on trusted partners such as WFP and WCK to ensure aid reaches those in need. He highlighted Wednesday's successful entry of a 36-truck convoy through the Zikim crossing and added: 'Persistent coordination can overcome blockades and security threats. The distribution inside Gaza is direct and controlled to ensure it reaches those who need it most.' While Jordan's convoys push ahead, conditions on the ground in Gaza continue to deteriorate. Health officials in the enclave reported that tens of people were dying from starvation, raising the total death toll from hunger since the start of the war to 111, including at least 80 children. International aid efforts have faced repeated delays and attacks. Humanitarian workers reported that earlier attempts to deliver aid were obstructed by sniper fire and looting near border crossings, while instability on the ground continues to complicate distribution. In New York on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi held talks with UN Secretary-General António Guterres focused on confronting the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the ongoing Israeli restrictions on humanitarian access, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. The discussions also explored ways to enhance coordination between Jordan and UN agencies to expedite aid entry and ensure uninterrupted humanitarian delivery. Safadi stressed the need for 'immediate and effective' action by the international community to stop the humanitarian catastrophe and ensure unimpeded access to aid. He reiterated Jordan's firm position that 'protecting civilians, enforcing international humanitarian law, and ensuring the continuous flow of food, water, and medicine are legal and moral imperatives.' Jordan's top diplomat also emphasised that UNRWA's role is indispensable and irreplaceable, adding that any attempts to weaken or replace the agency would have dangerous consequences for millions of Palestinians relying on its services. 'The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is the worst in modern memory,' Safadi said. 'If the world fails to act now, history will remember this as a stain on our collective conscience.' Gaza is suffering man-made mass starvation caused by the blockade of aid into the territory, the head of the World Health Organisation Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said, as more than 100 agencies called on Israel to allow entry of supplies to the enclave. 'I don't know what you would call it other than mass starvation, and it's man-made, and that's very clear,' Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference from Geneva. 'This is because of [the] blockade.' A letter signed by over 100 relief agencies, including Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam International and Amnesty International says the Israeli government is blocking humanitarian organisations from effectively distributing life-saving aid. 'Just outside Gaza, in warehouses, and even within Gaza itself, tonnes of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel sit untouched with humanitarian organisations blocked from accessing or delivering them,' the agencies wrote. 'The government of Israel's restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death.' The statement quoted an aid worker in Gaza who said, 'Children tell their parents they want to go to heaven, because at least heaven has food.'
Arab News
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Egyptian activist locks nation's embassy gates in The Hague to protest Gaza siege
AMSTERDAM: An Egyptian activist on Tuesday locked the outer gates of his country's embassy in The Hague to protest Cairo's alleged closure of the Rafah crossing which has prevented aid from entering Gaza for besieged Palestinians. Livestreaming his actions, content creator and social media personality Anas Habib locked two sets of gates at the embassy with what appears to be bike locks. Habib said his actions were symbolic and he wanted to draw attention to the ongoing siege of Gaza that was resulting in the starvation of Palestinians. A post shared by Anas Habib - أنس حبيب (@ 'It's been two years of us hearing this same excuse, it's closed from their side and not ours, they couldn't handle a lie and a siege for one second, imagine how everyone in Gaza is feeling hearing your lies every day for the past two years,' he said. 'I'll stay standing here until the police arrive, because I won't open it until Gaza is opened. Let them break the lock themselves,' Habib said. There has been no response yet from the Egyptian government to Habib's actions and the video which has gone viral on social media. Egypt has reportedly in the past pointed out that the Rafah crossing has been closed on the Gaza side by the Israeli military.
Reuters
16-07-2025
- Health
- Reuters
One in 10 children in its clinics are malnourished, UN Palestinian refugee agency says
GENEVA, July 15 (Reuters) - One in 10 children screened in clinics run by the United Nations refugee agency in Gaza since 2024 has been malnourished, the agency said on Tuesday. "Our health teams are confirming that malnutrition rates are increasing in Gaza, especially since the siege was tightened more than four months ago on the second of March," UNRWA's Director of Communications, Juliette Touma, told reporters in Geneva via a video link from Amman, Jordan. Since January 2024, UNRWA said it had screened more than 240,000 boys and girls under the age of five in its clinics, adding that before the war, acute malnutrition was rarely seen in the Gaza Strip. "One nurse that we spoke to told us that in the past, he only saw these cases of malnutrition in textbooks and documentaries," Touma said. "Medicine, nutrition supplies, hygiene material, fuel are all rapidly running out," Touma said. On May 19, Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza, allowing limited U.N. deliveries to resume. However, UNRWA continues to be banned from bringing aid into the enclave. COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said that it has helped facilitate 67,000 food trucks to enter Gaza, delivering 1.5 million tons of food, including infant formula and baby food. It said that about 2,000 tons of baby food have been brought into Gaza through the crossings in recent weeks, following requests by international aid organizations. Israel and the United States have accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of stealing from U.N.-led aid operations - which Hamas denies. They have instead set up the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, using private U.S. security and logistics firms to transport aid to distribution hubs, which the U.N. has refused to work with. On Monday, UNICEF said that last month more than 5,800 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in Gaza, including more than 1,000 children with severe, acute malnutrition. It said it was an increase for the fourth month in a row.
Free Malaysia Today
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Israeli far-right minister demands end to Gaza ceasefire talks
Israel's national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for a 'total siege' of the Gaza Strip. (AP pic) JERUSALEM : Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir today urged prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call back a delegation conducting indirect talks with Hamas in Qatar for a ceasefire in Gaza. 'I call on the prime minister to immediately recall the delegation that went to negotiate with the Hamas murderers in Doha,' Ben Gvir said in a post on X on the third day of talks between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement. Instead, the minister who lives in a West Bank settlement called for 'total siege, military crushing, encouraging emigration (of Palestinians outside of Gaza), and (Israeli) settlement' in the Gaza Strip. He called these measures 'the keys to total victory, not a reckless deal that would release thousands of terrorists and withdraw the (Israeli army) from areas captured with the blood of our soldiers'. A Palestinian official close to the talks told AFP today that the talks were ongoing, with a focus on 'the mechanisms for implementation, particularly the clauses related to withdrawal and humanitarian aid'. Netanyahu travelled to Washington for his third visit since Trump's return to power, where the US president on Monday voiced confidence that a deal could be reached. The Israeli leader ruled out a full Palestinian state, insisting Israel would 'always' keep security control over the Gaza Strip. Israel has been waging war on Hamas in Gaza for over 21 months, its troops gradually occupying more and more of the Palestinian territory. According to the UN, 82% of Gaza is now under Israeli military control or displacement orders. The war was triggered by Hamas's unprecedented attack on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023. The attack resulted in 1,219 deaths on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. Of the 251 people abducted that day, 49 are still hostages in Gaza, including 27 declared dead by the Israeli army. At least 57,523 Gazans, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel's retaliatory campaign, according to data from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The figures are deemed reliable by the UN.
Al Jazeera
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Sailing to break the siege on Gaza
On June 1, twelve people set sail to break the Gaza siege. Al Jazeera Mubasher's Omar Faiad was one of them. He recounts life aboard the Madleen, its seizure by Israeli forces, and the psychological pressure activists faced in detention.
