Latest news with #Gazans
The Hill
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
These key US allies are set to recognize Palestinian state
About three-quarters of countries in the United Nations (UN) recognize the Palestinian state, which holds a 'Permanent Observer State' status within the intergovernmental body — allowing it to be part of the proceedings, but unable to vote on resolutions. Three more countries — close U.S. allies — have joined the tally in the last week. Last week, France said that it would recognize Palestinian statehood, with President Emmanuel Macron stating the move is part of a commitment to a 'just and lasting peace' in the Middle East. France became the first nation within the Group of Seven (G7) to do so. The announcement came shortly after negotiations over a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas broke down, with the Jewish State and the U.S. pulling their negotiators from Qatar. President Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff pinned the blame on Hamas and argued that the officials will consider 'alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.' Israel's ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, said last week that 'neither international conferences disconnected from reality nor unilateral statements at the UN will lead to peace.' Then this week, as the international outrage over the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has continued, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the United Kingdom was ready to recognize Palestine's statehood if Israel does not manage to take action of ending the war with Hamas, a conflict that has been ongoing since the Palestinian militant group's terrorist attack on the Jewish State on Oct. 7, 2023. Starmer set the deadline for the UN's General Assembly in September, calling for an uptick in aid being delivered into the war-torn enclave and for Hamas to release the remaining hostages. 'I've always said that we will recognize a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution, with that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act,' Starmer said. Canada became the third close U.S. ally this week to announce it would recognize the Palestinian state. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa would provide recognition of the state in September at the UN's General Assembly, a decision that would entail the Palestinian Authority 'holding general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state.' Trump said on Truth Social that Canada's decision would make it hard for the U.S. to reach a trade agreement with Ottawa. On Monday, the president said that the U.S. would set up 'food centers' in Gaza as food distribution in the enclave has come under intense scrutiny and deaths of Gazans from starvation. Trump also acknowledged that there is starvation among the roughly 2.1 million population in Gaza, sharing a different view from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said that no one is starving in the enclave. The White House said on Thursday that Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee would be in Gaza on Friday to 'inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear first-hand about this dire situation on the ground.'
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Trump envoy to inspect Gaza aid as pressure mounts on Israel
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox UN-backed experts have reported 'famine is now unfolding' in Gaza. JERUSALEM - President Donald Trump's envoy met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 31 ahead of a visit to inspect aid distribution in Gaza, as a deadly food crisis drove mounting international pressure for a ceasefire. Mr Steve Witkoff, who has been involved in months of stalled negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, met Mr Netanyahu shortly after his arrival, the Israeli leader's office said. On Aug 1, he is to visit Gaza, the White House announced. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Mr Witkoff, who visited Gaza in January, would inspect 'distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground'. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also met Mr Netanyahu in Jerusalem, and afterwards declared: 'The humanitarian disaster in Gaza is beyond imagination. 'Here, the Israeli government must act quickly, safely and effectively to provide humanitarian and medical aid to prevent mass starvation from becoming a reality,' he said. 'I have the impression that this has been understood today.' Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump's global trade policy faces test, hours from tariff deadline Singapore 'For one last time, let's go home': Tears, laughs as last scheduled Jetstar Asia flight touches down Singapore Over half of job applications by retrenched Jetstar Asia staff led to offers or interviews: CEO Singapore No entry: ICA to bar high-risk, undesirable travellers from boarding S'pore-bound ships, flights Business More new homes are coming up in northern Singapore Opinion The other struggle drug addicts face: Being labelled weak, not sick Singapore Luxury cars, watches seized during anti-vice raids; 28 arrested Singapore 'Switching careers just as I became a dad was risky, but I had to do it for my family' In an example of the deadly problems facing aid efforts in Gaza, the territory's civil defence agency said that at least 58 Palestinians were killed late on July 30 when Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd attempting to block an aid convoy. Hostage video The armed wing of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad meanwhile released a video showing German-Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski. In the six-minute video, Mr Braslavski, speaking in Hebrew, is seen watching recent news footage of the crisis in Gaza. He identifies himself and pleads with the Israeli government to secure his release. Mr Braslavski was a security guard at the Nova music festival, one of the sites targeted by Hamas and other Palestinian fighters in the October 2023 attack that sparked the Gaza war. 'They managed to break Rom. Even the strongest person has a breaking point,' his family said in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel. 'Rom is an example of all the hostages. They must all be brought home now.' Hungry crowd The Israeli military said troops had fired 'warning shots' as Gazans gathered around the aid trucks. An AFP correspondent saw stacks of bullet-riddled corpses in Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital. Mr Jameel Ashour, who lost a relative in the shooting, told AFP at the overflowing morgue that Israeli troops opened fire after 'people saw thieves stealing and dropping food and the hungry crowd rushed in hopes of getting some'. Mr Witkoff has been the top US representative in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas but talks in Doha broke down last week and Israel and the United States recalled their delegations. Israel is under mounting international pressure to agree to a ceasefire and allow the world to flood Gaza with food, with Canada and Portugal the latest Western governments to announce plans to recognise a Palestinian state. International pressure Mr Trump criticised Canada's decision and, in a post on his Truth Social network, placed the blame for the crisis squarely on Palestinian militant group Hamas. 'The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!' declared Mr Trump, one of Israel's staunchest international supporters. Earlier this week, however, the US president contradicted Mr Netanyahu's insistence that reports of hunger in Gaza were exaggerated, warning that the territory faces 'real starvation'. UN-backed experts have reported 'famine is now unfolding' in Gaza, with images of sick and emaciated children drawing international outrage. The US State Department said it would deny visas to officials from the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank – the core of any future Palestinian state. 'This is what death looks like' The October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures. Of the 251 people seized, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 declared dead by the Israeli military. The Israeli offensive, nearing its 23rd month, has killed at least 60,249 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry. This week UN aid agencies said deaths from starvation had begun. The civil defence agency said Israeli attacks across Gaza on July 31 killed at least 32 people. 'Enough!' cried Mr Najah Aish Umm Fadi, who lost relatives in a strike on a camp for the displaced in central Gaza. 'We put up with being hungry, but now the death of children who had just been born?' Further north, Mr Amir Zaqot told AFP after getting his hands on some of the aid parachuted from planes, that 'this is what death looks like. People are fighting each other with knives'. 'If the crossings were opened... food could reach us. But this is nonsense,' Mr Zaqot said of the air drops. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP cannot independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence and other parties. AFP
USA Today
2 hours ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Trump officials headed to Gaza to inspect food distribution centers amid hunger crisis
WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump is sending two top White House officials to Gaza on Aug. 1 to inspect food distribution centers and meet with Gazans amid intensifying global scrutiny over the hunger crisis in the territory. Steven Witkoff, Trump's Middle East envoy, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will 'secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation" during the rare trip, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on July 31. Following their visit, Witkoff and Huckabee are expected to meet with Trump to approve the administration's final plan for food and aid distribution in the region amid Israel's ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza. More: 'Every ounce of food': Trump presses Israel on starvation in Gaza; 'children look very hungry' Witkoff and Huckabee spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the morning of July 31 about delivering food and aid to the area, Leavitt said. "It's terrible what's occurring there. It's a terrible thing. People are very hungry," Trump told reporters. "You know, the United States gave $60 million for food and it's a shame, because I don't see the results of it. And we gave it to people that in theory are watching over it fairly closely. We wanted Israel to watch over it." More: One meal a day. $20 for an egg. Choosing which kid gets fed. Starvation stalks Gaza More: Gaza death toll hits 60,000 as global monitor demands action to avert famine An alert issued this week by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification raised the prospect of a famine unfolding in Gaza. The United Nations' World Food Programme said a third of Gaza's population does not eat for several days at a time and that one in four Gazans are "enduring famine-like conditions." The Hamas-run health ministry, the chief source of health data in Gaza, said more than 100 people have died from malnutrition in recent days. Trump broke with Netanyahu earlier this week by saying he disagrees with the Israeli prime minister's claim that no starvation is taking place among the people of Gaza, and he urged Israel to let more food into the enclave. As images of emaciated children in Gaza have alarmed the world, Netanyahu denied Israel is conducting a starvation campaign, calling such accusations a "bold-faced lie" and even rejecting that starvation is occurring. Trump also said July 31 that Witkoff will later to travel to Russia ahead of a new 10-day deadline the president set for the country to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine or face U.S. tariffs and other penalties. "Going to Israel, and then he's going to Russia, believe it or not," Trump said. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison
Yemen Online
3 hours ago
- Health
- Yemen Online
Egypt, UAE Coordinate to Supply 2 Million Gallons of Water Daily to Gaza Residents
The United Arab Emirates and Egypt are intensifying their humanitarian coordination to deliver 2 million gallons of potable water daily to residents of the Gaza Strip, as part of a broader joint relief effort, UAE Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for International Organizations Sultan Al Shamsi announced on Wednesday. Speaking during a live phone interview with Egypt's Sada El-Balad TV, Al Shamsi highlighted the ongoing water desalination efforts aimed at serving over one million Gazans. Plans are underway to expand the water supply line deeper into central Gaza. Al Shamsi revealed that 5,000 tons of Emirati aid are currently staged in El Arish, Egypt, awaiting entry into Gaza. Additionally, 143 trucks loaded with food supplies, medical equipment, and water are part of the relief convoy. 'Providing safe drinking water is our top priority in Gaza right now,' said Al Shamsi, underlining that access to clean water remains one of the most critical challenges in the besieged enclave. He also confirmed the presence of a floating Emirati hospital stationed in El Arish, as well as a field hospital inside Gaza, which have together supported the treatment of over 2,600 patients and companions from Gaza in the UAE. Al Shamsi addressed circulating reports about the closure of the Rafah border crossing, categorically denying them: 'I have seen with my own eyes that the crossing is open on the Egyptian side,' he stated. He also dismissed what he described as "rumors" intended to undermine relief operations, affirming that no misinformation campaign would halt the humanitarian support being provided by both Egypt and the UAE. 'Whatever is being said, we will continue our mission. Egypt and the UAE are committed to helping the Palestinian people,' he said. The Gaza Strip has been grappling with acute shortages in water, electricity, fuel, and medical supplies due to ongoing conflict and restricted access points. The UAE and Egypt's joint efforts are seen as a vital humanitarian lifeline, offering both immediate relief and infrastructure-based solutions.
Middle East Eye
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
GHF chief attacks UN and media, avoids saying 'Palestinians' when referring to Gaza
The chairman of the scandal-plagued Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Thursday called the United Nations a propaganda tool for Hamas as he promoted the aid scheme at a speech in the US capital, Washington, DC. Johnnie Moore also appeared to avoid saying the term "Palestinian" entirely, instead choosing to describe them as "Arabs" or "Gazans". He did not acknowledge the more than 1,000 deaths at the four GHF sites in the enclave, and railed against the NGOs and media outlets that he said are trying to discredit his work, which he said is built exclusively on Judeo-Christian principles. The Heritage Foundation, where he was speaking, espouses those principles as a core tenet of policymaking under US President Donald Trump. "When establishment media and international organisations spread these false narratives about GHF, they're not attacking us. They're attacking the hungry children that we feed, and instead of lying, they should just help us, because there's another basic rule of life: if Hamas opposes you, it probably means you're doing the right thing, even if the UN secretary general is on their side," Moore said. "As a Christian, when my Bible inspires me to go feed the hungry, it doesn't include a footnote about cross-checking with the UN Charter," he added. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The GHF was brought in as an attempted alternative to the United Nations aid agencies in Gaza, which have decades of experience, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu imposed a total siege on the strip in March. It began operations in May and had a rocky start after its first CEO resigned, citing human rights concerns. The staff is made up of military contractors from the US, with some from the UK. GHF's funding remains a mystery, though the Trump administration has now approved $30m for the organisation, despite initially describing it as a completely independent undertaking that is not government-linked. "There were 950 UN food trucks that were inspected, approved and fully loaded, sitting inside the Gaza Strip rotting because the UN refused to deliver the food while they simultaneously decried hunger in the Gaza Strip," Moore said on Thursday as he justified GHF's work. The UN did not deny that its aid trucks have been waiting for months at the border, but it said its staff is not being allowed in to coordinate the distribution through its own infrastructure that has been in place in some instances since Israel's founding in 1948. "And here's the bitter irony," Moore said. "Some in the United Nations have become the press secretary for Hamas. And in effect, in the ceasefire negotiations, they were sitting on the Hamas side of the table, laundering Hamas disinformation every single day". Information war The US government still insists that Hamas is looting the aid despite the Israeli military confirming it has no such evidence. Hamas has rejected the accusation, and while Palestinians on the ground have acknowledged there is organised theft of aid trucks, they say the perpetrators are gangs that sell the food to traders. The traders then try to sell that food in the open markets at exorbitant prices. "We have to recognise that the current system is prolonging this war and further oppressing the Arab victims of Hamas, the people of Gaza," Moore said, never once saying the proper name for the people of Gaza and all of Palestine, the "Palestinians". Nor did anyone else at the Heritage Foundation, which does not acknowledge that Palestine exists, and openly called for the annexation of the entirety of the occupied West Bank at Thursday's event. Former Gaza contractor says Israeli soldiers were ready to shoot starving children Read More » "This type of work has a cost," Moore continued. "We lost 12 local Gazan aid workers. Hamas brutally murdered them. They injured dozens more, and to make a point, they piled them in front of one of the only hospitals still operating in the Gaza Strip, guarded them within an earshot of the hospital and refused to allow them any medical treatment". Hamas has maintained that the dozen people it killed were part of the Israeli-backed militia known as The Popular Forces, led by a notorious convicted drug trafficker, Yasser Abu Shabab. The US and Israel have tried to prop up Abu Shabab as an alternative to Hamas. By Friday, Moore said, the GHF will have delivered "100 million meals to the people of Gaza - food Hamas could not steal". The claims of millions of meals have also often been repeated by the US State Department, but it's unclear how they are counting these meals, given that Palestinians have described the rations as meagre. The GHF came under intense scrutiny this week after former Green Beret (US Army special forces) and contractor, Anthony Aguilar, revealed the chilling orders the GHF received from the Israeli military, in an interview with US Senator Chris Van Hollen. Aguilar said the Israeli military threatened to shoot Palestinian children if Aguilar did not "take care of this". He said he only later realised that the Israeli military is in fact "the client" that GHF is serving, and that he is not allowed to "say no to the client". Aguilar says he has since severed his contract and is speaking out. The GHF has said Aguilar was fired for misconduct and that he is "disgruntled".
