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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
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Conditions in Gaza are catastrophic despite renewed aid, UN says
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The situation in Gaza is the worst since the war between Israel and Hamas militants began 19-months ago, the United Nations said on Friday, despite a resumption of limited aid deliveries in the Palestinian enclave where famine looms. Under growing global pressure, Israel ended an 11-week long blockade on Gaza 12 days ago, allowing limited U.N.-led operations to resume. Then on Monday, a controversial new avenue for aid distribution was also launched - the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by the United States and Israel. "Any aid that gets into the hands of people who need it is good," U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York. But, he added, the aid deliveries so far overall have had "very, very little impact." "The catastrophic situation in Gaza is the worst since the war began," he said. The U.N. and international aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral and has a distribution model that forces the displacement of Palestinians. Israel ultimately wants the U.N. to work through the GHF, which is using private U.S. security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza for distribution by civilian teams at so-called secure distribution sites. However, Israel will allow aid deliveries "for the immediate future" via both the U.N. and the GHF operations, Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said this week. GHF said on Friday that it has so far managed to distribute more than 2.1 million meals. Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. The war in Gaza has raged since 2023, when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies, and Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. LOOTING, ACCESS The U.N. says that in the past 12 days it has only managed to transport some 200 truckloads of aid into Gaza, hindered by insecurity and Israeli access restrictions. It was not immediately clear how much of that aid reached those in need. It said some trucks and a World Food Programme warehouse have also been looted by desperate, hungry people. U.N. officials have also criticized Israeli limitations on what kind of aid they can provide. "Israeli authorities have not allowed us to bring in a single ready-to-eat meal. The only food permitted has been flour for bakeries. Even if allowed in unlimited quantities, which it hasn't been, it wouldn't amount to a complete diet for anyone," said Eri Kaneko, U.N. humanitarian affairs spokesperson. Some of recipients of GHF aid said the packages include some rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar. Under a complex process, Israel inspects and clears aid shipments, which are then transported to the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing. There the aid is offloaded and then reloaded on to other trucks for transport to warehouses in Gaza. Several hundred more truckloads of aid currently await U.N. collection from the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom. "More aid would actually get to the people if you would collect the aid waiting for you by the crossings," COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said to the U.N. in a posting on X on Friday. However, the U.N. said that on Tuesday the Israeli military denied all its requests to access Kerem Shalom to pick up the aid. And on Thursday, when 65 trucks of aid managed to leave the crossing, all but five turned back due to intense fighting. Five trucks of medical aid managed to reach the warehouses of a field hospital, but "a group of armed individuals stormed the warehouses... looting large quantities of medical equipment, supplies, medicines and nutritional supplements that was intended for malnourished children," Dujarric said. CEASEFIRE PROPOSAL Israel says it has been facilitating all aid deliveries. COGAT said this week that since the war 1.8 million tonnes of aid, including 1.3 million tonnes of food, had reached Gaza. A U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in the conflict - accepted by Israel and currently being considered by Hamas - would see humanitarian aid delivered by the United Nations, the Red Crescent and other agreed channels. During a two-month ceasefire, which ended when Israel resumed its military operation in March, the U.N. said it got 600-700 trucks of aid a day into Gaza. It has stressed then when people know there is a steady flow of aid, the looting subsides. "To prevent chaos, aid must flow in steadily," Corinne Fleischer, the U.N. World Food Programme's Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe director, posted on X on Thursday. "When people know food is coming, desperation turns to calm."
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
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Russia tells UN West must stop arming Ukraine during any ceasefire
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -Russia is prepared to consider a ceasefire in Ukraine to pave the way for a lasting settlement, but during any truce Moscow wants Western states to stop arming Kyiv and for Ukraine to stop mobilising troops, Russia's U.N. ambassador said on Friday. However, Vassily Nebenzia told the U.N. Security Council that a simple ceasefire was not enough to end Moscow's more than three-year war in Ukraine. "To achieve a sustainable and lasting settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, we need to address its root causes," Nebenzia said. "What we're proposing is a second round of talks in Istanbul this coming Monday ... where we can exchange memoranda about both parties' approaches to the negotiations process." The United States wants Russia to agree to a comprehensive 30-day land, air, sea and critical infrastructure ceasefire. A first round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine on May 16 failed to yield a truce deal. A U.S. diplomat told the Security Council on Friday: "We share the concern expressed by other members of this council that Russia could be uninterested in peace and instead bent on achieving a military victory." Moscow initially said its combat mission was to "disarm" Ukraine so it could not be a threat to Russia, and "denazify" it by rooting out leaders it characterized as nationalists. Western countries believe Russia's true initial aims were to defeat Ukraine's military and overthrow its pro-Western government. "We will continue fighting for as long as that's necessary - no threats to our borders, no anti-Russian, neo-Nazi education in neighbouring countries. We won't allow for any of that to happen," Nebenzia said.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel has only authorized a 'teaspoon' of aid for Gaza, UN chief says
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Friday said Israel has only authorized for Gaza what "amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required" and again signaled that the U.N. won't take part in a new U.S.-backed distribution plan. "Without rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access, more people will die – and the long-term consequences on the entire population will be profound," Guterres told reporters. Israel says about 300 trucks of aid have entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing since it lifted an 11-week blockade on Gaza on Monday, but Guterres said that so far only about a third of those truckloads have been transported from the crossing to warehouses within Gaza due to insecurity. Israel has allowed aid deliveries by the U.N. and other aid groups to briefly resume until a new U.S.-backed distribution model - run by the newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - is up and running by the end of the month. The U.N. says the plan is not impartial or neutral, and that it will not be involved. Israel said its blockade had been aimed in part at stopping Palestinian militants Hamas from diverting and seizing aid supplies. Hamas has denied stealing aid. The GHF plan involves using private security contractors to transport aid to so-called secure hubs for distribution by civilian humanitarian teams. "The United Nations has been clear: We will not take part in any scheme that fails to respect international law and the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality," Guterres said. The U.N. and its partners have a plan to get the aid needed into Gaza, he said. "The supplies – 160,000 pallets, enough to fill nearly 9,000 trucks – are waiting," Guterres said. "This is my appeal for life-saving aid for the long-suffering people of Gaza: Let's do it right. And let's do it right away.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- General
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Explainer-The new US-backed Gaza aid plan and why the UN doesn't like it
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -A U.S.-backed organization aims to start work in the Gaza Strip by the end of May overseeing a new model of aid distribution in the Palestinian enclave, but the United Nations says the plan is not impartial or neutral, and it won't be involved. WHAT IS THE GAZA HUMANITARIAN FOUNDATION? Aid deliveries in Gaza will be overseen by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which was established in February in Switzerland, according to the Geneva commercial registry. The foundation intends to work with private U.S. security and logistics firms - UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions - according to a source familiar with the plan. A second source familiar with the plan said the GHF has already received more than $100 million in commitments. It was not immediately clear where the money was coming from. Senior U.S. officials were working with Israel to enable the GHF to start work, acting U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Shea told the Security Council earlier this month, urging the U.N. and aid groups to cooperate. Israel has said it will allow the foundation's work without being involved in aid deliveries. HOW WOULD THE NEW PLAN WORK? According to a GHF document circulating among the aid community earlier this month, the foundation would initially operate from four "secure distribution sites" that could each serve 300,000 people with food, water and hygiene kits. Israeli officials have said those hubs would be in Gaza's south. The private U.S. companies would transport the aid into Gaza to the hubs where it would be then distributed by aid groups - not the private companies, the first source said. Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon has said a few aid groups have agreed to work with the GHF. The names of those groups are not yet known. Israel has agreed to expand the number of distribution sites and find ways for aid to get to civilians who are unable to reach a distribution site, the foundation has said. The foundation has asked Israel's military to identify "locations in northern Gaza capable of hosting GHF operated secure distribution sites that can be made operational within 30 days." GHF has also said it would not share any personally identifiable information of aid recipients with Israel. WHY WON'T THE U.N. WORK WITH THE NEW DISTRIBUTION MODEL? The United Nations says the U.S.-backed distribution plan does not meet its long-held principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence. U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher has said time should not be wasted on the alternative proposal. In a briefing to the Security Council, he explained what was wrong with the Israel-initiated plan: "It forces further displacement. It exposes thousands of people to harm ... It restricts aid to only one part of Gaza, while leaving other dire needs unmet. It makes aid conditional on political and military aims. It makes starvation a bargaining chip." WHY HAS AN ALTERNATIVE AID DISTRIBUTION PLAN BEEN PROPOSED? Israel stopped all aid deliveries to Gaza on March 2 after accusing Hamas of stealing aid, which the Palestinian militants deny, and demanding the release of all remaining hostages taken during an October 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. That assault triggered the war, which Gaza authorities say has killed 53,000 people. In early April, Israel proposed what it described as "a structured monitoring and aid entry mechanism" for Gaza. It was swiftly rejected by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said it risked "further controlling and callously limiting aid down to the last calorie and grain of flour." Since then pressure had been growing on Israel to allow aid deliveries to resume. A global hunger monitor last week warned that half a million people face starvation - about a quarter of the population in the enclave - and U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged that "a lot of people are starving in Gaza." Amid the stalemate over Israel's plan, Washington backed the newly-created GHF to oversee aid distribution. The GHF then announced last week that it aims to start work in Gaza by the end of May. In the meantime, Israel has allowed limited aid deliveries to resume under the existing distribution model - with five trucks entering Gaza on Monday, which Fletcher described as "a drop in the ocean." The U.N. said on Tuesday it has received Israeli approval for about 100 more aid trucks to enter Gaza. WHAT WAS THE EXISTING AID DELIVERY PLAN? Throughout the conflict, the United Nations has described its humanitarian operation in Gaza as opportunistic - facing problems with Israel's military operation, access restrictions by Israel into and throughout Gaza and looting by armed gangs. But the U.N. has said its aid distribution system works and that was particularly proven during a two-month ceasefire, which was abandoned by Israel in mid-March. Israel would first inspect and approve aid. It was then dropped off on the Gaza side of the border, where it was picked up by the U.N. and distributed. "We can go back to that system. We have wheels that turn. We do not need to reinvent yet another wheel," U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday. "We don't need a newly minted humanitarian partner to tell us how to do our work in Gaza." Fletcher on Monday listed what the U.N. needs from Israel to scale up aid: at least two open crossings into Gaza - one in the north and one in the south; simplified, expedited procedures; no quotas; no access impediments in Gaza and no attacks when aid is being delivered; and being allowed to meet a range of needs, including food, water, hygiene, shelter, health, fuel and gas.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UN aid chief: 'Let's not waste time' with US-backed Gaza aid plan
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said on Friday that time should not be wasted on an alternative U.S.-backed proposal to deliver aid to Gaza, saying the U.N. has a proven plan and 160,000 pallets of relief ready to enter the Palestinian enclave now. "To those proposing an alternative modality for aid distribution, let's not waste time. We already have a plan," he said in a statement as Israel blocked the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza for the 75th day in a row. U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier on Friday that "a lot of people are starving in Gaza." A global hunger monitor has warned that half a million people face starvation - about a quarter of the population in the enclave. Israel has accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. Under the alternative heavily-criticized aid plan, a U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aims to start work in Gaza by the end of May. The foundation intends to work with private U.S. security and logistics firms to transport aid into Gaza to so-called secure hubs where it will be then distributed by aid groups, a source familiar with the plan has told Reuters. It is unclear how the foundation will be funded. The U.N. has said it won't work with the foundation because the distribution plan is not impartial, neutral or independent. Fletcher on Friday issued a briefing note on the U.N. plan to resume aid deliveries to Gaza, adding that nearly 9,000 trucks are ready to enter the enclave. "We have the people. We have the distribution networks. We have the trust of the communities on the ground. And we have the aid itself – 160,000 pallets of it – ready to move. Now," he said. "We demand rapid, safe, and unimpeded aid delivery for civilians in need. Let us work." The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has asked Israel to allow humanitarian deliveries by the U.N. and aid groups to resume now until its own infrastructure is fully operational, saying this is essential to "alleviate the ongoing humanitarian pressure." Israel has committed to the foundation to let aid deliveries resume imminently, said a source familiar with the plan. Israel's U.N. mission in New York declined to comment on Friday. The war in Gaza was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's military campaign has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
