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Arab News
3 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Trump vowed to remake aid. Is Gaza the future?
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has slashed US aid and vowed a major rethink on helping the world. A controversial effort to bring food to Gaza may offer clues on what's to come. Administered by contracted US security with Israeli troops at the perimeter, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is distributing food through several hubs in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. An officially private effort with opaque funding, the GHF began operations on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into Gaza for over two months, sparking warnings of mass famine. The organization said it had distributed 2.1 million meals as of Friday. The initiative excludes the UN, which has long coordinated aid distribution in the war-ravaged territory and has infrastructure and systems in place to deliver assistance on a large scale. The UN and other major aid groups have refused to cooperate with GHF, saying it violates basic humanitarian principles, and appears crafted to cater to Israeli military objectives. 'What we have seen is chaotic, it's tragic and it's resulted in hundreds of thousands of people scrambling in an incredibly undignified and unsafe way to access a tiny trickle of aid,' said Ciaran Donnelly, senior vice president of international programs at the International Rescue Committee . Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said his aid group stopped work in Gaza in 2015 when Hamas militants invaded its office and that it refused to cooperate in Syria when former strongman Bashar Assad was pressuring opposition-held areas by withholding food. 'Why on earth would we be willing to let the Israeli military decide how, where and to whom we give our aid as part of their military strategy to herd people around Gaza?' said Egeland. 'It's a violation of everything we stand for. It is the biggest and reddest line there is that we cannot cross.' The UN said that 47 people were injured Tuesday when hungry and desperate crowds rushed a GHF site — most of them by Israeli gunfire — while a Palestinian medical source said at least one person had died. The Israeli military denied its soldiers fired on civilians and the GHF denied any injuries or deaths. Israel has relentlessly attacked Gaza since Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel has vowed to sideline the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, accusing it of bias and of harboring Hamas militants. UNRWA said that nine out of thousands of staff may have been involved in the October 7 attack and dismissed them, but accuses Israel of trying to throw a distraction. John Hannah, a former senior US policymaker who led a study last year that gave birth to the concepts behind the GHF, said the UN seemed to be 'completely lacking in self-reflection' on the need for a new approach to aid after Hamas built a 'terror kingdom.' 'I fear that people could be on the brink of letting the perfect be the enemy of the good instead of figuring out how do we take part in this effort, improve it, make it better, scale it up,' said Hannah, who is not involved in implementing the GHF. Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, defended the use of private contractors, saying that many had extensive Middle East experience from the US-led 'war on terror.' 'We would have been happy if there were volunteers from capable and trusted national forces... but the fact is, nobody's volunteering,' he said. He said he would rather that aid workers coordinate with Israel than Hamas. 'Inevitably, any humanitarian effort in a war zone has to make some compromises with a ruling authority that carries the guns,' he said. Hannah's study had discouraged a major Israeli role in humanitarian work in Gaza, urging instead involvement by Arab states to bring greater legitimacy. Arab states have balked at supporting US efforts as Israel pounds Gaza and after Trump mused about forcibly displacing the whole Gaza population and constructing luxury hotels. Israel and Hamas are negotiating a new Gaza ceasefire that could see a resumption of UN-backed efforts. Aid groups say they have vast amounts of aid ready for Gaza that remain blocked. Donnelly said the IRC had 27 tons of supplies waiting to enter Gaza, faulting the GHF for distributing items like pasta and tinned fish that require cooking supplies — not therapeutic food and treatment for malnourished children. He called for distributing relief in communities where people need it, instead of through militarized hubs. 'If anyone really cares about distributing aid in a transparent, accountable, effective way, the way to do that is to use the expertise and infrastructure of aid organizations that have been doing this for decades,' Donnelly said.
Middle East Eye
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Israel accused of using aid control to forcibly displace Palestinians
Israel's tight grip on humanitarian aid is not just reckless—it's part of a strategy to uproot Palestinians from northern Gaza, the Norwegian Refugee Council has warned. Ahmed Bayram, the organisation's spokesperson, told Al Jazeera the selective delivery of aid amounts to coercion. 'We think that providing aid to one area above another, as opposed to all areas, is a coercive measure to forcibly displace people, which Israel has been doing all [during the war] of course,' Bayram said. He criticised Israel's allies for enabling this situation, stressing that the aid blockade has gone on far too long. 'Israel's control of aid, whether in part or the whole system, is dangerous and should not be accepted, let alone allowed, by its allies for 81 days,' he added. Bayram said it was unacceptable for an occupying power to restrict the flow of basic supplies. 'Israel is an occupier in this scenario and it should not control aid provision to people, let alone life-saving aid like food and water.'
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
‘I don't want to be here. But we can't go home': what life is like for people forced to flee floods and fighting
In 2024, the number of internally displaced people around the world reached 83.4m, the highest figure ever recorded. Men, women, children, whole families and generations have been forced to flee their homes within their country as a result of conflict, violence, or natural disasters. 'Internal displacement rarely makes the headlines, but for those living it, the suffering can last for years,' says Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, commenting on the latest figures from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). Here, three people tell us what it has meant to be forced from their homes. Bangladesh is one of the world's most climate-vulnerable countries. The number of internally displaced people due to natural disasters has risen for four consecutive years and reached 2.4 million in 2024, according to the IDMC report. Baby Begum is 40 and has two disabled sons. She was first displaced by the catastrophic floods of 2022. 'Every year, before the monsoon season begins, I get this anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach. It starts with the first drops of rain and steadily gets worse. I grew up in Sunamganj, in north-east Bangladesh, where the monsoon season brings heavy rainfall for months at a time; about 80% of Bangladesh's yearly rainfall occurs from June to October, and by the end of it, almost a third of our country is underwater. I know water is essential for survival but it also has the power to destroy everything in its path. I have learned this first-hand. In June 2022, catastrophic flash floods – the worst Bangladesh had seen in a century – inundated much of my home town, killing people in its wake, washing away my village and leaving thousands of people displaced. My family was among them and in the course of just a few days, we lost everything; our home, our crops and cattle, and our entire life savings. I was at work when the flood water started rising and by the time I got home, my village was empty. The rescue boats that arrived to carry people to emergency shelters had already left and my family was stuck. My husband, Shafiq, had been watching our sons, Yunus and Bablu, who are both disabled and autistic. They were terrified. It took only a few hours for our house to be under water. We scrambled on to the roof and cried out desperately for help as the water continued to rise. I was convinced we would all drown. Although I can swim, my boys can't and so we decided, if we had to die, we would die together. Luckily, a fisherman with a boat rescued us at the last minute. We were taken to an emergency shelter but from there, things only got worse. We thought it would be temporary but we were stuck there with hundreds of other families, all squeezed together in a crowded, unsanitary space. We had to queue for hours just to use the washroom and my boys would end up wetting themselves. It was a complete nightmare. With our home destroyed, we were forced to leave. We went from one shelter to another and then, in 2023, we moved into a ramshackle hut in an overcrowded slum in nearby Sylhet, where we hoped we would find work. I got a job as a housemaid and Shafiq became a rickshaw driver. But a few months later, he fell off his bike and seriously injured his back, leaving him unable to work. I became the sole breadwinner of my family, earning only 5,000 taka [£30] a month. The past few years have been really difficult. After losing everything to the floods, we have had to start again from scratch. We had once saved enough to send our sons to a special school but now that dream feels impossible. We only have enough to get by and even that is a daily struggle. In 2024, the floods returned. Our home, made from rusted tin sheets, was partly destroyed and I can't afford to get the roof fixed so even during slight rainfall, it becomes damp and muddy. The air is unbearable. We all feel suffocated. My children get sick often and I can't afford medication. I constantly feel like I have failed them. I tell them this situation is only temporary but in reality, I don't think things will ever get better for us. We didn't just lose our home, but our close ties with our family and neighbours. The floods have washed away all our hopes and dreams. In my village, we knew everyone and there were always people around who we could rely on for help. My sons felt safe and secure. They had friends. But now we have lost all of that – and it feels like we are never getting it back. As told to Thaslima Begum In 2024, Sudan hosted 11.6 million internally displaced people, the most ever recorded in a single country, as fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) created the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Mubarak Ibrahim is 50 and has five children. He and his family were forced to flee his village, which is Zaghawa, an African ethnic group repeatedly targeted by the RSF. 'We had no choice but to leave. They were bombing us 24 hours a day with all kinds of heavy weapons. Then, three weeks ago, the RSF attacked our village, Saloma, in North Darfur. They burned down houses, shot civilians in the street. Most of those they killed were children, women or old men. I have five children: two girls and three boys aged between three and 13. I needed to get them out. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion At night, while the village was under attack, we managed to escape and headed west. It was difficult and very dangerous. One of my daughters, who is 11, was shot in the hand by a stray bullet. We left everything behind in Saloma, where I had lived for decades. Although now officially displaced, the truth is that I had spent my entire life in a camp for displaced people: Saloma lies close to the original site of the Zamzam camp, built in 2004 to house huge numbers of people displaced by the war in Darfur. Over time, its numbers increased to an estimated 700,000, becoming Sudan's largest displacement camp. As it grew, Zamzam engulfed my village, which is now actually in the heart of it. After we escaped from Saloma, we walked for about 30km [18 miles] to the small town of Tawila. Even there we are not feeling safe, especially the children and women because they fear the militia will attack them. Yet it is better than before, although we have nothing. People are sleeping under trees or outdoors in valleys. Some have headed into the Jebel Marra hills. There is no food and we are also very short of water. We have no source of water and we have entered the summer season. Temperatures are already very high. Some people who fled the RSF attack on Zamzam died of thirst on the way to Tawila. It was mainly old women who died after running out of water on journeys of up to 50km on foot. There is also no medicine. It has been very difficult trying to help my daughter after she was shot. Only traditional medicine is available. We have to use local materials to treat her. No outside organisation can reach us – there is no access. Already the situation is critical. Also, my mother is 75 years old and very sick. I am scared she could die because she has high blood pressure and other illnesses. Every day more people are arriving from Zamzam or El Fasher, where it is very unsafe. Still the people keep on arriving in Tawila, coming from different directions, using longer routes. Daily, the numbers of Darfur's displaced continues to grow. As told to Mark Townsend Colombia has one of the world's most severe internal displacement crises, with nearly 7 milliondriven by decades of conflict and violence. By mid-2024, nearly 7 million people had been displaced within the country, with the government recognising them as eligible for aid and reparations. Continued clashes between non-state armed groups affected about 183,400 people in the first half of 2024 alone. Rosmira is 30, widowed and has four young children. They were forced out of their village by clashes between the military and armed paramilitary groups. 'I am a leader and spokesperson for the Emberá-Katío Indigenous people in the Chocó region, where I come from. I have been living in Bogotá for several years now because my home has become a war zone, and we cannot return until the government guarantees our safety. The ELN [National Liberation Army, Colombia's largest paramilitary group], armed men with machine guns, are clashing with the military there, and we are caught in the crossfire. It's a 'red zone'. At times, armed groups – these men in green uniforms with guns – threaten or clash with us over territory. They attempt to recruit our children and encroach on our land for mining, so we have to protect ourselves with the Indigenous guard. We just want to live in peace. When I was 15, they took me once and raped me. I was out gathering food. It was horrible. Now, 150 families live here in the tents we put up in the Parque Nacional, one of Bogotá's most-loved parks. I don't want to be here. I don't like it. It's cold and wet, and we are always ill. But we can't go home as it's too dangerous. It's really tough getting by. I have four children aged between two and 11 years. My husband died two years ago during the pandemic. I make artisanal goods such as bracelets, necklaces and clothing, and sell them on the street. But it's not every day people want to buy them. So sometimes we have to go hungry. There is no other work for us. My region is incredibly green and mountainous, with waterfalls and clear, pristine rivers flowing through it. There are no roads. I still have cousins, aunties and uncles living there. My parents are dead. At home, we used to rely on the plantains, cassava and corn we grew on the land. There were many animals, such as birds and monkeys, but they have been absent since the conflict began. The army has been fumigating the area with chemicals since 2015 to prevent the armed men from growing coca crops, and it seems to have devastated the entire natural environment. Now, we cannot cultivate crops; the land yields very little. Since 2019, I have lived in Bogotá in five different places. I have been taking Spanish classes with a teacher at a college, so I can now understand a little. We have mostly lived in camps we have set up in parks, but the conditions were poor, so we had to move on. About 400 of us returned to live in this park again on Monday to protest and urge the government to take action. They never fulfil their promises. Some of us want the government to help us in returning home, while others seek support to move to a different place. Local people don't want us here, and they can sometimes be aggressive. It makes me sad; they ought to show us some respect. We don't want to be here either – but we have no choice. As told to Luke Taylor
Irish Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
UN rejects US-Israeli plan that ‘weaponises aid' to Palestinians in Gaza
The United Nations and aid agencies have rejected a US-Israeli plan to deliver humanitarian supplies to Palestinians in need in Gaza . The UN and its partners have argued the plan 'weaponises aid', with the UN children's fund Unicef and the World Food Programme warning of the risk of famine in Gaza, which has been bombed and blockaded by Israel. Israel has blockaded supplies into Gaza since early March, when it resumed its military campaign against Hamas. It has said it will not lift the blockade until it has control over aid delivery. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that World Health Organisation official Rik Peeperkorn said malnutrition cases in Gaza are increasing and hunger could have a lasting effect on an 'entire generation'. He warned of stunted growth and impaired development. Norwegian Refugee Council secretary general Jan Egeland posted on X: 'It is totally wrong that a party to the conflict – in this case Israel – should be in control of lifesaving aid for civilians.' READ MORE The United Arab Emirates has refused to finance the plan, which makes it difficult to convince potential Arab donors to contribute. Emirati international co-operation minister Reem al-Hashimy has told Israeli officials the plan does not address the humanitarian crisis. Those who have so far agreed to provide funds wish to remain anonymous. US ambassador Mike Huckabee has said president Donald Trump 'has made very clear that one of the most urgent things that needs to happen is [getting] humanitarian aid into Gaza'. Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar has said the plan 'will enable aid to go directly to the people. Hamas must not be allowed to get their hands on it.' He said the Israeli military will not allocate aid. While US military contractors would secure the hubs, Israeli troops would be deployed at the perimeter. For Israel, this amounts to a calculated shift from its 10-week deprivation of aid with the aim of increasing military pressure on Hamas to release Israeli hostages and accept defeat. According to the plan, a private Swiss-registered charity, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), is to be in charge of all aid deliveries. Donors seeking to provide aid to specific organisations in Gaza would have to route supplies through GHF, which would use armoured vehicles for deliveries. Although the volume of aid would be stepped up eventually, Huckabee has admitted that only 60 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million people would initially be served. Commentators warn the rest could face hunger and illness. This could lead to violence between recipients of aid and those left out. Four distribution sites – each serving 300,000 people – would be established in south Gaza and deliver food packages, hygiene kits and medical supplies. In addition to depriving 40 per cent of Gazans from supplies, GHF would force Palestinians living in northern Gaza to move south to access existential aid, boosting numbers of displaced Palestinians at a time Israeli-proclaimed 'safe zones' are overcrowded and frequently bombed. Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said Palestinians who moved to the south would not be allowed to return to the north. Palestinians fear their concentration in the south could make it easier for Israel to expel them from Gaza into Egypt. The UN and associated aid experts argue the four planned delivery hubs – which would replace 400 existing sites – would be overwhelmed by recipients and would make it difficult to distribute aid to all in need. The presence of Israeli troops near the proposed hubs could discourage fearful Palestinians from accessing aid or lead to clashes. United Nations agencies and aid groups operating in Gaza reject a programme that could refuse aid to some Palestinians, such as those deemed to be Hamas members and fighters. The UN and its partners said in a joint statement that the plan 'contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles and appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy. We will not participate in any scheme that does not adhere to the global humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality.'
Days of Palestine
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Days of Palestine
Israel's Gaza Relocation Plan Paves Way for Ethnic Cleansing, Genocide
DaysofPal- A controversial new plan unveiled by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sparked international alarm, with analysts and human rights experts warning that it could accelerate ethnic cleansing and potentially contribute to genocide in the Gaza Strip. The plan, approved by the Israeli far-right government, outlines a systematic relocation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from northern Gaza into six designated encampments further south. Netanyahu has defended the measure, framing it as essential to dismantling Hamas and securing the release of around two dozen Israeli prisoners captured during the October 7, 2023, attack. 'We are conducting a powerful operation in Gaza,' Netanyahu said in a statement. 'There will be a movement of the population to protect it.' However, critics argue that the plan amounts to forced displacement. Under the proposed framework, Palestinian families will be relocated to camps where aid and food will be distributed by humanitarian organizations and private security firms. Those who do not comply with the move risk being left without access to food or basic services. According to The Washington Post, between 5,000 and 6,000 families are expected to be placed in each camp. Every household will be required to send someone on foot to collect weekly food parcels, often from long distances. Jan Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, described these distribution points as 'concentration hubs.' Human rights observers have condemned the plan, warning that it violates international law and could be used to justify the permanent removal of Palestinians from their land. 'The use of starvation and forced displacement as tools of war is deeply troubling,' one legal expert told Al Jazeera. 'This is not simply a security strategy — it's an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.' The Israeli government has not yet provided a timeline for the full implementation of the plan. Meanwhile, aid groups continue to warn of deteriorating conditions in Gaza, where food, water, and medical supplies remain critically scarce. Shortlink for this post:
