Latest news with #PalestinianNon-GovernmentalOrganizationsNetwork
Saba Yemen
4 days ago
- General
- Saba Yemen
Palestinian body warns of severe famine crisis in Gaza Strip
Gaza - Saba: Amjad Al-Shawa, Director of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO), stated that famine is worsening at an extremely dangerous rate in the Gaza Strip, warning of its catastrophic effects on the lives of children, women, and the elderly. In a press statement on Tuesday, Al-Shawa added that the Israeli enemy is systematically targeting schools, particularly those affiliated with UNRWA, which have served as shelters for displaced Palestinians amid repeated forced evacuation orders imposed by the enemy's military. He pointed out that 90% of UNRWA schools have been targeted, along with government schools, resulting in the deaths and injuries of thousands of Palestinians. Entire families have been killed in areas where civilians sought refuge, with the Israeli enemy attacking nearly 300 schools in Gaza since the start of the aggression. Al-Shawa emphasized that the Israeli enemy continues to escalate its killing operations against the Palestinian people, whether through bombardment or the humanitarian catastrophe it has imposed on the residents of Gaza. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Chaos erupts on first day of US-backed aid distribution in Gaza after weeks of hunger
Thousands of Palestinians overran a newly established aid site in southern Gaza on Tuesday that is part of a controversial new Israeli- and US-approved aid distribution mechanism that began on Tuesday after months of blockade. Videos from the distribution site in Tel al-Sultan, run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), showed large crowds storming the facilities, tearing down some of the fencing and appearing to climb over barriers designed to control the flow of the crowd. A diplomatic official called the chaos at the site 'a surprise to no one.' An 11-week Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid has pushed the enclave's population of more than 2 million Palestinians towards famine and into a deepening humanitarian crisis, with the first resumption of humanitarian aid trickling into the besieged enclave last week. The GHF acknowledged the pandemonium, saying 'the GHF team fell back to allow a small number of Gazans to take aid safely and dissipate. This was done in accordance with GHF protocol to avoid casualties.' A security source said American security contractors on the ground did not fire any shots and that operations would resume at the site on Wednesday. 'It's a big failure that we warned against,' said Amjad al-Shawa, director of Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network. 'If Israel believes that through this blockade and emboldening starvation, which violates humanitarian principles, that this distribution method would work, they are mistaken.' GHF said it has distributed about 8,000 food boxes totaling 462,000 meals in Gaza so far. They say the flow of meals will increase each day, with a goal of delivering food to 1.2 million – 60% of Gaza's population – by the end of the week. The GHF claimed it began operating on Monday, but photos from the organization showed only a handful of people carrying boxes of aid, with pallets of boxes sitting at an otherwise empty lot. GHF is readying three additional sites for the distribution of aid, two of which are in southern Gaza and one in central Gaza. All of the sites in the south are in an area that fell under a massive evacuation order one day earlier. There are no distribution sites in northern Gaza – a point of criticism from many aid experts. The UN has previously warned that the fact the initial sites were only in southern and central Gaza could be seen as encouraging Israel's publicly stated goal of forcing 'the entire Gazan population' out of northern Gaza, as Defense Minister Israel Katz put it earlier this month. 'This mechanism appears practically unfeasible, incompatible with humanitarian principles and will create serious insecurity risks, all while failing to meet Israel's obligations under international law,' the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs wrote earlier this month in a document obtained by CNN. The United Nations said on Tuesday that Israel continues to deny it authorization to deliver food directly to families in Gaza, but they have thousands of trucks ready to enter the strip. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said it was ready, with other humanitarian organizations, 'to distribute meaningful quantities of aid the moment we are allowed to.' 'The amount of supplies that were permitted to enter the Gaza Strip has been so minimal that they have not even reached families outside of one small area,' UNRWA said in a statement. Israel and the US had declined to name the humanitarian organizations involved in the controversial new mechanism, but images from the GHF showed boxes labeled 'Rahma Worldwide,' a Michigan-based non-profit organization that says it provides 'aid and assistance to the most vulnerable communities in the world.' This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN
27-05-2025
- General
- CNN
Chaos erupts on first day of US-backed aid distribution in Gaza after weeks of hunger
Thousands of Palestinians overran a newly established aid site in southern Gaza on Tuesday that is part of a controversial new Israeli- and US-approved aid distribution mechanism that began on Tuesday after months of blockade. Videos from the distribution site in Tel al-Sultan, run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), showed large crowds storming the facilities, tearing down some of the fencing and appearing to climb over barriers designed to control the flow of the crowd. A diplomatic official called the chaos at the site 'a surprise to no one.' An 11-week Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid has pushed the enclave's population of more than 2 million Palestinians towards famine and into a deepening humanitarian crisis, with the first resumption of humanitarian aid trickling into the besieged enclave last week. The GHF acknowledged the pandemonium, saying 'the GHF team fell back to allow a small number of Gazans to take aid safely and dissipate. This was done in accordance with GHF protocol to avoid casualties.' A security source said American security contractors on the ground did not fire any shots and that operations would resume at the site on Wednesday. 'It's a big failure that we warned against,' said Amjad al-Shawa, director of Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network. 'If Israel believes that through this blockade and emboldening starvation, which violates humanitarian principles, that this distribution method would work, they are mistaken.' GHF said it has distributed about 8,000 food boxes totaling 462,000 meals in Gaza so far. They say the flow of meals will increase each day, with a goal of delivering food to 1.2 million – 60% of Gaza's population – by the end of the week. The GHF claimed it began operating on Monday, but photos from the organization showed only a handful of people carrying boxes of aid, with pallets of boxes sitting at an otherwise empty lot. GHF is readying three additional sites for the distribution of aid, two of which are in southern Gaza and one in central Gaza. All of the sites in the south are in an area that fell under a massive evacuation order one day earlier. There are no distribution sites in northern Gaza – a point of criticism from many aid experts. The UN has previously warned that the fact the initial sites were only in southern and central Gaza could be seen as encouraging Israel's publicly stated goal of forcing 'the entire Gazan population' out of northern Gaza, as Defense Minister Israel Katz put it earlier this month. 'This mechanism appears practically unfeasible, incompatible with humanitarian principles and will create serious insecurity risks, all while failing to meet Israel's obligations under international law,' the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs wrote earlier this month in a document obtained by CNN. The United Nations said on Tuesday that Israel continues to deny it authorization to deliver food directly to families in Gaza, but they have thousands of trucks ready to enter the strip. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said it was ready, with other humanitarian organizations, 'to distribute meaningful quantities of aid the moment we are allowed to.' 'The amount of supplies that were permitted to enter the Gaza Strip has been so minimal that they have not even reached families outside of one small area,' UNRWA said in a statement. Israel and the US had declined to name the humanitarian organizations involved in the controversial new mechanism, but images from the GHF showed boxes labeled 'Rahma Worldwide,' a Michigan-based non-profit organization that says it provides 'aid and assistance to the most vulnerable communities in the world.' This is a developing story and will be updated.
Daily Maverick
22-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Maverick
Some bread and baby food reach Gazans as blockade eases, Palestinians call for more
By Nidal al-Mughrabi Israel said it allowed 100 trucks also carrying baby food and medical equipment into the enclave on Wednesday, two days after announcing its first relaxation of the restrictions under mounting international pressure. Israel imposed the blockade on all supplies in March, saying Hamas was seizing deliveries for its fighters – a charge the group denies. The UN said a quarter of Gaza's 2.3 million people were at risk of famine. 'Some bakeries will begin receiving flour to produce bread, and we expect the distribution of bread to begin later today,' Amjad al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network in Gaza, told Reuters. He said just 90 trucks had got through. 'During the ceasefire, 600 trucks used to enter every day, which means that the current quantity is a drop in the ocean, nothing,' he said. Bakeries backed the U.N.'s World Food Programme would produce the bread and the agency's staff would hand it out – a more controlled system than previously when bakers sold it directly to the public at a low cost, he added. 'The idea is to try and reach the most needy families, those who are desperate, as it is just the start,' Shawa said. ATTACKS REPORTED As the first aid arrived since the blockade, Israeli military strikes on Gaza killed at least 35 Palestinians across the enclave on Thursday, local health authorities said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reports. It has repeatedly said it seeks to avoid civilian casualties and targets militants. In Beit Lahiya on the northern edge of the enclave, a tank shell hit a medicine warehouse inside Al-Awda Hospital and set it ablaze, the health ministry said. Rescue workers had been trying to extinguish the fires for hours, it added. Tanks are stationed outside the hospital, medics say, effectively blocking access to the facility. The Gaza healthcare system has been barely functioning, with most of the medical facilities out of order, because of repeated Israeli military strikes, raids and the ban on the entry of medical supplies. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday Israel would be open to a temporary ceasefire to enable the return of hostages taken by Hamas-led fighters. But if they were not returned, he said it would press ahead with a military campaign to gain total control of Gaza. 'Netanyahu continues to stall and insist on pursuing the war. There is no value to any agreement that doesn't stop the massacres in Gaza permanently,' senior Hamas official Sami Ab Zuhri said in response to Netanyahu's comments. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which killed some 1,200 people by Israeli tallies and saw 251 hostages abducted into Gaza. The campaign has since killed more than 53,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the coastal strip, where aid groups say signs of severe malnutrition are widespread.
Time of India
06-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
As Israel blocks aid, 'reality in Gaza is indescribable'
After nearly 19 months of war, the people of are running out of ways to cope and are wary of what lies ahead. The Israeli blockade on all humanitarian and commercial supplies is now 2 months old. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now And Israeli bombardments across Gaza continue. "The reality in Gaza is indescribable," told DW by phone from Gaza City. "We live in tragedy, trying to survive without knowing whether we'll make it or not. We may survive, but our souls died a long time ago." Fear of bombing is one issue, he said; finding enough to eat is another. "We are consumed by the daily search for food, storing whatever we can for the coming days," he said. "We eat frugally, and as much as possible." Aid organizations have consistently warned that the risk of malnutrition and hunger is high as bakeries are closed, the cost of basic food items skyrockets and the borders remain shut. Markets are still selling small quantities of vegetables, but these are now unaffordable for most people. Prices have skyrocketed and many Gazans have no more income. A kilogram (2.2 pounds) of tomatoes, a staple in Palestinian kitchens, now costs about 30 shekels (€7 or $7.90). This is compared to 1-3 shekels per kilo before the war. And a kilo of sugar goes for over 60 shekels. "Our lives now depend entirely on canned food, with the rare exception of some vegetables," the 44-year-old Qatawi said, adding that cooking is a challenge because of the shortage of gas. "There is no wood to light fires, so we burn whatever we can find: clothes, shoes, anything. This is our daily life." 'No safe place' "Never in Gaza's history were we in such a situation," Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO), told DW by phone from Gaza City. "It's a catastrophe" "We have airstrikes, artillery, attacks on tents, on shelters," Shawa said. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "There is no safe place. And then everyone is starving. Even, speaking personally, we don't know what to eat. There is almost nothing." Shawa said people felt that they were being pushed deeper and deeper into a corner with no end in sight. "And the worst thing for us as humanitarians is to feel that you are handcuffed, that you have nothing to give," Shawa said. "We do our best to give some hope here and there, but on the other hand we are part of the community and we cannot isolate ourselves from the situation." In addition, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the health care system was "on the brink of collapse, overwhelmed by mass casualties and critically hindered by the full blockade that has cut off essential medicines, vaccines, and medical equipment." The recently announced that it had depleted its food stocks for Gaza and distributed its last remaining supplies to community kitchens, which serve basic meals for the most vulnerable, as well as the last of the flour to bakeries. "On March 31, all 25 -supported bakeries closed as wheat flour and cooking fuel ran out," the UN body announced in a statement. "The same week, WFP food parcels distributed to families — with two weeks of food rations — were exhausted. WFP is also deeply concerned about the severe lack of safe water and fuel for cooking — forcing people to scavenge for items to burn to cook a meal.' Living in fear As supplies dwindle, the worry about how to provide for loved ones overshadows everything, Mahmoud Hassouna, a resident of the city of in southern Gaza, told DW by phone. The 24-year-old was displaced at the beginning of the war in 2023, when his family home was destroyed by Israeli bombings. He said he spends his day moving around his family's makeshift home and helping his mother prepare meals. "We're back living on canned food again," he said. "We don't have enough money to buy vegetables, which are sold at exorbitant prices in the market." Hassouna said his job was to find firewood, which is hard to come by these days as most of the trees have been cut down or destroyed by bombing. Many people risk going into bombed-out houses to salvage any doors or wooden items. He also has to find clean drinking water and try to charge the phones nearby. The fear of bombing and displacement has become constant. "I have spent almost two years of my life under bombs, killing and death. I don't even recognize myself anymore." A ceasefire that began in January and lasted until early March brought some relief to the people of Gaza and bought time to fill the warehouses of aid organizations. However, the situation deteriorated again as soon as Israel broke the ceasefire and renewed its offensive on March 18 after the first phase of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement ended and talks on a second phase failed to take place. Before breaking the ceasefire, the Israeli government had already ordered the closure of all border crossings and halted all humanitarian and commercial deliveries into Gaza. Israel's 'maximum pressure' The blockade is part of what Israeli officials say is a "maximum pressure" strategy to force Hamas release the remaining hostages under a new temporary ceasefire agreement and ultimately topple the Palestinian militant group. Israeli officials have accused Hamas of stealing aid and using it for its own forces. Israeli media report that the security cabinet is set to approve operational plans to expand the current military offensive, including calling up tens of thousands of reservists. It not clear when such an expansion would take place. Hamas has rejected all calls for its disarmament and insists on an agreement that guarantees an end to the war. Israel launched the war after a Hamas-led terror attack on October 7, 2023, in which gunmen killed nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 hostages. Israeli officials say 59 hostages remain in Gaza, less than half of whom are believed to be alive. Israel retaliated immediately to the Hamas-led attack with a massive military operation and ground offensive in Gaza. The death toll in the strip has now risen to over 52,000, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said last week. Thousands more are believed to be buried under the rubble. Strategically withholding aid? Aid groups and the accuse Israel of using humanitarian and food aid as a political tool. This is a potential war crime that affects the whole of Gaza's population of 2.2 million. This week, UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher reminded Israel in a statement that "international law is unequivocal: As the occupying power, Israel must allow humanitarian support in. Aid, and the civilian lives it saves, should never be a bargaining chip." Over the course of the war, Gaza's population has become almost entirely dependent on aid and commercial supplies from constant displacement of people and the creation of a large buffer zone held by the Israeli military in the north, along the eastern border and in the south has denied Palestinians access to Gaza's most fertile agricultural land. "Put simply, Israel is not only preventing food from entering Gaza, but has also engineered a situation in which Palestinians cannot grow their own food, and cannot fish their own food,' Gavin Kelleher, a Norwegian Refugee Council aid worker recently returned from working in in Gaza, told a press briefing. Gazans say there have also been incidents of looting of warehouses and a general atmosphere of chaos and limited internal security during Israel's bombardment. OCHA reported on Thursday that "recent strikes have reportedly hit residential buildings and tents sheltering displaced people, especially in Rafah and eastern Gaza city. As of this Tuesday, our humanitarian partners estimate that more than 423,000 people in Gaza have been displaced once again, with no safe place to go." This is a nightmare for Mahmoud Hassouna. "My only wish is not to be displaced again," Hassouna said. "After that, I want this crazy war to stop."
