Latest news with #UN-supported
Observer
4 days ago
- Business
- Observer
Rakiza joins UN Principles for Responsible Investment
MUSCAT: Oman Infrastructure Investment Management (Rakiza), a dedicated infrastructure fund manager based in Oman, has joined the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI). This move reaffirms Rakiza's commitment to building sustainable infrastructure through a disciplined, responsible investment approach. Rakiza is currently the only infrastructure fund manager among signatories in the GCC and becomes one of only two UNPRI signatories based in Oman. 'ESG is not new to us — it's built into our investment process, asset management and decision-making,' said Muneer al Muneeri, CEO of Rakiza. 'Becoming a UNPRI signatory is about reinforcing that commitment publicly and contributing to the global benchmark for responsible infrastructure investment.' Rakiza co-manages Rakiza Fund I, which targets essential infrastructure sectors such as renewable energy, utilities, telecommunications, digital infrastructure, transport and logistics; and social infrastructure in Oman and Saudi Arabia. As fund manager, Rakiza prioritises long-term value creation, responsible stewardship and alignment with regional sustainability goals — with ESG principles integrated across the full investment lifecycle. 'We are delighted to welcome Rakiza as a PRI signatory,' said David Atkin, CEO of the PRI. 'Responsible investment is naturally aligned with infrastructure, given its long-term horizon as an asset class and its potential to shape sustainability outcomes. We look forward to working with Rakiza as part of our global signatory base.' The UNPRI's six principles offer a global framework for institutional investors to incorporate ESG factors into their investment and ownership decisions. By becoming a signatory, Rakiza commits to these principles and to reporting transparently on how ESG is embedded into its investment practices. Caption: Muneer al Muneeri, CEO of Rakiza
NDTV
14-05-2025
- Health
- NDTV
Israel Admits Palestinians In Gaza Could Face Starvation Within Weeks
New Delhi: Palestinians in Gaza may face starvation within weeks if aid is not allowed in soon, Israeli defence officials have admitted. Three military officers monitoring the situation in Gaza said many areas may soon run out of enough food to meet basic daily needs. Most bakeries in Gaza have shut down, charity kitchens are closing, and the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) says it has nothing left to distribute. The officers said that unless the blockade is lifted urgently, the crisis will worsen, as per The New York Times. For months, Israel has said that its blockade on food and fuel in Gaza does not seriously harm civilians. Since it takes time to restart aid deliveries, the officers believe urgent action is needed now to avoid a food crisis. On Monday, a UN-supported group called the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said famine was imminent in Gaza. They warned that if Israel continued with more military attacks, "the vast majority of people in the Gaza Strip would not have access to food, water, shelter, and medicine." Despite this, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the army would continue its operations "in full force to finish the job", saying "there will be no way we will stop the war." "We can make a ceasefire for a certain period of time, but we're going to the end," he said. Oren Marmorstein, a spokesperson for Israel's foreign ministry, said he could not give details from internal talks, adding the ministry was in daily contact with all relevant agencies and watching the situation closely. Since March 2, Israel has blocked all humanitarian aid, including food, water, fuel, and medicine, from entering Gaza. This blockade has been described by the United Nations as "deliberate and unashamedly" imposing inhumane conditions on Palestinians, placing them at severe risk of famine. The WFP reports that its meal distributions have dropped from one million to only 250,000 per day due to the blockade, leaving warehouses empty. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that rising malnutrition rates in Gaza may have lasting effects on an entire generation of children, with 11 per cent suffering from acute malnutrition in some areas. Israel maintains that the blockade is necessary to prevent aid from reaching Hamas. UN officials argue that starving civilians cannot be justified.
Middle East Eye
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Jordan confirms high costs of Gaza aid deliveries but denies profiting
Jordanian authorities have strongly rejected a report by Middle East Eye, which stated that Amman had earned significant sums of money through the delivery of international aid into Gaza. On Thursday, MEE reported that Jordan profited from coordinating aid deliveries through the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO), the official body that acts as the sole conduit for aid passing through the country. MEE spoke with sources from aid organisations and individuals with knowledge of the JHCO's operation, who said authorities charged $2,200 for each aid truck entering Gaza, $200,000 for each random aircraft aid drop and $400,000 for each targeted aircraft aid drop. One source said that aid attributed to the JHCO had in fact originated from foreign governments and NGOs - both Jordanian and international - while direct contributions from Jordan's government were negligible. On Friday, the JHCO's media office responded that Jordan had covered the expense of land convoys, aid drops, an air bridge and flights through al-Arish in Egypt, before other countries and organisations joined the efforts. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters It said that Amman fully covered the expenses of 125 'purely Jordanian airdrops' while 'friendly and brotherly countries' covered the cost of 266 aid drops in which they had requested to also be involved. The distance between Amman and the southern Gaza boundary with Egypt is around 200km. The JHCO media office said the costs of airdrops were, in fact, slightly higher than stated in MEE's report, with free airdrops costing $210,000 each and GPS-guided airdrops reaching 'up to $450,000'. Gaza aid crisis: NGOs fear Israeli crackdown as mass starvation looms Read More » It said that these reflected the costs of a single airdrop and strongly denied that Jordan had profited from these operations. The JHCO confirmed the $2,200 figure for each aid truck entering Gaza, stating that this covered insurance fees, operating expenses, maintenance and fuel. It said that the direct cost of Jordan's support to the people of Gaza 'amounted to tens of millions' of dollars, while indirect costs on the Jordanian state 'reached hundreds of millions'. The media office described MEE's report as an attempt to 'tarnish Jordan's image for malicious and misleading purposes'. Aid organisations were told by the JHCO that fees were paid directly to the Jordanian Armed Forces, sources told MEE. Sources added that Jordan had expanded its logistical infrastructure in response to rising revenues from the aid operations. MEE's sources also said that the kingdom had recently acquired 200 new aid trucks through a foreign grant and is building larger UN-supported storage depots in anticipation of increased deliveries under new international arrangements. Insufficient aid Since the outbreak of Israel's war on Gaza, Jordanian leaders have had to navigate growing anti-Israel sentiment at home while maintaining their strategic relationship with the country. Jordan is home to a large population descended from refugees forced to flee historic Palestine after the mass expulsions of 1948, widely known as the Nakba. In the war's early months, mass demonstrations in support of Gaza and Palestinian factions, particularly Hamas, were common across Jordan. Under mounting domestic pressure, the Jordanian military began airdropping aid into Gaza about a month after the war began and Israel imposed a full siege. In the midst of despair over Gaza, a regional struggle for freedom is brewing Read More » Since then, Jordan has carried out around 400 airdrop operations, some in coordination with other countries, according to the military. King Abdullah II himself took part in at least one of the missions, all of which were pre-arranged with the Israeli military. The airdrops have faced widespread criticism, including from Gaza residents and humanitarian workers. They argue that the airdrops, which have in some cases killed or wounded Palestinians, are unsafe, inadequate and unnecessary, particularly when land crossings remain a more viable route for aid delivery. Jordanian officials also claim to have dispatched at least 140 aid convoys by land since the war began, each carrying multiple truckloads of relief. These convoys, too, were subject to Israeli approval and coordination before reaching the besieged enclave. According to Palestinian officials in the Gaza Strip, 500 trucks of supplies were required daily under pre-war conditions - a need that has not been met since Israel's assault began 19 months ago. On 9 October 2023, two days after the Hamas-led assault on Israel, former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant - now wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes - declared a 'complete siege' on Gaza. Although limited aid and commercial goods trickled in at times, the siege has largely remained intact. On 2 March, Israel reimposed a total blockade. In the two months since, no aid or goods have entered Gaza, pushing the enclave to what some aid agencies call 'catastrophic famine levels'.
Express Tribune
09-05-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
First responders in Gaza run out of supplies
A woman cooks as she shelters in an UNRWA-affiliated school in Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza. Photo: REUTERS First responders in Gaza said Thursday that their operations were at a near standstill, more than two months into a full Israeli blockade that has left food and fuel in severe shortage. Israel denies a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the Gaza Strip, where it plans to expand military operations to force Hamas to free hostages held there since the Iran-backed group's unprecedented October 2023 attack. "Seventy-five percent of our vehicles have stopped operating due to a lack of diesel fuel," the civil defence agency's spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. He added that its teams, who play a critical role as first responders in the Gaza Strip, were also facing a "severe shortage of electricity generators and oxygen devices". For weeks, UN agencies and other humanitarian organisations have warned of dwindling supplies of everything from fuel and medicine to food and clean water in the coastal territory that is home to 2.4 million Palestinians. The UN's agency for children, UNICEF, warned that Gaza's children face "a growing risk of starvation, illness and death" after UN-supported kitchens shut down due to lack of food supplies. Over 20 independent experts mandated by the UN's Human Rights Council demanded action on Wednesday to avert the "annihilation" of Palestinians in Gaza. On Thursday, Palestinians waited in line to donate blood at a field hospital in Gaza's southern city of Khan Yunis, an AFP journalist reported. "In these difficult circumstances, we have come to support the injured and sick, amid severe food shortages and a lack of proteins, by donating blood", Moamen al-Eid, a Palestinian waiting in the line, told AFP. Hind Joba, the hospital's laboratory head, said that "there is no food or drink, the crossings are closed, and there is no access to nutritious or protein-rich food". "Still, people responded to the call, fulfilling their humanitarian duty by donating blood" despite the toll on their own bodies, she added. "But this blood is vital, and they know that every drop helps save the life of an injured." Israel returned to military operations in Gaza on March 18 after talks to prolong a six-week ceasefire stalled. On Monday, the country's security cabinet approved a new roadmap for military operations in Gaza, aiming for the "conquest" of the territory while displacing its people en masse, drawing international condemnation. An Israeli security official stated that a "window" remained for negotiations on the release of hostages until the end of US President Donald Trump's visit to the Gulf, scheduled from May 13 to 16. Hamas, which is demanding a "comprehensive and complete agreement" to end the war, on Wednesday denounced what it called Israel's attempt to impose a "partial" deal. According to the civil defence agency, air strikes at dawn killed at least eight people. The war was sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data. Of the 251 people abducted in Israel that day, 58 are still being held in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the Israeli army. Hamas is also holding the body of an Israeli soldier killed during a previous war in Gaza, in 2014. The Israeli offensive launched in retaliation for the October 7 attack has killed at least 52,653 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to data from the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which is considered reliable by the UN. AFP
Roya News
08-05-2025
- Health
- Roya News
First responders in Gaza say running out of supplies
First responders in Gaza said Thursday that their operations were at a near standstill, more than two months into a full 'Israeli' blockade that has left food and fuel in severe shortage. "Seventy-five percent of our vehicles have stopped operating due to a lack of diesel fuel," the civil defence agency's spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal told AFP. He added that its teams, who play a critical role as first responders in the Gaza Strip, were also facing a "severe shortage of electricity generators and oxygen devices". For weeks, UN agencies and other humanitarian organisations have warned of dwindling supplies of everything from fuel and medicine to food and clean water in the coastal territory that is home to 2.4 million Palestinians. "It is unacceptable that humanitarian aid is not allowed into the Gaza Strip," Pierre Krahenbuhl, director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told reporters in Geneva Thursday. The situation in Gaza is on a "razor's edge" and "the next few days are absolutely decisive", he added. The UN's agency for children, UNICEF, warned that Gaza's children face "a growing risk of starvation, illness and death" after UN-supported kitchens shut down due to lack of food supplies. Over 20 independent experts mandated by the UN's Human Rights Council demanded action on Wednesday to avert the "annihilation" of Palestinians in Gaza. Senior civil defence official Mohammad Mughayyir told AFP that 'Israeli' bombardment across Gaza on Thursday killed 21 people, including nine in a strike that targeted the Abu Rayyan family home in the northern city of Beit Lahia. 'No food or drink' Hind Joba, the hospital's laboratory head, said that "there is no food or drink, the crossings are closed, and there is no access to nutritious or protein-rich food". "Still, people responded to the call, fulfilling their humanitarian duty by donating blood" despite the toll on their own bodies, she added. "But this blood is vital, and they know that every drop helps save the life of an injured person." On Monday, 'Israel's' security cabinet approved a new roadmap for military operations in Gaza, aiming for the "conquest" of the territory while displacing its people en masse, drawing international condemnation. An 'Israeli' security official stated that a "window" remained for negotiations on the release of hostages until the end of US President Donald Trump's visit to the Gulf, scheduled from May 13 to 16.
