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ABC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
ABC allowed inside Gaza
Sabra Lane: For the first time since the Israel-Gaza war started nearly two years ago, the Israeli military has allowed our Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran inside Gaza. He was allowed to travel with one of the Israeli military's aid deliveries at Kerem Shalom in southern Gaza. For months now, we've been hearing about the humanitarian crisis in the Strip, with people starving to death. Another five have died, according to local health authorities. They say another 20 were killed when a crowd of desperate people swarmed to greet aid trucks. Matthew Doran filed this report. Matthew Doran: Climbing into the back of an Israel Defence Forces SUV, our driver across the high security border into Gaza is listening to Galgalatz, one of the army radio stations. Janice Joplin is trickling through the speakers. It's only a short journey to our destination, and this is a place Israel wants the world to see. Past one gate, over a dirt road, and through another gate set in the massive fence line, and we enter something of a no-man's land. It's just mounds of dirt and rubbish here, and the occasional stray dog. There's a pair of United Nations vehicles parked up ahead, near a line of large trucks, a couple have bullet holes in their windscreens, and some are still fully laden with supplies. There are flags of many Arab nations on these pallets, Jordan, the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. One trailer is covered with the gold stars of the European Union. As we drive along, the wind kicks up dust, at first brown and beige from the sand, but occasionally it turns white as we drive over piles of flour, spilt from sacks which have fallen by the roadside. At the end of the dirt road, the area opens up into a large enclosure, itself fenced off from the rest of the area. There's row upon row of pallets carrying everything from tomatoes to toilet paper, sunflower oil to toothpaste. The depot isn't as full as it was just a week ago, as more trucks inside Gaza have been able to get here to pick up the supplies, taking advantage of secure corridors provided by the IDF. But the backlog is still there. Israel is holding this site up as evidence it is trying to feed the Gazan population, but aid agencies say there are large holes in that argument. The IDF says the UN and other organisations are failing to take the food and other essential items here and distribute them through the strip. In turn, the humanitarians argue they've tried to do that for months, but it's been too dangerous. The World Food Programme, for example, says that before the aid restrictions were partially eased a week and a half ago, Israel only approved just over half of the 138 requests it made in one week to drive convoys to sites like this one. When those missions did get the green light, it sometimes took up to 46 hours for the convoys to travel through the strip due to significant delays. And Gaza isn't a big place. It's less than 50 kilometres north to south. This is the first time the ABC has gained access inside Gaza's borders with the IDF since the start of the war, and it's highly controlled and choreographed. We're being kept far away from the devastation on the ground. What was once the city of Rafah is just a short distance away, behind another fence line, and we can hear shelling from time to time. The IDF has also invited some Israeli social media influencers on this trip to try to push their case. But as images of starvation spread around the world and the death toll rises, this is a PR campaign Israel is losing as it stands accused of causing this crisis. This is Matthew Doran at the Kerim Shalom crossing, reporting for AM. Sabra Lane: The United Nations says the situation in Gaza is disastrous. Farhan Haq is the spokesman for the UN Secretary General. Farhan Haq: The situation is beyond catastrophic. Hospitals are overstretched. Patients are lying on the floor or in the streets, suffering as beds, medical supplies and equipment are severely lacking. Yesterday, emergency medical teams were denied entry into Gaza. The World Health Organization tells us that more than 100 health professionals, including surgeons and other specialised medical staff, have been barred from entry since March this year. Sabra Lane: UN Secretary General spokesman Farhan Haq.
BBC News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Gaza: UK and 27 other nations condemn Israel over civilian suffering
The UK and 27 other countries have called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, where they say the suffering of civilians has "reached new depths".A joint statement says Israel's aid delivery model is dangerous and condemns what it calls the "drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians" seeking food and Hamas-run health ministry said more than 100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire while waiting for food over the weekend and that 19 others died as a result of foreign ministry rejected the countries' statement, saying it was "disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas". The ministry accused the armed group of spreading lies and undermining aid distribution, rather than agreeing to a new ceasefire and hostage release deal. There have been many international statements condemning Israel's tactics in Gaza during the past 21 months of its war with Hamas. But this declaration is notable for its signatories are the foreign ministers of the UK and 27 other nations, including Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, New Zealand and statement begins by declaring that "the war in Gaza must end now".It then warns: "The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity.""We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food. It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid."There have been almost daily reports of Palestinians being killed while waiting for food since May, when Israel partially eased an 11-week total blockade on aid deliveries to Gaza and, along with the US, helped to establish a new aid system run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to bypass the existing one overseen by the has said the GHF's system, which uses US private security contractors to hand out food parcels from sites inside Israeli military zones, prevents supplies being stolen by the UN and its partners have refused to co-operate with the system, saying it is unsafe and violates the humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality, and Tuesday, the UN human rights office said it had recorded 674 killings in the vicinity of the GHF's aid sites since they began operating eight weeks ago. Another 201 killings had been recorded along routes of UN and other aid convoys, it Saturday, another 39 people were killed near two GHF sites in Khan Younis and nearby Rafah, according to Gaza's health ministry. The Israeli military said its troops fired warning shots to prevent "suspects" approaching them before the sites on Sunday, the ministry said 67 people were killed as they surged toward a convoy of UN aid lorries near a crossing point in northern Gaza. The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots at a crowd "to remove an immediate threat" but disputed the numbers the incident, the World Food Programme warned that Gaza's hunger crisis had "reached new levels of desperation"."People are dying from lack of humanitarian assistance. Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment," the UN agency Hamas-run health ministry said on Monday that 19 people had died as a result of malnutrition since Saturday and warned of potential "mass deaths" in the coming days."Hospitals can no longer provide food for patients or staff, many of whom are physically unable to continue working due to extreme hunger," Dr Khalil al-Daqran, a spokesperson for al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, told the BBC."Hospitals cannot provide a single bottle of milk to children suffering from hunger, because all baby formula has run out from the market," he also reported that markets were closed due to food shortages."My children cry from hunger all night. They've had only a small plate of lentils over the past three days. There's no bread. A kilogramme of flour was $80 (£59) a week ago," Mohammad Emad al-Din, a barber and father of two, told the BBC. The statement by the 27 countries also says Israeli proposals to move Gaza's entire 2.1 million into a so-called "humanitarian city" in the southern Rafah area are unacceptable, noting that "permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law".They urge Israel, Hamas and the international community to "bring this terrible conflict to an end, through an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire".And they warn that they are "prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace". That is seen by many as code for recognising a state of Palestine, something many countries have done but not all, including the UK and foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein rejected the criticism."All statements and all claims should be directed at the only party responsible for the lack of a deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire: Hamas, which started this war and is prolonging it," he said."Instead of agreeing to a ceasefire, Hamas is busy running a campaign to spread lies about Israel. At the same time, Hamas is deliberately acting to increase friction and harm to civilians who come to receive humanitarian aid," he Israeli military body responsible for co-ordinating aid, Cogat, also said that Israel "acts in accordance with international law and is leading efforts to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza in co-ordination with the international organisations".A spokesperson for the GHF meanwhile appealed to UN agencies to join its operation while also blaming them for "stopping" work and for failing to deliver supplies across the Fay told journalists that he had been to border crossings where he saw aid supplies "rotting" because UN agencies would not deliver Israeli foreign ministry said on Sunday that 700 lorry loads of aid were waiting to be picked up by the UN from UN has said it struggles to pick up and distribute supplies because of the ongoing hostilities, Israeli restrictions on humanitarian movements, and fuel Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 59,029 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.
Al Arabiya
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
US-backed aid group says it did not operate on Saturday due to Hamas threats
The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it was unable to distribute any humanitarian aid on Saturday because Palestinian militants Hamas had issued 'direct threats' against the organization's operations. 'These threats made it impossible to proceed today without putting innocent lives at risk,' the organization said in a statement. 'GHF will not be deterred. We remain committed to safe, secure and independent aid delivery. We are actively adapting our operations to overcome these threats and fully intend to resume distributions without delay.'
