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Israel to allow foreign aid to parachute into Gaza but continues bombardment despite growing global pleas for ceasefire
Israel to allow foreign aid to parachute into Gaza but continues bombardment despite growing global pleas for ceasefire

The Sun

time2 hours ago

  • Health
  • The Sun

Israel to allow foreign aid to parachute into Gaza but continues bombardment despite growing global pleas for ceasefire

ISRAEL will allow foreign aid to parachute into Gaza despite continuing its relentless onslaught. Horror scenes of mass starvation have sparked an international outcry after Israel restricted supplies to the territory. 7 7 7 7 Aid groups warned this week Palestinians are on the brink of famine with one in five children suffering from malnutrition, with UN warning civilians are becoming "walking corpses". But Israel has denied responsibility, blaming Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's population. Aid drops into the territory will be managed by Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, an Israeli official said. Despite the concession, Israel is keeping up its heavy bombardment in the face of global ceasefire please and huge protests in Tel Aviv. Explosions from fresh overnight strikes rocked the besieged coastal strip, with Israeli Defence Forces troops continuing to advance on Hamas lairs. The terrorists are still hiding out within civilian communities after the cornered Islamist group repeatedly rejected ceasefire terms. French president Emmanuel Macron yesterday ramped up pressure on Israel to halt fighting by announcing his nation would become the first in The West to recognise a Palestine state. Macron held emergency talks over the crisis today with UK PM Sir Keir Starmer who called conditions in the 25-mile enclave 'unspeakable and indefensible'. Starmer has already declared statehood is Palestinians' 'inalienable right' but has yet to officially declare recognition. Humanitarian workers have reported seeing children 'emaciated, weak and at high risk of dying' without urgent treatment, Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UNRWA relief agency said. Starmer said: 'We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe. 'The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible. While the situation has been grave for some time, it has reached new depths and continues to worsen.' Gaza's health ministry - which is controlled by Hamas - said 82 of 113 hunger-related deaths recorded there so far are Palestinian children. But scores of desperate, innocent civilians have been killed queuing for food aid amid claims of IDF atrocities. US and Israeli negotiators in Qatar walked out of ceasefire talks on Thursday after Hamas submitted a list of 'impossible' demands. They reportedly included the release of more prisoners in exchange for hostages, including captured commandos involved in the October 7 attacks. Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff branded Hamas 'selfish' and suggested that the group 'does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith'. He added that the terror group's 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza' was the reason US negotiators had been recalled. 7 7 7 Thousands gathered in Tel Aviv's Habima Square on Thursday for a protest demanding Israel's strongman PM Benjamin Netanyahu end the Gaza war and return the hostages. Netanyahu has been accused of prolonging the bloodbath to save his political skin - and deflect blame for the security lapses which enabled Hamas to carry out the October 7 horror. The rally, which began with a moment of silence for fallen soldiers, was joined by parents of hostages, parents of soldiers, and reservists demanding and end to the war. Retired military commander Major General Noam Tibon said at the rally: 'In the beginning, this was a just war after 22 months, this war no longer has a security purpose. 'The war has turned into a political war, and while the best of us are falling in Gaza.'

$10mn of USAID contraceptives to be burned in France
$10mn of USAID contraceptives to be burned in France

Russia Today

timea day ago

  • Health
  • Russia Today

$10mn of USAID contraceptives to be burned in France

A $10 million shipment of US-funded contraceptives will be incinerated in France, after Washington rejected offers to send the supplies to poorer nations, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The stockpile – made up of birth control pills and implants – has been stuck in Belgium since early 2025, when President Donald Trump shut down USAID and froze foreign aid programs. The supplies were originally meant for distribution in developing countries. A State Department spokesperson confirmed the destruction plan, saying the disposal will cost around $167,000 and take place at a medical waste facility in France. The contraceptives are being stored in the city of Geel and will require dozens of truckloads and at least two weeks to move, sources told Reuters. Belgian authorities have attempted to prevent the destruction of the supplies yet ultimately failed to do so, having exhausted 'all possible options to prevent the destruction, including temporary relocation.' 'Despite these efforts, and with full respect for our partners, no viable alternative could be secured. Nevertheless, Belgium continues to actively seek solutions to avoid this regrettable outcome,' the country's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that 'sexual and reproductive health must not be subject to ideological constraints.' Human rights groups that attempted to buy the supplies from Washington have also suggested the impending destruction is being driven by 'ideological' motives rather than a desire to cut costs. Sarah Shaw, Associate Director of Advocacy at MSI Reproductive Choices, told Reuters the NGO approached Washington with an offer to pay for repackaging of the supplies without USAID branding and for shipment to their destinations, but the proposal was declined. 'MSI offered to pay for repackaging, shipping, and import duties, but they were not open to that... We were told that the US government would only sell the supplies at the full market value,' said Shaw. 'This is clearly not about saving money. It feels more like an ideological assault on reproductive rights, and one that is already harming women,' she added. The UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, also reportedly offered to buy the shipment. The talks ultimately broke down, partially due to a lack of response from the US government, a source with direct knowledge told Reuters.

U.S.-funded contraceptives for poor nations to be burned in France: sources
U.S.-funded contraceptives for poor nations to be burned in France: sources

Japan Times

time2 days ago

  • Health
  • Japan Times

U.S.-funded contraceptives for poor nations to be burned in France: sources

U.S.-funded contraceptives worth nearly $10 million are being sent to France from Belgium to be incinerated after Washington rejected offers from the United Nations and family planning organizations to buy or ship the supplies to poor nations, according to two sources. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department confirmed on Wednesday that a decision had been taken to destroy the stock. The supplies have been stuck for months in a warehouse in Geel, a city in the Belgian province of Antwerp, following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to freeze U.S. foreign aid in January. They comprise contraceptive implants and pills as well as intrauterine devices to help prevent unwanted pregnancies, according to seven sources and a screenshot shared by an eighth source confirming the planned destruction. The U.S. government will spend $167,000 to incinerate the stocks at a facility in France that handles medical waste, the U.S. State Department confirmed. The spokesperson said that a preliminary decision had been made to destroy certain products from terminated U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts. "Only a limited number of commodities have been approved for disposal," the spokesperson said via email, adding that no condoms or HIV medications would be destroyed. U.S. lawmakers have introduced two bills this month to prevent the destruction of the supplies following Trump's decision to shut down USAID, but aid groups say the bills are unlikely to be passed in time to stop the incineration. The Belgian foreign ministry said Brussels had held talks with U.S. authorities and "explored all possible options to prevent the destruction, including temporary relocation." "Despite these efforts, and with full respect for our partners, no viable alternative could be secured. Nevertheless, Belgium continues to actively seek solutions to avoid this regrettable outcome," it said in a statement on Tuesday. "Sexual and reproductive health must not be subject to ideological constraints," it added. The supplies, worth $9.7 million, are due to expire between April 2027 and September 2031, according to an internal document listing the warehouse stocks and verified by three sources. Sarah Shaw, Associate Director of Advocacy at MSI Reproductive Choices, said the nongovernmental organization had volunteered to pay for the supplies to be repackaged without USAID branding and shipped to countries in need, but the offer was declined by the U.S. government. "MSI offered to pay for repackaging, shipping and import duties but they were not open to that. ... We were told that the U.S. government would only sell the supplies at the full market value," said Shaw. She did not elaborate on how much the NGO was prepared to pay, but said she felt the rejection was based on the Trump's administration's more restrictive stance on abortion and family planning. "This is clearly not about saving money. It feels more like an ideological assault on reproductive rights, and one that is already harming women." She added that many countries in sub-Saharan Africa had relied on USAID for access to contraception and that the aid cuts would lead to a rise in unsafe abortions. The United Nations' sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, also offered to buy the contraceptives outright, three sources said, without disclosing the financial terms of the proposal. However, negotiations broke down, a source with knowledge of the talks said, in part due to a lack of response from the U.S. government. UNFPA declined to comment. One of the sources with knowledge of the issue said that the Trump administration was acting in accordance with the Mexico City Policy, an anti-abortion pact in which Trump reinstated U.S. participation in January. The pact forbids the U.S. government from contributing to or working with organizations providing funding or supplies that offer access to abortions. The source said there was no way for the U.S. government to ensure that UNFPA would not share the contraceptives with groups offering abortions, violating the Mexico City Policy. The State Department also said these were factors in their decision on Wednesday, and added that it had avoided $34.1 million in costs by cancelling other orders placed under the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden. The source also said the matter was complicated by the fact that the contraceptives in Belgium were embossed with the USAID trademark and Washington did not want any USAID-branded supplies to be rerouted elsewhere. UNFPA did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the concerns raised by the source. One of the two sources who revealed that the stocks of contraceptives were being trucked to France said it would likely take dozens of truckloads and at least two weeks to move the supplies out of the Geel warehouse, with a third source also confirming the scale of the operation. The French government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Chemonics, the contractor managing the supply chain for USAID's family planning program, declined to comment on the plans to destroy the supplies.

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