Latest news with #humanitarian
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Witkoff plans to visit the Mideast in push for Gaza ceasefire, State Department spokesperson says
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, planned to head to the Middle East as the U.S. tries once again to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas , the State Department's spokesperson said Tuesday. Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters that Witkoff was going to the region with a 'strong hope' that the U.S. can deliver a ceasefire deal as well as a new humanitarian corridor for aid distribution.
The Independent
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Witkoff plans to visit the Mideast in push for Gaza ceasefire, State Department spokesperson says
President Donald Trump 's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, planned to head to the Middle East as the U.S. tries once again to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the State Department 's spokesperson said Tuesday. Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters that Witkoff was going to the region with a 'strong hope' that the U.S. can deliver a ceasefire deal as well as a new humanitarian corridor for aid distribution. 'I would suggest that we might have some good news, but, again, as we know, this could be a constantly changing dynamic,' said Bruce, who didn't have other details about where Witkoff would be going or what he had planned. Three U.S. officials said Witkoff is traveling to Europe this week to discuss a range of issues, including Gaza and the push for a ceasefire, but they had no details about Middle East stops and did not share where specifically Witkoff would travel to and when. The officials were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The State Department press office didn't respond to messages seeking more details on Witkoff's travel, and it wasn't immediately clear what his schedule would be this week. A breakthrough in talks on a ceasefire deal has eluded the Trump administration for months as conditions worsen in Gaza. The territory had its deadliest day yet for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war, with at least 85 Palestinians killed while trying to reach food Sunday. The Israeli army has said it fired warning shots, but says the reported death toll was greatly inflated. The United Nations' food agency accused Israeli forces of firing on the crowd of Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid. Bruce said the incident that took place while civilians were trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel is 'absolutely horrible" and reinforced why the U.S. is pushing for a new humanitarian corridor to be created as part of any truce. The sides have held weeks of talks in Qatar, reporting small signs of progress but no major breakthroughs. Officials have said a main sticking point is the redeployment of Israeli troops after any ceasefire takes place. The U.S. plan calls for a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release some hostages while Israel would free Palestinian prisoners and allow a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza. During the 60 days, the sides are also to begin negotiations on a permanent end to the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas yields power and is disarmed, while Hamas says it will not release all of the hostages until the war is over. It is seeking assurances that Netanyahu will not resume the war after the 60 days, as he did in March after an early ceasefire expired. Hamas is holding 50 hostages — 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. ___
CBC
an hour ago
- Health
- CBC
100 humanitarian organizations plead for Gaza aid to resume
More than 100 humanitarian organizations have issued an urgent plea for aid to start flowing into Gaza, citing the risks of starvation and hospital closures.
RNZ News
an hour ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Kiwi donor outraged after Givealittle shuts down Gaza fundraising page
Palestinian children wait with others for food at a distribution point in Gaza City, on June 3, 2025. Photo: AFP / Majdi Fathi New Zealand donors are fighting Givealittle for refunds after their page was shut down over concerns around money laundering in Gaza. More than $3500 is locked in one Givealittle fund, which is destined for what organisers say is a friend to buy formula for babies, after the donation company changed its policy on Gaza. Givealittle has recently updated its policy in response to "operational risks" associated with transferring funds to individuals in Gaza, a spokesperson told Midday Report. As a result, four pages have been closed. One of those pages was a fundraiser set up by Ciara's friend in the United Kingdom to raise money to buy baby formula for families in need in Gaza. Ciara, who wishes to keep her last name anonymous, told Midday Report when the page was set up, Givealittle said it would be moderated in three days but in the meantime, they could start fundraising. "We just got straight into it and within about six days we had about $3500 fundraised," Ciara said. Palestinian children wait in front of a food distribution truck at a displacement camp near Gaza City's port on 22 May, 2025. Photo: AFP/ Omar Al-Qattaa Givealittle then asked for verification of their contact in Gaza who was getting the formula and distributing it to families. Ciara said they provided Givealittle with their contact's bank account details, written permission for them to fundraise on their contact's behalf and their passport. On 17 July, Givealittle emailed to say the page did not meet its requirements and would not be going ahead. "They have said that, in high-risk areas such as Gaza, they don't believe there is evidence of were their funds are going and that they would like [funds] to go through a registered charity instead," Ciara said. "They are leaning on some very tight New Zealand laws on anti-money laundering and countering terrorism regime, which are extremely tight and basically give us no wiggle room. "The thing that really got us was that they changed their policy on donating to individuals in Gaza while our page was receiving funds." Givealittle told Ciara in an email, which Midday Report has seen, that as a regulated platform under New Zealand's Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, they "have a duty to go beyond minimum requirements when we assess risk". The platform was worried the funds could be used by someone linked to Hamas, which New Zealand has listed as terrorist entity . "While we acknowledge the identity information you have provided for [their contact in Gaza] we note that your relationship with him only began in May of this year and has developed entirely online," the Givealittle email read. "In this context, we are unable to verify the end use of funds with the confidence required under our obligations. The risk of misuse - even where intentions are good - is high, and in such cases, we must err on the side of caution." Now the page has $3573 on hold that the organisers and donors can't access. "We have got many donors waiting, who require explanation on where their money is going," Ciara said. "Furthermore, we've got children, babies and families who are starving in Gaza ." She is still waiting on a response from Givealittle to explain what is happening with the funds. "We have just been absolutely beside ourselves. The devastation that's happening is unfathomable," Ciara said. "Here is a way for us to provide some kind of help. Yes, it might just be a drop in the ocean, but it is a tin of formula for a starving baby to get them through that next day. I just think it is absolutely outrageous. It's unforgivable and it's unacceptable." Givealittle said in a statement to Midday Report the decision to update its policy was not taken lightly. "The banking and financial infrastructure in Gaza is now so unstable that we can no longer, with certainty, verify the identity of individual beneficiaries or ensure that funds can be delivered safely and transparently," a spokesperson said. This policy applies to only to individual fundraising in Gaza. "Givealittle continues to support pages linked to registered New Zealand charities operating in the region, where funds can be safely distributed through trusted channels. We encourage donors who wish to help to continue giving through these organisations," the spokesperson said. "We appreciate the compassion of those who have created and supported these pages and are committed to ensuring that generosity continues to have an impact." Any payments already due to verified individuals will still be honoured. It comes after Midday Report reported PayPal was withholding funds donated by New Zealanders for families in Gaza. PayPal has yet to reply to requests for comment. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- General
- Reuters
No aid supplies left, staff starves in Gaza, Norwegian Refugee Council says
GENEVA, July 22 (Reuters) - The Norwegian Refugee Council, one of the largest independent aid organisations in Gaza, told Reuters on Tuesday its supplies were exhausted and some of its staff starving, and the group accused Israel of paralysing its work. "Our last tent, our last food parcel, our last relief items have been distributed. There is nothing left," Jan Egeland, the secretary general of the council, told Reuters in an interview via video link from Oslo. The council, which has 64 Palestinian and two international staff on the ground in Gaza, echoed comments on Tuesday by the head of the Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA who said its staff were fainting on the job from hunger and exhaustion. The NRC said that for the last 145 days, it has not been able to get tents, water, sanitation supplies, food and education materials into Gaza, where Israel has been at war against Palestinian group Hamas since October 2023 and the United Nations has warned of a worsening hunger crisis. "Hundreds of truckloads have been sitting in warehouses or in Egypt or elsewhere, and costing our Western European donors a lot of money, but they are blocked from coming in… That's why we are so angry. Because our job is to help," Egeland said. "Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyse our work," he added. COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said in a statement that Israel does not restrict aid trucks entering Gaza, but international organisations face challenges in collecting the trucks on the Gaza side of border crossings. Israel is working with the groups to improve the system, COGAT said, adding that more than 4,500 aid trucks carrying food for the U.N. and international organizations have entered the enclave in the last two months. Many truckloads were still waiting to be picked up. COGAT said 950 shipments were on the Gaza sides of "the Kerem Shalom Crossing in the southern side of the Strip, and the Zikim Crossing in the northern part, pending collection and distribution." COGAT has accused Hamas of stealing food, which Hamas denies. The NRC said its supplies of safe drinking water were running out due to dwindling fuel to run desalination plants. The water has reached 100,000 people in central and northern parts of Gaza in recent weeks An Israeli official told Reuters that the U.N. has been given approval to bring in half a million liters of fuel. "They're bringing in fuel and collecting, but they can bring in and they can collect more, and we are having discussions with them," the official said.
