Egypt’s top diplomat, Sameh Shoukry, in a meeting with his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares, in Cairo, Egypt, on Thursday made an emotional appeal for an urgent increase in humanitarian aid going into Gaza by land, even as an aid ship loaded with some 200 tons of food was on its way to the enclave, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been driven to the brink of starvation.
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- Egypt’s top diplomat is urgently calling for increased humanitarian aid to Gaza via land routes, as a ship carrying 200 tons of food heads to the region amidst a deepening humanitarian crisis.
- The international community’s efforts, including sea shipments and airdrops, aim to circumvent Israel’s land restrictions, which have hampered aid delivery, as Gaza faces severe shortages and starvation.
- Israel plans to relocate 1.4 million Palestinians in Rafah to “humanitarian islands” in central Gaza, ahead of a military offensive targeting Hamas battalions, raising fears of further catastrophe.
- Gaza’s Health Ministry reports over 31,314 Palestinian deaths, with women and children constituting two-thirds of the casualties, amid escalating conflict and Israeli offensives.
- Egypt emphasizes the inefficiency of sea and air aid compared to land deliveries, with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry highlighting the critical two-month wait for the U.S.-planned temporary port and stressing the need for immediate action.
- Denmark reaffirms its support for UNRWA with a $15.4 million contribution, despite recent funding suspensions by several countries following Israeli accusations against UNRWA employees’ involvement in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
- Amid ongoing violence, an attack in southern Israel results in a critically wounded individual, reflecting heightened tensions during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and increased security measures in Jerusalem.
The Associated Press has the story:
Egypt appeals for more aid deliveries by land to Gaza as Israel warns of Rafah push
Newslooks- CAIRO — (AP)
Egypt’s top diplomat on Thursday made an emotional appeal for an urgent increase in humanitarian aid going into Gaza by land, even as an aid ship loaded with some 200 tons of food was on its way to the enclave, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been driven to the brink of starvation.
The push to get food in by sea — along with a recent campaign of airdrops into isolated northern Gaza — highlighted the international community’s frustration with the growing humanitarian crisis and with Israel’s restrictions that have prevented more aid getting in by land.
On Wednesday, Israel said it plans to tell 1.4 million Palestinians displaced in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah to seek shelter “humanitarian islands” in central Gaza ahead of a planned military offensive into the south. Israel says Hamas maintains four battalions in Rafah that it wants to destroy.
Humanitarian groups fear a military offensive into the densely crowded area would be a catastrophe. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been forced from their homes, with many driven into sprawling tent camps. A quarter of Gaza’s population is starving, the United Nations has warned. The border crossing at Rafah is Gaza’s main entry point for aid.
More than 31,314 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the territory’s Health Ministry said. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in southern Israel during the Hamas-led incursion on Oct. 7 that sparked the war. Around 250 people were abducted, and Hamas is believed to still be holding about 100 hostages.
Egypt’s top diplomat on Thursday appealed for an urgent increase in the amount of humanitarian aid going into besieged Gaza through land crossings, adding that people in the devastated territory cannot wait until a U.S. planned temporary port to be built for sea shipments.
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry spoke as U.S. military representatives were expected in Israel this week to further coordinate a planned U.S. floating pier that will be built off the coast of Gaza. The United States and other countries have also been airdropping food into northern Gaza in recent weeks to help alleviate the crisis.
But aid groups said air drops and bringing sea shipments are far less efficient and effective than bringing in food by land routes, which Israel has severely restricted.
Shoukry said the sea port is “expected to be completed in two months.”
“What shall we do during those two months? Shall more children continue to die until this port is constructed,” he asked during a joint press conference with his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares in Cairo.
President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. military last week to set up a temporary port off the coast of Gaza to carve out a sea route for food and other aid. Pentagon has said the construction of a massive floating pier will take weeks and require as many as 1,000 US troops.
He insisted that Israel should be held accountable for restricting the passage of aid to Gaza, urging it to allow relief assistance through all six border crossings with the strip.
DANISH OFFICIAL SAYS THAT DESPITE ACCUSATIONS, THERE’S CURRENTLY NO GOOD ALTERNATIVE TO UNRWA
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark said Thursday it has paid its contribution of 105 million kroner ($15.4 million) to the U.N. refugee agency for Palestinians, weeks after the agency lost hundreds of millions of dollars in funding following Israeli accusations against some of its staff in Gaza.
The accusations come after years of tensions between Israel and the agency known as UNRWA over its work in Gaza, where it employs roughly 13,000 people.
Israel has accused 12 of UNRWA’s employees of taking part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that set off the war. In response, more than a dozen countries suspended funding to UNRWA, amounting to about $450 million — almost half its budget for the year.
Dan Jørgensen, Denmark’s minister for development cooperation, said that “there is currently no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza.”
“The accusations against UNRWA have pointed out a number of organizational weaknesses around UNRWA’s control mechanisms,” he said. “In the longer term, it will be absolutely crucial that important reform measures are initiated in the organization.”
In the same statement, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen described UNWRA as “an indispensable player right now.”
“It is probably too much to hope that all the weak points of the organization have disappeared, but the management has initiated a number of measures to restore trust,” he said.
The U.N. has condemned “the abhorrent alleged acts” and fired nine of the accused UNRWA workers, who include teachers and a social worker. Two are reportedly dead, and the last is still being identified.
Denmark’s announcement follows similar decisions from Sweden, the European Union and Canada, the Danish government said.
GAZA’S HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS ISRAEL’S ASSAULT ON THE TERRITORY HAS KILLED 31,314 PEOPLE
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Thursday that Israel’s assault on the territory has killed 31,314 Palestinians and wounded more than 73,100.
The ministry says around two-thirds of the dead are women and children and that the real overall toll is higher because bodies are buried under the rubble or in areas that medics can’t access amid Israel’s ground offensive and bombardment. The ministry’s count does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
Israel blames the high civilian death toll on Hamas because the militants fight in dense, residential areas. The Israeli military says it has killed over 13,000 Hamas fighters, without providing evidence.
ISRAELI POLICE SAY MILITANT STABS MAN AT A HIGHWAY REST STOP IN SOUTHERN ISRAEL
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli police say a man was stabbed and critically wounded in a militant attack at a highway rest stop in southern Israel on Thursday. The police say the attacker was subdued, without providing further information on his condition or identity.
The attack came amid heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which began this week.
The Hamas militant group has called on Palestinians to attack Israelis during the holy month. On Wednesday, a Palestinian stabbed two security forces at a checkpoint south of Jerusalem before being shot and killed.
Israeli police say at least 3,000 security personnel will be deployed across Jerusalem during the first Friday prayers of Ramadan, where tens of thousands of Palestinians are expected to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam.
The site is the holiest for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the location of the Jewish temples in antiquity. It has long been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Violence has surged in the occupied West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack triggered the war in Gaza.
Currently:
— Despair deepens for families of hostages in Gaza as the Ramadan cease-fire deadline passes.
— South Africa’s foreign minister says citizens fighting with Israeli forces in Gaza will be arrested.
— Israel says it plans to direct Palestinians out of Rafah ahead of anticipated offensive.
— Palestinian soccer federation says a former national team player has been killed in an Israeli airstrike.
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
