Food aid reaches north Gaza for first time in weeks. Israeli hostages’ families push for release

Food aid reaches north Gaza for first time in weeks. Israeli hostages’ families push for release
Families of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip gather in Re'im, southern Israel, as they begin their march to Jerusalem calling for the release of hostages, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 29 February 2024
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Food aid reaches north Gaza for first time in weeks. Israeli hostages’ families push for release

Food aid reaches north Gaza for first time in weeks. Israeli hostages’ families push for release
  • The plight of the hostages has deeply shaken Israelis, who see in them an enduring symbol of the state’s failure to protect its citizens from Hamas’ assault

RAFAH, Gaza Strip: Aid convoys carrying food reached northern Gaza this week, Israeli officials said Wednesday, the first major delivery in a month to the devastated, isolated area, where the UN has warned of worsening starvation among hundreds of thousands of Palestinians amid Israel’s offensive.
The increasing alarm over hunger across Gaza has fueled international calls for a ceasefire as the US, Egypt and Qatar work to secure a deal between Israel and Hamas for a pause in fighting and the release of some of the hostages seized by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack.
Mediators hope to reach an agreement before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts around March 10. But so far, Israel and Hamas have remained far apart in public on their demands.
Increasing the pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal, families of hostages on Wednesday launched a four-day march from southern Israel to Jerusalem to demand their loved ones be set free. Some of the around 100 hostages freed during a ceasefire in late November are joining the march, which is to end near Netanyahu’s official residence.
The plight of the hostages has deeply shaken Israelis, who see in them an enduring symbol of the state’s failure to protect its citizens from Hamas’ assault. In its Oct. 7 attack, the Palestinian militant group abducted roughly 250 people, according to Israeli authorities, including men, women, children and older adults. After the November releases, some 130 hostages remain, and Israel says about a quarter of them are dead.
Israel’s assault on Gaza, which it says aims at destroying Hamas after its attack, has killed more than 29,900 Palestinians. UN officials warn of further mass casualties if it follows through on vows to attack the southernmost city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has taken refuge. They also say a Rafah offensive could collapse the aid operation that has already been crippled in the fighting.
Across Gaza, more than 576,000 people – a quarter of the population – are a step away from famine, the UN says. But northern Gaza in particular has been gutted by hunger. The north has largely been cut off and much of it has been leveled since Israeli ground troops invaded in late October. Several hundred thousand Palestinians are believed to remain there, and many have been reduced to eating animal fodder to survive. The UN says one in 6 children under 2 in the north suffer from acute malnutrition and wasting.
A convoy of 31 trucks carrying food entered northern Gaza on Wednesday, the Israeli military office that oversees Palestinian civilian affairs said. The office, known by the acronym COGAT, said nearly 20 other trucks entered the north on Monday and Tuesday. Associated Press footage showed people carrying sacks of flour from the distribution site.
It was not immediately clear who carried out the deliveries. The UN was not involved, said a spokesperson for the UN’s humanitarian coordination office, Eri Keneko.
As of Sunday, the UN had been unable to deliver food to northern Gaza since Jan. 23, according to Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees that has led the aid effort during the war. On Feb. 18, the World Food Program attempted a delivery to the north for the first time in three weeks, but much of the convoy’s cargo was taken en route by desperate Palestinians, and it was only able to distribute a small amount in the north. Two days later, the WFP announced it was pausing deliveries to the north because of the chaos.
Since launching its assault on Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, Israel has barred entry of food, water, medicine and other supplies except for a trickle of aid entering the south from Egypt at the Rafah crossing and Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing. Despite international calls to allow in more aid, the number of supply trucks entering has dropped dramatically in recent weeks.
COGAT said Wednesday that Israel does not impose limits on the amount of aid entering. Israel has blamed UN agencies for the bottleneck, saying hundreds of trucks are waiting on the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom for aid workers to collect them.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Wednesday countered saying large trucks entering Gaza have to be unloaded and reloaded onto smaller Palestinian trucks, but there aren’t enough of them and there’s a lack of security to distribute aid in Gaza. Police in Gaza stopped protecting convoys after Israeli strikes on them near the crossing. There is also “insufficient coordination” from Israel on security and deconfliction, which puts the lives of UN staff and other humanitarian workers at risk.
“That’s why we’ve repeatedly asked for a humanitarian ceasefire,” he said. The UN has called for Israel to open crossings in the north to aid deliveries and guarantee safe corridors for convoys.
The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza said the number of children who have died in recent days from severe malnutrition and dehydration had risen to four.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya said that operations at the hospital will shut off starting Wednesday due to fuel shortages. “Dialysis, intensive care, childcare, and surgeries will stop. Therefore, we will witness more deaths in the coming days,” he said.
But the pain from the lack of supplies extends across Gaza. Project Hope, a humanitarian group that runs a clinic in the central town of Deir Al-Balah, said 21 percent of the pregnant women and 11 percent of the children under 5 it has treated in the last three weeks are suffering from malnutrition.
The Gaza Health Ministry said the death toll from Israel’s offensive had risen to 29,954 people, with 70,325 wounded. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, but it says two-thirds of the dead were children and women.
In its attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, Hamas and other Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mainly civilians.


UN says 653 aid trucks entered Gaza on Thursday

UN says 653 aid trucks entered Gaza on Thursday
Updated 10 sec ago
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UN says 653 aid trucks entered Gaza on Thursday

UN says 653 aid trucks entered Gaza on Thursday

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 653 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the fifth day of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.
OCHA cited information received from Israeli authorities and the guarantors for the ceasefire agreement — the United States, Egypt and Qatar.


Gazans prepare tent camps for families returning to north

Gazans prepare tent camps for families returning to north
Updated 18 min 38 sec ago
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Gazans prepare tent camps for families returning to north

Gazans prepare tent camps for families returning to north

GAZA CITY: Palestinians in northern Gaza prepared tent encampments for displaced families on Thursday, two days before they were expected to return to their home areas under the timeline of a ceasefire deal agreed between Israel and Hamas.

On open ground surrounded by blown-out buildings, a group of men began putting up rows of white tents to receive families who are planning to return north on Saturday when Hamas is due to release a second batch of hostages in return for dozens of Palestinians jailed by Israel.

Many of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians expected to head back to the northern Gaza Strip will return to homes in ruins after a 15-month Israeli military offensive that has laid waste to the enclave and killed more than 47,000 Gazans.

In October, Israeli forces returned to areas of the north in a major anti-Hamas operation focused on the Jabalia refugee camp near Gaza City and Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya towns, clearing the area of its inhabitants and razing most of its buildings.

“Is this the tent that we dreamed of? This will have to fit 10 people. This tent is for my children who are coming from the south. Really, is this adequate space?” asked Wael Jundiya as he prepared a tent for his children, who will return from where they had been sheltering in the Mawasi coastal area of the south.

“On Saturday, people will come from the south and flood Gaza (City). Where will they go? This camp will fit 100, 200 people. There will be 1.5 million coming from the south,” Jundiya told Reuters.

Hamas published a statement on Thursday saying the return of the displaced families would begin after Saturday’s exchange was complete and once Israeli forces had pulled out from the coastal road to the north. 

At least four hostages are expected to be handed over to Israel on Saturday.

Highlighting concerns by many Palestinians over how strong the phased ceasefire is, an Israeli tank shelling killed two Gazans in Rafah in the south of the enclave, the local civil emergency service said.


Gaza ceasefire ‘wouldn’t have happened without us,’ Trump tells WEF

Gaza ceasefire ‘wouldn’t have happened without us,’ Trump tells WEF
Updated 20 min 56 sec ago
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Gaza ceasefire ‘wouldn’t have happened without us,’ Trump tells WEF

Gaza ceasefire ‘wouldn’t have happened without us,’ Trump tells WEF
  • The US president touted his administration’s role in brokering the Israel-Hamas hostage deal
  • He also welcomed Saudi Arabia’s $600 billion investment, while calling for lower oil prices

DAVOS: In a virtual address at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, US President Donald Trump highlighted his administration’s pivotal role in brokering the ceasefire in Gaza and securing the release of hostages.

“Before even taking office, my team negotiated a ceasefire agreement in the Middle East, which wouldn’t have happened without us,” Trump said in his first major speech on the world stage since returning to the White House.

“Earlier this week, the hostages began to return to their families. They are returning, and it’s a beautiful sight, and they’ll be coming in more and more.”

The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, mediated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt, came into effect on Jan. 19, ending 15-months of fighting which has left more than 47,500 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

The deal was structured in multiple phases, the first involving a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas agreed to release 33 hostages abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

In exchange, Israel committed to releasing 90 Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank and allowing hundreds of aid trucks carrying food and fuel into the Gaza Strip through border crossings in Israel and Egypt.

The negotiation process was marked by significant diplomatic efforts, with both the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration playing instrumental roles.

Brett McGurk, a Middle East negotiator for the Biden administration, collaborated closely with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East. This bipartisan cooperation was driven by a mutual desire to resolve the conflict prior to the presidential inauguration.

Trump had issued stern warnings, stating that failure to release the hostages, including seven American citizens, before his inauguration would result in severe consequences.

The US president, who began his second term on Monday, also used his WEF speech to welcome Saudi Arabia’s $600 billion investment, and said that he hoped there would be room for it to grow to $1 trillion and lower oil prices.

“I’ll be asking the Crown Prince (Mohammed bin Salman), who’s a fantastic guy, to round it up to around $1 trillion. I think they’ll do that,” Trump said.

He did, however, add: “I’m also going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil.” Four days into his presidency, Trump said he wants to lower global oil prices, interest rates and taxes, and warned they will face tariffs if they make their products abroad.

“I’ll demand that interest rates drop immediately. And likewise, they should be dropping all over the world,” he said.

Some of his harshest criticism was reserved for traditional US allies Canada and the EU who he threatened again with new tariffs, while berating their import policies blaming them for the US’s trade goods deficit with these partners.

“One thing we’re going to be demanding is we’re going to be demanding respect from other nations. Canada. We have a tremendous deficit with Canada. We’re not going to have that anywhere,” he said.

Trump promised to reduce inflation with a mix of tariffs, deregulation and tax cuts along with his crackdown on illegal immigration and commitment to making the US a hub of artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies and fossil fuels.

He also criticized levels of taxation in the EU.

“The US has the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we’re going to use it,” Trump said. “Not only will this reduce the cost of virtually all goods and services, it will make the US a manufacturing superpower.”

Declaring the US had entered the “golden age of America,” Trump highlighted the sweeping reforms of his administration, which he said were correcting the “disasters” left by his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Trump criticized Biden’s economic policies, saying: “His $8 trillion in wasteful deficit spending, energy restrictions, regulations, and hidden taxes resulted in the worst inflation crisis in modern history.”
 


Italy defends expulsion of wanted Libya police chief

Italy defends expulsion of wanted Libya police chief
Updated 23 min 40 sec ago
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Italy defends expulsion of wanted Libya police chief

Italy defends expulsion of wanted Libya police chief
  • Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi defended before parliament the release on Tuesday of Osama Najim, who is wanted by the ICC for war crimes
  • Piantedosi told the Senate that the court had found the detention of Najim was “irregular” and “not provided for by law”

ROME: Italy’s government said Thursday a Libyan police chief arrested on a war crimes warrant was flown home after a court found no basis to detain him — and he was too dangerous to remain.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi defended before parliament the release on Tuesday of Osama Najim, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity charges related to his management of migrant detention camps.
Najim was arrested in the northern city of Turin on Sunday but returned to Tripoli Tuesday on an Italian air force plane after the court of appeals in Rome ruled that he could not be held.
Piantedosi told the Senate that the court had found the detention of Najim was “irregular” and “not provided for by law,” ordering him freed.
Najim was “then repatriated to Tripoli for urgent security reasons,” the minister said, citing “the dangerousness of the subject.”
Najim is believed to have been in charge of Tripoli’s Mitiga detention center, and is wanted on charges including murder, rape and sexual violence and torture, committed since 2015.
Italy’s release of the Libyan has drawn vehement criticism from opposition parties and a subtle rebuke from the ICC, which on Wednesday reminded its member state that it had a “duty” to “cooperate fully” in the court’s investigations and prosecutions.
It said Najim had been released and sent home “without prior notice or consultation with the court.”
In its order Tuesday to release Najim, the Rome appeals court wrote that the arrest did not conform to Italian law because ICC requests should first pass through the justice minister, who, “to date, has sent no request on the matter.”
Italian opposition parties have demanded that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni explain before parliament the reasons for the release of an accused war criminal wanted by the international court.
On Thursday, Sandra Zampa, a senator with the center-left Democratic party, called the affair “shameful.”
“He was not simply released from prison, but he was brought home on a state plane,” Zampa said, charging that “procedural errors have nothing to do with it.”
International human rights groups have long condemned abuses in Libyan detention centers, citing widespread violence and torture.
Rome has a controversial deal with the North African country — dating from 2017 and renewed under Meloni’s hard-right government — to provide funding and training to the Libyan coast guard.
In exchange, Libya was expected to help stem the departure of migrants to Italy or return those already at sea back to Libya, where they were often taken to such detention centers.
In 2011, the United Nations referred the situation in Libya to the ICC for investigation, a few months before a revolt toppled dictator Muammar Qaddafi after four decades of iron-fisted rule.
Najim’s arrest and release come about a week after Rome and Tripoli resumed direct flights between the two capitals after a decade-long hiatus.
Italy’s foreign ministry hailed the “concerted effort” shown by Rome to strengthen ties with its former colony, calling Libya “a strategic and privileged partner for our country.”


Continued denial of Palestinian statehood is threat to global security, says Arab league chief

Continued denial of Palestinian statehood is threat to global security, says Arab league chief
Updated 22 min 11 sec ago
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Continued denial of Palestinian statehood is threat to global security, says Arab league chief

Continued denial of Palestinian statehood is threat to global security, says Arab league chief
  • Ahmed Aboul Gheit speaks at UN Security Council meeting on importance of UN-League relations amid rapidly evolving regional security, political and humanitarian challenges
  • He warns that the current environment of ‘strategic global competition’ is hampering the council’s engagement on Arab issues

NEW YORK CITY: The secretary-general of the Arab League on Thursday warned that the Arab region is in a critical phase that is underscored by a growing global power rivalry that has complicated the ability of the UN Security Council to effectively address Arab concerns.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit was speaking during a meeting of the council in New York chaired by the Algerian foreign minister, Ahmed Attaf, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the council this month. Algeria convened the meeting to underscore what it described as the urgent need to strengthen the mechanisms for conflict resolution, peace-building and humanitarian assistance in the Arab world.

Several major Arab crises are at the forefront of international diplomacy concerns presently, with particular emphasis on the war between Israel and Hamas, and ongoing instability in Syria, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen. Some of the crises have been on the Security Council agenda for years.

“Our concerns are one and the same,” said Aboul Gheit as he underscored the importance of building on the historical cooperation between the UN and the Arab League, particularly in light of the “strategic global competition” he said was shaping the current geopolitical landscape.

He expressed concern that these global tensions have had a negative effect on the Security Council’s engagement on Arab issues, most notably the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Aboul Gheit strongly reiterated the League’s position on Palestine, framing the struggle for an independent Palestinian state as not only a regional issue but one that poses a significant threat to international peace and security.

He welcomed recent efforts to establish a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after more than a year of violence, which he called “genocide,” against the Gaza Strip. However, he stressed that a ceasefire agreement is merely a temporary measure, and a permanent resolution can only be achieved through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

“The continued denial of Palestinian rights is a direct threat to the stability of the region and, by extension, the world,” Aboul Gheit told council members as he highlighted the urgent need for the international community to support a two-state solution, in line with several Security Council resolutions.

“We have witnessed during the recent months a war that did not stop at the borders of Gaza or Palestine but has spilled over, and its flames have reached the region,” he said.

He called for a greater role for the Security Council in the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, the founding of which was spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, the EU and Norway last September with the aim of expediting the establishment of a Palestinian state.

In Sudan, meanwhile, the brutal conflict between rival military factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, has claimed an estimated 150,000 lives and displaced millions since April 2023.

Aboul Gheit called for a return to peace talks there. He warned that the situation in the country has reached catastrophic levels, and urged the Security Council to take stronger action in support of Sudanese sovereignty and unity.

Turning to Syria, he expressed the Arab League’s support for the aspirations of the Syrian people to rebuild after more than a decade of devastating civil war. Acknowledging the complex political dynamics in the country, he called for a transition led by the Syrian people themselves, free from foreign intervention.

He also reiterated the opposition of the League to the continuing Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights, describing it as “illegal and unjustified.” He warned against “the Israeli expansionist greed” in Syria, and the exploitation of this delicate moment. He emphasized the need to remain committed to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement as the basis of the truce between Syria and Israel.

Aboul Gheit also touched on the situations in Lebanon, Libya and Somalia, each of which he said face distinct challenges and will require coordinated international support to achieve stability and progress.

He congratulated Lebanon on the recent election of President Joseph Aoun and praised the formation of a broad consensus government.

“We look forward to a new beginning in Lebanon, one of stability, reconstruction and revival of the economy,” he said.

Aboul Gheit reiterated the League’s support for a political process in Libya free from foreign interference, and acknowledged the continuing instability in Somalia, where he said the League was working to promote national unity.

A particularly pressing issue for the Arab League is the future of the UN Relief and Works Agency, which provides vital humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees. An Israeli ban on the organization is due to take effect next week.

Aboul Gheit expressed alarm at what he described as Israeli plans to undermine the agency, stressing that its work is crucial for stability in the region.

“The role of UNRWA is irreplaceable,” he said, warning that any attempt to dismantle it would have grave consequences for regional peace.

“UNRWA is not only carrying out a humanitarian role but it is a pillar of stability in the Arab region.

“Eliminating its role is a direct threat to this stability, and we look forward to a decisive role from the Security Council in defending this specialized agency, which is performing an irreplaceable and critical role.”