Archiv: Rettungen / Hilfsmaßnahmen / Rescues / relief operations / aid


30.08.2024 - 18:41 [ American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) ]

Lead Vehicle in an Anera-Coordinated Convoy Hit in an Attack en Route to Hospital. Four Killed.

Shortly after departing Kerem Shalom, initial reports indicate that four community members with experience in previous missions and engagement in community security with Move One stepped forward and requested to take command of the leading vehicle, citing concern that the route was unsafe and at risk of being looted.

The four community members were neither vetted nor coordinated in advance, and Israeli authorities allege that the lead car was carrying numerous weapons. The Israeli airstrike was carried out without any prior warning or communication.

“According to all the information we have, this is a case of partners on the ground endeavoring to deliver aid successfully,” says Anera President and CEO Sean Carroll. “This should not come at the cost of people’s lives.”

No Anera staff were harmed, though one Anera employee, who was in the second vehicle, witnessed the incident at close range.

30.08.2024 - 18:31 [ Washington Post ]

Israel strikes aid convoy organized by U.S. humanitarian group, killing 5

The Anera convoy was carrying medical supplies and fuel to a hospital in Rafah, and its route was coordinated in advance with the IDF.

30.08.2024 - 18:20 [ New York Times ]

World Food Program Halts Gaza Aid Deliveries After Workers Are Attacked

The World Food Program said it is suspending deliveries of aid in Gaza after one of its humanitarian teams was hit by gunfire this week as it approached an Israeli military checkpoint.

In a statement, the United Nations agency said none of its employees were injured during the shooting on Tuesday night, which occurred after a convoy of its trucks had delivered assistance to central Gaza. The agency said one of its vehicles had been hit by 10 bullets — five on the driver’s side — a few yards from the Israeli security post at the Wadi Gaza bridge.

27.08.2024 - 21:40 [ United Nations ]

In Gaza, evacuation orders threaten to uproot UN’s aid hub once again

The plight of Gaza’s people continues to worsen in the enclave where humanitarian operations are “ongoing where feasible” amid repeated evacuation orders from the Israeli military, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, warned on Tuesday.

In an update, OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke rejected any suggestion of stopping the lifesaving aid operation, despite the multiple challenges linked to the war and ongoing fighting, sparked by Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel on 7 October.

“There’s been no decision to halt, there never has been, we’ve been there for 10 months, so [it is] ongoing where feasible. I want to remind you that only 11 per cent of the territory of the Gaza Strip is not under evacuation orders…so we’re trying to work with that number and keep the operation going.”

27.08.2024 - 21:21 [ Middle East Eye ]

War on Gaza: UN halts aid operations after Israeli ejection order

„We‘re unable to deliver today with the conditions that we‘re in,“ a senior UN official told Reuters. „As of this morning, we‘re not operating in Gaza.“

„Where do we move now?“ the official said, adding that staff were forced to move so quickly that equipment was left behind.

27.08.2024 - 21:05 [ New York Times ]

Who Is Farhan al-Qadi, the Rescued Hostage?

“I can’t explain these feelings,” Mr. al-Qadi’s brother said in a video shared by Israel’s official account on X, taken before he saw him again. “It’s better than being born again.”

The 52-year-old, a Muslim and member of Israel’s Bedouin community, is from a village near Rahat, in southern Israel. He was working as a security guard in a small Israeli kibbutz, called Magen, near the Gaza border, when he was abducted, according to Israel officials.

27.08.2024 - 20:54 [ Times of Israel ]

Hostage rescued by IDF from tunnel in south Gaza after 10 months of Hamas captivity

Hagari denied rumors that al-Qadi managed to escape the tunnel in which he was held, saying that troops “rescued Farhan from underground, he met our forces underground.”

Al-Qadi was not discovered by Israeli special forces “by chance” as some reports described, although there was no pre-planned operation to specifically rescue him, military sources said.

28.04.2024 - 07:35 [ Devex.com ]

Exclusive: USAID officials say Israel breached US directive on Gaza aid

Israel is in violation of a White House directive requiring recipients of American military assistance to comply with international humanitarian law and permit the unimpeded delivery of U.S.-funded humanitarian support, USAID officials concluded in a confidential United States paper reviewed by Devex.

The findings earlier this month follow the Feb. 8 issuance of a national security memo from the White House instructing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to “obtain credible and reliable written assurances” from U.S. weapons recipients that they will abide by international humanitarian law, and report those findings to the White House and Congress. In Israel’s case, it would only apply to offensive weapons.

11.04.2024 - 15:53 [ Al Jazeera ]

UNICEF says its vehicle hit by live fire while waiting to enter northern Gaza

(two hours ago)

Tess Ingram, a UNICEF spokesperson, was in a convoy hit by Israeli gunfire as it tried to deliver aid to northern Gaza.
She said the vehicles were at a “holding point” – a designated area where cars have to wait until a checkpoint is ready to receive them.
“We were waiting there when gunfire broke out in the vicinity. The gunfire came from the direction of the checkpoint towards civilians who then ran away from the checkpoint and the gunfire hit us,” Ingram told Al Jazeera.
“We were really lucky,” she said, adding three rounds hit the car where she was sitting.

10.04.2024 - 09:34 [ zentralplus.ch ]

Biden fordert Waffenruhe in Gaza

Biden forderte, dass Israel zu einem Waffenstillstand aufrufe, um den vollständigen Zugang zu Nahrungsmitteln und Medikamenten im Gazastreifen zu ermöglichen.

Derweil treibt Israel sein Vorhaben für eine Bodenoffensive in der Stadt Rafah im Süden Gazas offenbar voran.

10.04.2024 - 09:01 [ CNN ]

Biden criticizes Netanyahu’s approach to war with Hamas as mistake

“What I’m calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks total access to all food and medicine going into the country. I’ve spoken with everyone from the Saudis to the Jordanians to the Egyptians. They’re prepared to move in. They’re prepared to move this food in. And I think there’s no excuse to not provide for the medical and the food needs of those people. It should be done now,” Biden said in the interview.

The comments came in the lead up to ..

07.04.2024 - 23:14 [ United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) / UN Menschenrechtsrat ]

Human Rights Council Adopts Five Resolutions, including a Text Calling for an Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza, Urging States to Prevent the Continued Forcible Transfer of Palestinians Within or From Gaza, and Calling on States to Cease the Sale or Transfer of Arms to Israel

In a resolution (A/HRC/55/L.30) on the Human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice, adopted by a vote of 28 in favour, 6 against and 13 abstentions (as orally revised), the Council demands that Israel, the occupying power, end its occupation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem; also demands that Israel immediately lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip and all other forms of collective punishment; calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, for immediate emergency humanitarian access and assistance, and for the urgent restoration of basic necessities to the Palestinian population in Gaza; calls upon all States to take immediate action to prevent the continued forcible transfer of Palestinians within or from Gaza; calls upon all States to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel; urges all States to continue to provide emergency assistance to the Palestinian people and calls upon all States to ensure that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East receives predictable sustained and sufficient funding to fulfil its mandate; invites the General Assembly to recommend that the Government of Switzerland promptly convene the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Convention on measures to enforce the Convention in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem; requests the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel to report on both the direct and indirect transfer or sale of arms, munitions, parts, components and dual use items to Israel, the occupying power, and to analyse the legal consequences of these transfers, and to present its report to the Council at its fifty-ninth session; requests the Secretary-General to ensure the availability of all additional resources, including through voluntary resources, necessary to enable the Commission of Inquiry to carry out its mandate; requests the Office of the High Commissioner to deploy the additional necessary personnel, expertise and logistics to the occupied Palestinian territory country office to document and pursue accountability for violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law committed in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem; and requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights to report on the implementation of the present resolution to the Council at its fifty-eighth session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue; and decides to remain seized of the matter.

The results of the vote are as follows:

In favour (28): Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Burundi, Chile, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Eritrea, Finland, Gambia, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Morocco, Qatar, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, and Viet Nam.

Against(6): Argentina, Bulgaria, Germany, Malawi, Paraguay and United States.

Abstentions (13): Albania, Benin, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, France, Georgia, India, Japan, Lithuania, Montenegro, Netherlands, and Romania.

07.04.2024 - 23:06 [ United Nations ]

Gaza: Human Rights Council resolution urges arms embargo on Israel

(05.04.2024)

The UN’s top human rights body adopted a resolution on Friday condemning the alleged “use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in Gaza”, while also calling for an arms embargo on Israel.

07.04.2024 - 22:45 [ United Nations ]

Israel’s Genocide Must Not Go Unpunished, Speakers Say as Civil Society Organizations Conference Working on Question of Palestine Concludes

(03.04.2024)

Calling Israel “an extension of European colonialism”, Ahmed Abofoul, a Legal Expert at Al-Haq, said that South Africa’s case before the International Court of Justice represents the Global South’s impatience with Western hypocrisy. He criticized the West’s relentless campaign of distorting international law to support their stance — an example is the right to self-defence. There is no doubt that an occupying Power does not have the right to self-defence against the people it is occupying, as those people, according to international humanitarian law, have the right to self-defence. The West’s complicity has made Gaza “not only a graveyard of children but a graveyard of international law”, he asserted. On the UNRWA accusations, he observed that Western democracies moved fast to suspend funding without waiting for evidence, only to discover later that Israel was lying.

06.04.2024 - 20:16 [ Middle East Eye ]

US says Israel is complying with international law. ‚Complete nonsense’, experts say

„Your – your question presumes, at this very early hour, that it was a deliberate strike, that they knew exactly what they were hitting, that they were hitting aid workers and did it on purpose. And there’s no evidence of that,“ Kirby told the reporter.

„I would also remind you, sir, that we continue to look at incidents as they occur. The State Department has a process in place. And to date, as you and I are speaking, they have not found any incidents where the Israelis have violated international humanitarian law.“

06.04.2024 - 20:08 [ CBS News ]

World Central Kitchen boss José Andrés accuses Israel of „direct attack“ on Gaza aid convoy

(04.04.2024)

This was not just a bad luck situation where, ‚Oops, we dropped a bomb in the wrong place,'“ Andrés told the Reuters news agency, stressing that his team‘s vehicles were clearly marked and „it‘s very clear who we are and what we do.“

„They were targeting us in a deconflicting zone, in an area controlled by IDF. They, knowing that it was our teams moving on that road… with three cars,“ he said, adding that he believed the seven aid workers killed by the strike in Gaza were targeted „systematically, car by car.“

06.04.2024 - 20:02 [ Reuters ]

Who were the World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in Gaza by Israel?

(03.04.2024)

„For her it was the perfect job, she got to serve hot meals to people who were having maybe the lowest point of their lives,“ her friend Bryan Weaver told Reuters.

„She made you feel like you were the only person in the room.
In a statement, her family said Zomi left behind a legacy of compassion, bravery and love.

06.04.2024 - 19:43 [ World Central Kitchen ]

7 WCK team members killed in Gaza

(02.04.2024)

Despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route.

“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said World Central Kitchen CEO Erin Gore.

The seven killed are from Australia, Poland, United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and Palestine.

30.03.2024 - 21:10 [ EgyptIndependent.com ]

UN says Israel denied 30 percent of aid missions to Northern Gaza in March

“IDF soldiers too often delay or deny convoys from crossing checkpoints, with rejected requests for safe passage, searches, detentions and sometimes violence against aid convoys and awaiting crowds,” it added.

The aid missions included: food distributions, fuel, emergency medical teams movement and delivery of supplies to hospitals; and support for water, sanitation, and hygiene activities, the UN agency said

30.03.2024 - 20:15 [ United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Office (OCHA) ]

Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #148

– Since 1 March, 30 per cent of humanitarian aid missions to northern Gaza and 10 per cent of missions to southern Gaza were denied access by the Israeli authorities.

– Nearly 40 per cent of school buildings in Gaza have been directly hit, according to an updated assessment of satellite imagery by the Education Cluster.

30.03.2024 - 19:29 [ Middle East Eye ]

War on Gaza: Pro-Palestine marches held in European cities on Land Day

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrators have taken to the streets in several European cities on Saturday, including London, Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen and Amsterdam, as well as elsewhere.

Marches called for allowing aid into the besieged Gaza Strip and demanded a ceasefire, as they also commemorated the 48th anniversary of Land Day.

24.03.2024 - 18:57 [ Associated Press ]

Palestinians describe bodies and ambulances crushed in Israel’s ongoing raid around Gaza hospital

Israeli jets on Sunday launched several strikes near the Shifa Hospital, which largely stopped functioning following the November raid. After claiming that Hamas maintained an elaborate command center there, Israeli forces months ago exposed a single tunnel leading to a few underground rooms.

Hardly any aid has been delivered in recent weeks to northern Gaza and Gaza City, where Shifa is located.

24.03.2024 - 18:42 [ Middle East Eye ]

Israel will no longer approve Unrwa food convoys to northern Gaza, says agency‘s chief

In a post on social media platform X, Philippe Lazzarini said Israeli authorities informed the UN of the decision, which he called „outrageous“.

„As of today, Unrwa, the main lifeline for Palestine Refugees, is denied from providing lifesaving assistance to northern Gaza,“ Lazzarini said.

23.03.2024 - 19:45 [ Middle East Eye ]

Israeli fire killed nine people at aid station in Gaza, says health ministry

„At least nine martyrs and dozens injured by Israeli occupation army tank fire and shells. They were waiting for aid trucks at the Kuwait roundabout“ on the outskirts of Gaza City, a health ministry statement said.

Israel‘s military said it was looking into the report.

23.03.2024 - 19:26 [ Middle East Eye ]

Thousands of trucks waiting in North Sinai to enter Gaza, says Sinai governor

North Sinai‘s governor, Mohamed Shousha, said 7,000 aid trucks are waiting to deliver aid into Gaza.

Shousha said in a statement that Israel‘s inspection rules had delayed the flow of aid into Gaza.

23.03.2024 - 19:10 [ United Nations ]

At Rafah border crossing to Gaza, UN’s Guterres calls for immediate ceasefire

“Here from this crossing, we see the heartbreak and heartlessness of it all,” he said, pointing to a long line of blocked relief trucks on one side of the gates and the “long shadow of starvation on the other”.

“That is more than tragic; moral outrage,” he said, adding that “any further onslaught will make everything worse” for Palestinian civilians, hostages and all people of the region.

All this demonstrates that it’s more than time for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and for “an ironclad commitment by Israel for total, unfettered access for humanitarian goods throughout Gaza”, he said, emphasizing that in the Ramadan spirit of compassion, it’s time for the immediate release of all hostages.

He also urged all UN Member States to support the “lifesaving work led by the backbone of all Gaza relief operations, UNRWA”, the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees.

Pledging to continue working with Egypt to streamline the flow of aid, he had a message for Palestinians in Gaza: “you are not alone.”

21.03.2024 - 22:00 [ David Hearst / Middle East Eye ]

War on Gaza: Israel is dragging the US into a future regional war

Netanyahu’s game plan is now clear: prolong the war as long as possible; seal all the land borders, ending with Rafah; and make the sea the only escape route for Palestinians from Gaza.

Behind the hot words of condemnation, Biden and the EU have thus far played into his hands. The infrastructure for just such a plan is being built before our eyes, with Washington’s willing assistance. (…)

The plan for a maritime route to Gaza via Cyprus was initiated by Netanyahu, a senior diplomatic source told The Jerusalem Post. “Netanyahu took the initiative to establish maritime humanitarian aid for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, in collaboration with the Biden administration,” the source said.

The date when this happened is more important than the identity of the scheme’s author. According to this report, Netanyahu outlined his strategy to Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides on 31 October, just three weeks after the Hamas attack, and revisited the matter with Biden on 19 January.

In other words, the floating pier was not a reaction to impending famine. It was part of the planning that created it.

20.03.2024 - 00:05 [ Communist Party of Israel ]

Human Rights Organizations Petition High Court: Israel is Preventing the Supply of Humanitarian Aid to Gaza

Five Israeli human rights organizations in Israel filed on Monday, March 18, a petition calling on High Court to order the far-right government, Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories to enable access of all humanitarian aid, equipment and staff to Gaza, especially to the north of the Strip; to significantly increase the volume of aid to Gaza, including by opening land crossings between Gaza and Israel, and to provide for all the needs of the civilian population in keeping with Israel’s obligations as the occupying power.

This in light of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the lethal harm to civilians caused, in part, as a result of Israeli restrictions on access to aid into and throughout the Strip. The petition was filed by Gisha together with HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and Adalah.

18.03.2024 - 18:35 [ International Court of Justice ]

OBSERVATIONS OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL ON THE REQUEST FILED BY THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA ON 6 MARCH 2024 FOR THE INDICATION OF ADDITIONAL PROVISIONAL MEASURES AND/OR THE MODIFICATION OF MEASURES PREVIOUSLY INDICATED

10. Taken together, South Africa’s shrill and repeated submissions also suffer from a more fundamental flaw. They are simply unable to explain how significant measures undertaken continuously by Israel throughout the present hostilities—including various humanitarian initiatives and the ongoing coordination of access to humanitarian supplies, extensive efforts to mitigate civilian harm, a willingness to compromise operational advantage for the benefit of Palestinian civilians (for instance, by advance warning and close quarters combat), humanitarian pauses in fighting, specific directives by the War Cabinet and Israeli Defence Forces addressing the humanitarian situation, and much more—can possibly be reconciled with a genocidal intent to destroy a group in whole or in part. Put differently, which State that is engaged in genocide, or is indifferent to the commission of acts within the scope of Article II of the Convention, works to coordinate humanitarian convoys and airdrops, or facilitates constantly the provision of medical supplies to hospitals, the establishment of field hospitals, and the repair of critical infrastructure damaged in the course of hostilities?

18.03.2024 - 18:25 [ Times of India ]

Israel asks World Court not to order new measures over Gaza hunger

THE HAGUE: Israel has asked the (ICJ) not to issue emergency orders for it to step up humanitarian aid to Gaza to address a looming famine, dismissing South Africa‘s request to do so as „morally repugnant“.
In a legal filing to the United Nations‘ top court, made public on Monday, Israel said it „has real concern for the humanitarian situation and innocent lives, as demonstrated by the actions it has and is taking“ in Gaza during the war.

18.03.2024 - 16:39 [ Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of @UNRWA / Twitter ]

On the day new data is out on famine in #GAZA, the Israeli Authorities deny my entry to Gaza.

-Famine is imminent in the northern Gaza Strip, expected to arrive between now and May.
– Two million people= the entire population of Gaza is facing crisis levels of food insecurity or worse.
– Half the population has completely exhausted food supplies and coping capacities. They are struggling with catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5) and starvation.
– This is the highest number of people ever recorded as facing catastrophic hunger by the IPC system and double the number just three months ago.
– Earlier, UNICEF warned that the # of children under two years old suffering from acute malnutrition has doubled in one month.
– Children are now dying of dehydration & hunger.

@UNRWA has by far the largest presence among all humanitarian organisations in Gaza.
My visit today was supposed to coordinate & improve the humanitarian response.

This man-made starvation under our watch is a stain on our collective humanity.
Too much time was wasted, all land crossings must open now. Famine can be averted with political will.

18.03.2024 - 15:19 [ Jerusalem Post ]

Scholz: Goals of Gaza war do not seem to justify the means

Germany has been one of Israel’s staunch allies in its war against Hamas.

In a manner akin to the Biden administration, Scholz has a stern message for Netanyahu about the IDF’s conduct during the war, particularly its failure to ensure the distribution of aid, which has led to a hunger crisis in Gaza.

18.03.2024 - 14:55 [ UPI.com ]

Germany can‘t sit by and watch Gaza starve, Scholz tells Netanyahu

„We cannot stand by and risk Palestinian women and men starving. Much more humanitarian aid must reach Gaza, a way must be found to improve the means of distribution,“ Scholz said, as Western nations increase their criticism of ally Israel.

Still, Scholz reaffirmed his belief that Israel „has a right to defend itself“ without addressing whether that same right is extended to Palestinians.

16.03.2024 - 22:00 [ International Court of Justice ]

Proceedings instituted by Nicaragua against Germany on 1 March 2024 – Request for the indication of provisional measures – Public hearings to be held on Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 April 2024

It is recalled that Nicaragua filed an Application instituting proceedings against Germany concerning alleged violations by Germany of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols, “intransgressible principles of international humanitarian law” and other norms of general international law in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the Gaza Strip (see press release 2024/19).

The hearings will be devoted to the request for the indication of provisional measures contained in Nicaragua’s Application. Nicaragua asks the Court to indicate provisional measures as a matter of extreme urgency, pending the Court’s determination on the merits of the case, with respect to Germany’s “participation in the ongoing plausible genocide and serious breaches of international
humanitarian law and other peremptory norms of general international law occurring in the Gaza
Strip”.

16.03.2024 - 21:55 [ Legal Tribune Online ]

Beihilfe zum Völkermord? IGH ver­han­delt Klage gegen Deut­sch­land im April

Am 8. und 9. April wird der Internationale Gerichtshof (IGH) im Verfahren gegen Deutschland verhandeln. Nicaragua wirft der Bundesrepublik Beihilfe zum Völkermord im Gazastreifen vor, indem sie Israel politisch, finanziell und militärisch unterstützt sowie die Mittel für das UN-Palästinenserhilfswerk gestrichen habe.

Im Gazastreifen bestehe seit Oktober 2023 „die anerkannte Gefahr eines Völkermordes am palästinensischen Volk“. Deutschland habe durch seine Unterstützung für Israel gegen seine Verpflichtungen aus der Völkermordkonvention verstoßen, heißt es in der Klage Nicaraguas.

16.03.2024 - 21:20 [ Times of Israel ]

ICJ to hold hearings on Nicaragua’s case accusing Germany of facilitating ‘genocide’ in Gaza

Top UN judges will start listening to submissions next month in the case filed by Nicaragua accusing Berlin of facilitating “genocide” in Gaza because of its support for Israel in the war against Hamas, officials say.

Two weeks ago Nicaragua filed a case against Germany before the International Court of Justice, saying Berlin was “facilitating the commission of genocide and… failed in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide,” in Gaza.

16.03.2024 - 18:48 [ NewArab.com ]

Gaza war: Dozens killed in overnight strikes in Nuseirat, Rafah as first aid ship arrives

The worst-hit location was Nuseirat, where Israel targeted two family homes, killing at least 36 people, the Palestinian official news agency Wafa said.

Also on Saturday, a US charity said that its team in devastated Gaza had finished unloading the first maritime aid shipment to reach the enclave.

„All cargo was offloaded and is being readied for distribution in Gaza,“ World Central Kitchen said in a statement, noting that the aid was „almost 200 tonnes of food“.

16.03.2024 - 18:33 [ New York Times ]

Another Gaza Aid Convoy Ends in Violence, With at Least 20 Killed

For at least the second time in just over two weeks, a convoy bringing aid to hunger-stricken northern Gaza ended in bloodshed late Thursday when Palestinians were killed and wounded in an attack surrounding the trucks, according to Gazan health officials and the Israeli military, which offered divergent accounts of what happened.

15.03.2024 - 20:27 [ Wikipedia ]

United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti

The United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (French: Mission des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en Haïti), also known as MINUSTAH, an acronym of the French name, was a UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti that was in operation from 2004 to 2017.

12.03.2024 - 17:05 [ Middle East Eye ]

‚Egypt is aiding Israel‘: The Palestinians charged a fortune to escape Gaza‘s war

Ali had to pay $15,000, in what is referred to as a “travel coordination fee”, to a travel agency liaising with an Egyptian state-linked company to allow his family to leave Gaza via the Rafah border crossing in northeastern Egypt.

This is curently the only way for Palestinians who do not have another nationality to cross to Egypt.

The Gaza travel company acts as an intermediary between the Palestinians wishing to leave Gaza and an Egyptian company, Hala, which has a de facto monopoly over the exit of Palestinians via the Rafah crossing.

12.03.2024 - 16:45 [ New York Times ]

The Daily Hunt for Food in Gaza

For two million hungry Gazans, most days bring a difficult search for something to eat.

10.03.2024 - 20:25 [ International Court of Justice ]

Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) – The Republic of South Africa submits an urgent request for the indication of additional provisional measures and the modification of the Court’s prior provisional measures Order and decision

THE HAGUE, 6 March 2024. South Africa today filed an urgent request with the Court for the indication of additional provisional measures and the modification of the Court’s Order of 26 January 2024 and decision of 16 February 2024 in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel).

In its new request, South Africa states that it is “compelled to return to the Court in light of the new facts and changes in the situation in Gaza — particularly the situation of widespread starvation — brought about by the continuing egregious breaches of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide . . . by the State of Israel . . . and its ongoing manifest violations of the provisional measures indicated by this Court on 26 January 2024”. It requests the Court to indicate further provisional measures and/or to modify the provisional measures indicated it its Order of 26 January 2024, pursuant to Article 41 of the Statute of the Court and Article 75, paragraphs 1 and 3, and Article 76, paragraph 1, of the Rules of Court, respectively, “in order urgently to ensure the safety and security of 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, including over a million children”. It urges the Court to do so without holding a hearing, in light of the “extreme urgency of the situation”.

10.03.2024 - 20:15 [ New York Times ]

South Africa Asks U.N. Court to Intervene to Avert ‘Genocidal Starvation’ in Gaza

(07.03.2024)

Israel has strenuously denied the genocide allegation, and on Thursday its foreign ministry called on the court to reject South Africa’s latest request.

“South Africa continues to act as the legal arm of Hamas in an attempt to undermine Israel’s inherent right to defend itself and its citizens, and to release all of the hostages,” Lior Haiat, a spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, said on social media.

It was not immediately clear when the court would respond to the request.

08.03.2024 - 22:41 [ CBC.ca ]

Canada confirms it will resume funding United Nations relief agency for Palestinians

anada suspended funding to UNRWA in January after Israel alleged 12 employees of the aid agency were involved in some capacity in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

CBC News first reported on Tuesday that the government intended to resume funding after receiving an interim report from the United Nations investigation of Israel‘s allegations.

08.03.2024 - 21:44 [ Reuters ]

Aid trucks entering Gaza must double to meet basic needs, WFP says

(06.03.2024)

Before the conflict began in October, Gaza relied on 500 trucks entering daily. Aid can currently be delivered into southern Gaza via the Rafah crossing from Egypt and Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel.

08.03.2024 - 21:24 [ David Cameron / Twitter ]

People in Gaza are in desperate humanitarian need. Alongside the US, the UK and partners have announced we will open a maritime corridor to deliver aid directly to Gaza. We continue to urge Israel to allow more trucks into Gaza as the fastest way to get aid to those who need it.

08.03.2024 - 21:14 [ White House ]

Joint Statement from the European Commission, the Republic of Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States Endorsing the Activation of a Maritime Corridor to Deliver Humanitarian Assistance to Gaza

The United States announced an emergency mission led by the U.S. military to establish a temporary pier in Gaza, in coordination with humanitarian partners and other countries, to enable the delivery of significant quantities of assistance by sea. These efforts will be closely coordinated with the Government of Israel.

The delivery of humanitarian assistance directly to Gaza by sea will be complex, and our nations will continue to assess and adjust our efforts to ensure we deliver aid as effectively as possible. This maritime corridor can—and must—be part of a sustained effort to increase the flow of humanitarian aid and commercial commodities into Gaza through all possible routes.

08.03.2024 - 20:54 [ Middle East Eye ]

US military conducts fourth Gaza airdrop

The US military carried out its fourth airdrop of assistance into Gaza, responding to the escalating humanitarian crisis in the densely populated coastal area on Friday, a US official told Reuters.

08.03.2024 - 20:31 [ Vox.com ]

Are Biden and the Democrats finally turning on Israel?

Biden’s new plan to build a pier on the Gaza coast seems to say yes. The continued military aid to Israel says otherwise.

07.03.2024 - 19:05 [ Middle East Eye ]

Israel destroying Gaza‘s food system as ‚starvation‘ tactic, says UN expert

„Israel is not only denying and restricting the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israel is destroying the food system in Gaza,“ Michael Fakhri, UN special rapporteur on the right to food, said in a speech to the UN Human Rights Council on

„Israel has mounted a starvation campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza.“

He said that Israel was targeting small-scale fishers as part of the campaign, including by denying them access to the sea and destroying boats.