US special envoy: No record of Hamas blocking or seizing aid

US Special Envoy David Satterfield said between 800,000 to a million people moved to the south of the Gaza Strip. (File/AFP)
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Updated 04 November 2023
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US special envoy: No record of Hamas blocking or seizing aid

  • Those distributing aid in Gaza had not reported aid being diverted since trucks resumed crossing Rafah
  • Israeli drone fired a missile at the Gaza house of Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh

CAIRO: US Special Envoy David Satterfield said on Saturday that US officials had not been told that Hamas is blocking or diverting humanitarian aid flowing into the Gaza Strip amid shortages of food, medicine and fuel.
Speaking to reporters in the Jordanian capital Amman, he said that those distributing aid in Gaza had not reported aid being diverted since trucks resumed crossing the Egypt-controlled Rafah gate on Oct. 21 after diplomatic wrangling to resume the flow.
Those in charge of the aid “do not report to us in this 10 day, 12 day period of assistance delivery, interdiction of or seizure of goods by Hamas,” he said.
Between 800,000 to a million people have moved to the south of the Gaza Strip, while 350,000-400,000 remain in the north of the enclave, Satterfield said.

Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli drone fired a missile at the Gaza house of Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh who is currently outside the enclave, Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Radio reported.
It was unclear whether any of his family members were at the house when it was struck.
Haniyeh, Hamas’ political chief, has been outside the Gaza Strip since 2019, residing between Turkiye and Qatar.


Thirty four Australians released from Syrian camp holding Daesh affiliated families

Updated 58 min 46 sec ago
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Thirty four Australians released from Syrian camp holding Daesh affiliated families

  • Roj camp holds more than 2,000 people from 40 ⁠different nationalities, the majority of ‌them women ‌and children

ROJ CAMP: Syrian Kurdish forces on Monday released 34 Australians from a camp ​holding families of suspected Daesh militants in northern Syria, saying they would be flown to Australia from Damascus.
Hukmiya Mohamed, a co-director of Roj camp, told Reuters that the ‌34 Australians ‌had been ​released ‌to ⁠members ​of their families ⁠who had come to Syria for the release. They were put on small buses for Damascus.
Roj camp holds more than 2,000 people from 40 ⁠different nationalities, the majority of ‌them women ‌and children.
Thousands of ​people believed ‌to be linked to Daesh militants have been held at Roj and a second camp, Al-Hol, since the militant group was driven ‌from its final territorial foothold in Syria in 2019.
Syrian ⁠government ⁠forces seized swathes of northern Syria from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in January, before agreeing a ceasefire on January 29.
The US military last week completed a mission to transfer 5,700 adult male Daesh detainees from Syria to ​Iraq.