PARIS: Access to war-torn Gaza has become increasingly difficult for humanitarian groups, 13 leading NGOs warned on Monday, accusing Israel’s military of blocking much-needed aid from reaching the besieged Palestinian territory.
Denouncing “Israel’s systematic obstruction of aid and its ongoing attacks on aid operations,” the humanitarian organizations said that Israel had facilitated only 53 — less than half — of the 115 relief missions they had planned.
The aid groups slammed what it called Israel’s “siege tactics” in its struggle against Palestinian militant group Hamas.
It said the so-called “humanitarian zone” where most of the strip’s population of 2.4 million people now reside had become “an active combat zone” and “extremely unsafe.”
The charities also criticized the bombing of United Nations schools used as shelters by displaced Palestinians.
At least six schools have been hit over the past nine days.
“These recent events are exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe at a time when NGOs continue to come up against the obstacles imposed by the continuation of Israeli military operations on the ground,” a press release summarising the 13 NGOs’ views warned.
Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council were among the charities to contribute to the document.
Since Israel began its ground offensive in the far-southern city of Rafah in May, humanitarian workers have faced major difficulties in delivering aid to the Gaza Strip’s south.
Israel’s capture at the beginning of May of the Rafah crossing, which has since been destroyed, brought aid deliveries to a “complete halt,” the NGOs added.
Tonnes of “absolutely necessary aid” were left blocked at the crossing points in the south “due to the deterioration in security conditions,” the statement said.
More than 1,500 trucks of humanitarian aid containing medicines, first-aid kits and basic necessities were stuck in the Egyptian city of Al-Arish as a result.
Meanwhile, in the north of the Gaza Strip — which has been isolated from the south by the Israeli army — aid delivery is “very limited.”
Oxfam said it took it five weeks to transport just 1,600 food parcels from Jordan to Gaza — a journey it said “should take no more than six hours.”
At Kerem Shalom, designated since May as a priority crossing point for humanitarian aid, the situation had “deteriorated significantly since Israel’s offensive in May,” the aid groups said.
This had made the crossing “unsafe to access from within Gaza and currently not logistically viable.”
Israel denies any famine in Gaza and accuses the United Nations of blocking aid deliveries.
“Yesterday, 211 trucks entered Gaza via Kerem Shalom,” Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said on Monday.
In addition, “eight trucks were collected on the Gaza side” of the Erez along with “103 from the Gaza side of Kerem Shalom,” he added.
The war began with Hamas’s October 7 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
The militants seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza including 42 the military says are dead.
Israel responded with a military offensive that has killed at least 38,664 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data provided by the Gaza health ministry.
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Increasingly hard for aid groups to access Gaza: NGOs
https://arab.news/w7b45
Increasingly hard for aid groups to access Gaza: NGOs
- Humanitarian organizations said that Israel had facilitated only 53 of the 115 relief missions they had planned
- Aid groups slammed what it called Israel’s “siege tactics”
UK demands transparent probe of Israel strike on Gaza UN building
LONDON: Britain’s foreign minister David Lammy on Wednesday called for a transparent investigation into an Israeli air strike on a UN building in Gaza.
“Appalled a UN compound in Gaza was hit this morning,” Lammy wrote on X. “This incident must be investigated transparently and those responsible held to account.”
Thousands join anti-government rally in Jerusalem
- Relatives of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza joined the rally outside the parliament in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM: Thousands of protesters massed in Jerusalem on Wednesday, chanting slogans against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who they accuse of undermining democracy and resuming Gaza strikes without regard for hostages.
Protesters shouted “You are the head, and you’re to blame” as well as “The blood is on your hands” at the demonstration near parliament, the largest to take place in Jerusalem for months.
The demonstration was organized by anti-Netanyahu opposition groups protesting the premier’s move to sack Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency.
Following Netanyahu’s announcement to dismiss Bar, which threatened to trigger political crisis, Israel launched a wave of overnight strikes on Gaza, by far the deadliest since the start of a fragile ceasefire in January.
Relatives of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza joined the rally outside the parliament in Jerusalem.
“We hope all people from Israel will join this movement and we will not stop until we restore democracy and freedom for the hostages,” said Zeev Berar, 68, from Tel Aviv.
“At this rate we won’t have a country left, not a democratic one. It will be a dictatorship,” student Roni Sharon, 18, told AFP.
Some in the crowd brandished banners reading: “We are all hostages.”
Relatives of the hostages in the Gaza Strip have said the decision to resume strikes could “sacrifice” their loved ones.
Of the 251 hostages seized during the unprecedented October 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
The demonstrators in Jerusalem also accuse Netanyahu of using the war against Hamas to distract from domestic political concerns.
The prime minister has so far refused to set up a national commission of inquiry into Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, while his bid to dismiss Bar threatened to plunge Israel back into deep political crisis.
Netanyahu’s government recently also moved to oust Israel’s attorney general and government judiciary adviser, Gali Baharav-Miara, a fierce defendant of the judiciary’s independence.
A 2023 judicial reform project aimed at curbing the supreme court’s powers fractured the country and sparked major protests — before coming to an abrupt halt with Hamas’s October 7 attack.
“The last two years have been a nightmare for us,” said Yael Baron, 55, from the city of Modiin.
“I feel as though we are in the 99th minute and time is running out to save the country, the oxygen is running out for us, like democracy is running out.”
Hostages’ kin are terrified they won’t return after Israel resumes fighting
- Nearly 60 families have relatives still held in Gaza
- About two dozen of them are believed to be alive
TEL AVIV: When a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began two months ago, Herut Nimrodi knew it would take time before her son was released from captivity in Gaza. The 20-year-old soldier was meant to be part of the second phase of the deal winding down the war.
But with Israel’s surprise bombardment of Gaza, she fears he might not come home at all.
“I really wanted to believe that there is still a chance to reach a second stage without renewing this war. But it feels like my building of hope has collapsed, and I have no idea what to do next,” Nimrodi said.
Nearly 60 families have relatives still held in Gaza. About two dozen hostages are believed to be alive.
During the ceasefire’s first phase, which began in January, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. But since that phase ended early this month, the sides have not been able to agree on a way forward.
Israel’s renewed airstrikes threaten to end the fragile deal.
Nimrodi’s son, Tamir, was abducted from his army base when Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage. She’s had no sign of life. He hasn’t been declared dead by Israel.
“It’s so sad that this is the only solution that they could find,” she said, lamenting the government’s decision.
The strikes have Tuesday killed hundreds and shattered a relative calm — along with hopes of ending the war that has killed over 48,000 Palestinians.
The return to fighting could deepen the painful debate in Israel over the fate of the remaining hostages.
Netanyahu and his hard-line governing partners believe renewing the war will put pressure on Hamas to free them and move Israel closer to its goal of destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities.
But most hostage families, and large parts of the Israeli public, believe such goals are unrealistic. They say time is running out, particularly after the recent releases of emaciated-looking hostages who later described harsh conditions in captivity.
Hamas accused Netanyahu of upending the ceasefire and exposing the hostages “to an unknown fate.”
Families of hostages called on supporters to protest with them outside Israel’s parliament.
Some families who already know their relatives in Gaza are dead called the government’s decision unacceptable.
“This is not only a disaster in every way, shape or form on how the hostages keep suffering, being chained to walls, starved, abused, but also the death toll that keeps rising on the Gazan side,” Udi Goren said.
His cousin Tal Haimi was killed on Oct. 7 and his body was taken into Gaza. Goren said the international community must pressure Hamas, Israel and the mediators — the US, Egypt and Qatar — to end the war.
“Returning to fighting? Did you listen to a word of what we, the returnees released in the last deal, have been saying to you?” former hostage Omer Wenkert wrote on Instagram.
Romi Gonen, among the first hostages to be freed in the ceasefire’s first phase, said she would never forget what it felt like in captivity to hear the bombs after previous ceasefire talks collapsed and realize she wouldn’t be freed any time soon.
“I beg you, the people of Israel, we must continue to fight for them,” she said on Instagram.
Sylvia Cunio, whose two sons are held hostage, accused Israel’s leaders of not having a heart.
“It isn’t right to continue the fighting. I want my children back home already. If he wants to kill me, the prime minister, let him do that already because I won’t get through this,” she said on local radio.
Nimrodi said she’s worried the airstrikes might not only harm her son and the other hostages but also make their living conditions worse.
The last time she saw Tamir, he was a funny teenager who rode horses and loved learning about geology and astronomy, she said. The two had a similar humor and used to talk about everything.
While she’s terrified of what’s to come, she said she won’t stop fighting to see him again.
“Please, keep strong, survive,” she said, addressing him. “So there’s a chance for us to meet once more.”
Iran celebrates ancient fire festival ahead of Persian New Year
- To celebrate, people light bonfires, set off fireworks and send wish lanterns floating off into the night sky
TEHRAN: Iran’s fire festival offers a great opportunity to show the world what life looks like in the country.
Known as “Chaharshanbe Souri” in Farsi, the festival comes in the hours just before the Wednesday before Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year.
To celebrate, people light bonfires, set off fireworks and send wish lanterns floating off into the night sky.
Others jump over and around fires, chanting “My yellow is yours, your red is mine,” invoking the replacement of ills with warmth and energy.
The fire festival also features an Iranian version of trick-or-treating, with people going door to door and being given a holiday mix of nuts and berries, as well as buckets of water. It’s not necessarily an easy assignment though.
Here in Iran, some people remain sensitive about having their photograph taken, particularly women who aren’t wearing Iran’s mandatory headscarf.
The joy sometimes overcomes safety concerns as smoke fills the air and fireworks explode at random overhead. There are injuries every year and sometimes deaths. Being careful is necessary as a piece of a burning firecracker might injure one in a crowd.
Nowruz marks the start of spring. Soon, leaves will sprout again.
US says ‘bridge proposal’ on table for Gaza ceasefire but window ‘closing fast’
- A State Department spokesperson said the proposal would also “see the release of five live hostages, including American Edan Alexander”
- “The opportunity is still there, but it’s closing fast“
WASHINGTON: The US State Department said on Wednesday there was still a bridge proposal that would extend the ceasefire” in Gaza but the opportunity for it was “closing fast.”
A State Department spokesperson said the proposal would also “see the release of five live hostages, including American Edan Alexander. It would also see the release of a substantial number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.”
“The opportunity is still there, but it’s closing fast.”
The Israeli military said on Wednesday its forces have resumed ground operations in Gaza as a second day of airstrikes killed at least 48 Palestinians, according to local health workers. A day earlier, more than 400 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in one of the deadliest episodes since the beginning of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023.
This shattered nearly two months of relative calm since a ceasefire went into effect between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza.
The State Department spokesperson said the proposal was “compelling” and that Washington stood with Israel.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli allies.
Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed over 49,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while also triggering accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies. The assault has internally displaced nearly Gaza’s entire 2.3 million population and caused a hunger crisis.
