Netanyahu promises new Gaza aid delivery plan as supplies still fail to reach Palestinians

AP News

Under international pressure, Israel has allowed dozens of aid trucks into Gaza after blocking all food, medicine, fuel and other material for nearly three months.
But the supplies have been sitting on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.
He said the road the Israeli military had given them permission to use was too unsafe.
Aid groups say the small amount of aid that Israel has allowed is far short of what is needed.
A U.N. official and another humanitarian worker said the Israeli military had designated a highly insecure route known to have looters.

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AP/Gaza Strip, DEIR AL-BALAH — The U.S. N. . stated on Wednesday that it was working to get the much-needed aid that had arrived in Gaza this week into the hands of Palestinians, despite delays brought on by Israeli military restrictions and worries about looting. Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that at least 86 people were killed by Israeli strikes that ravaged the region.

A new aid system in Gaza, which has drawn harsh international criticism, is just a few days away from being implemented, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. He said that after the war, Israel intends to establish a “sterile zone” there that is devoid of Hamas, where the people who have been evacuated and relocated numerous times will be relocated and given supplies.

Netanyahu stated that he will only end the war if Hamas releases all hostages and resigns from power, as well as if President Donald Trump’s plan to move the territory’s population outside of Gaza is carried out, despite the renewed ceasefire negotiations seemingly making little headway. The Palestinians and almost everyone else in the world have opposed Trump’s proposal to remove the Palestinians from Gaza and turn the region over to the United States. S. command.

Israel blocked all food, medicine, fuel, and other supplies for almost three months, but has now allowed dozens of aid trucks to enter Gaza in response to pressure from other countries. However, the supplies have been parked on the Gaza side of the Israeli-Gaza border at Kerem Shalom.

U. No. According to spokesman Stephane Dujarric, U has been loaded with most of the supplies that have arrived since Monday. N. trucks, but it was impossible to remove them from the crossing area. He claimed it was too dangerous to use the road that the Israeli military had authorized.

An U. N. . More than a dozen trucks that had left the crossing area arrived at warehouses in central Gaza on Wednesday night, according to a later official. Since the official was not authorized to speak to the media, they spoke on condition of anonymity.

According to Israel, 100 trucks entered Gaza on Wednesday.

Experts in food security have warned that unless the blockade is lifted, Gaza could experience famine. Hunger and malnutrition have been getting worse. A few weeks ago, aid organizations ran out of food to distribute, and the majority of the 2–3 million people living there depend on communal kitchens with almost empty supplies.

A nonprofit organization gave out watery lentil soup at a kitchen in Gaza City.

Because she cannot afford rice or pasta and because her family hasn’t had bread in over ten days, Somaia Abu Amsha scooped small portions for them.

Everything we want is for the war to end. Charity kitchens are not what we desire. This is not something that even dogs, much less kids, would eat,” she said.

Aid organizations claim that the meager amount of aid that Israel has permitted falls well short of what is required. Under the most recent ceasefire, roughly 600 trucks entered each day.

According to Netanyahu, the population will shift south.

Israel has stated that its modest lifting of the blockade serves as a stopgap measure until the new aid system it demands is established. The U. N. . as well as other humanitarian organizations, who have criticized the system for allowing Israel to use aid as a weapon and drive out the populace.

The plan will start “in the coming days,” Netanyahu informed reporters. “.”.

Later on, he said, the “sterile zone” in southern Gaza would be free of Hamas, and people would be relocated there “for its safety.”. They would get assistance there, “and then they enter – and they don’t necessarily go back.”. “.”.

A private U.S. company will oversee a limited number of distribution hubs. S. . The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a privately held organization. The distribution would be protected by private contractors with guns.

Israel claims that because Hamas embezzles large sums of aid, the system is necessary. The U. No. rejects that assertion.

Four hubs are initially being constructed, three at the far southern end of the strip, where there are still few people, and one in central Gaza.

According to a spokesperson for the GHF, the organization would never support or take part in any kind of forced civilian relocation. The spokesperson, who spoke under the group’s rules and on condition of anonymity. stated that there was no cap on the number of sites and that more would open in the coming month, including in the north.

Diplomats tremble at Israeli warning shots.

While visiting the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a group of foreign diplomats were fired warning shots by Israeli troops. Video showed several diplomats conducting interviews with the media while they were forced to flee for their lives by the sudden bursts of gunfire in the area. There were no reported injuries.

Although the delegation “deviated from the approved route,” the Israeli military claimed that their visit had been authorized. The military said it would get in touch with the nations that were a part of the visit and apologized.

The soldiers’ actions drew harsh criticism, with officials from Germany, Austria, and Italy calling on Israel to look into what transpired. Foreign ministers from France and Canada demanded that the Israeli ambassador be called to give an explanation.

As part of an offensive throughout the West Bank, Israeli forces have conducted dozens of raids in Jenin. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were displaced by the conflict.

Israel’s military claimed to have intercepted a missile fired by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, setting off sirens throughout the country early on Thursday. Although it can take hours or days for the Houthis to admit their attacks, they did not immediately claim the attack.

The aid trickle is obstructed.

Aid workers now have to unload and reload supplies onto their own trucks for distribution after they arrive at Kerem Shalom.

78 trucks were waiting, according to Antoine Renard, the World Food Program’s country chief for Palestine. “We need to ensure that we will not be looted,” he told The Associated Press. “.”.

Deliveries of aid have previously been marred by looting, and in times of need, people have crowded aid trucks and stolen supplies.

A U. No. The Israeli military has identified a very unsafe route that is known to have looters, according to an official and another aid worker. They claimed that the military also imposed a deadline for trucks to arrive in Kerem Shalom and turned away several individual truck drivers, necessitating last-minute substitutes. Due to their lack of authorization to speak to the media, both spoke under the condition of anonymity.

A request for comment from COGAT, the Israeli defense agency in charge of Gaza aid, was not immediately answered.

All around are hospitals.

Israeli attacks persisted throughout Gaza. 24 people were killed in the southern city of Khan Younis, where Israel recently issued new evacuation orders in anticipation of a more extensive offensive. Of those killed, 14 were members of the same family. In the heart of Gaza, a week-old baby died. According to hospital officials, two children and their parents were killed in an evening strike on a home in Jabaliya, northern Gaza.

Regarding the strikes, the Israeli military didn’t comment. It claims to target Hamas facilities and charges Hamas militants with operating from civilian locations.

Additionally, hospital employees and aid organizations reported this week that Israeli troops had surrounded two of the last operational hospitals in northern Gaza, barring anyone from entering or leaving the buildings.

Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, primarily civilians, and kidnapping 251 more, sparking the start of the Gaza War. After the majority were returned in ceasefire agreements or other agreements, the militants are still holding 58 hostages, of whom about one-third are thought to be alive.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count, Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 53,000 Palestinians, primarily women and children, and destroyed vast areas of Gaza.

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