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☆ Middle East Crisis Temporary Pier Is Anchored in Gaza to Deliver Aid, U.S. Military Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

U.S. officials had said last week that the floating pier and causeway had been completed, but that weather conditions had delayed their installation. An American ship loaded with humanitarian aid, the Sagamore, set off for Gaza from Cyprus last week, and the aid was loaded onto a smaller vessel that had been waiting for the pier to be installed. Aid groups say the devastation in Gaza after seven months of Israeli bombardment, strict Israeli inspections and restrictions on crossing points are limiting the amount of aid that can enter Gaza. The Pentagon has said that the pier could help deliver as many as two million meals a day. An aid group, World Central Kitchen, built a makeshift jetty in mid-March to deliver aid by sea to Gaza for the first time in nearly two decades.

Persons: Charles Q, Brown, “ It’ll, ”, “, that’s, Nadav Shoshani, Dan Dieckhaus, Rawan Sheikh Ahmad, Helene Cooper Organizations: U.S, Israel, U.S . Central Command, United Nations, Central Command, U.S ., Pentagon, Joint Chiefs, Staff, NATO, Israeli Navy, Division, Food, U.S . Agency for International Development Locations: Rafah, Israel, Gaza, An American, Cyprus, Brussels, Kerem

☆ Middle East Crisis U.N. Says About 300,000 Gazans Have Fled Rafah
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

There has been intense bombardment and fighting around Rafah since Monday, when Israel seized control of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, largely halting the flow of aid. Dozens of people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Rafah since then, local health officials say. Israeli warplanes dropped leaflets over parts of Rafah and over a part of northern Gaza on Saturday that ordered people to flee. “Forcing civilians to evacuate Rafah to unsafe zones is intolerable,” Josep Borrell Fontelles, the European Union’s top diplomat, wrote late Saturday on the social media platform X. Several countries and international aid groups have condemned the prospect of a full-scale Rafah invasion, saying it would be catastrophic for civilians.

Persons: Gazans, Israel, ” Josep Borrell Fontelles, Biden Organizations: United Nations, Rafah Indonesian Field Hospital Locations: Gaza, Rafah, Egypt, Al, Israel, United

☆ Aid for Gazans Has Come to a Near-Total Halt
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Matthew Cullen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Southern Gaza is running dangerously low on essentials like food and medicine, after the flow of aid has come to a near-total stop — first closed off by Israel and then further restricted, officials say, by Egypt. It also temporarily shut down the other crucial southern crossing, known as Kerem Shalom, after a nearby Hamas attack killed four Israeli soldiers on Sunday. Egypt, where most of the aid to Gaza is collected and loaded, is resisting sending trucks toward Kerem Shalom, according to U.S. and Israeli officials. They believe that Egypt is trying to pressure Israel to pull back from its operation in Rafah. Egypt fears that the Rafah operation could push Palestinian refugees onto Egyptian soil — an outcome the country views as a national security threat.

Persons: —, Kerem Shalom Locations: Southern Gaza, Israel, Egypt, Gazan, Rafah, Gaza, Kerem

How the U.S. Humanitarian Pier in Gaza Will WorkA humanitarian pier the U.S. military will bring to the Gaza Strip is currently being assembled and is expected to be ready to receive initial shipments of food and other aid early next month, according to military officials. Pier At the pier, loaded aid trucks are driven to Gaza’s shore. Gaza Strip EMPTY TRUCKS return to the pier Humanitarian partners will pick up aid near the shore to take it into the Gaza Strip. Pier At the pier, loaded aid trucks are driven to Gaza’s shore. Gaza Strip EMPTY TRUCKS return to the pier Humanitarian partners will pick up aid near the shore to take it into the Gaza Strip.

Persons: Juan Camilo Jimenez Garces, Trucks, OCHA, U.N, David Satterfield, Israel Organizations: United Nations, U.S . Agency for International Development, Military, Aid, Spanish, BANK, New York Times Ships, Army, New York Times, Food, WFP GAZA, United Nations Office, Humanitarian, New York Times Aid, Hamas, U.S Locations: U.S, Gaza, Larnaca, Cyprus, Dubai, Kenya, Europe, CYPRUS Larnaca, BANK GAZA, ISRAEL EGYPT, LEBANON, Israel, United States, Med, ISRAEL Rafah, Shalom, Egypt, Israel’s

☆ After U.N. Report, Germany Says It Will Resume Funding for UNRWA
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Christopher F. Schuetze | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Germany said on Wednesday that it would resume funding for the main U.N. agency aiding Palestinians in Gaza, known as UNRWA, after an independent review found that Israel had not provided evidence of an allegation that led many donor nations to withdraw support for the agency. The announcement was likely to cause further strain in Germany’s longstanding close ties with Israel, which have deteriorated because of differences over the war in Gaza. Germany, which gave more than $200 million to UNRWA in 2023, is the agency’s second largest donor after the United States, which has also withdrawn its funding and has yet to say whether it will restore it. “The German government has looked closely at the allegations made by Israel against UNRWA and has been in close contact with the Israeli government, the United Nations and other international donors,” read a statement issued by Germany’s foreign and development ministries on Wednesday.

Persons: Israel, ” Organizations: UNRWA, United Nations Locations: Germany, Gaza, Israel, United States

☆ Middle East Crisis Review of U.N. Agency Prompts New Calls to Restore Its Funding
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Patrick Kingsley | Matt Surman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The United Nations had commissioned an independent review of the agency in January, before Israel circulated its claims, but those charges gave added significance to the inquiry, whose findings were released on Monday. The report issued a series of recommendations for the agency to protect its neutrality, but said that “Israel has yet to provide supporting evidence” for its accusation that a significant number of agency employees are members of terrorist organizations. The United Nations has fired 10 of the 12 employees accused by Israel. Ireland, which has strongly condemned Israel’s campaign in Gaza, increased aid to UNRWA as other countries were cutting it, he noted. UNRWA has argued that Israel has targeted it with a “deliberate and concerted campaign” to undermine its operations when its services are most needed.

Persons: Israel, Stéphane, António Guterres, Guterres, “, Caroline Gennez, ”, Micheál Martin, Israel’s, Japan —, Matthew Miller, Biden, ” Mr, Miller, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: The United Nations, United Nations, UNRWA, United, State Department, ”, European Union Locations: United States, Gaza, Israel, United, Palestine, Belgium, Ireland, Australia, Canada, Japan

☆ Israel Hasn’t Offered Evidence Tying U.N. Workers to Terrorism, Review Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | Patrick Kingsley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The review was announced in January, before Israel circulated claims that significant numbers of employees of the agency, known as UNRWA, were members of terrorist groups. Israel had also said that one in 10 UNRWA employees in Gaza was a member of Hamas or its ally, Palestinian Islamic Jihad. More than a dozen countries, including the United States, suspended funding to UNRWA in light of the allegations. It also announced an internal investigation along with the independent external review, which was made public on Monday. The review said that UNRWA had long shared lists of its employees with Israel, but that the Israeli government had not flagged any concerns about agency employees since 2011.

Persons: Israel, Catherine Colonna, ” Organizations: United Nations, U.N, UNRWA Locations: Israel, Gaza, New York, United States

☆ Voice of America Will Get a New Director
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Katie Robertson | More About Katie Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Michael Abramowitz will be the next director of the federally funded broadcaster Voice of America, its parent, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, announced on Friday. Mr. Abramowitz, 60, is currently the president of Freedom House, a pro-democracy nonprofit organization, a role he has held since 2017. Voice of America, which was founded in 1942, aims to offer unbiased news to audiences around the world. “These countries are waging ferocious information warfare aimed at undermining democracies, aimed at undermining the United States, and we need to fight back,” Mr. Abramowitz said in an interview. is one very important tool for the United States government in this information war.”

Persons: Michael Abramowitz, Mr, Abramowitz, ” Mr, “, ” Organizations: of America, U.S . Agency for Global Media, Freedom, U.S . Holocaust Memorial Museum, The Washington Post . Voice of America, United Locations: U.S, China, Russia, Iran, United States

☆ U.N. Report Describes Physical Abuse and Dire Conditions in Israeli Detention
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Gazans released from Israeli detention described graphic scenes of physical abuse in testimonies gathered by United Nations workers, according to a report released on Tuesday by UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. Others described being badly beaten with metal bars or the butts of guns and boots, according to the report, or forced into cages and attacked by dogs. The New York Times has not interviewed the witnesses who spoke to UNRWA aid workers and could not independently verify their accounts. Israeli forces have arrested thousands of Gazans during their six-month campaign against Hamas, the Palestinian armed group. The Israeli military says it arrests those suspected of involvement in Hamas and other groups, but women, children and older people have also been detained, according to the UNRWA report.

Persons: Gazans Organizations: United Nations, UNRWA, New York Times, Times, Hamas Locations: Palestinian

☆ Mortgage-backed securities offer high-quality income and are relatively cheap, UBS says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Investors looking for high-quality income, as well as a bargain, should turn to agency mortgage-backed securities, according to UBS. Agency MBS are debt obligations backed by the government and are issued by agencies such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. However, agency MBS lagged their higher-quality counterparts because they are highly correlated to interest rate volatility, she said. As gross domestic product slowly trends lower, the market will become more comfortable with the likelihood of the Fed cutting rates, Falconio said. Banks, which have been investing excess deposits in Treasurys, will be among those turning to agency MBS, Falconio said.

Persons: Leslie Falconio, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, Falconio, Janus Henderson, Banks Organizations: UBS, CNBC, Agency MBS, Federal Reserve, MBS, SEC, Securities ETF Locations: UBS Americas, Treasurys

☆ Middle East Crisis Amid Fears of Expanded War, U.S. Renews Push for Hostage and Cease-Fire Deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Since the start of the war in Gaza in October, the aid group said, it had delivered more than 43 million meals there. Mr. Al-Asaad knows many people relied on meals from World Central Kitchen, which often consisted of rice and beans and sometimes meat or chicken. His family rarely got the meals “because the demand was more than the supply,” Mr. Al-Asaad said in an interview on Friday. “Eggs cost more than gold,” Mr. Al-Asaad, 45, wrote in the caption. The World Food Program, an arm of the United Nations, says that famine is imminent in northern Gaza.

Persons: Suhail Al, Asaad, José Andrés, Mr, Biden, Israel, ”, Mohammad al, Masri, doesn’t Organizations: Mr, Food Program, United Nations, World Health Organization Locations: Gaza City, Rafah, Gaza, WhatsApp

☆ 7 Aid Workers Killed in Gaza Were Known for a Passion for Helping Others
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Gaya Gupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They are the latest casualties in the growing toll of aid workers killed in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, and they are among more than a dozen workers who have been killed while doing their jobs. Gaza has been the deadliest place for aid workers since the Oct. 7 attacks. According to the Aid Worker Security Database, a compilation of data on attacks funded by the United States Agency for International Development, 203 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since the war started. All were Palestinian, except for six of the World Central Kitchen workers most recently killed, who were citizens of Australia, the United States, Canada, Poland and Britain. As of Monday, 176 workers from UNRWA, the U.N. agency dedicated to Palestinians, have been killed, according to the group.

Persons: humanitarians Organizations: Central Kitchen, Aid Worker Security, United States Agency for International Development, Central Locations: Gaza, Palestinian, Deir al Balah, Australia, United States, Canada, Poland, Britain

☆ U.N. Peacekeepers Injured in Lebanon Blast as Tensions Rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | Euan Ward | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The Israeli authorities have denied blocking UNRWA, but Israel and the aid agency have been locked in a dispute over not only responsibility for the crisis, but also the status of UNRWA itself. UNRWA suspended the staff members and opened an investigation, but some of its biggest donors have since suspended funding. U.N. officials and international aid groups have reported severe and deadly malnutrition in Gaza and have blamed Israel, which inspects every truckload aid. In some cases, crowds of people have swarmed the trucks, stripping them of supplies. The World Food Program said that only 11 of its convoys carrying food had reached the north since the start of the year.

Persons: Philippe Lazzarini, Israel, Lazzarini, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, Natalia Kanem, “ Organizations: Nations, International Court of Justice, United Nations, UNRWA, “, Food Program Locations: Israel, Gaza, The Hague

GAZA StripWhy Isn’t More Aid Getting to Gazans? From El Arish, the trucks carrying aid typically undergo security checks in Rafah, Egypt, shortly before reaching the border with Gaza. One arrow points from near Rafah crossing to Kerem Shalom crossing, and a second arrow points from near Rafah crossing to Nitzana crossing. One arrow points from Nitzana crossing to Rafah crossing, and another points from Nitzana to Kerem Shalom crossing. More than a hundred Gazans died near a convoy on Feb. 29, after thousands massed around aid trucks.

Persons: Israel El Arish JORDAN Trucks, Balah Netivot Khan Younis Ofakim, Balah Khan, Salah Al Din, Rashid, Kerem, Khan Younis, Al Rashid, Israel, Trucks, Scott Anderson, Shimon Freedman, COGAT, Freedman, Mr, Anderson, Gazans, ”, Naser Qadous, Balah, Khan Younis Ofakim, Carl Skau, Sarah Schiffling, Deir, Younis Ofakim, Deir al, Biden, it’s, Schiffling, Juliette Touma, ” Ms, Touma Organizations: United Nations, West Bank Ships, Bank, Israel El Arish Trucks, Jordan, El Arish Egypt Israel Nitzana, Arrows, UNRWA, Food, Food Program, Hanken School of Economics, Central Locations: GAZA, Gaza, Gaza’s, SyRIA, Port, Israel El Arish, Cairo Egypt Saudi Arabia, Bank GAZA, Jordan Egypt, Ashkelon Gaza, Rafah, Egypt, El Arish Egypt Israel, Egypt Rafah, Egypt Israel, Rafah Rafah, Kerem, Kerem Shalom, Sderot GAZA, Gaza City Sderot Al Rashid, El Arish, Port Sa’id, Jordan, From El Arish, Nitzana, Israel, United States, Anera, ”, Khan Younis Ofakim Israel Rafah, Shalom, U.S, Air, France, Finland, Gaza City, Cyprus, Sderot, Balah, Deir

☆ U.N. Agency in Gaza Says One in Three Children Under 2 Is Acutely Malnourished
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( March | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - One in three children under age 2 in northern Gaza is now acutely malnourished and famine is looming, the main U.N. agency operating in the Palestinian enclave said on Saturday. "Children's malnutrition is spreading fast and reaching unprecedented levels in Gaza," the U.N. Hospitals in Gaza have reported some children dying of malnutrition and dehydration. Israel says it puts no limit on humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza and blames slow aid delivery on incapacity or inefficiency among U.N. agencies. Israel has accused UNRWA of complicity with Hamas, saying some staff members took part in the Oct. 7 attack and calling for the agency to be dismantled.

Persons: Israel, Janez Lenarcic, Angus McDowall, Jason Neely Organizations: Reuters, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, IPC, Air, UNRWA, Union Locations: Gaza, Israel, Cyprus

☆ Second Gaza Aid Convoy Ends in Violence, With at Least 20 Killed
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | Anushka Patil | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

For 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. The Israeli military has said that most of the people died in a stampede and that some were run over by the trucks. Israel, which has been under growing pressure to allow more aid into the territory, had organized that convoy to northern Gaza, where the United Nations has warned that hundreds of thousands of people are facing starvation. It was not clear immediately on Friday who had sent the latest supplies, driven the trucks or provided security for them. The Israeli military said it had “facilitated the passage” of the 31 trucks but did not elaborate on that.

Persons: ” Organizations: Gaza Health Ministry, “, United Nations Locations: Gaza, Kuwait, Gaza City, Israel

☆ Israeli forces claim to assassinate a Hamas commander in a strike on a U.N. aid warehouse in Rafah.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Anushka Patil | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Israeli military confirmed that it had bombed an aid warehouse in Rafah in southern Gaza on Wednesday, saying it had “precisely targeted” and killed a Hamas commander in an attack that the United Nations said also killed at least one aid worker and injured 22 others. The Israeli military said the Hamas commander, whom it identified as Muhammad Abu Hasna, was “involved in taking control of humanitarian aid” and coordinating “the activities of various Hamas units.”UNRWA, the U.N. agency that supports Palestinians, said the strike in Gaza’s southernmost city hit one of its facilities that serves as both an aid warehouse and a food distribution center. The agency, formally the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, is the largest provider of aid on the ground in Gaza and the chief lifeline for the enclave’s 2.2 million residents, more than half of whom have been forced by Israeli military orders or fighting to cram into Rafah. The UNRWA facility was not distributing food to civilians on Wednesday, but more than 50 staff members were working at the facility when it was hit by Israeli forces around noon, according to Juliette Touma, an UNRWA spokeswoman. Physical damage to the facility appeared to be minimal, but the human toll was “quite high” and some of the 22 wounded aid workers were “severely injured,” she said.

Persons: Muhammad Abu Hasna, Juliette Touma, “, ” Organizations: United Nations, UNRWA, United Nations Relief, Works Agency Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Gaza’s

☆ Many Aid Deliveries for Gaza Are Rejected for ‘Dual-Use’ Items, Groups Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

COGAT, the Israeli agency overseeing aid deliveries into Gaza, accused Mr. Lazzarini of lying, saying that it was in constant contact with the United Nations and had not been notified of the denial. The agency said 1.5 percent of aid trucks trying to enter the territory had been turned away. Mr. Lazzarini is the latest official to say that the Israeli military’s inspections are keeping aid from getting to Gaza’s 2.2 million people. A member of the British Parliament said this month that Israel had turned away 1,350 water filters and 2,560 solar lights provided by the British government because they were considered a threat. Many items that have been turned away aren’t explicitly listed, she said.

Persons: Philippe Lazzarini, Mr, Lazzarini, David Cameron, Israel, Miriam Marmur, aren’t Organizations: UNRWA, United Nations Locations: Gaza

☆ Plan to Deliver Aid by Sea Faces Big Hurdles
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Gaya Gupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

“It constitutes tacit consent and encouragement on the part of the governments of Canada and Sweden to continue to ignore the involvement of UNRWA employees in terrorist activity,” the statement said. In a government statement on Saturday, Sweden said that it would disburse a conditional first payment of some $20 million. The United Nations has also commissioned an external review. The United States and other countries announced plans this week to try to get aid into northern Gaza by sea through the Mediterranean coast. In recent weeks, nations have been sending in aid via airdrops attached to parachutes.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, ” Philippe Lazzarini, Aaron Boxerman Organizations: United Nations, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNRWA, Nations, European Union, United, Palestinian Locations: Canada, Sweden, Gaza, Israel, United States, Jerusalem

☆ Middle East Crisis Israeli’s Military Turns Back Convoy Trying to Get Food Into Gaza, U.N. Agency Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Anushka Patil | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Starbucks franchise operators across the Middle East and Southeast Asia are losing significant business amid boycotts linked to the Israel-Hamas war, and at least one has started laying off employees. “I think all those who are boycotting Starbucks Malaysia should know that it is a Malaysia-owned company,” he said. A similar post was published on the site for Starbucks in the Middle East. In January, Starbucks cut its global annual sales forecast as the Israel-Hamas war hurt the business of its licensees in the Middle East. Starbucks said it would continue to grow its business in the Middle East, including working with Alshaya Group in developing plans for the region.

Persons: Vincent Tan, ”, Laxman Narasimhan, Howard Schultz Organizations: Starbucks, Alshaya, Hamas, Food Berhad, Starbucks Malaysia, Alshaya Group Locations: East, Southeast Asia, Israel, Kuwait, North Africa, United States, Malaysia

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge in Texas has ordered a 55-year-old U.S. agency that caters to minority-owned businesses to serve people regardless of race, siding with white business owners who claimed the program discriminated against them. The agency, which helps minority-owned businesses obtain financing and government contracts, now operates in 33 states and Puerto Rico. Justice Department lawyers representing Minority Business Development Agency declined to comment on the ruling, which can be appealed to the conservative-leaning 5th U.S. John F. Robinson, president of the National Minority Business Council, said the ruling is “a blow against minority owned businesses," and does nothing to help majority-owned businesses because they already enjoy access to federal resources through the Small Business Administration. "It has the potential of damaging the whole minority business sector because there will be less service available to minority-owned businesses,” Robinson said.

Persons: Mark T, Pittman, Donald Trump, Nixon, Biden, ” Pittman, Dan Lennington, ” Lennington, John F, Robinson, ” Robinson, Arian Simone, Alphonso David, David, Stanley Goldfarb, ”, “, —, David Glasgow, Graham Lee Brewer, Haleluya Hadero Organizations: —, U.S, Northern, Northern District of, U.S . Commerce Department, Infrastructure Investment, Jobs, Black, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, Justice Department, Business, Agency, Circuit, National Minority Business Council, Small Business Administration, Economic, Pfizer, The, Appeals, American Alliance for Equal Rights, Meltzer Center for Diversity, New York University’s School of Law, Supreme, AP Locations: Texas, Northern District, Northern District of Texas, Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Tennessee, Atlanta, The New York, Florida, New

☆ U.N. Aid Agency Researchers Allege Abuse of Gazans in Israeli Detention
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Monika Pronczuk | Patrick Kingsley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An unpublished investigation by the main United Nations agency for Palestinian affairs accuses Israel of abusing hundreds of Gazans captured during the war with Hamas, according to a copy of the report reviewed by The New York Times. The authors of the report allege that the detainees, including at least 1,000 civilians later released without charge, were held at three military sites inside Israel. The report said the detainees included males and females whose ages ranged from 6 to 82. Some, the report said, died in detention. The document includes accounts from detainees who said they were beaten, stripped, robbed, blindfolded, sexually abused and denied access to lawyers and doctors, often for more than a month.

Persons: Israel, Gazans Organizations: United Nations, The New York Times, UNRWA Locations: Israel

☆ Middle East Crisis Disastrous Convoy Was Part of New Israeli Effort to Hand Out More Aid in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | Adam Rasgon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Mourning a person who was killed on Thursday when Gaza residents rushed toward aid trucks and Israeli forces guarding the convoy opened fire. Its bombing campaign and ground invasion have decimated Hamas’s control over northern Gaza, leaving both a gaping security vacuum and a humanitarian catastrophe. U.N. aid convoys carrying essential goods to northern Gaza have been suspended for days. Like Mr. Aqel, Mr. Khoudary said that he had organized some of the trucks that transported aid as part of the relief initiative involving Israel. Some were aid trucks he had dispatched, while others were organized by other contractors, he said.

Persons: Mourning, Izzat, Khoudary, Aqel, Peter Lerner, —, Witnesses, Gazans, “, Mr, Israel, ” Mr, ” Organizations: United Nations, The New York Times, British, Israel, Food Program, UNRWA, Food Locations: Gaza, Israel, Israeli

☆ As the Election Comes Into Focus, Pressure Builds in the West Wing
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A former adviser to President Biden has compared life in the White House to dog years: Every day feels like a week, every year like seven. And then there are times like these when it can feel as though an entire term plays out every few days. The past couple of months have become a particularly stressful period in the White House. The secretary of state has protesters camped outside his house throwing fake blood at his car. For some working in the West Wing or its nearby environs, it can be hard just to catch a breath.

Persons: Biden Organizations: U.S . Agency for International Development, White House Locations: Israel

☆ Egypt setting up area at Gaza border which could be used to shelter Palestinians, Reuters reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Israel has said its army is drawing up a plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah to other parts of the Gaza Strip. Israel has said it will mount an offensive to take out Hamas's "last bastion" in Rafah, where well over 1 million Palestinians have sought sanctuary from its devastating Gaza offensive. Three security sources said Egypt had begun preparing a desert area with some basic facilities which could be used to shelter Palestinians, emphasizing this was a contingency step. The United States has repeatedly said it would oppose any displacement of Palestinians out of Gaza. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said: "The president has been clear that we do not support the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

Persons: Khan, Israel, Martin Griffiths, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Palestinian Hamas, United, Egypt's, Service, Sinai Foundation, Human Rights, Reuters, Israeli, U.S . State Department Locations: Khan Yunis, Rafah, Gaza, Egypt, Israel, Palestinian, United States, Sinai, Cairo, Jordan, U.S, The U.S

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