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☆ US military ends troubled temporary pier mission off Gaza coast
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Haley Britzky | Natasha Bertrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The US military is ending its temporary pier mission off the Gaza coast that has been plagued with challenges after roughly 20 days of operational use, as humanitarian aid begins being brought in through an Israeli port instead. Cooper said the pier was operational for “a little more than 20 days” and delivered 19.4 million pounds of aid. The US military will continue to help deliver the remaining aid from Cyprus to Ashdod, Cooper said. “A temporary pier would enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day,” Biden said. During the same storm, four US Army vessels supporting the pier were washed ashore on beaches in Gaza and Israel.

Persons: ”, Brad Cooper, redeploy, Cooper, Israel —, Joe Biden, “, ” Biden, Steve Taravella, Sonali Korde, Jennifer Hansler Organizations: CNN, US Central Command, US Army, Brooke Army Medical Center, Food, Food Programme, Bureau, Humanitarian Locations: Gaza, Cyprus, Ashdod, Israel, San Antonio , Texas

☆ Troubled US military pier near Gaza to be permanently removed as soon as next week, US officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Oren Liebermann | Natasha Bertrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Last month marked the third time that the pier has been disconnected from Gaza because of inclement weather. But once the remaining aid is delivered, the pier is expected to be removed from the coast of Gaza and the operation, which began in mid-May, will end, officials said. Since the pier began operations, more than 19.4 million pounds of humanitarian aid have been delivered via the pier to the collection area in Gaza. Its removal will mark the end of a highly anticipated, but deeply troubled effort to flow humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza. The Pentagon and USAID inspectors general have launched coordinated reviews of the pier operation, they announced last month.

Persons: Pat Ryder, “ Organizations: CNN, Pentagon, ”, US, Associated Press, Israel Defense Forces, USAID, Republicans Locations: Gaza, Cyprus, Ashdod, Israel, Egypt

☆ Israel announces ‘pause’ along southern Gaza route to allow in aid but no let up in Rafah offensive
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Abeer Salman | Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Jerusalem CNN —The Israeli military has announced a “tactical pause” of military activity along a route in southern Gaza to allow aid to be distributed but stressed that there would be no let up in fighting in and around Rafah in southern Gaza. A bottleneck of aid has built up at Kerem Shalom amid airstrikes and fighting in much of southern Gaza. It will be run in coordination with international organizations, it said, as part of efforts to increase volumes of aid reaching Gaza. Egyptian trucks carrying humanitarian aid make their way to the Gaza Strip at the Kerem Shalom crossing on May 30, 2024. Those are Kerem Shalom on Gaza’s southern border and Western Erez in the north.

Persons: Salah, Kerem Shalom, Al Bayuk, Khan Younis, ”, “, Amir Cohen, Kerem, Western Erez Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, IDF, European Hospital, Israel Defense Forces, Ministry of Health, Logistics, Shore Locations: Jerusalem, Gaza, Rafah, Kerem, Khan, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza’s, Western, Ashdod

To date, the pier has been used to move thousands of tons of aid into Gaza, officials have said. The Pentagon acknowledged that there was some Israeli military activity “nearby” to the staging area for the pier but denied that the pier was used in the operation. Humanitarian officials say while any assistance getting into the Gaza strip is useful, the pier is not a sustainable mode for doing so. Even with additional openings, major obstacles to distribution within the Gaza strip remain and humanitarian officials tell CNN that there is still not an effective deconfliction method to protect aid workers. “A very expensive distraction,” one humanitarian aid official said of the pier.

Persons: Cindy McCain, we’re Organizations: CNN, Logistics, Shore, Hamas, Pentagon, CBS, UN, Department of Safety, Security Locations: Gaza, Israel, Ashdod, ”

Even though it was operational for only about a week, the pier helped deliver some 1,000 metric tons of aid into Gaza before breaking apart. That’s well short of the military’s goal of moving 500 tons of aid per day over the pier. The risks however were deemed too great at the time, with unpredictable winter weather and heavy fighting in Gaza. “We assumed a lot of risk in using a military operation for this purpose,” a second senior administration official added. Deputy Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh emphasized that the solution to aid to Gaza remains the land crossings.

Persons: Joe Biden, ”, Biden, It’s, “, they’re, Christine Wormuth, JLOTS, Nikos Christodoulides, Benjamin Netanyahu, Weeks, ‘, Vedant Patel, Sabrina Singh, Max, ’, don’t Organizations: CNN, White House, US Central Command, Army, “ Army, US, Pentagon, Technologies, Maxar, Trident, US Army Central, Reuters, State Locations: Gaza, West, Israel, Rafah, Australia, Virginia, Haiti, Cyprus, France, “, Ashdod

☆ US soldiers were stranded on beached Army boats after a storm broke apart the US-built aid pier in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Konstantin Toropin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewThe Pentagon said Tuesday that US soldiers had been stuck on three Army boats beached in Gaza over the weekend after high seas and a storm broke apart an aid pier the service built to deliver food to starving Palestinians. Along with the beachings of the Army boats, the storm also battered and broke apart the aid pier — a Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, operation by the Army — leaving the future of the key US humanitarian effort uncertain. A truck carries humanitarian aid across Trident Pier, a temporary pier to deliver aid, off the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, near the Gaza coast, May 19, 2024. AdvertisementHowever, this is also not the first hurdle that the aid mission has encountered since it was announced by President Joe Biden during his State of the Union speech months ago. US Army soldiers and US Navy sailors assemble the floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea to assist in the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Persons: —, Sabrina Singh, Military.com, Singh, Joe Biden, you'll Organizations: Service, Pentagon, Army, US Central Command, Business, Hamas, Trident, U.S . Army, REUTERS, US Army, US Navy, US Army Central, Reuters Locations: Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Ashdod, Tenerife, Africa

☆ US pier constructed off Gaza has broken apart
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Oren Liebermann | Natasha Bertrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The pier was “damaged and sections of the pier need rebuilding and repairing,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Tuesday. Earlier, four US officials told CNN the pier broke apart in heavy seas. The temporary pier, called the Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS), requires very good sea conditions to operate. The US has stressed that the temporary pier is only meant to augment humanitarian shipments going through the land crossings between Israel and Gaza. CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that the pier broke apart on Tuesday.

Persons: Sabrina Singh, Singh, ” Singh, Brad Cooper, Daniel Dieckhaus, USAID’s, CNN’s Paul Murphy Organizations: CNN, Pentagon, US, Command, NBC News, US Army, US Central Command, Israeli Navy, Technologies, United Nations, Management Locations: Gaza, Ashdod, Israel, Cyprus

☆ Access to Aid in Gaza Was Dire. Now, It’s Worse.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Amy Schoenfeld Walker | Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

Access to Aid in Gaza Was Dire. Israel closed that crossing as well as the Rafah crossing, where a majority of aid had been coming in. Nearly 300 aid trucks had crossed there in a single day just before the incursion. COGAT, the Israeli military agency coordinating aid delivery, has said that increasing the amount of aid going into Gaza remains a priority. But just a quarter of that amount arrives on average each day since the closure of Rafah crossing, according to U.N. data.

Persons: ”, Israel, Biden, Georgios Petropoulos, it's, ” Erez, Erez, Kerem Shalom, Abdel Fattah al, Ahmad Ezzat, Scott Anderson, Anderson, Petropoulos, —, Khan Younis, Mr Organizations: International Court, Justice, Central Kitchen, U.S ., United, Aid, Egyptian Red, UNRWA, Kerem, U.S, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Food Program Locations: Gaza, Southern, Israel, Rafah, Ashdod, Kerem Shalom, United Nations, “, Erez, Israel GAZA, EGYPT, U.S, Egypt, Kerem, Egyptian, Israeli

☆ US-built floating pier begins moving from Ashdod port to Gaza, defense official says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The floating pier that will allow for humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza from the sea is moving from the port of Ashdod toward Gaza, according to a US defense official. Cyprus is the staging point for the humanitarian aid that will be shipped to Gaza through the maritime corridor and the pier. The US was closely watching whether what it called a “limited” Israeli incursion into Rafah in southern Gaza would affect the temporary pier. “I can just tell you it’s a third-party contractor, but that’s it,” deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said at a press briefing. Once the humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza, the UN World Food Program will distribute it to the Palestinian population.

Persons: Pat Ryder, Sabrina Singh, Ryder, ” Ryder Organizations: CNN, Pentagon, UN, Food Locations: Gaza, Ashdod, Cyprus, Rafah

☆ This year's biggest air battles are showing the US what it could need most in a missile war with China
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Jake Epstein | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, FileThe war has shown how effective air defenses can be at denying air superiority, protecting key areas, and threatening high-value aircraft, as well as the costs when capabilities are degraded. Ukraine's air defenses, like its Soviet-era S-300s and US-supplied Patriots, have defeated enemy missile and drone strikes, hindered Russian air operations, and shot down numerous fighter-bombers and other Russian planes. "Ukraine and NATO might reduce risks with a two-prong strategy of strengthening air defenses and boosting infrastructure resilience." Needing more interceptors for the PacificFrom the fights this year, the US can see how it'll need to employ air defenses in a potential showdown with China. Running out of air defenses before the enemy runs out of air threats spells trouble.

Persons: —, Bradley Martin, Evgeniy, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Firefighters, Archer Macy, Martin, Shaan Shaikh, We've, Amir Cohen TPX, Shaikh, it's, Andy Wong, Thomas Shugart, Shugart, Joshua Smoot, Heath Collins, Navy Carlos Del Toro, Macy, Mark Wright Organizations: Service, Business, US Navy, Ukraine, AP, Patriots, Institute for, Emergency, Ministry, RAND Corporation, NATO, Western, Central Command, Combat, Navy, RAND, Patriot, US, Missile Defense, Center for Strategic, International Studies, REUTERS, China, Pentagon, Defense, Center, New, Air Force, 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, Andersen Air Force Base, US Air Force, Aegis, Missile Defense Agency, Former Navy, CSIS, Pacific Missile, AP Air Locations: China, Ukraine, Israel, Navy, Russia, Congress, Avdiivka, Kharkiv, Russian, Kyiv, NATO, Yemen, Gulf of Aden, Iran, Red, Screengrab, French, Ashdod, South Korea, Japan, Guam, Beijing, New American, Gen, Kauai, Hawaii

☆ The Pentagon is sending 2 Navy warships to protect the floating pier to bring aid to Gaza by sea
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Konstantin Toropin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewNavy warships will help protect the US military's soon-to-be-completed pier to deliver aid to starving Palestinians in Gaza, the Pentagon said Tuesday. Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters at a briefing Tuesday that Navy ships will be part of the security plan for the operation. A Navy official told Military.com that the sea service is assigning two destroyers to the mission. But aid has been slow to come in through those routes either due to closures or heavy screenings by Israeli officials . At the beginning of April, Israeli forces conducted repeated airstrikes on a World Central Kitchen convoy of aid workers, killing seven.

Persons: —, Pat Ryder, Military.com, Roy P, Benavidez, Ryder, P Organizations: Service, Pentagon, Navy, Business, Israeli Defense Forces, Hamas, Maxar Technologies, Reuters, Army Locations: Gaza, Ashdod

Israelis gathered across the country on Monday for the first national day of mourning since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks, with protesters disrupting several ceremonies as they demanded that government ministers do more to secure the release of hostages. Israel’s Memorial Day is normally one of the most somber on the country’s calendar, a date when Israelis put aside their differences to grieve fellow citizens killed in war or terrorist attacks. But the protests on Monday underscored how feelings of wartime unity have given way to deep disputes over the war in the Gaza Strip, the fate of hostages taken on Oct. 7 and domestic politics. Critics heckled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he attended a memorial at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, the site of Israel’s national cemetery. One person was heard shouting, “Garbage.” Another said, “You took my children.”At a ceremony in Ashdod, on the Mediterranean coast, bystanders shouted at the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, calling him a “criminal,” before his supporters tried to drown them out.

Persons: Israel’s, Critics, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mount, “, ”, Itamar Ben Locations: Gaza, Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, Ashdod

The pier and causeway, known as Joint Logistics Over the Shore or JLOTS, will ultimately be used by the US, its allies and aid groups to get aid into Gaza by sea from Cyprus. A defense official confirmed to CNN that the limitations on the pier system are accurate. Another potentially complicating factor is how Israel decides to proceed with its operation in Rafah, in southern Gaza, US officials said. The Israel Defense Forces have agreed to provide a wide security perimeter around the pier system and the aid operation. But the plan is for the IDF to remain at a relative distance as the aid is transported and offloaded onto the beach in Gaza, officials told CNN.

Persons: CNN —, JLOTS, Israel, ”, Roy P, Biden, Pat Ryder Organizations: CNN, American Navy, US, Naval, Israel’s Marine Data Center, Pentagon, UN, World, British, American, Armed Forces, Israel Defense Forces, IDF Locations: Gaza, Cyprus, Port, Ashdod, Rafah, “

☆ Ship with 400 tons of food aid destined for Gaza has left Cyprus
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Zeena Saifi | Lauren Said-Moorhouse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The United Arab Emirates has now partnered with an aid agency to send crucial assistance to Gaza via the Israeli port of Ashdod. A UAE official told CNN Saturday that the vessel laden with critical food aid left on Saturday through a relationship with American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA). Itayam told CNN the 400 tons of aid would undergo Israeli security clearance upon arrival. The plan is for most of the food aid to be delivered to northern Gaza, but Itayam said that depending on the security situation, ANERA might consider sending a shipment to the south as well. The United States has already begun construction of the pier, intended to help deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

Persons: Jerusalem CNN —, Jennifer, ”, Itayam, Kerem Shalom, ANERA, Grant Shapps, “, ” Matthew Hollingworth Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, United Arab, UAE, CNN, American, East Refugee, West Bank, Mohenad, ANERA, of, Britain’s Royal Navy, United, Pentagon, Royal Navy, ”, British, Food, Integrated Locations: Jerusalem, Gaza, Cyprus, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Ashdod ., Larnaca Port, Israel’s Ashdod, Kerem, Territories, UAE, Cardigan, United States, ”

Instead, the Israel Defense Forces will partner with the US military to anchor the causeway to the shore in Gaza “on day one,” the military official said. Dire humanitarian situationThe pier’s construction comes as the humanitarian situation in Gaza has become dire, a senior administration official said Thursday. The official confirmed that USAID will be working with the UN to distribute the aid once it reaches Gaza. Two command and control cells have been set up to facilitate the delivery of the aid via the pier, the military official said. The US role in the effort has been complex, with the military carrying out a high-stakes construction mission in a warzone and diplomats helping to organize a dangerous and highly politicized aid distribution operation.

Persons: ”, Patrick Ryder, Joe Biden, Biden, “ Organizations: CNN, Pentagon, USNS, Israel Defense Forces, US Army, IDF, US Navy, USAID, UN, United Locations: United States, Gaza, ”, Cyprus, Cypriot, Israel, Hatzor, Ashdod, American, Cardigan

Israel’s military instead announced it was building a new crossing into northern Gaza and said an aid convoy used it for the first time on Friday. The military declined to specify the location of the crossing or the number of aid trucks. COGAT said 419 humanitarian aid trucks were inspected and transferred to Gaza on Monday, followed by 468 trucks on Tuesday – the highest one-day figure since the start of the war – and another 298 trucks on Wednesday. Aid shipments slated for Gaza are sniffed by a dog at the Kerem Shalom border crossing on March 14, 2024. Israel counts trucks arriving at their crossings for inspection and entry, while UN agencies count trucks inside Gaza that arrive for distribution, according to UN humanitarian affairs office (UNOCHA) spokesman Jens Laerke.

Persons: Jerusalem CNN —, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Erez, Samantha Power, Jamie McGoldrick, McGoldrick, ” McGoldrick, “, Kerem Shalom, ” COGAT, COGAT, Jack Guez, Jens Laerke, Laerke, Antonio Guterres, Abu Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, Israel, CNN, UN, Getty Locations: Jerusalem, Gaza, United States, Israel, Ashdod, Kerem, AFP, Abu Salem, Rafah

☆ Middle East Crisis Famine Has Begun in Northern Gaza, U.S. Official Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Liam Stack | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Facing international condemnation after an Israeli airstrike killed seven workers for an international aid group, Israel said last week that it would reopen the Erez crossing between Israel and northern Gaza for aid delivery. A spokeswoman for the defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said on Wednesday that another crossing into northern Gaza, near Zikim, a kibbutz, would open instead, and not the one near Erez. ISRAEL Erez crossing GAZA Damage Road to Gaza City Erez crossing Gaza City Damage Damage GAZA STRIP Rubble from destroyed building ISRAEL Erez crossing GAZA Damage Road to Gaza City Damage Damage Erez crossing Rubble from destroyed building GAZA STRIPMr. Gallant told reporters that the government had approved a new border crossing and the use of the port of Ashdod, around 20 miles northeast of Gaza, for aid shipments, but he did not offer a time frame for either. U.N. figures show that an average of about 110 aid trucks have entered each day since Oct. 7. Credit... Mahmoud Essa/Associated PressBy contrast, U.N. data shows that a total of 533 aid trucks entered Gaza in the three days after Saturday.

Persons: Israel, Erez, Yoav Gallant, ISRAEL Erez, Gallant, Mahmoud Essa, Jens Laerke, Trucks, Laerke, COGAT, ”, Kerem Shalom, Aaron Boxerman Organizations: United Nations, Oxfam, Aid, Associated, U.S, UNRWA Locations: Gaza, Israel, Zikim, Erez, GAZA, ISRAEL, Ashdod, ”, Gaza . Credit, Kerem

☆ Middle East Crisis As Ramadan Nears Its End, Relief Remains Elusive in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Israeli airstrikes a week ago killed seven aid workers who had been delivering food in Gaza, renewing the international focus on the hunger crisis there. But UNRWA, the primary United Nations agency aiding Palestinians, said that 103 aid trucks crossed into Gaza on Sunday. Until now, almost all aid for Gaza has entered through two southern border crossings, at Rafah and Kerem Shalom. Before the conflict, around 500 commercial and aid trucks entered Gaza each day. Juliette Touma, a spokeswoman for UNRWA, said that Gaza needs 500 trucks of aid each day, for weeks and months, to remedy the crisis.

Persons: Israel, Biden, COGAT, Matthew Miller, Miller, Benjamin Netanyahu, Juliette Touma, Michael Crowley Organizations: UNRWA, United, State Department, Israel, Food, United States Central Command Locations: Gaza, COGAT, United Nations, Rafah, Kerem Shalom, Israel, Ashdod, United States

☆ Middle East Crisis C.I.A. Director Is Heading to Cease-Fire Talks as Pressure Grows on Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

During the call, Mr. Biden threatened to condition future support for Israel on how it addresses his concerns about civilian casualties and the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The Israeli statement did not give a timing for when the crossing would be reopened. Mr. Biden has grown increasingly critical of Israel’s approach to the war against Hamas in Gaza, saying that more must be done to protect civilians. Image Palestinians gathering to receive food in the town of Jabaliya in northern Gaza last month. Israel has rejected accusations that it is responsible for delays in the delivery of aid.

Persons: Israel, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Jordan — “, Erez, Adrienne Watson, “, ”, Netanyahu, —, Ms, Watson, Mahmoud Issa, Kerem, Lloyd J, Austin III, Patrick Kingsley Organizations: Israel, National Security Council, United, Defense, Pentagon, International Court of Justice Locations: Gaza, Ashdod, Israel, United Nations, “, Jabaliya, Kerem Shalom, Rafah, The Hague

☆ Israeli cabinet approves reopening northern Gaza border crossing for first time since October 7, says official
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Jeremy Diamond | Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Israel’s security cabinet has approved the reopening of Erez crossing between Israel and northern Gaza for the first time since the October 7 Hamas attacks, an Israeli official told CNN Thursday. The Israeli official said the crossing would be opened to allow more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. The cabinet also approved using the Israeli Port of Ashdod to help transfer more aid to Gaza. The announcement comes amid mounting international fury over Israeli strikes that killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen in Gaza. Land crossings into Gaza, through which the bulk of vital aid has traditionally entered the territory, remain heavily restricted by Israel.

Persons: Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Kerem Shalom, Yoav Gallant Organizations: CNN, Israeli, Gaza Ministry of Health, United, Israel, Aid Locations: Erez, Israel, Gaza, Ashdod, United Nations, Egypt, Rafah, Kerem Shalom

☆ C.I.A. Director Is Heading to Cairo for New Truce Talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

During a 30-minute call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, President Biden went further than ever in pressing for change in the military operation. Credit... Fatima Shbair/Associated PressBy the middle of the night in Jerusalem, Israel made its first gestures to Mr. Biden. The reported agreement came as American officials held out the prospect of consequences if Mr. Netanyahu resisted. But Mr. Kirby would not outline specific metrics for judging Israel’s response or what Mr. Biden would do if not satisfied. Mr. Biden called himself “outraged and heartbroken” over the incident and made a point of calling Mr. Andrés to express his condolences.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, President Biden, Biden, Biden’s, “, Netanyahu, ”, Fatima Shbair, Mr, Antony J, Blinken, ” Mr, Chris Coons, Coons, Kamala Harris, Jake Sullivan, Biden “, William J, Burns, Mohammed Saber, John F, Kirby, emboldening, John Hannah, José Andrés, Andrés, Zomi Frankcom, Damian Soból, Barack Obama, Bibi, ” Ben Rhodes, Obama, ” Jon Favreau, doesn’t, ‘, ’, aggravation, Jill Biden, Joe, ” Julian E, Barnes, Katie Rogers, David E, Sanger, Lara Jakes Organizations: Israel, Hamas, Credit, Associated, U.S . National Security Council, NATO, Democratic, CNN, Republican, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Iran, Central Kitchen, Shutterstock, Jewish Institute for National Security of America, Biden, Mr, Israel Defense Forces, White Locations: Gaza, Israel, Rafah, Jerusalem, Ashdod, Jordan, Brussels, Michigan, Washington, Delaware, Iran, Syria, United States, Cairo, “ Hamas, Haiti, Cyprus, U.S, “

☆ UN Agency Says Aid Shipment Blocked in Israeli Port
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The main United Nations agency providing aid to Palestinians in Gaza is facing growing administrative hurdles from Israel, with a shipment amounting to a month's supply of food blocked in port, the agency's chief said. UNRWA has dismissed staff accused of involvement in the attack and launched an investigation. He said UNRWA had been informed by a contractor that provided handling services in the port of Ashdod that it could no longer continue working with UNRWA, following instructions from the Israeli authorities. Last week, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on social media platform X that Israel was cancelling tax breaks previously offered to UNRWA. The decision was not formally communicated to the agency which only learned about it when the statement appeared on the platform, Lazzarini said.

Persons: Israel, Philippe Lazzarini, Lazzarini, Bezalel Smotrich, James Mackenzie, Steve Scheer Organizations: United Nations, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, UNRWA, Israel, West Bank Locations: JERUSALEM, Gaza, Israel, East, Ashdod, Turkey, East Jerusalem, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has imposed financial restrictions on the main U.N. agency providing aid in the Gaza Strip, a measure which prevented a shipment of food for 1.1 million Palestinians from reaching the war-battered enclave, the agency's director said Friday. The U.N. food agency defines a famine as when 30% of children are malnourished, one-fifth of households face acute food shortages and two of every 10,000 people are dying from hunger or malnutrition. UNRWA, which serves about 6 million Palestinians whose families were displaced during the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948, denies the charges. UNWRA is the main provider of aid to Palestinians in Gaza, but Israeli bombardment and combat between Israel and Hamas has made much of the territory too dangerous for aid convoys to cross. Israel alleged last month that 12 employees of the aid agency participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel.

Persons: — Israel, Philippe Lazzarini, Israel, Juliette Touma, Touma, Bezalel Smotrich, ”, Benjamin Netanyahu, didn't, Lazzarini, “ Organizations: JERUSALEM, UNRWA, Food, Israel, Bank Leumi, Hamas, Food Program Locations: Gaza, Israel, U.S, Turkey, Ashdod, Port Said, Egypt, Rafah

☆ The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and the Long Shadow of 1948
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Emily Bazelon | A Discussion Moderated Emily Bazelon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +18 min

In 1948, Jews realized their wildly improbable dream of a state, and Palestinians experienced the mass flight and expulsion called the Nakba, or catastrophe. It’s only in 1948 that the Arabs become Palestinians and the Jews become Israelis. Many Jews became lower-level officers during World War II, and they brought their new military expertise to the 1948 war. Zoltan Kluger/GPO, via Getty Images Palestinian bombers destroyed buildings on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem in March 1948. Bettmann/Getty Images A Palestinian refugee cut off from her home by the border established after the 1948 war.

Persons: Matson, —, Khalil Raad, Yaakov Ben Dov Delegates, Haj Amin al, Husseini, ”, It’s, Avraham Avinu, David, Fox, King David Hotel, David Ben, Gurion, “, Hitler, Hans Pinn, Abd al, Qadir al, Chalil, Zoltan Kluger, Ben Yehuda, Hugo H, Mendelsohn, John Phillips, Palestine ”, UNSCOP, Bettmann, Ruth Orkin, David Seymour, Jordan, Israel, Abdullah, Nadim, Leena Dallasheh, Abigail Jacobson, Moshe Naor, ” Derek Penslar, ” Itamar Rabinovich, Salim Tamari, Emily Bazelon, Herzl, Faisal Al, Hashemi, James Russell &, Bain, Jabotinsky, Abraham Pisarek, Weizmann, Heinrich Hoffmann Organizations: Congress, Institute for Palestine, Palestinian, . Institute for Palestine, Matson, Palestine, Getty, of Congress British, Peel, Zionist, Jewish, British Armed Forces, Allied, King, of Congress Women, Hulton, Biltmore, British, Agence France, Getty Images, Refugees, West Bank, Shutterstock, United Nations, League of Nations, United, United Nations Jewish, Madver, The, Palestine Studies, Columbia University, Columbia University , New York University, Rice University, Islamic, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard University, Tel Aviv University, Birzeit University, Institute for Palestine Studies, The New York Times Magazine, James Russell & Sons, of Congress, Israel, Ben, General Photographic Agency, Society, International Affairs Locations: Palestine, City, Jerusalem, Canadian American, Israel, British, Jaffa, Damascus, Old City, Hebron, Safed, Europe, Arab, North Africa, New York City, Middle Eastern, Haifa, Cyprus, Jenin, U.S, United Nations, Iraq, Tel Aviv’s Lod, Lebanon, Eyal, el Bared, Egypt, Syria, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Ashdod, Palestinian, United States, Qatar, Iran, Columbia University ,, Nazareth, Israeli, Husseini

American, British and European officials are pressuring Israel to let aid for Gaza transit through the Israeli port of Ashdod to help alleviate a metastasizing humanitarian crisis, according to six U.S. and European officials. Israel’s military responded to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by invading and declaring a siege on Gaza, which was already under a yearslong blockade. Humanitarian workers say vastly more aid is needed to meaningfully help Gaza’s 2.2 million residents amid dire shortages of food, water and supplies. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken pressed Israeli officials about allowing Gaza aid through the port of Ashdod when he was in Tel Aviv earlier this month, according to one U.S. official. That official and the others interviewed about the new aid proposal spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.

Persons: Antony J, Blinken Locations: Israel, Gaza, Ashdod, Egypt, Tel Aviv

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