DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Israeli military calls for investigation after releasing video showing armed men at UN facility in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Jeremy Diamond | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Jerusalem CNN —The Israeli military is calling on the United Nations to investigate the presence of armed militants at a UN facility in southern Gaza after releasing video that shows armed men at the facility. The Israeli military said the footage was filmed on May 11, three days before the IDF released it. The Israeli military said COGAT, the Israeli agency charged with coordinating humanitarian aid to Gaza, shared the military’s findings with “senior officials in the international community,” including UN officials. The Israeli military released the video one day after a United Nations worker was killed and another injured when the UN-marked vehicle they were driving in was struck in Rafah. The United Nations said they believe a tank fired on the vehicle, and the Israeli military has said the incident is “under review.”

Persons: “ URNWA, Juliette Touma, ” Touma, Touma, COGAT, “, Nir, “ It’s, ” Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, United, UN, Israel Defense Forces, CNN, UNRWA, IDF, United Nations Locations: Jerusalem, United Nations, Gaza, Rafah

CNN —Hospitals in central Gaza have reported that 36 people were killed in two Israeli airstrikes overnight within a few hundred meters of each other. Desperate family members surround the piles of rubble, waiting to see if anyone is rescued alive, the footage showed. I have five friends trapped under this place.”One unnamed man said he and his family had been displaced several times. We moved to Khan Younis and then to Rafah, and from Rafah, we came here. “His name was on the list of those supposed to leave Gaza through the Rafah border, but fate intervened,” she added.

Persons: Al Aqsa, Al Awda, Witnesses, Ashraf Al Jalees, – Hassan Obeid –, Jehad, Al Jalees, Hamdan Karaja, “, ” Karaja, ”, Rami Al Aida, Al Aida, Sama Alousha, Khan Younis, Um Mahmoud, Salah Abu Jarada, Ismail Abu Ghosheh, Najah Abu Daher Organizations: CNN, Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Israel Defense Forces, Getty, ” CNN, Civil Defense Locations: Gaza, Nuseirat, Al Aqsa, Rafah, Anadolu, Central Gaza, Shajaiya, Deir el Balah

☆ 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

Around 300,000 Palestinians in southern and northern Gaza are being forced to flee once again, the United Nations says, as Israel issued new and expanded evacuation orders on Saturday. But many are unsure where to find secure shelter in a place devastated by war. The expanded evacuation orders apply to the city of Rafah at Gaza’s southernmost tip, where more than a million Gazans have gathered after fleeing Israeli bombardment elsewhere over the past seven months. Some 150,000 people have already fled Rafah over the past six days, according to UNRWA, the United Nations agency that aids Palestinians. “Fear, confusion, oppression, anxiety is eating away at people.”

Persons: “, ”, Mohammad al, Masri Organizations: Nations, United Nations Locations: Gaza, Israel, Rafah

☆ UNRWA to close East Jerusalem headquarters after arson attack by ‘Israeli extremists’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Hande Atay Alam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees will shutter its East Jerusalem headquarters after the compound was set on fire by “Israeli extremists” while staff were inside, its chief said Thursday. “This evening, Israeli residents set fire twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA Headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem. This took place while UNRWA and other UN Agencies’ staff were on the compound,” Lazzarini said. Israeli officials have long criticized UNRWA, which plays a central role in feeding and sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees. Anything less will set a new dangerous standard.”CNN has reached out to the Israeli government for comment.

Persons: ”, Philippe Lazzarini, ” Lazzarini, Lazzarini, “, UNWRA, Israel Organizations: CNN, United Nations, UNRWA, ’, UN Locations: Jerusalem, East Jerusalem, Gaza, Israel

☆ Satellite imagery shows Palestinians fleeing Rafah’s tent cities as threat of major attack looms
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Paul P. Murphy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

A satellite image shows tent camps in Rafah, Gaza, on May 5. Planet Labs, PBC A satellite image shows tent camps in Rafah, Gaza, on May 8. Planet Labs, PBC Satellite images show tent camps in Rafah, Gaza, on May 5 and May 8. Planet Labs, PBC A satellite image shows tent camps in Rafah, Gaza, on May 8. Planet Labs, PBC Satellite images show tent camps in Rafah, Gaza, on May 5 and May 8.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden, shockwaves, Netanyahu, Gazans, Al Mawasi Organizations: CNN, Planet Labs, PBC, United Nations, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Israel, Al, Rafah –

GAZA STRIP Israel Area of satellite image EGYPT Rafah crossing Israeli incursionA Satellite View of Israel’s New Front in GazaNew satellite imagery taken after Israeli forces pushed into Rafah shows widespread damage to the southern Gaza city — including large areas of flattened structures — and clusters of Israeli armored vehicles. North Israeli tanks Razed structures Damage between Monday and Tuesday Rafah crossing Rafah crossing Israeli tanks EGYPT EGYPT New debris GAZA GAZA Damage from Monday Smoke rising Smoke rising Israeli tanks Damage before Monday Israeli tanks North Damage between Monday and Tuesday Razed structures Rafah crossing EGYPT Israeli tanks New debris GAZA Damage from Monday Smoke rising Israeli tanks Damage before Monday North Israeli tanks EGYPT Damage between Monday and Tuesday Razed structures Rafah crossing New debris Israeli tanks GAZA Smoke rising Israeli tanks Damage from before Monday Source: Satellite imagery from Planet LabsWhile Israel has described the operation that began earlier this week as limited, imagery captured on Tuesday morning by Planet Labs, a commercial satellite company, shows significant destruction in parts of the city. A network of damaged buildings reaches more than two miles into the territory near Rafah’s border crossing with Egypt. Monday Tuesday GAZA STRIP Area of image Source: Satellite imagery from Planet LabsIsrael says Rafah is Hamas’s last stronghold, and a critical gateway for arms shipments smuggled into Gaza from Egypt. Local health authorities warned of a “significant increase” in the death toll because of intense Israeli bombardment across Gaza, particularly in Rafah.

Persons: Israel, Scott Anderson, al Balah, Khan, Rafah’s Abu Yousef al, Marwan al Organizations: North, Labs, Israel, Planet Labs, Tuesday GAZA, Residents, al Balah Residents, ISRAEL Residents, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Najjar, Hams Locations: GAZA, Israel, EGYPT Rafah, Gaza, Rafah, EGYPT EGYPT, EGYPT, Rafah’s, Egypt, Planet Labs Israel, Hamas’s, al, ISRAEL, Kerem, Deir, Kerem Shalom, Palestine, Local

☆ Palestinians fleeing Rafah describe their fear and despair: ‘I am leaving for the unknown’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Palestinian civilians told to evacuate eastern Rafah by the Israeli military have described their fear and despair at being uprooted from their homes and shelters, as Israel airstrikes hit Gaza’s southernmost city. “We left because they distributed leaflets,” Mohammed Ghanem, a resident in eastern Rafah told a CNN stringer in the area on Monday. They are killing women and children.”Another woman from eastern Rafah said, “The Israelis sent us messages ordering us to leave. It is not only my feeling, it is everyone’s feeling.”Many of those leaving eastern Rafah have been previously displaced multiple times as Israel’s focus moved from city to city. A woman called Maha said Palestinian civilians were at the mercy of the Israeli military.

Persons: ” Mohammed Ghanem, “, ”, Ghanem, Khan Younis, Ramadan Abed, Volker Türk, Faisal Barbakh, Malek, Yousef, ’, Mohammad Abu Khamash, It’s, ” Scott Anderson, Jan Egeland, Ahmad Safi, Safi, Abu Salah, Maha Organizations: CNN, Reuters, United Nations, Norwegian Refugee Council, Israel Defense Forces, Frontieres, ” MSF, UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, UN, Palestinian Civil Defense Locations: Rafah, Israel, “, Mawasi, Gazan, Rafah’s, Gaza, ”, Israeli, Palestinian

☆ UN’s top court rejects call for Germany to immediately halt arms exports to Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The United Nations’ top court struck down a demand by Nicaragua that Germany immediately halt its arms exports to Israel on Tuesday, saying it cannot issue emergency measures against Berlin under the current circumstances. However, the court also rejected Germany’s demand to strike the lawsuit from its list, meaning the case will now move on. The ruling on Tuesday only concerned whether or not Berlin should be ordered to immediately stop selling arms to Israel. Germany “welcomed the ICJ ruling” according to a statement posted by the German Foreign Ministry on X shortly after the announcement. The ICJ is still considering whether Israel is guilty of violating the Genocide Convention, a legal process that could take years.

Persons: “, Nawaf Salam, Salam, Netherlands Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, Alain, Piroschka Van De Wouw, Germany “, Israel, CNN’s Abel Alvarado, Tamar Michaelis Organizations: CNN, United Nations ’, Berlin, International Court of Justice, The Hague, Reading, Central, Israel, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Reuters, UN, German Foreign Ministry Locations: Nicaragua, Germany, Israel, The, Netherlands, Berlin, Gaza, Central American, Nicaraguan, Reuters Germany, South Africa

Rafah CNN —Dozens of Palestinian students and children staged a display of solidarity at a demonstration in southern Gaza on Sunday to express gratitude for the support seen on US college campuses in recent weeks. “Thank you, students in solidarity with Gaza. We can’t write these thank you messages on the walls of our homes because we have no homes. A man in Rafah, Gaza, writes a message of thanks to student protesters in the US on April 27, 2024. Palestinians at a demonstration in Rafah, Gaza, on April 28, 2024.

Persons: ”, Takfeer Abu, Yousuf, Beit, “, Rana Al, Taher, Bayan, Fiqhi, Tareq Alhelou, Diab Organizations: Rafah CNN, of Columbia University, CNN, Getty, UN, Al, Azhar Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Beit Hanoun, Northern Gaza, AFP, Cairo, Israel, ”

☆ Middle East Crisis Israel Welcomes Senate Passage of Aid Bill
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Matt Surman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

An additional $2.4 billion is directed to U.S. military operations in the Middle East. Another $9 billion would go to “worldwide humanitarian aid,” including for civilians in Gaza. The package bars any of the funding from going to UNRWA, the main United Nations agency that provides aid to Palestinians in Gaza. The aid that is getting into Gaza is falling far short of the needs of its desperate population. Countries including the United States have tried to find air and sea routes to get more relief supplies in.

Persons: Israel Katz, “, Biden, Catie Edmondson, Robert Jimison Organizations: Wednesday, U.S . Senate, Ukraine, UNRWA, United Nations, United, Democrats, Democratic, U.S Locations: Israel, Gaza, United States, Rafah, U.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

☆ Live updates: Israel-Hamas war, Netanyahu criticizes US sanctions plans, UNRWA review
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

An independent review of the UN's main relief agency in Gaza has found that “neutrality-related issues persist” among staff, and recommended strengthening UNRWA's neutrality. Israel has longstanding issues with UNRWA, accusing it of aiding Hamas and calling for it to be entirely dismantled. What the UN said: UN chief Antonio Guterres accepted the recommendations, while UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini welcomed the findings. What Israel said: The review was not "genuine" or "thorough," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein claimed. "This is what an effort to avoid the problem and not address it head on looks like," he said.

Persons: Israel, Catherine Colonna, Antonio Guterres, Philippe Lazzarini, Oren Marmorstein Organizations: French, UN, Foreign Ministry Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ 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

☆ Here’s what aid the House would provide Israel, Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Katie Lobosco | Tami Luhby | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —House Republicans released the text of three bills Wednesday that would provide aid for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region, with the latter intended to help deter Chinese aggression in the area. Taken together, the House bills add up to about $95 billion in aid – the same amount the Senate bill included – with an adjustment that $10 billion in Ukraine economic assistance is in the form of a repayable loan, CNN has reported. Nearly $14 billion included in the bill would help Ukraine buy advanced weapons systems and other defense equipment. The Senate bill, by comparison, would provide $14.1 billion in assistance to Israel, including funds for missile defense systems and foreign military financing to help Israel reestablish territorial security and deterrence, and $9.2 billion in humanitarian aid. The Senate bill contained very similar provisions to bolster security in the region.

Persons: Joe Biden, Here’s what’s, Russia –, Israel, CNN’s Lauren Fox, Haley Talbot, Melanie Zanona Organizations: CNN — House Republicans, CNN, House Republicans, Ukraine, Israel, House, Foreign, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, Senate Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Russia, Iran, Taiwan

☆ 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

☆ World leaders call for restraint in the aftermath of Iran’s unprecedented air attack against Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Sam Meredith | In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty ImagesWorld leaders have called for calm in the aftermath of Iran's large-scale air attacks on Israel on Saturday, with many expressing deep concern over the prospect of a broader regional conflict. Ahead of a war cabinet meeting on Monday, Israel has pledged to "exact a price" from Iran in response to the Saturday attack. watch nowU.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday said that he condemned "in the strongest possible terms" Iran's unprecedented air attack against military facilities in Israel. 'No one wants to see more bloodshed'European leaders castigated Iran's attack against Israel and vowed to work to de-escalate the situation. France and the U.K. intercepted some of Iran's strikes on Israel on Saturday.

Persons: Israel, Joe Biden, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran's, Emmanuel Macron, Rishi Sunak, Annalena Baerbock, Baerbock, Sunak, Yoko Kamikawa, Kamikawa, Gustavo Petro, Petro, Nicolas Maduro Organizations: Anadolu, Getty, CNBC, NBC News, Downing, German, NBC, Israel, Saudi Arabia's Foreign, United Nations Security Council, Sunday, UN, UNRWA, Kyodo, Japan's, United Nations, Colombia's, Bloomberg Locations: Israel, Tehran, Iran, Syria, Gaza, Syrian, Damascus, France, London, England, Germany, East, North Africa, Saudi, Egypt, Asia, China, Beijing, Palestine, Tokyo, Japan, South America, U.S, Miraflores, Caracas, Venezuela

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 U.S. Personnel in Israel Face New Travel Restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Liam Stack | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

The crisis in Gaza is entirely human-made, a result of Israel’s war on Hamas and a near-complete siege of the territory, aid experts say. For years before the latest war, Gaza was subject to an Israeli blockade, backed by Egypt. Image A child being treated for malnutrition at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza last week. Critics of the way Israel is conducting the war say that the hunger crisis derives largely from Israeli restrictions on where trucks can enter and from an onerous inspection process. (UNRWA said last month that Israel had denied the group access to northern Gaza, though Israel has rebutted that claim.)

Persons: ”, Jens Laerke, Kamal Adwan, Mahmoud Issa, José Andrés, Arif Husain, Gazans, Israel, Biden, ” Adam Sella Organizations: Hamas, United Nations, Kamal, Reuters, Food Locations: Israel, Gaza, United Nations, Sudan, Somalia, Egypt, Gaza’s, South Sudan, Israeli, United

☆ 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

A photo taken by Abdallah Dalee in the early hours of February 29 shows a crowd of people waiting by firelight for the aid trucks to cross into northern Gaza. Mark Regev, the Israeli prime minister’s special adviser, initially told CNN that Israeli forces had not been involved. “Most of the people that were killed were rammed by the aid trucks during the chaos and while trying to escape the Israeli gunfire,” Al Za’anoun said. The footage shows hundreds of people gathering around aid trucks on Al Rashid Street. People mourn outside Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City over one of the Palestinians killed during the aid delivery on February 29.

Persons: Abu Watfa, ” Abu Watfa, ’, ”, Al Rashid, Abdallah Dalee, firelight, Abdallah Dalee Gazan, Mark Regev, Daniel Hagari, Al Za’anoun, ” Al Za’anoun, Rashid, Belal, Robert Maher, Richard Weir, Weir, Al Jazeera, “, Abd Rabu, Hamouda Zamil, Dr, Amjad Aliwa, Georgios Petropoulos, ” Mohammed Ahmed, I’ve, ” Ahmed, Ahmed Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Israel Defense Forces ’, IDF, Montana State University, Human Rights Watch, Al, AFP, Getty, Welfare Trust, Welfare, Ummah Welfare, UN Office, Human Rights Locations: Gaza City, Gaza, Israel, Al, United States, Bolton, England, “, Al Nabulsi, Al Kuwaiti

☆ Germany defends support for Israel in international court against accusations of ‘facilitating genocide’ in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Nadine Schmidt | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Berlin CNN —Germany has hit back at allegations by Nicaragua that it has been “facilitating genocide” in Gaza, telling an international court on Tuesday that history undergirds German support for Israel. But Germany argued Tuesday that because the “bedrock” of Nicaragua’s case was aimed at Israel and its “alleged violations of international law by Israel,” the ICJ did not have jurisdiction. British lawyer Samuel Wordsworth, who advocated on behalf of Berlin, said the case against Germany is “entirely dependent” upon a “prior finding of breach” of international law by Israel in Gaza. The ICJ is hearing a separate case brought against Israel by South Africa, but has not ruled on whether Israel has breached international law in Gaza. The international court will now consider whether to order the emergency measures requested by Nicaragua.

Persons: Germany’s, Tania von Uslar, Gleichen, Berlin “, “, ’, Von Uslar, ”, ” von Uslar, Netherlands Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, Alain, Samuel Wordsworth, Israel, Israel –, Christian Tams Organizations: Berlin CNN —, Israel, International Court of Justice, UN, German, Office, ICJ, Nicaraguan, UNRWA Locations: Berlin CNN — Germany, Nicaragua, Gaza, The Hague, Germany, Israel, Nazi, Netherlands, French, Berlin, South Africa

☆ UK government under growing pressure to stop selling arms to Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —Pressure is mounting on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to suspend the sale of arms to Israel following the deadly attack on a convoy of aid workers in Gaza. Calls for Sunak to stop supplying Israel with weapons grew after an Israeli airstrike on Monday killed seven members of staff from World Central Kitchen, three of whom were British citizens. The government is still waiting for legal advice from its lawyers on whether or not selling arms to Israel is in breach of international law. However, parliamentary estimates show that the UK has still licensed arms worth over $725m. The family of one of the aid workers killed former Royal Marine James Henderson, have criticized the UK sale of arms to Israel.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Alicia Kearns, Kearns, ”, “, Benjamin Netanyahu, Grant Shapps, Marine James Henderson Organizations: London CNN, British, Parliament’s, Conservative Party, UNRWA, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party, Israeli, ” Defense, ”, UN Security Council, Marine, Times Locations: Israel, Gaza, British, Germany, Times of London

Search resuls for: "UNRWA"

25 mentions found