The UN humanitarian organization ("OCHA") assessed today that the Israeli army has "the responsibility to facilitate the movement of humanitarian aid in Gaza safely, regularly and at the required level".
"OCHA" warned on social networks that "there is no alternative to the delivery of a large volume of aid by land".
The warning came on the day that a ship carrying aid from the Cypriot port of Larnaca sailed near the Gaza coast for the first time.
Aid agencies have repeatedly said that delivering aid to Gaza by sea and air will not be enough to overcome difficulties in delivering supplies by land.
The UN's senior coordinator for humanitarian aid and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip, Sigrid Kag, told reporters last week that the airlift is a symbol of support for civilians in Gaza and a testament to humanity, but that it is only a "drop in the ocean" and far from enough. .
She assessed that land remains the optimal solution, because such delivery is easier, faster and cheaper, especially if it is known that it is necessary to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza for a long time, and explained the importance of opening additional border crossings.
At the same time, she praised the Government of Cyprus for planning a maritime corridor to Gaza.
(Beta)
The Palestinian Islamist Hamas today criticized the fact that the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, himself decided to appoint his associate and leading businessman Muhammad Mustafa as the prime minister who should help implement reforms and rebuild Gaza.
Under pressure from the US to reform the Palestinian Authority as part of Washington's post-war vision for Gaza, Abbas appointed his longtime economic adviser as prime minister - reports the Associated Press.
Hamas stated that the decision was made without consulting the organization, even though representatives of Abbas's Fatah were also at a recent meeting in Moscow, where the goal was to end the long-standing divisions that harm the political aspirations of the Palestinians.
Hamas said it rejected the "continuation of such an approach" by Abbas and that this approach "has harmed and continues to harm the Palestinian people and the national cause."
It added that "individual decisions and superficial and empty steps", such as the formation of a new government without national consensus, only strengthen the policy of unilateralism and deepen divisions.
It is believed that now, at a time of war with Israel, the Palestinians need a unified leadership to prepare for free democratic elections that include all sections of society.
Excluding Hamas from the political scene after the war is a fallacy - the organization points out in a statement - reports Reuters.
Mustafa is an economist, educated in the USA, held important positions in the World Bank, and is politically independent and will lead the technocratic government in the occupied West Bank. That government could also govern Gaza in the event of the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Major obstacles stand in the way of such plans, including the staunch opposition of Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his never-ending war against Hamas.
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The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced today that it is sending a delegation to Doha, the capital of Qatar, to continue negotiations on the release of the hostages after Hamas submitted its proposal to mediators.
In a statement from Netanyahu's cabinet, Hamas's demands were marked as "still unrealistic" and it was stated that the delegation will leave after Israel's response will be discussed by the cabinet in charge of security - Israeli media reported.
Hamas, which until now demanded a "final ceasefire" in Gaza before any exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, is now ready for a six-week truce - an unnamed official of the Palestinian organization told France Press.
As part of the truce, 42 hostages - women, children, elderly and sick people - could be released in exchange for 20 to 50 Palestinian prisoners depending on the case, far fewer than Hamas has so far demanded. According to Israel, there are 130 hostages in Gaza, of which, as far as is known, 32 have died.
Relatives of the hostages gathered outside Israeli army headquarters in Tel Aviv when they heard the latest Hamas ceasefire proposal being discussed.
Today Netanyahu also approved the plan of the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) for "Operation Rafa" - Haaretz reported. The army is preparing to evacuate civilians from there.
That decision was made despite warnings from the international community, including the US and Egypt, not to enter Rafah, where around 1,4-1,5 million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge who have moved several times from other parts of the small enclave.
"The IDF is preparing for the operational side and the evacuation of the population" - it is written in the statement of the Prime Minister's office from the meeting of the narrow composition of the Government in Tel Aviv.
Israel intends to evacuate displaced Palestinians from Rafah to "humanitarian enclaves" before launching its offensive on the last area in Gaza that the army has not yet reached, military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Wednesday.
Regarding the invasion of Rafah, he said that it must be carried out, but when it will be depends on the conditions.
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The Ministry of Health of the Palestinian movement Hamas announced today that 149 people died in the previous 24 hours in the Gaza Strip.
The Ministry stated that since the beginning of the war with Israel on October 7, the total number of dead has increased to 31.490 people.
During the war, 73.439 people were wounded, the Ministry stated.
Hamas, which until now has demanded a final ceasefire in Gaza before any exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, is now ready for a six-week ceasefire, an unnamed official of the Palestinian movement told AFP.
Under that truce, 42 hostages -- women, children, elderly and sick people -- could be freed in exchange for 20 to 50 Palestinian prisoners, depending on the case, far fewer than Hamas has so far demanded.
According to Israel, 130 hostages are still being held in Gaza, of whom 32 are believed to have died.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office today described the latest proposals for a hostage deal by the Islamist Hamas movement as unrealistic, but said a delegation would travel to Qatar to discuss Israel's position on a potential deal.
She stated that Netanyahu approved plans for a military operation in Rafah, a city in the south of Gaza where more than a million people have taken refuge, and that the army was preparing operational matters and the evacuation of the civilian population, reports Reuters.
A ship carrying food arrived off the coast of Gaza on Friday, witnesses said. It is a test route of a new aid route by sea from Cyprus to the devastated Palestinian territory, where famine threatens after five months of Israeli military campaign.
The ship, organized by the World Central Kitchen, is carrying almost 200 tons of aid, and another ship is expected to arrive soon, reports Reuters.
There are few details on how the delivery and distribution of aid will work once it is ready to be unloaded in Gaza, while UN agencies cite huge obstacles in getting aid to those in need.
If successful, the new sea route could help alleviate the hunger crisis affecting Gaza, where large parts of the population face malnutrition and hospitals in the worst-hit northern areas of the Gaza Strip report children dying of starvation.
However, the delivery of aid by sea and air will not be enough to compensate for difficulties in supplies on land, humanitarian agencies reiterate.
The Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when militants from Hamas, an organization designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, killed 1.200 people and took 253 hostages in Israel.
Since then, Israel's air and ground campaign has killed more than 31.000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza, while most of the population has been driven from their homes and left without food.
(Radio Free Europe)
The Israeli army killed at least 29 Palestinians as they waited for humanitarian aid in two separate attacks in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the Gaza health ministry said.
In the first incident, Palestinian health officials in the Strip run by Hamas, which the US and EU have designated as a terrorist organization, said eight people were killed in an airstrike on a food distribution center in the Al-Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip. .
In a second, later attack, Israeli soldiers opened fire on a crowd of people waiting for aid trucks at a roundabout in the northern Gaza Strip, killing 21 people and wounding more than 150, the Palestinian ministry said.
In a statement, the Israeli military denied the attacks on aid centers, saying the reports were "false."
"As the IDF (Israeli army) evaluates the incident with the thoroughness it deserves, we urge the media to do the same and rely only on credible information," the army said.
Due to the war in Gaza, most of the 2,3 million inhabitants of the Palestinian territory have been displaced.
During the distribution of humanitarian aid, there were chaotic scenes and deadly incidents as desperately hungry people tried to get food, reports Reuters.
Palestinian health authorities said on February 29 that Israeli forces killed more than 100 Palestinians as they waited for food trucks near Gaza City.
Israel said the men died amid a crowd surrounding the aid trucks, saying the victims were run over.
In the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinian health officials said eight people were killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit a food distribution center on Thursday.
In Deir Al-Balah, also in central Gaza, an Israeli missile hit a house, killing nine people, Palestinian doctors said.
Residents said Israeli air and ground bombardments continued overnight in areas across the territory, including Rafah in the south, where more than a million displaced people have taken refuge.
The war was triggered by a Hamas attack on cities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1.200 people were killed and 253 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli data.
Since then, Israeli military air, sea and ground attacks on Gaza have killed more than 31.000 people and wounded more than 71.500, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Efforts to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have so far failed.
While Israel has said it is seeking a deal that would secure the release of hostages in Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinians held by Israel, Hamas insists a deal must end the war.
Hamas said late Thursday that it had presented mediators with a comprehensive vision of a truce deal based on halting Israeli aggression against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, providing aid, returning displaced Gazans to their homes and withdrawing the Israeli army.
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that the new position of Hamas is based on "unrealistic demands".
As the war enters its sixth month, the UN has warned that at least 576.000 people in Gaza - a quarter of the population - are on the brink of starvation, and global pressure is mounting on Israel to allow greater access to the territory.
(Radio Free Europe)
The war between Israel and Hamas has entered its 161th day.
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