Hamas launches war on Israel

[Skybird]

Who said Germans cant do comedy?


[Die Welt] The German frigate "Hessen", which is deployed to protect merchant ships in the Red Sea, may be facing an ammunition problem. "We have now only found out on request that some of the ammunition on the frigate 'Hessen' can apparently no longer be replenished because the corresponding industrial capacity no longer exists," said the defense policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Florian Hahn (CSU), to Die Welt on Wednesday.

"So if the stocks are empty, the navy can no longer replenish them - and has to withdraw the frigate," Hahn added. The defense expert accused the traffic light coalition of having concealed this fact from the opposition for months. "Parliament has therefore decided on a deployment without knowing that there is obviously an ammunition problem with frigate class 124," said Hahn.

[Jimbuna]

More than 30,000 killed in Gaza, Hamas-run health ministry says

More than 30,000 Palestinians have now been killed in Gaza since 7 October, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

That number equates to about 1.3% of the 2.3 million population of the territory - the latest grim marker of the awful toll of this war.

The ministry says that the majority of those killed were women and children.

Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters when identifying those killed.

In its daily update on Thursday, the ministry said 81 people had been killed in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 30,035.

The actual number of dead is likely to be far higher as the count does not include those who have not reached hospitals, among them thousands of people still lost under the rubble of buildings hit by Israeli air strikes.

More than 70,000 injured people have been registered by the Gaza ministry of health (MoH), which is the only official source for casualties. Its data is quoted by UN agencies and other international institutions.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it has a "long-standing co-operation" with the Gaza body and that it has "good capacity in data collection/analysis". Its previous reporting has been considered credible and "well developed" by the UN agency.

The WHO notes that when the current breakdown of deaths is compared with previous data recorded by the UN from past conflicts in Gaza, "it clearly shows an increasing number of civilians being killed, with a higher proportion of children and women fatalities".

Asked about its assessment on the number of fatalities and the breakdown of civilians and fighters, Israel's military told the BBC only that "the number of terrorists killed stands at approximately 10,000".

For a Palestinian death to be registered in Gaza, a corpse or remains must be seen by hospital staff or medical workers. At the end of each day, hospitals send lists of all casualties including - where known - names, identity numbers, dates of injury or death, and details of injuries and condition to a centralised MoH system. Its operators are now based in Rafah.

The Palestinian Red Crescent also contributes data.

During this war it has been more difficult than ever to report figures because of overflowing mortuaries, fighting in and around hospitals and clinics, and poor internet and phone connectivity.

However, if and when a longer-term truce is agreed or the war ends, efforts to recover bodies and trace the missing should allow a clearer picture to emerge of numbers killed, including numbers of combatants. The UN and rights groups, as well as the Israeli military, can be expected to carry out their own investigations.

An ongoing criticism of the existing figures is that they do not give a sense of how Palestinians were killed - whether this was as a result of Israeli air strikes, artillery shelling or other means such as misfired Palestinian rockets. All casualties are currently counted as victims of "Israeli aggression".

In recent days, the Gaza MoH has highlighted more cases of what the WHO calls "indirect mortality" - that is people dying as a result of the war but not directly because of the fighting.

On Wednesday, it said six children had died from dehydration and malnutrition at hospitals in northern Gaza. Two were at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and four at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the town of Beit Lahia.

The UN is warning that a quarter of Gaza's population is now at risk of famine and that there has been a dramatic increase in infectious diseases compounded by a general shortage of medicines and lack of medical care.

The war began when thousands of Hamas fighters stormed into southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68430925

[Jimbuna]

Israel-Gaza war: UN chief urges probe into aid convoy tragedy

Several countries have joined the UN in calling for an investigation into the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians during an aid delivery in Gaza.

At least 117 people were killed and more than 760 injured on Thursday as they crowded around aid lorries.

UN Secretary General António Guterres condemned the incident and said "desperate civilians" need urgent help.

Hamas accused Israel of firing at civilians, but Israel said most died in a crush after it fired warning shots.

On Thursday international criticism of Israel mounted with French President Emmanuel Macron saying civilians had been "targeted by Israeli soldiers".

The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borell, described the incident as "totally unacceptable carnage".

Reacting to the incident, Mr Guterres wrote on social media: "I condemn Thursday's incident in Gaza in which more than 100 people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid."

"The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the north where the UN has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week."

On Friday France, Italy and Germany also called for an independent investigation into the aid convoy deaths.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry called the incident a "massacre".

The UN Security Council scheduled a closed-door emergency meeting to discuss the incident, during which Algeria - the Arab representative of the body - put forward a draft statement blaming Israeli forces for "opening fire".

While 14 of the Council's 15 members supported the motion, the US blocked it, according to AP news agency, citing the Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour who spoke to reporters afterwards. US envoy Robert Wood said the facts of the incident remained unclear.

Thursday's incident took place shortly after 04:45 (02:45 GMT) at the Nabulsi roundabout, on the south-western edge of Gaza City.

Ramzi Mohammed Rihan was injured in the stampede and described to BBC Arabic what he saw.

He said: "We were informed that a shipment of flour would arrive through Al-Nabulsi Street and that there would be no shooting.

"We went to get flour to feed our children. We went to Nabulsi Street and before the trucks arrived there was gunfire.

"As the trucks entered, we headed towards them, and as we tried to get the first bag of flour out of the truck, they began to fire at us."

Mr Rihan said he was carried to the hospital on a cart and that his X-rays have been delayed due to a lack of electricity.

Khaled al-Tarawish was also wounded and said his surgery has also been postponed due to a lack of fuel in al-Awada Hospital.

"I went to Nabulsi Street to get a bag of flour," he said. "Because of the crowd I ran under the car, I went to the Awda hospital where they told me that I needed to have an operation but because there was no diesel fuel, they told me the operation would be carried out three days later.

"All I want is to provide the hospital with diesel fuel so that I can undergo the operation and get my treatment."

The convoy of 30 lorries carrying Egyptian aid was making its way north along what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described as a "humanitarian corridor" which it said its forces were securing.

IDF chief spokesman, Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, said civilians surrounded the convoy and people began climbing on the lorries.

"Some began violently pushing and even trampling other Gazans to death, looting the humanitarian supplies," he said. "The unfortunate incident resulted in dozens of Gazans killed and injured."

Israeli tanks, he said, "cautiously tried to disperse the mob with a few warning shots" but pulled back "when the hundreds became thousands and things got out of hand".

Another IDF spokesman, Lt Col Peter Lerner, said some civilians approached a checkpoint which was about 70 metres (230 feet) away and ignored warning shots fired by the soldiers there.

He said the soldiers, fearing that some of the civilians posed a threat, then opened fire on those approaching in what he described as a "limited response."

Hamas rejected the IDF's account, citing "undeniable" evidence of "direct firing at citizens, including headshots aimed at immediate killing".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68443883

[mapuc]

When reading your latest comment and quote I came to think of the former Danish Politician Naser Khader who in an issue wrote among others following:

In recent days, it has been documented that Hamas is now shooting at civilians queuing for emergency aid. Hamas leader and spokesman Mousa Abu Mazook confirmed it: The aid is only for Hamas fighters, and if civilians try to "steal" aid, expect to be shot at!

Markus

[Jimbuna]

Large number of bullet wounds among those injured in aid convoy rush - UN

Many of the people treated for injuries following a rush on an aid convoy in Gaza on Thursday suffered bullet wounds, the UN has said.

UN observers visited Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital and saw some of the roughly 200 people still being treated.

Hamas, which governs Gaza, has accused Israel of firing at civilians, but Israel said there was a "stampede" after its troops fired warning shots.

Leaders from around the world have called for a full investigation.

The incident unfolded after hundreds of people descended on an aid convoy as it moved along a coastal road, accompanied by the Israeli military, in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The World Food Programme has warned that a famine is imminent in northern Gaza, which has received very little aid in recent weeks, and where an estimated 300,000 people are living with little food or clean water.

In footage from the scene, volleys of gunfire can be heard and people are seen scrambling over lorries and ducking behind the vehicles.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has said that at least 112 people were killed in the incident and another 760 were injured.

In a statement on social media, Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said, "Dozens of Gazans were injured as a result of pushing and trampling."

The IDF's Lt Col Peter Lerner also told the UK's Channel 4 News that a "mob stormed the convoy" and that Israeli troops "cautiously [tried] to disperse the mob with a few warning shots".

Mark Regev, special adviser to the Israeli prime minister, had earlier told CNN that Israel had not been involved directly in any way and that the gunfire had come from "Palestinian armed groups", though he did not provide evidence.

Giorgios Petropoulos, head of the Gaza sub-office of the UN Co-ordinator for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told the BBC he and a team sent to al-Shifa hospital found a large number of people with bullet wounds.

He said all but a handful of the 70 to 80 patients in the emergency room he visited had been injured during the convoy incident.

In addition to those with bullet wounds, he said doctors had treated many who had fallen down or been trampled - but he was unable to say with certainty which group was larger.

Mr Petropoulos said those with bullet injuries had suffered wounds in the upper and lower body. One patient told him he had been shot in the chest and who had walked to Shifa to get treatment.

"He said they (Israeli troops) usually shoot in the air. This time, they shot into the thickest part of the crowd," Mr Petropoulos said.

But, Mr Petropoulos emphasised UN personnel had not been present during the incident making it very difficult to know precisely what happened.

Dr Mohamed Salha, interim hospital manager at al-Awda hospital, previously told the BBC that they had received 176 of the injured, of whom 142 had bullet wounds.

He added that the others had suffered broken limbs.

Responding to the incident, UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron called the deaths "horrific" and said there "must be an urgent investigation and accountability".

"This must not happen again," he said.

He added that the incident could not be separated from the "inadequate aid supplies" entering Gaza and called the current levels "simply unacceptable".

US President Joe Biden announced that the US would begin dropping aid into Gaza by air, saying: "Innocent people got caught in a terrible war, unable to feed their families. We need to do more, and the United States will do more."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68454348

[Jimbuna]

US carries out first aid airdrop in strip

The US has carried out its first airdrop of aid for Gaza, with more than 30,000 meals parachuted in by three military planes.

The operation was carried out in conjunction with the Royal Jordanian Air Force, US Central Command said.

Officials say the drop was the first of many announced by President Joe Biden on Friday.

He promised to step up aid after at least 112 people were killed as crowds rushed a convoy on Thursday.

C-130s dropped more than 38,000 meals along the coastline of Gaza, US Central Command said in a statement.

"These airdrops are part of a sustained effort to get more aid into Gaza, including by expanding the flow of aid through land corridors and routes," it added.

Other countries including the UK, France, Egypt and Jordan have previously airdropped aid into Gaza, but this is the first by the US.

In his statement on Friday, President Biden said the US would "insist that Israel facilitate more trucks and more routes to get more and more people the help they need".

US officials say Israel is supportive of the mission, which is being carefully planned to ensure the safety of those on the ground.

Aid agencies have said that airdrops are an inefficient, expensive and complex way of delivering supplies.

The fact the US has opted for this method highlights the severity of the humanitarian crisis, and the difficulty of getting aid by road to Gaza's civilians.

In Thursday's incident, 112 people were killed and more than 760 injured as they crowded around aid lorries on the south-western edge of Gaza City.

Hamas accused Israel of firing at civilians, but Israel said most died in a crush after it fired warning shots.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68457937

[Jimbuna]

Israel demands names of hostages still alive for deal on new ceasefire

Mediators and Hamas have arrived in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, for talks on a new ceasefire, as Israel is reported to be demanding reassurances on the hostages' fate before attending.

An unnamed US official has said Israel has "more or less accepted" the deal.

But Israeli media say Hamas is refusing to confirm which of its hostages are still alive, so Israel will not attend.

The US says the six-week pause would see the release of more Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

Pressure for a deal intensified after Thursday's incident outside Gaza City in the north of the territory where at least 112 people were killed as crowds rushed an aid convoy.

Hamas has accused Israel of shooting at civilians as they attempted to get food. Israel has denied this.

On Sunday, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said an initial review had been completed "of the unfortunate incident where Gazan civilians were trampled to death and injured as they charged to the aid convoy.

"Our initial review has confirmed that no strike was carried out by the IDF towards the aid convoy," he said. "Several looters approached our forces and posed an immediate threat to them."

He said a full investigation would be conducted by "an independent, professional and expert body" of the army, and updates would be shared in the coming days.

The Israeli account is disputed. BBC Verify spoke to witnesses, who described being shot at.

Dr Mohamed Salha, interim hospital manager at al-Awda hospital, where many of the dead and injured were taken, told the BBC: "Al-Awda hospital received around 176 injured people...142 of these cases are bullet injuries and the rest are from the stampede and broken limbs in the upper and lower body parts."

Hamas is reported to have said that an agreement on a truce could be reached within the next 24 to 48 hours, with a source from the group telling Egyptian media a deal depended on Israel agreeing to its demands.

Egyptian officials, who have been running the talks with Qatar, said delegations from both Hamas and Israel were expected to attend the negotiations.

Expectations of a deal were raised after a senior US official said Israel for its part had "basically agreed" a framework for a six-week ceasefire.

The Israel military launched a large-scale air and ground campaign to destroy Hamas after its gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on 7 October and took 253 back to Gaza as hostages.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says at least 30,410 people, including 21,000 children and women, have been killed in Gaza since then with some 7,000 missing and 71,700 injured.

Calls for ceasefire come as aid organisations have warned there is a risk of famine in northern Gaza.

Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, has just returned from a three-day visit to the territory.

"I was prepared for nightmare, but it is worse, much worse," Mr Egeland told the BBC on Sunday.

"People want to take your hand... saying 'we are starving, we are dying here'.

"I think there is famine in the north," he said, adding that there had been no aid for 300,000 people living in ruins, with Israel not allowing any through.

After Thursday's aid convoy incident, the US carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian aid for Gaza, with more than 30,000 meals parachuted in by three military planes on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Israel said on Sunday it carried out an intensive wave of air strikes in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The number of casualties is not known.

At least 11 people were killed in an Israeli air strike at a camp for displaced people in Rafah in southern Gaza on Saturday, according to Hamas.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the attack "outrageous".

The Israeli army said it had carried out a "precision strike" against Islamic Jihad militants in the area.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68461543

[Jimbuna]

Hopes for ceasefire falter ahead of Ramadan

Hopes had been high over the past week following talks in Paris that there could be a new Gaza ceasefire deal in place for the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan next week.

However, while Hamas has now sent a delegation to Cairo for further negotiations with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, Israel has not. This looks like a serious new block.

Israeli officials - quoted in local media - demand clear answers from Hamas on key issues as well as a list of the surviving Israeli hostages who could be released with an agreement.

Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official, Dr Basem Naim, told the BBC on Sunday that "practically, it is impossible to know who is still alive" because of continuing Israeli bombing.

"They are in different areas with different groups. We have asked for a ceasefire to collect that data," he added.

Dr Naim went on to say that such "valuable information" about the hostages could not be given "for free". He, and other senior Hamas figures, have also been continuing to demand a full ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, rather than a temporary truce.

The US and regional players with leverage will now be putting pressure on both Israel and Hamas trying to shore up recent progress on the potential deal.

This would reportedly see some 40 Israeli hostages released in exchange for about 10 times as many Palestinian prisoners being freed from Israeli jails.

More than 130 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas. Israeli officials have said that at least 30 of them are dead.

Over the course of a proposed 40-day truce, there would be a surge in desperately needed aid entering into Gaza.

Without a deal, there is a higher threat of a further spread of tensions during Ramadan, which this year is due to begin on 10 or 11 March, depending on the lunar calendar.

Israel is expected to impose restrictions on access for Palestinians to the holiest Muslim site in occupied East Jerusalem, the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, citing its security concerns.

The site - which is also the holiest place in Judaism, known as Temple Mount - has often been a flashpoint for violence in the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Hamas is well aware of international fears about a new conflagration and has previously used al-Aqsa to raise the stakes.

Last week, in a televised address, the leader of the Islamist group, Ismail Haniyeh, claimed Hamas was showing flexibility in negotiations, but also called on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem to march to the mosque to pray on the first day of Ramadan.

International pressure for a ceasefire deal has ratcheted up with the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza where, according to the UN, hundreds of thousands of people are facing famine following nearly six months of war.

"Given the immense scale of suffering, there must be an immediate ceasefire for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table," the US Vice-President Kamala Harris told an event in Alabama. "This will get the hostages out and get a significant amount of aid in."

"People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane and our common humanity compels us to act," Ms Harris went on

Her comments were some of the strongest language used yet to describe the situation by a senior US government official and reflect the growing frustration within Washington - the closest ally of Israel - about developments in the war.

Increasingly what is happening on the ground in Gaza is hurting President Biden's presidential re-election campaign.

In Israel, there is also intense domestic pressure on the war cabinet to agree a new deal from the families of the hostages.

Thousands of Israelis joined them for the last leg of a four-day solidarity march, which began close to the Gaza border at one of the sites that was a focus of the deadly 7 October Hamas attacks, and ended in Jerusalem on Saturday night.

They held up Israeli flags and posters of the hostages.

Speaking at the rally, Sharon Sharabi whose brother, Eli, is still believed to be held in Hamas captivity, said: "We've lost four members of our family, the Sharabi family - my family, your family. We do not intend - listen carefully, leaders of Israel - we do not intend to bring a fifth coffin here."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68469699

[Jimbuna]

Gaza ceasefire talks end with no breakthrough Updated 14 minutes ago

Ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and mediators in Egypt have come to a close without finding a breakthrough, with just days remaining to halt fighting before the start of Ramadan.

Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said the terrorist group had presented its proposal for a ceasefire agreement to the mediators during two days of talks, and was now waiting for a response from the Israelis, who did not attend, Reuters reported.

“(Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu doesn’t want to reach an agreement and the ball now is in the Americans’ court” to press him for a deal, Mr Naim said.

While Israel has declined to comment on the ceasefire talks, reports suggest it stayed away because Hamas had rejected its demand to provide a list of all hostages who are still alive.

Hamas negotiators will remain in Cairo for another day in a bid to keep ceasefire talks alive, an official from the militant group said on Tuesday.

“The delegation will remain in Cairo on Tuesday for more talks. They are expected to wrap up this round later today,” a Hamas official told Reuters. Egypt’s Qahera television also reported the talks had been extended for a third day, but said they were “facing difficulties”.

With intermediaries negotiating on behalf of Israel, the two sides are currently at an impasse with each claiming the other has not yet responded to their offer.

The talks, which have been ongoing for two days without breakthrough, aim to broker an extended ceasefire, during which time Israeli hostages would be free and aid pumped into Gaza.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-ne...-harris-biden/

[Jimbuna]

Israel approves plans for 3,400 new homes in West Bank settlements

Israel's government has advanced plans for more than 3,400 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank.

About 70% of the homes will be built in Maale Adumim, east of Jerusalem, with the rest in nearby Kedar and Efrat, south of Bethlehem.

A minister has said the construction is a response to a deadly Palestinian attack near Maale Adumim two weeks ago.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the plans, which are reportedly the first to be approved since June.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land the Palestinians want as part of a future state - in the 1967 Middle East war.

The vast majority of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Israel's Haaretz newspaper said the Higher Planning Committee of the Civil Administration - the body that implements Israeli government policy in the West Bank - had advanced plans for the development of 3,476 settler homes on Wednesday - with 2,452 in Maale Adumim, 694 in Efrat and 330 in Kedar.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who oversees the Civil Administration, said following the meeting that a total of 18,515 homes in West Bank settlements had now been approved over the past year.

"The enemies try to harm and weaken us but we will continue to build and be built up in this land," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

However, the Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now warned: "Instead of building a future of hope, peace, and security, the Israeli government is paving the way for our destruction."

It said the projects would have a negative impact on the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The foreign ministry of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority condemned both the new plans and Mr Smotrich's remarks.

"Settlement is void and illegitimate from its foundation, representing an explicit call for the continuation of the spiral of violence and wars," a statement said.

Mr Smotrich put forward the plans on 22 February, hours after three Palestinian gunmen opened fire on cars on a road near Maale Adumim, killing one Israeli and wounding several others. He said the attack "must have a determined security response but also a settlement response".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed disappointment with the decision the following day and surprised many observers by declaring that the US viewed settlements as illegal - reverting to a position that had been overturned by former President Donald Trump's administration in 2019.

"It's been longstanding US policy under Republican and Democratic administrations alike that new settlements are counterproductive to reaching an enduring peace," he told reporters in Argentina.

"They're also inconsistent with international law. Our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion. And in our judgement, this only weakens - it doesn't strengthen - Israel's security."

A Peace Now report said in January that there had been an "unprecedented surge in settlement activities" across the West Bank since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by Hamas's deadly attacks in Israel on 7 October.

The West Bank has also experienced a spike in violence over the same period.

The UN says at least 413 Palestinians - members of armed groups, attackers and civilians - have been killed in conflict-related incidents in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, or in Israel since October.

Fifteen Israelis, including four security forces personnel, have also been killed.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68490034

[Jimbuna]

[Skybird]

War between Israel and Hezbollah is becoming inevitable


https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/02/29...ar-inevitable/


That will be a different event callibre than Gaza - if Hezbollah really has as many missiles as claimed. And who would doubt they have, after the findings in Gaza regarding Hamas' msissile arsenal and tunnel infrastructure?

[Jimbuna]

Gaza aid ship expected to set sail from Cyprus

A ship carrying desperately needed humanitarian aid is expected to set sail this weekend, bound for Gaza.

The Spanish vessel, Open Arms, is scheduled to depart from Cyprus - the closest EU country to Gaza - and hopes to use a newly opened shipping route.

With no functioning port and shallow waters, it is still unclear where the ship will dock when it reaches Gaza.

The UN says a quarter of the Strip's population is on the brink of famine and children are starving to death.

The ship, expected to reach Gaza in the next few days, belongs to the Spanish charity of the same name, Open Arms.

It will tow a barge loaded with 200 tonnes of food provided by US charity World Central Kitchen, Open Arms founder Oscar Camps told the Associated Press.

The ship is expected to depart Cyprus' Larnaca port this weekend, and will take around two to three days to reach an undisclosed location off the coast of Gaza, Mr Camps told the news agency.

He added that the final mile of the journey - which is about 216 nautical miles in total - would be "the most complicated operation", but added that he was not "concerned at all about security".

At the destination point, a team from the World Central Kitchen has been building a pier to receive the aid, he said. The group has 60 kitchens throughout Gaza, where it will be able to distribute the food.

"What initially appeared as an insurmountable challenge is now on the verge of realization," read a post on Open Arms' X account.

"Our tugboat stands prepared to embark at a moment's notice, laden with tons of food, water, and vital supplies for Palestinian civilians."

World Central Kitchen said it had been preparing for the aid trip for weeks, waiting for the shipping route to open.

The maritime corridor was announced by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday, while she was in Cyprus.

That came a day after President Joe Biden announced that the US plans to build a temporary floating port to Gaza's shoreline.

The Pentagon later said it would take up to 60 days to complete and need about 1,000 troops to build - none of whom would go ashore.

The port will be able to receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters, US officials said. Initial shipments will arrive via Cyprus, where Israeli security inspections will take place.

A Pentagon spokesman said the pier could help to deliver up to 2 million meals every day.

It is unclear whether, or how, the US' temporary pier and the EU's sea corridor will work together, as neither Mr Biden nor Ms Von der Leyen mentioned the other's plans.

Getting aid into the Gaza Strip has been increasingly difficult and dangerous - the World Food Programme paused its deliveries to northern Gaza last month, after its convoys endured "complete chaos and violence", the organisation said.

With land deliveries near impossible, several nations have turned to air drops, but the situation in Gaza is so dire, the drops are an inefficient way of getting supplies to people.

And on Friday there were reports that five people had been killed by a falling aid package, when its parachute failed to open properly.

Israel's military launched an air and ground campaign in the Gaza Strip after Hamas's attacks on Israel on 7 October, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 253 others were taken hostage.

More than 30,800 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says.

The conflict has created a growing humanitarian crisis, and the UN has warned that famine in Gaza is "almost inevitable".

At least 576,000 people across the Gaza Strip - one quarter of the population - are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity and one in six children under the age of two in the north are suffering from acute malnutrition, a senior UN aid official warned last week.

Save the Children welcomed the recent international efforts to provide more aid into Gaza, but said children there "cannot wait" for the time it may take to build a temporary port to eat.

"They are already dying from malnutrition and saving their lives is a matter of hours or days - not weeks," the charity said in a statement.

Doctors Without Borders said the US plan for a temporary pier was a "glaring distraction from the real problem", urging Israel to facilitate the flow of supplies.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68518918

[Jimbuna]

Sweden resumes funding for UNRWA with £15m grant

Sweden has said it is resuming suspended payments to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), with a grant of 200 million crowns (£15m).

UNRWA supports Palestinian refugees in Gaza, east Jerusalem and the West Bank, as well as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Several countries, including the US and UK, paused their funding to UNRWA last month after accusations by Israel that a dozen of the agency's 13,000 staff in Gaza took part in the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel.

The Swedish government said it had resumed payments after UNRWA agreed to strengthen internal controls and carry out extra checks on its employees, among other measures.

The organisation offers services including food aid, healthcare and education.

[Jimbuna]

IDF completes road across width of Gaza, satellite images show

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has finished building a new road which runs across northern Gaza from east to west, according to satellite images verified by the BBC.

The IDF told the BBC they were attempting to gain an "operational foothold", and facilitate the movement of troops and equipment.

But some experts fear it will used as a barrier, preventing Palestinians from returning to their homes in the north.

Others said it appeared to be part of an Israeli plan to remain in Gaza beyond the end of current hostilities.

In February, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a post-war vision in which Israel would control security in Gaza indefinitely.

International leaders have previously warned Israel against permanently displacing Palestinians or reducing the size of Gaza.

It runs across north Gaza, with central and southern areas lying below it. It starts at Gaza's border fence with Israel near the Nahal Oz kibbutz and finishes near the coast.

It also intersects with the Salah al-Din and al-Rashid roads, the two major arteries running through the territory.

Although there is a network of roads which connect east and west, the new IDF route is the only one which runs uninterrupted across Gaza.

Satellite imagery analysis by the BBC reveals that the IDF has built over 5km (3 miles) of new road sections to join up previously unconnected roads.

The initial section of the road in eastern Gaza near the Israeli border was established between late last October and early November. But most of the new sections were built during February and in early March.

The new route is wider than a typical road in Gaza, excluding Salah al-Din.

Imagery analysis also shows that buildings along the route, which appear to be warehouses, were demolished from the end of December until late January. This includes one building several stories high.

The road spans an area which previously had fewer buildings and was less densely populated than other parts of Gaza.

It also sits below a makeshift and winding route which the IDF had been using to move from east to west.

An Israeli TV channel reported on the route in February, saying it was code named "Highway 749". A reporter from Channel 14 travelled along parts of the route with the Israeli military.

In the video, road construction vehicles and diggers were seen preparing for the construction of new sections of the route.

Analysts at Janes, a defence intelligence company, said the type of unpaved road surface seen in the Channel 14 footage, was suitable for tracked armoured vehicles.

The IDF did not go into this type of detail in its statement. "As part of the ground operation, the IDF uses an operational route of passage," it said.

Retired Brig Gen Jacob Nagel, former head of Israel's National Security Council and a former security adviser to Mr Netanyahu, told BBC Arabic that the objective of the new route was to provide fast access for security forces when dealing with fresh threats.

"It will help Israel go in and out... because Israel is going to have total defence, security and responsibility for Gaza," he told BBC Arabic.

He described it as "a road that divides the northern part from the southern part".

"We don't want to wait until a threat is emerging," he added.

Maj Gen Yaakov Amidror, formerly of the IDF, had a similar view. The primary purpose of the new road was to "facilitate logistical and military control in the region", he said.

Justin Crump, a former British Army officer who runs Sibylline, a risk intelligence company, said the new route was significant.

"It certainly looks like it's part of a longer-term strategy to have at least some form of security intervention and control in the Gaza Strip," said Mr Crump.

"This area cuts off Gaza City from the south of the strip, making it an effective control line to monitor or limit movement, and has relatively open fields of fire."

Khaled Elgindy, a senior fellow at the US-based Middle East Institute, also thinks the road is a long-term project.

"It appears that the Israeli military will remain in Gaza indefinitely," he told the BBC.

"By dividing Gaza in half, Israel will control not only what goes in and out of Gaza, but also movement within Gaza," said the analyst.

"This includes quite possibly preventing the 1.5 million displaced Palestinians in the south from returning to their homes in the north."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68514821