Members of UN Security Council call for surge in assistance to Gaza

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in Gaza in New York City, US, November 18, 2024. (Reuters)
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UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in Gaza in New York City, US, November 18, 2024. (Reuters)
Members of UN Security Council call for surge in assistance to Gaza
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The UN Security Council meets to discuss the situation in the Middle East on November 18, 2024, at UN headquarters in New York City. (AFP)
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Updated 18 November 2024
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Members of UN Security Council call for surge in assistance to Gaza

Members of UN Security Council call for surge in assistance to Gaza
  • “The situation is devastating, and frankly, beyond comprehension, and it’s getting worse, not better,” Lammy said

NEW YORK: Members of the United Nations Security Council called on Monday for a surge in assistance to reach people in need in Israeli-basieged Gaza, warning that the situation in the Palestinian enclave was getting worse.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said there needs to be a “huge, huge rise in aid” to Gaza, where most of the population of 2.3 million people has been displaced and health officials in the coastal enclave say that more than 43,922 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s 13-month-old offensive against Hamas.
“The situation is devastating, and frankly, beyond comprehension, and it’s getting worse, not better,” Lammy said. “Winter’s here. Famine is imminent, and 400 days into this war, it is totally unacceptable that it’s harder than ever to get aid into Gaza.”
The war erupted after Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel in October last year, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council that Washington was closely watching Israel’s actions to improve the situation for Palestinians and engaging with the Israeli government every day.
“Israel must also urgently take additional steps to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza,” she said.
President Joe Biden’s administration concluded this month that Israel was not currently impeding assistance to Gaza and therefore not violating US law, even as Washington acknowledged the humanitarian situation remained dire in the Palestinian enclave.
The assessment came after the US in an Oct. 13 letter gave Israel a list of steps to take within 30 days to address the deteriorating situation in Gaza, warning that failure to do so might have possible consequences on US military aid to Israel.
Thomas-Greenfield said Israel was working to implement 12 of the 15 steps.
“We need to see all steps fully implemented and sustained, and we need to see concrete improvement in the humanitarian situation on the ground,” she said, including Israel allowing commercial trucks to move into Gaza alongside humanitarian assistance, addressing persistent lawlessness and implementing pauses in fighting in large areas of Gaza to allow assistance to reach those in need.
Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the US, said Israel had facilitated the entrance of hundreds of aid trucks a week but there had been a failure of aid agencies to collect that aid and Hamas had looted trucks. Hamas has denied the accusation.
“Not only must the UN step up its aid distribution obligations, but the focus must also shift to Hamas’ constant hijacking of humanitarian aid to feed the machine of terror and misery,” Danon said.

Two UN aid agencies told Reuters on Monday that nearly 100 trucks carrying food for Palestinians were violently looted on Nov. 16 after entering Gaza in one of the worst losses of aid during the war.
Tor Wennesland, the UN coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said humanitarian agencies face a challenging and dangerous operational environment in Gaza and access restrictions that hinder their work.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza, as winter begins, is catastrophic, particularly developments in the north of Gaza with a large-scale and near-total displacement of the population and widespread destruction and clearing of land, amidst what looks like a disturbing disregard for international humanitarian law,” Wennesland said.
“The current conditions are among the worst we’ve seen during the entire war and are not set to improve.”

 


Israeli strikes on Gaza killed 23 people overnight

Israeli strikes on Gaza killed 23 people overnight
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Israeli strikes on Gaza killed 23 people overnight

Israeli strikes on Gaza killed 23 people overnight
  • The dead include three children and their parents, who were killed in a strike on their tent near the southern city of Khan Younis
Palestinian medics said Israeli strikes killed at least 23 people in the Gaza Strip overnight into Tuesday.
The dead include three children and their parents, who were killed in a strike on their tent near the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which has received a flood of dead and wounded since Israel resumed heavy bombardment of Gaza last week, shattering the ceasefire that had halted the 17-month war.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 113,000, according to the Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Israel launched the campaign vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people and abducted 251. Israel says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because it operates in densely populated areas.

Israel strikes Syria bases again despite EU warning

Israel strikes Syria bases again despite EU warning
Updated 25 March 2025
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Israel strikes Syria bases again despite EU warning

Israel strikes Syria bases again despite EU warning
  • Israeli military: The IDF struck military capabilities that remained at the Syrian military bases of Tadmur and T4
  • Israel said Friday it struck the same bases after a war monitor first reported the raids

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said Tuesday that it had again struck two military bases in central Syria, a day after the European Union’s foreign policy chief warned strikes there and in Lebanon risked escalation.
“A short while ago, the IDF struck military capabilities that remained at the Syrian military bases of Tadmur and T4,” the Israeli military said, referring to bases in Palmyra and another 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the city.
“The IDF will continue to act in order to remove any threat posed to the citizens of the State of Israel,” it added.
Israel said Friday it struck the same bases after a war monitor first reported the raids.
On Monday during a visit to Jersalem, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned that Israeli strikes on Syria and Lebanon were threatening to worsen the situation.
“Military actions must be proportionate, and Israeli strikes into Syria and Lebanon risk further escalation,” Kallas said at a joint news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
“We feel that these things are unnecessary because Syria is right now not attacking Israel and that feeds more radicalization that is also against Israel,” Kallas told journalists.
In Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites since Islamist-led rebels overthrew Bashar Assad in December.
Israel says it wants to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of new authorities it considers militants.
And despite a ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Lebanon — with both sides repeatedly accusing the other of violating the truce.
Israel launched air strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing eight people, in response to rocket fire that hit its territory for the first time since a ceasefire took effect on November 27.
No party has claimed responsibility for the rocket fire.
The Israeli military has also deployed to the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the demilitarization of southern Syria.
Syria’s foreign ministry has accused Israel of waging a campaign against “the stability of the country.”
When asked about Israel’s stance toward Syria’s new leaders, Kallas said: “Of course our worries are the same. They say the right things, will they do the right things?”
“But we have discussed this in the European Union and among all the member states, and our view is that we need a stable Syria,” she added.


US airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthis kill at least 2 people, group says

People look at the site of a U.S. strike in Sanaa, Yemen March 24, 2025. (REUTERS)
People look at the site of a U.S. strike in Sanaa, Yemen March 24, 2025. (REUTERS)
Updated 25 March 2025
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US airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthis kill at least 2 people, group says

People look at the site of a U.S. strike in Sanaa, Yemen March 24, 2025. (REUTERS)
  • The American strikes on the militia, who threaten maritime trade and Israel, entered their 10th day without any sign of stopping

DUBAI: US airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi militia pounded sites across the country into early Tuesday, with the group saying one attack in the capital killed at least two people and wounded more than a dozen others.

The American strikes on the militia, who threaten maritime trade and Israel, entered their 10th day without any sign of stopping. They are part of a campaign by US President Donald Trump targeting the rebel group while also trying to pressure Iran, the Houthis’ main benefactor.

So far, the US has not offered any specifics on the sites it is striking, though Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz claimed the attacks have “taken out key Houthi leadership, including their head missileer.” That’s something so far that’s not been acknowledged by the Houthis, though the militia have downplayed their losses in the past and exaggerated their attacks attempting to target American warships.

“We’ve hit their headquarters,” Waltz told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “We’ve hit communications nodes, weapons factories and even some of their over-the-water drone production facilities.”

An apparent US strike Sunday hit a building in a western neighborhood of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, killing at least two people and wounding 13 others, the rebel-controlled SABA news agency said, citing health officials. Footage released by the militia showed the rubble of a collapsed building and pools of blood staining the gray dust covering the ground.

A building next to the collapsed structure still stood, suggesting American forces likely used a lower-yield warhead in the strike.

The Houthis also described American airstrikes targeting sites around the city of Saada, a Houthi stronghold, the Red Sea port city of Hodeida and Marib province, home to oil and gas fields still under the control of allies to Yemen’s exiled central government. Those strikes continued into early Tuesday as the Houthis separately launched a missile attack on Israel.

The campaign of airstrikes targeting the militia, which killed at least 53 people immediately after they began March 15, started after the Houthis threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The militia in the past have had a loose definition of what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning other vessels could be targeted as well.

The Houthis had targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors during their campaign targeting ships from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships, though none have been hit so far.

The attacks greatly raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting any dissent and aid workers at home amid Yemen’s decadelong stalemated war that has torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.


Israeli military intercepts missile launched from Yemen

Israeli military intercepts missile launched from Yemen
Updated 25 March 2025
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Israeli military intercepts missile launched from Yemen

Israeli military intercepts missile launched from Yemen
  • Houthis spokesman Yahya Saree said the group also targeted “the US aircraft carrier Truman, using ballistic and cruise missiles and drones”

SANAA: The Israeli military said it had intercepted a missile over Israel on Monday that had been launched from Yemen, according to a statement.
The Houthis, undeterred by waves of US strikes since March 15, fired two ballistic missiles toward Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, the group’s military spokesman said in a televised statement early on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump also threatened to punish Iran over its perceived support for Yemeni Houthi militants.
Earlier, warning sirens sounded in several areas of Israel, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The Houthis have vowed to escalate attacks, including those targeting Israel, in response to the US campaign.
Houthis spokesman Yahya Saree said the group also targeted “the US aircraft carrier Truman, using ballistic and cruise missiles and drones.”
The Houthis have carried out over 100 attacks on shipping since Israel’s war with Hamas began in late 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Gaza’s Palestinians.
The attacks have disrupted global commerce and prompted the US military to launch a costly campaign to intercept missiles.
The Houthis are part of what has been dubbed the “Axis of Resistance” — an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias including Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and armed groups in Iraq, all backed by Iran.

 


One killed in southern Lebanon by Israeli strike: state media

One killed in southern Lebanon by Israeli strike: state media
Updated 25 March 2025
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One killed in southern Lebanon by Israeli strike: state media

One killed in southern Lebanon by Israeli strike: state media

BEIRUT, Lebanon: One person was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon late Monday, after a wave of intensive air attacks in the region over the weekend, state media reported.
“A raid by an enemy Israeli drone on a vehicle in the area of Qaqaiyat Al-Jisr left one dead,” the National News Agency (ANI) said, attributing the toll to the Lebanese health ministry.
Israel launched air strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing eight people, in response to rocket fire that hit its territory for the first time since a ceasefire took effect on November 27.
No party has claimed responsibility for the rocket fire, which a military source said was launched from an area north of the Litani River, between the villages of Kfar Tebnit and Arnoun, near the zone covered by the ceasefire agreement.
The agreement stipulates that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers may be deployed south of the Litani River, with Hezbollah required to dismantle its infrastructure and withdraw north of the river.
But the war has severely weakened Hezbollah, which remains a target of Israeli air strikes despite the ceasefire.
Over the weekend Lebanese officials held discussions with Washington and Paris to prevent Israel from bombing Beirut, a source told AFP on Monday on condition of anonymity.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that following rocket fire on Metula, a town in northern Israel, “Metula’s fate is the same as Beirut’s.”