Frankly Speaking: The view from within the Palestinian Authority

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Updated 20 April 2025
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Frankly Speaking: The view from within the Palestinian Authority

Frankly Speaking: The view from within the Palestinian Authority
  • Varsen Aghabekian, Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs and expatriates, says Israel enjoys immunity, has no intention of stopping war in Gaza
  • Warns of regional escalation if lack of accountability persists, insists the Arab League’s peace and reconstruction plan remains the best path forward

RIYADH: As Gaza reels from an unrelenting conflict that has killed tens of thousands and left its infrastructure in ruins, Dr. Varsen Aghabekian, Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs and expatriates, says Israel has no intention of stopping what she describes as a genocidal war — and continues to act with impunity. 

Speaking on the Arab News weekly current affairs program “Frankly Speaking,” Aghabekian urged the international community to step in and halt the offensive, which she said has turned Gaza into a killing field.

“What can be done is a stopping of this genocidal war,” she said. “This impunity, which Israel has been enjoying for a long time, only begets more violence. And today, we see only destruction and killing of more civilians in Gaza.”

Aid to Gaza has been blocked for over a month and a half, and more than 60,000 children face malnutrition, according to international aid agencies. “It’s time to say enough is enough and halt this aggression — this genocidal war with the increasing brutality by the day on Gaza,” she said.

Aghabekian believes the collapse of the ceasefire agreement earlier this year was inevitable, given that Israel’s political and military leadership has made no secret of its broader intentions.

“The ceasefire deal will continue to fall apart because Israel has no intention of stopping this war,” she said. “Its defense minister, Israel Katz, said the other day: ‘We don’t intend to even leave Gaza, Lebanon, or Syria.’ These are very clear messages that this war will continue and will only bring more disaster to the Palestinians in Gaza — and probably the region at large.”

In the face of proposals from foreign powers such as the Trump administration to resettle Palestinians or repurpose Gaza for tourism, Aghabekian maintains that only plans rooted in justice and dignity will succeed.

“We know that the US has unwavering support for the Israelis,” she said. “Any plan for Gaza or the Palestinians must respect the dignity and the rights of the Palestinian people. Any other plan will not work and it will not bring peace to the region.”




Varsen Aghabekian says Israel has no intention of stopping the Gaza war and continues to act with impunity. (AN Photo)

A sustainable peace, she says, depends on international recognition of Palestinian rights. “These rights, as I said, are enshrined in the division plan in 1948. The plan set two states. One state is on the ground today. Now it’s time to materialize the second state,” she said.

She added that the Palestinian state has already gained recognition from 149 countries and has UN observer status. “This is not a contested land; this is an occupied land,” she said. “It is the land of the State of Palestine.”

During his last administration, US President Donald Trump championed normalization agreements between Arab states and Israel under the Abraham Accords. Despite acknowledging the widespread pessimism about his return to the White House, Aghabekian said she remains cautiously optimistic.

“If President Trump wants to forge peace and he wants to leave a legacy of peace, then that peace has a framework and it entails the respect and the rightful rights of the Palestinians,” she told Katie Jensen, host of “Frankly Speaking.”

“So, I remain hopeful that this will get to the table of President Trump and the ears of President Trump, and he sees that the future of the Middle East includes the rights of the Palestinians on their state as enshrined in international law.”

Her comments come as Israeli strikes on Gaza continue to spark international outrage. A recent attack on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital on Palm Sunday forced patients into the streets. Israel claimed the site was being used as a Hamas command center.

“The genocidal war in Gaza is not justified in any way you look at it,” Aghabekian said. “And bombing a hospital that is partially operating and part of a system that has been devastated in the last 19 months is not justified by any means. Bombing a Christian hospital on a Palm Sunday is extremely telling.”

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza came in retaliation for the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which killed more than 1,200 people and saw another 250 taken hostage.

In 18 months, the war has killed at least 51,065 people, according to Gaza health officials. Last week, Hamas formally rejected Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal, saying it was ready to negotiate a deal that would see the release of all 59 hostages it is still holding, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, in return for an end to the war. Israel had offered a 45-day ceasefire in return for the release of 10 hostages.

Aghabekian said the continued killings of Palestinian civilians — including aid workers — in Gaza are a stark indicator of unchecked brutality. “Even after the ceasefire, we have seen that over 2,000 Palestinians have been killed, and these Palestinians are civilians; they have absolutely nothing to do with Hamas,” she said. “Today, nothing has been done because everything passes with impunity.”




Smoke rises from Gaza after an air strike, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, April 20, 2025. (Reuters)

Efforts to establish peace through regional diplomacy are ongoing. Aghabekian pointed to a three-stage Gaza reconstruction plan presented by the Arab League and backed by the Islamic world and parts of Europe. But she acknowledged the resistance it faces, particularly from the US and Israel.

“We have to continue using our diplomatic efforts,” she said. “We know that this military route is getting us nowhere. And our military efforts are directed at mobilizing the international community with several ventures today on ending occupation. We have the forthcoming international conference, spearheaded by France and Saudi Arabia, to take place in New York mid-year. And we have the global alliance on the materialization of the State of Palestine. And we will continue our efforts on the recognition of Palestine and the full membership efforts, as well as our efforts with international organizations, such as the Human Rights Council and UNESCO.”

Despite the challenges, she sees momentum building. “We’ve seen that in the latest summit, and we are seeing support and unity from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). We’ve seen unity from European countries and others giving us positive vibes about the plan and the possibility of sustaining that plan in the future,” she said. “This is the only plan today on the table that may move us forward. It is very much — there’s a consensus on it, and it is in line with the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002.”

Still, the obstacles remain formidable. Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal reportedly calls for the disarming of Hamas and the release of all living hostages. Aghabekian warned such conditions are unrealistic given the devastation Palestinians have endured.

“A durable ceasefire entails, of course, meeting the demands of both parties, but today, the Palestinians have been crushed for the last 19 months,” she said. “A durable peace should bring them an opening of the borders, feeding the people, starting immediate relief on the ground, and doing whatever it takes to have this genocidal war stop. We hope that reason prevails on all sides, and we reach the stage today before tomorrow.”

Addressing criticism about the Palestinian Authority’s legitimacy, especially in Gaza, she acknowledged that ongoing hardships and political stagnation have eroded public trust.

“If we see something moving on the political track, people will start realizing that there is a hope for the future,” she said. “And today, whoever is responsible or who has the mandate on the occupied State of Palestine is the Palestinian Authority. And that authority needs to be empowered to be able to meet the needs of its people.”

The Palestine Liberation Organization, she said, remains the umbrella under which all factions must gather if unity is to be achieved. “Anyone can join the PLO, but you need to accept what the PLO stands for, accept agreements signed by the PLO, and accept the political vision of the PLO,” she said.

Asked whether ordinary Palestinians still have confidence in the PLO, Aghabekian said that trust is conditional. “I think that confidence can fluctuate based on what is happening on the ground,” she said. “And, as I said earlier, if people see something moving in terms of the vision of the PLO on a free Palestine, a sovereign Palestine, the liberation of the Palestinian people, bringing people a better future soon, then people will rally behind the PLO, and the PLO can look inwards and think of reform of the PLO.”




Speaking on the Arab News weekly current affairs program “Frankly Speaking,” Aghabekian urged the international community to step in and halt the offensive in Gaza. (AN Photo)

Turning to the West Bank, she expressed alarm at the scale of ongoing settlement expansion. “We’ve seen more and more land grab, we’ve seen increased brutality, we’ve been seeing increased violations on the ground, withholding of our tax money, displacement of people, attacks on UNRWA and refugee camps, grabbing of more land for agricultural herding — and this is something new for the Palestinians,” she said.

“There is entrenchment and emboldening of occupation on all levels.”

She called for greater pressure on Israel to comply with international law. “Statements are void if no actual measures are taken on the ground,” she said. “What needs to be done is holding Israel to account.”

Citing hundreds of UN resolutions and a landmark International Court of Justice opinion calling for the end of Israel’s occupation, she said enforcement mechanisms are long overdue.

“There are steps that are doable now in terms of what do we do with settler violence, with the settlers who are sitting on occupied stolen land. What do we do with settlement products? How do we deal with settlers who have dual citizenship. How do we deal with arms sent to Israel or sold to Israel?” Aghabekian said, adding that it was time for the international community to show its teeth.

While warning of the risk of a third intifada, she said the PA leadership is focused on avoiding further civilian casualties. “We do not want to transfer what is happening in Gaza to the West Bank, and partly it is already being transferred,” she said. “So, the leadership needs to spare the lives of the people.”

 

 

Aghabekian said the ICJ ruling provides a legal basis for action. “It has told the whole world that this is not a contested territory, this is an occupied territory, and this Israeli belligerent occupation needs to be dismantled,” she said. “There are steps that are doable.”

The PA is also preparing for governance in Gaza, should the violence end. “The Palestinian Authority is doing its homework and it is preparing and ready to shoulder its responsibilities in Gaza,” Aghabekian said. “There is a plan accepted by 57 countries for Gaza’s rehabilitation, immediate relief and reconstruction. And we hope that we are enabled to start working on that plan.”

However, she said implementation hinges on external support. “Those plans need billions of dollars, they need the empowerment of the Palestinian Authority in terms of actually practicing governance on the ground.”

Asked whether Israel or its allies might eventually accept a modified version of the Arab League’s plan, Aghabekian said all parties must be willing to talk. “It’s a give-and-take thing,” she said. “In the final analysis, what we want is to reach the goal of stopping this genocidal war and letting aid move in and for us to be able to start our relief and construction efforts. If this needs further discussion, I think we’re open for discussion.”

But the human toll continues to mount. “Palestinians will continue to lose their lives because Israel has no intent on stopping this war,” she said. “There is no justification for the continuing of the war, and an agreement can be reached if there is genuine intent.”

 


Israeli army said ‘eliminated’ attacker who killed pregnant woman

Israeli army said ‘eliminated’ attacker who killed pregnant woman
Updated 59 min 28 sec ago
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Israeli army said ‘eliminated’ attacker who killed pregnant woman

Israeli army said ‘eliminated’ attacker who killed pregnant woman
  • A resident of the Israeli settlement of Bruchin, 37-year-old Tzeela Gez died after she was shot in her vehicle

JERUSALEM: Israel’s military announced Wednesday it “eliminated” the perpetrator of an attack that left one pregnant woman dead in the occupied West Bank last week.
In a joint statement with Israel’s internal security agency and the police, the army said that its forces were approached by an armed man in the West Bank town of Bruqin Saturday, near the site of last week’s attack.
They said the man was “running toward the forces while holding a backpack suspected to be rigged with explosives, shouting at them,” as they were conducting search operations.
An intelligence assessment said that “Nael Samara, the terrorist who was eliminated, was the terrorist who carried out the shooting attack adjacent to Bruchin on Thursday, May 14, 2025, in which a pregnant woman, Tzeela Gez, was murdered.”
A resident of the Israeli settlement of Bruchin, 37-year-old Tzeela Gez died after she was shot in her vehicle as she headed to the hospital to give birth.
Her baby was delivered by C-section, but was still in serious condition Tuesday, according to the father.
“We will catch the killers as we always do, we will fight them and we will defeat them,” Netanyahu said in a video released by his office later that day.
Israeli army chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir had earlier said “we will use all the tools at our disposal and reach the murderers in order to hold them accountable.”
Since the beginning of the Gaza war, sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the West Bank has seen a surge in violence.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory are considered illegal under international law.


The UN says no aid that has entered Gaza this week has reached Palestinians

The UN says no aid that has entered Gaza this week has reached Palestinians
Updated 22 May 2025
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The UN says no aid that has entered Gaza this week has reached Palestinians

The UN says no aid that has entered Gaza this week has reached Palestinians
  • Food security experts have warned that Gaza risks falling into famine unless the blockade ends

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza: The UN said Wednesday it was trying to get the desperately needed aid that has entered Gaza this week into the hands of Palestinians amid delays because of fears of looting and Israeli military restrictions. Israeli strikes pounded the territory, killing at least 86 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Under international pressure, Israel has allowed dozens of aid trucks into Gaza after blocking all food, medicine, fuel and other material for nearly three months. But the supplies have been sitting on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the majority of supplies that had entered since Monday had been loaded onto UN trucks, but they could not take them out of the crossing area. He said the road the Israeli military had given them permission to use was too unsafe. Talks were underway for an alternative, he said.
A UN official later said some trucks had left the crossing area, heading for warehouses in Gaza, but there was no immediate confirmation they arrived. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Food security experts have warned that Gaza risks falling into famine unless the blockade ends. Malnutrition and hunger have been mounting. Aid groups ran out of food to distribute weeks ago, and most of the population of around 2.3 million relies on communal kitchens whose supplies are nearly depleted.
At a kitchen in Gaza City, a charity group distributed watery lentil soup.
Somaia Abu Amsha scooped small portions for her family, saying they have not had bread for over 10 days and she can’t afford rice or pasta.
“We don’t want anything other than that they end the war. We don’t want charity kitchens. Even dogs wouldn’t eat this, let alone children,” she said.
Aid groups say the small amount of aid that Israel has allowed is far short of what is needed. About 600 trucks entered daily under the latest ceasefire.
Israeli warning shots shake diplomats
Israeli troops fired warning shots as a group of international diplomats was visiting the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Footage showed a number of diplomats giving media interviews as rapid shots ring out nearby, forcing them to run for cover. No one was reported injured.
The Israeli military said their visit had been approved, but the delegation “deviated from the approved route.” The military said it apologized and will contact the countries involved in the visit.
Israeli troops have raided Jenin dozens of times as part of a crackdown across the West Bank. The fighting displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Netanyahu says population will be moved south
Israel has said its slight easing of the blockade is a bridge until a new distribution system it demands is put in place. The UN and other humanitarian groups have rejected the system, saying it enables Israel to use aid as a weapon and forcibly displace the population.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters the plan will begin “in coming days.”
He said in a subsequent phase, Israel would create a “sterile zone” in the south, free of Hamas, where the population would be moved “for the purposes of its safety.” There, they would receive aid, “and then they enter – and they don’t necessarily go back.”
The plan involves small number of distribution hubs directed by a private, US-backed foundation known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Armed private contractors would guard the distribution.
Israel says the system is needed because Hamas siphons off significant amounts of aid. The UN denies that claim.
Initially, four hubs are being built, one in central Gaza and three at the far southern end of the strip, where few people remain.
A GHF spokesman said the group would never participate in or support any form of forced relocation of civilians. The spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with the group’s rules. said there was no limit to the number of sites and additional sites will open, including in the north, within the next month.
The trickle of aid is jammed
Currently, after supplies enter at Kerem Shalom, aid workers are required to unload them and reload them onto their own trucks for distribution.
Antoine Renard, the World Food Program’s country chief for Palestine, said 78 trucks were waiting. He told The Associated Press that “we need to ensure that we will not be looted.”
Looting has plagued aid deliveries in the past, and at times of desperation people have swarmed aid trucks, taking supplies.
A UN official and another humanitarian worker said the Israeli military had designated a highly insecure route known to have looters. The military also set a short window for trucks to come to Kerem Shalom and rejected a number of individual truck drivers, forcing last-minute replacements, they said. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing aid for Gaza, did not immediately respond when asked for comment.
Hospitals surrounded
Israeli strikes continued across Gaza. In the southern city of Khan Younis, where Israel recently ordered new evacuations pending an expanded offensive, 24 people were killed, 14 from the same family. A week-old infant was killed in central Gaza. In the evening, a strike hit a house in Jabaliya in northern Gaza, killing two children and their parents, according to hospital officials.
The Israeli military did not comment on the strikes. It says it targets Hamas infrastructure and accuses Hamas militants of operating from civilian areas.
Israeli troops also have surrounded two of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospitals, preventing anyone from leaving or entering the facilities, hospital staff and aid groups said this week.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others. The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third believed to be alive, after most were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has destroyed large swaths of Gaza and killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.


War-displaced Sudanese return to collapsed cities, disease and dwindling aid

War-displaced Sudanese return to collapsed cities, disease and dwindling aid
Updated 21 May 2025
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War-displaced Sudanese return to collapsed cities, disease and dwindling aid

War-displaced Sudanese return to collapsed cities, disease and dwindling aid
  • Humanitarian agencies face security threats, access restrictions and deep funding cuts while trying to support returning populations
  • Areas reclaimed by the SAF often lack clean water, electricity, shelter and healthcare, forcing returnees to survive in dire conditions

DUBAI: As Sudan’s civil war grinds through its second year, a new chapter is unfolding — the slow and uncertain return of families to towns and cities recently recaptured by the Sudanese Armed Forces from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

But as they do so, aid agencies say, they are finding not assurances of normalcy but scenes of devastation, disease and dwindling humanitarian support.

Nowhere is this more visible than in the capital, Khartoum. Once the heart of Sudan’s political and economic life, it was among the first cities to be consumed by violence when a violent factional struggle erupted on April 15, 2023.

Fighters loyal to the army patrol a market area in Khartoum on March 24, 2025. (AFP photo)

Following months of intense urban warfare and the occupation of the city by the RSF, Khartoum was retaken by government troops in early March.

Since then, an estimated 6,000 returnees have arrived in the city each day, according to state police. Most return with few possessions and even fewer options, compelled by necessity rather than optimism.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that roughly 400,000 people returned to Khartoum and surrounding states such as Al-Jazirah and Sennar between December and March.

The figures mark the first recorded decline — a modest 2.4 percent — in Sudan’s displaced population since the conflict began. Yet for many, the homecoming is fraught with hardship.

“Many of those returning home from abroad or from elsewhere in the country remain with critical needs, often coming back with only what can be easily carried, or returning to find their previous homes unsafe for dignified living,” Natalie Payne, program support officer in IOM’s emergency response team, told Arab News.

Much of Khartoum’s infrastructure — homes, schools, hospitals, power grids, and water treatment facilities — lies in ruins. In many neighborhoods, rubble clogs the streets, health clinics are shuttered, and there is no running water or electricity.

A man walks in the shrapnel-riddled ward of a hospital in Khartoum on April 28, 2025. (AFP photo)
Sudanese people gather at a camp for displaced people, in Port Sudan, on April 15, 2025. (AFP)

With no functioning schools or job opportunities, families are forced to rely on the overstretched aid system for survival.

Across Sudan, the needs are immense. Payne said IOM has recorded large-scale gaps in access to food, basic household goods, clean water, healthcare, and sanitation — not only for returnees but for communities that hosted them during the war.IN NUMBERS:

• 24.6 million People facing acute food insecurity in Sudan (World Food Programme)

• 12.5 million People displaced (inside and outside) since April 2023 (International Organization for Migration).

• 13.2 percent Proportion of humanitarian funding received for Sudan’s $4.2 billion UN appeal in 2025 (OCHA).

• 17 million Children out of school in Sudan (Oxfam).

Livelihood support is also urgently needed to help people rebuild some measure of stability.

However, international agencies face mounting challenges in responding. The war has displaced more than 11.3 million people inside Sudan and forced nearly four million more to seek refuge in neighboring countries — including Egypt, Chad, and South Sudan — making it the world’s largest displacement crisis.

Displaced Sudanese sit at a shelter after they were evacuated by the Sudanese army to a safer area in Omdurman, on May 13, 2025, amid the ongoing war in Sudan. (AFP)

At the same time, the conflict has sparked what the UN calls the world’s worst hunger crisis. Famine has already been declared in 10 areas, and aid officials fear this number will grow without immediate intervention.

“Given that the fighting has destroyed health, water, and sanitation infrastructure, IOM looks to operate mobile clinics, rehabilitate primary health care centers, and rehabilitate water infrastructure at gathering sites, as well as major border entry areas, such as the Askheet and Argeen border crossing point in Northern state between Sudan and Egypt,” said Payne.

To operate in insecure or hard-to-reach areas, aid agencies partner with local organizations that have access and trust. One such partner is Sudan Zero Waste Organization, a grassroots NGO based in Khartoum, which is helping prevent disease outbreaks in communities of return.

In a statement to Arab News, SZWO said cholera cases are rising in the capital and nearby Jebel Aulia due to a lack of safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

“Many returnees are being affected by cholera as a result of contact with the affected ones due to lack of awareness, lack of clean water access, and improper hygiene practices,” the organization said.

SZWO is collaborating with NGOs and UN agencies to rehabilitate water points and hygiene facilities. It also plans to scale up community kitchens to combat food insecurity and distribute cash to the most vulnerable households.

A victim of unexploded ordnance lies on a bed at a hospital in Omdurman on April 28, 2025, as the Sudanese army deepens control in the city. (REUTERS)

Long term, it hopes to support local healthcare centers in newly accessible areas, though it acknowledges that needs are currently far greater than capacity.

Meanwhile, global humanitarian funding is drying up. The UN’s Humanitarian Needs Response Plan for Sudan in 2025 is seeking $4.2 billion to reach nearly 21 million people. As of mid-May, only 13.2 percent of that amount had been secured.

Humanitarians also face logistical challenges, particularly during Sudan’s rainy season, which runs from June to October. Flooded terrain makes it difficult to reach remote or newly liberated areas, many of which are in desperate need of food and medical assistance.

“Access in Sudan is restricted at different times of the year due to adverse weather conditions,” said Payne. “Shocks throughout the rainy season can lead to increased needs with limited opportunities to respond.”

A van drives down a street in the capital Khartoum's southern neighborhood of al-Kalakla on April 29, 2025. (AFP)

And while some areas are stabilizing, violence is flaring elsewhere. Port Sudan, the de facto wartime capital and humanitarian hub, recently came under attack — prompting the UN to warn that continued hostilities there could disrupt aid operations across the country.

Other areas remain perilously unstable. West Kordofan and West Darfur have seen renewed fighting. In North Darfur, the SAF-held capital of Al-Fasher is under siege, and the nearby Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps — already gripped by famine — have come under attack.

These offensives have pushed new waves of displacement, with an estimated 450,000 people recently fleeing the region.

Displaced Sudanese sit at a shelter after they were evacuated by the Sudanese army to a safer area in Omdurman, on May 13, 2025, amid the ongoing war in Sudan.

Beyond Sudan’s borders, neighboring countries are also straining under the weight of the crisis. According to UNHCR, more than 2,000 people are crossing into Chad every day, with rising numbers arriving in Libya and Uganda.

Host countries, many of which are grappling with their own economic or security challenges, are running out of resources.

“Countries and communities receiving refugees have nothing to offer but a big heart,” Mamadou Dian Balde, UNHCR’s regional refugee coordinator for Sudan, told Arab News.

“In Eastern Chad today, we have more refugees than nationals. South Sudan, itself mired in poverty, is further struggling to meet the needs of Sudan’s refugees. If we do not put an end to this conflict, its repercussions will expand to other countries.”

A Sudanese refugee completes her biometric registration with UNHCR teams in the Tine transit center, in Tine, Wadi Fira province, Chad, on April 9, 2025. (AFP)

Within Sudan, the influx of returning and displaced populations into devastated neighborhoods is stretching local resources to breaking point. The economic collapse, lack of essential services, and ongoing violence have created perfect conditions for a humanitarian catastrophe.

Balde said while returns from abroad have begun, the conditions are far from ideal.

“We have started seeing people returning, but these returns happen in adverse circumstances,” he said. “Some people consider going back home or some families have decided to divide the family into two, sending some members first to go and see what properties they have left.”

Internally displaced people walk along a street in Juba, South Sudan, on Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)

He added: “People need support, but it needs to be balanced because there are returns that are not in large numbers versus the large number of refugees outside the country. I don’t know whether we will still see this large number of people returning if we continue hearing about all these attacks.”

Ultimately, aid agencies say the success of any return initiative hinges on far more than food or tents. It depends on a sustained ceasefire, political will and a long-term commitment from donors to rebuild essential infrastructure — from hospitals and schools to power stations and roads.

Until then, Sudan’s returnees in Khartoum must remain in a bleak and dangerous limbo while the SAF and RSF slug it out in other parts of the country.
 

 


Netanyahu says ready for Gaza ‘temporary ceasefire’

Netanyahu says ready for Gaza ‘temporary ceasefire’
Updated 21 May 2025
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Netanyahu says ready for Gaza ‘temporary ceasefire’

Netanyahu says ready for Gaza ‘temporary ceasefire’
  • Netanyahu's remarks came hours after Israeli troops fired what it called 'warning shots' near a delegation of foreign diplomats visiting the occupied West Bank
  • A European diplomat said the group had traveled to the area to witness the destruction caused by months of Israeli military raids

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday he was open to a “temporary ceasefire” in Gaza, as international pressure intensified over Israel’s renewed offensive and aid blockade in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
“If there is an option for a temporary ceasefire to free hostages, we’ll be ready,” Netanyahu said, noting that at least 20 hostages were confirmed alive.
But he added the Israeli military aimed to bring all of Gaza under its control by the end of its current operation.
“We must avoid a humanitarian crisis in order to preserve our freedom of operational action,” he said.
His remarks came hours after Israeli troops fired what the army called “warning shots” near a delegation of foreign diplomats visiting the occupied West Bank, triggering global condemnation and fresh diplomatic tension.
The Palestinian foreign ministry accused Israeli forces of “deliberately targeting by live fire an accredited diplomatic delegation” near the flashpoint city of Jenin.
A European diplomat said the group had traveled to the area to witness the destruction caused by months of Israeli military raids.
The Israeli army said “the delegation deviated from the approved route” and entered a restricted zone.
Troops opened fire to steer the group away, it said, adding no injuries were reported and expressing regret for the “inconvenience caused.”
Gazans are not receiving aid
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called on Israel to investigate the shooting and to hold those responsible “accountable.”
The incident came as anger mounted over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Palestinians are scrambling for basic supplies after weeks of near-total isolation.
Palestinian rescue teams said overnight Israeli strikes had killed at least 19 people, including a week-old baby.

No one is distributing anything to us. Everyone is waiting for aid, but we haven’t received anything

Umm Talal Al-Masri, displaced Palestinian in Gaza City

A two-month total blockade was only partially eased this week, with aid allowed into the territory for the first time since March 2, a move leading to critical food and medicine shortages.
Israel said 100 trucks with aid entered Gaza on Wednesday, following 93 the day before which the United Nations has said had been held up.
Humanitarian groups have said that the amount falls far short of what is required to ease the crisis.
Umm Talal Al-Masri, 53, a displaced Palestinian in Gaza City, described the situation as “unbearable.”
“No one is distributing anything to us. Everyone is waiting for aid, but we haven’t received anything,” she said.
“We’re grinding lentils and pasta to make some loaves of bread, and we barely manage to prepare one meal a day.”
The army stepped up its offensive at the weekend, vowing to defeat Gaza’s Hamas rulers, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war.
Israel has faced massive pressure, including from traditional allies, to halt its expanded offensive and allow aid into Gaza.
Kallas said “a strong majority” of EU foreign ministers backed the move to review its trade cooperation with Israel.
EU pressure on Israel
Sweden said it would press the 27-nation bloc to impose sanctions on Israeli ministers, while Britain suspended free-trade negotiations with Israel and summoned the Israeli ambassador.
Pope Leo XIV described the situation in Gaza as “worrying and painful” and called for “the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid.”
Israel’s foreign ministry has said the EU action “reflects a total misunderstanding of the complex reality Israel is facing.”
Germany defended a key EU-Israel cooperation deal as “an important forum that we must use in order to discuss critical questions” over the situation in Gaza.
In Gaza, Israel resumed its operations across the territory on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire.
Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the military says are dead.
Gaza’s health ministry said Tuesday at least 3,509 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,655.


Rubio says some ‘optimism’ Gaza war could end ‘pretty quickly’

Rubio says some ‘optimism’ Gaza war could end ‘pretty quickly’
Updated 21 May 2025
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Rubio says some ‘optimism’ Gaza war could end ‘pretty quickly’

Rubio says some ‘optimism’ Gaza war could end ‘pretty quickly’
  • “We may have breakthrough achievements,” Rubio told a congressional hearing
  • “I don’t want to be disappointed on it again, but I want you to know there are efforts ongoing”

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced guarded optimism Wednesday for a solution “pretty quickly” to end the Gaza war.
“I have some level of optimism that we may have breakthrough achievements here pretty quickly, hopefully on an end to this and the release of all the hostages,” Rubio told a congressional hearing.
Rubio acknowledged that he has made such predictions before and said he did not “want to get ahead of myself.”
“I have felt that way now at least four separate times in the last couple of months, and for one reason or another at the last minute, it didn’t happen,” he said.
“I don’t want to be disappointed on it again, but I want you to know there are efforts ongoing to both provide more humanitarian assistance and bring about the end of this conflict.”