In the Gaza Strip there is a lack of basic necessities. Help could soon come from the Mediterranean. The news at a glance.
In view of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, goods are now to arrive by sea in addition to deliveries by air. The US military, together with international partners, wants to set up a temporary port in the Palestinian territory. Large ships loaded with relief supplies will be able to dock at a pier in the port, a high-ranking US government official said.
According to Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), Germany is also working with partners such as Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates on an aid corridor for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip across the Mediterranean.
Mothers in coastal areas have problems breastfeeding babies
The temporary US port will provide “capacity for hundreds of additional truckloads of aid per day,” another US government official said. No further details about the plans were initially given.
The United States and other countries have also recently begun air-delivering aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip. In the coastal area there is a lack of essentials. United Nations representatives recently warned the UN Security Council that thousands of civilians would starve to death. A dpa employee in the Gaza Strip reported that many young mothers had problems breastfeeding their babies because of the poor nutritional situation.
Baerbock calls for more border crossings to be opened
“The Israeli government must finally open more border crossings for humanitarian deliveries and ensure that this aid arrives,” demanded Baebock. “That is their responsibility, especially because every single aid package counts.” The suffering in Gaza is becoming more terrible every day and can hardly be put into words. “It cannot and must not continue like this,” said the Green politician. At the same time, she warned that the Israeli hostages must finally be released.
There is still no breakthrough in talks about the release of more people kidnapped from Israel and a ceasefire in the Gaza war. Participants from Hamas and the mediating states of the USA and Qatar left the Egyptian capital Cairo, according to security circles at the airport. The mediators hope to reach an agreement by the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins around March 10 this year. The state-affiliated Egyptian broadcaster Al-Kahira News quoted an unnamed high-ranking source as saying that negotiations will continue next week.
According to Israel, more aid is coming to Gaza than before the war
Meanwhile, Israel called for the International Court of Justice in The Hague to vigorously reject South Africa’s urgent application for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. Pretoria had called on the court to order Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Israel is acting in accordance with international law and is allowing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman wrote on X. “South Africa continues to act as the legal arm of Hamas and acts against Israel’s right to defend itself and its citizens to work for the release of the abductees.”
According to the Israeli government, more aid supplies are currently arriving in the coastal strip than before the start of the war. There are no restrictions on the amount of aid deliveries. But there is a problem with distribution within the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu: Will also take action against Hamas in Rafah
According to a survey, many Germans believe that Israel’s military action in the Palestinian territory in response to the Hamas terrorist attack goes too far. 50 percent of those surveyed expressed this opinion in a survey by the Infratest dimap institute for the ARD Germany trend. According to the information, this is 9 percentage points more than in a comparable survey in November. 28 percent consider the reaction to be appropriate, while another 5 percent think it doesn’t go far enough.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to insist on a military operation in Rafah to take action against the remaining Hamas battalions there. We must resist international pressure and counter attempts to end the war together, said Netanyahu. “Those who tell us not to operate in Rafah are telling us to lose the war.”
Even after five months of war, extremist Palestinians continue to fire projectiles from the Gaza Strip towards Israel. According to Israeli media, three rockets hit Israeli territory on Thursday evening. There were initially no reports of injuries or damage.
The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, in which terrorists from the Islamist Hamas and other extremist groups murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 in Israel on October 7th. Israel responded with massive bombings and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. More than 30,000 people have been killed since then, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority. According to the army, there are around 10,000 terrorists among them.
China calls for end to violence against civilians
China’s foreign minister called for an end to violence against civilians in the Gaza Strip. “There can no longer be any justification for the continuation of the conflict and no excuse for the killing of civilians,” Wang Yi said in Beijing. Wang did not mention Hamas’s brutal massacre. “All prisoners” must be released and the international community must work for an immediate ceasefire, he said.
More than 100 Israeli hostages are currently still in the hands of Hamas following the terrorist attack on October 7th. They will be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel if an agreement can be reached.
Spain supports UNRWA with 20 million euros
With a view to the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, Spain wants to support the criticized UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA) with a further 20 million euros. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares announced this after a meeting with UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini in Madrid. He promised Lazzarini the Spanish government’s support for “the important work” of the aid organization. The money is intended to ensure nutrition, education and health for thousands of Palestinian families. Only at the beginning of February did Spain announce a special payment of 3.5 million euros.
More than a dozen countries, including the largest donors the USA and Germany, recently suspended their payments to the Palestinian relief organization. The background is allegations that UNRWA employees were involved in the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7th. The investigations into the terror allegations are not yet completed.
Circles: Canada resumes UNRWA funding
Meanwhile, Canada wants to resume its funding of UNRWA. Diplomatic circles confirmed media reports to the dpa in New York that Ottawa would soon announce that it would increase its funding for UNRWA. The Canadian public TV broadcaster CBC had reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government wanted to make a payment of the equivalent of more than 15 million euros as well as an extra sum. However, the step has not yet been officially announced. Canada also initially froze its funding for UNRWA following the terror allegations. UNRWA is currently considered to have no alternative for providing humanitarian care to more than two million civilians in the Gaza Strip.