UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres flew to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula yesterday in a push to get aid flowing into the besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza, but it was unclear when delivery of relief materials stockpiled in Egypt would start.
In Geneva, Switzerland, the UN humanitarian office said it was in advanced talks with all parties in the Israel-Hamas conflict to ensure an aid operation can soon be conducted in Gaza.
The US said details of a deal to send aid through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza were still being hammered out.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Earlier, Washington said agreement had been reached for the passage of the first 20 trucks, but UN officials said that any delivery of aid needs to be done at scale and in a sustained way.
Before the current conflict between Israel and Hamas, which controls Gaza, about 450 aid trucks were arriving there daily.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people depend on humanitarian aid.
“We are in deep and advanced negotiations with all relevant sides to ensure that an aid operation into Gaza starts as quickly as possible and with the right conditions,” UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokesperson Jens Laerke told reporters.
In related news, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) yesterday said a chartered plane has been arranged to evacuate Taiwanese from Israel, which was to depart from Tel Aviv at about 5:40pm yesterday Taipei time, making a stopover at Fiumicino International Airport in Rome, and was expected to arrive in Rome at about 8:25pm yesterday Taipei time.
Wu said as of yesterday afternoon there were 16 people that were to take the chartered flight, including nine Taiwanese, and that five of them are a family, three are backpackers, and one is a student; while the other seven people are from diplomatic allies — six from Guatemala and one from Paraguay.
As of yesterday morning, there were still 137 Taiwanese in Israel who were not willing to take the evacuation flight, Wu said.
Additional reporting by CNA
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
RSS