An international effort is gathering pace to get desperately needed humanitarian relief into Gaza by sea in a bid to counter overland access restrictions blamed on Israel as it battles Hamas militants, with a US charity preparing a ship to sail the maritime corridor.
The dire conditions more than five months into the war have led some countries to airdrop food and other assistance over the besieged Gaza Strip, but a parachute malfunction turned the latest operation lethal on Friday.
Five Palestinians were killed and 10 wounded north of the coastal al-Shati refugee camp, said Mohammed al-Sheikh, emergency room head nurse at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital.
Photo: EPA-EFE
A witness said that he and his brother followed the parachuted aid in the hope of getting “a bag of flour.”
“Then, all of a sudden, the parachute didn’t open and fell down like a rocket,” hitting a house, Mohammed al-Ghoul said.
Jordanian and US military officials denied that aircraft from either country caused the fatalities.
“We express sympathies to the families of those who were killed,” the US Central Command said in a statement. “Contrary to some reports, this was not the result of US airdrops.”
Belgium, Egypt, France and the Netherlands were also involved in the airdrop.
In the Cypriot port of Larnaca, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed hope that the maritime corridor could open today, although details remained unclear.
She said a “pilot operation” was to be launched on Friday, aided by the United Arab Emirates, which secured “the first of many shipments of goods to the people of Gaza.”
The Spanish-flagged vessel Open Arms docked three weeks ago in Cyprus, the closest EU country to the Gaza Strip.
“World Central Kitchen teams are in Cyprus loading pallets of humanitarian aid onto a boat headed to northern Gaza,” the charity said in a statement.
“The endeavor to establish a humanitarian maritime corridor in Gaza is making progress, and our tugboat stands prepared to embark at a moment’s notice, laden with tons of food, water, and vital supplies for Palestinian civilians,” Open Arms wrote on X.
There are no functioning ports in Gaza and officials did not say where the initial shipments would go, whether they would be subject to inspection by Israel, or who would distribute aid.
The Pentagon on Friday said that a US plan to establish a “temporary offshore maritime pier” in Gaza would take up to 60 days and would likely involve more than 1,000 American personnel.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden’s growing frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to mount, with the Democrat captured on a hot mic saying that he and the Israeli leader would need to have a “come to Jesus meeting.”
The comments by Biden came as he spoke with US Senator Michael Bennet in the US Capitol building following Thursday night’s State of the Union address.
In the exchange, Bennet congratulates Biden on his speech and urges the president to keep pressing Netanyahu on growing humanitarian concerns in Gaza.
Biden then responds using Netanyahu’s nickname, saying: “I told him, Bibi, and don’t repeat this, but you and I are going to have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting.”
An aide to the president standing nearby then speaks quietly into the president’s ear, appearing to alert Biden that microphones remained on as he worked the room.
“I’m on a hot mic here,” Biden says after being alerted. “Good. That’s good.”
The president on Friday acknowledged the comments, lightheartedly poking at reporters that they were “eavesdropping” on his conversation.
Asked if he thought Netanyahu should be doing more to alleviate the humanitarian suffering, Biden responded: “Yes, he does.”
Additional reporting by AP
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
Africa has established the continent’s first space agency to boost Earth observation and data sharing at a time when a more hostile global context is limiting the availability of climate and weather information. The African Space Agency opened its doors last month under the umbrella of the African Union and is headquartered in Cairo. The new organization, which is still being set up and hiring people in key positions, is to coordinate existing national space programs. It aims to improve the continent’s space infrastructure by launching satellites, setting up weather stations and making sure data can be shared across