Gaza starvation and food blockade updates
Defence affairs
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone and urged him to let in more emergency aid into the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera reports citing the dpa news agency.
Following the call, a spokesman for Merz said that “it was urgent that Israel immediately allow sufficient humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and to ensure its safe distribution”, the agency reports.
The report comes as international criticism grows of Israeli forces shooting and killing desperate aid seekers at aid distribution points run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Egypt FM says ‘unacceptable to use hunger as a weapon’ against Palestinians
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has said his country is exerting maximum pressure to end the Israeli onslaught against Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.
“We are pressing with all our strength to end the war on Gaza, and we hope to reach an agreement to stop the bloodshed in Gaza as soon as possible,” Abdelatty told a news conference in Cairo.
“It is unacceptable to use hunger as a weapon against the Palestinians in Gaza,” said Abdelatty.
He stressed the “urgent need for unrestricted and full access of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip”.
WFP chief warns Gaza could be humanitarian catastrophe ‘like none other’
Cindy McCain, the executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), has urged the Israeli government to grant the UN agency access to the Gaza Strip, warning that the humanitarian catastrophe there could be “like none other”.
“It’s a tragedy. And what we need right now is an immediate ceasefire, complete, unfettered access, along with the safe fence roads, every gate open, to feed people and stop this catastrophe from happening,” McCain told the US broadcaster.
Chile’s president vows to ramp up pressure on Israel as term winds down
Chile’s President Gabriel Boric has promised to step up the pressure against Israel over its onslaught in Gaza during his government’s last nine months in office, Al Jazeera reports.
He made the comments during a wide-ranging three-hour speech to the National Congress in the coastal city of Valparaiso. The speech is his last annual address to Congress.
In comments that prompted huge cheers and jeers from opposite sides of Congress, Boric said he will introduce a law to ban imports from what he called “illegally occupied territories” and back efforts by Spain for an arms embargo against Israel.
Boric had recently recalled military personnel from Chile’s embassy in Israel and summoned the ambassador for questioning, the report added.
Qatar and Egypt push for new ceasefire under US-backed proposal
Qatar and Egypt say they are intensifying efforts to reach a ceasefire, working to bridge gaps between Hamas and Israel based on a proposal put forward by the US envoy to the Middle East, Al Jazeera reports.
In a joint statement, both countries confirmed coordination with the United States and urged concerned sides to engage responsibly in indirect negotiations aimed at ending the conflict.
The proposed deal includes a 60-day truce that could lead to a permanent ceasefire, the entry of humanitarian aid and the reopening of crossings, the statement said. The goal is to relieve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and launch full-scale reconstruction efforts in line with the roadmap adopted at the Arab League summit in Cairo in March.
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