[ad_1]
No humanitarian aid for Gaza until Israeli hostages returned, Israeli minister says
Israel’s energy minister said there will be no humanitarian aid for Gaza until Israelis taken hostage by Hamas are returned home.
“No electrical switch will be turned on, no water stop cork will be opened, and no fuel truck will enter until the kidnapped Israelis are returned home,” Israel Katz said on X, formerly Twitter, Thursday.
“Humanitarian for humanitarian. And no one will preach us morals,” Katz wrote.
Aid organizations and the United Nations have been sounding the alarm about a growing humanitarian crisis in the densely populated Gaza Strip since Israel announced a complete blockade Monday, cutting off supplies of fuel, food, water and electricity, in retaliation for the unprecedented Hamas attack this weekend. It comes amid a barrage of air strikes from Israel, which has already displaced more than a quarter million people in the enclave.
3 Chinese nationals killed and 2 missing, Foreign Ministry says
The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday that three Chinese nationals had been killed and two are missing in the Israel-Hamas war.
Several others have been injured, ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.
“We express our deep sorrow for the victims, and express our sincere condolences to the families of the victims and the injured,” he said.
It was unclear whether the number of missing Wang cited included Noa Argamani, 25, whose abduction from a music festival by Hamas was seen in a widely shared video and who the Israeli Embassy in China says is a Chinese-Israeli who was born in Beijing.
Gaza morgue inundated with bodies
A morgue worker arranges body bags at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Thursday.
Number of displaced people in Gaza rises to 263,000; all 13 hospitals only partially operational, U.N. says
The mass displacement of civilians in Gaza has now topped 263,000 people, the United Nations said Wednesday, with more than 175,000 sheltering in U.N. schools in the enclave that’s home to more than 2 million people.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in its daily update that more than 1,000 housing units in Gaza have been destroyed since Israel launched its air strike mission on the region.
All 13 hospitals and other health facilities in the enclave are only partially operational due to supply shortages and fuel rationing, the U.N. said.
Ceasefire is imperative, China’s Mideast envoy tells Palestinian official
China is “deeply saddened” by the war between Israel and Hamas and the civilian deaths and injuries that have resulted, and calls for an immediate ceasefire, Beijing’s Middle East envoy told a Palestinian official.
The international community should work together to de-escalate the situation and provide Palestinians with humanitarian assistance, the envoy, Zhai Jun, said in a phone call on Wednesday with Amal Jadou, first deputy minister of Palestinian foreign affairs.
Zhai also reiterated China’s support for a two-state solution.
“China will continue to promote a ceasefire to stop the violence, help alleviate the humanitarian crisis, and actively promote peace and negotiations, so as to play a constructive role in promoting a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine,” Zhai told Jadou, according to a readout published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken lands in Tel Aviv
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has landed in Tel Aviv, five days after a surprise Hamas attack on Israel.
The State Department said Tuesday Blinken’s message was one of solidarity and support. Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken will be meeting with senior leaders in the Israeli government about the situation on the ground and how the U.S. can continue to best support Israel.
[ad_2]
Source link