CAIRO: Famine has been mostly averted in Gaza as a surge of aid enters the territory during a fragile ceasefire, the United Nations humanitarian chief said Sunday. But he warned the threat could return quickly if the truce collapses.
Tom Fletcher spoke to The Associated Press after a two-day visit to Gaza, where hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid have arrived each day since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19.
“The threat of famine, I think, is largely averted,” Fletcher said in Cairo. “Those starvation levels are down from where they were before the ceasefire.”
He spoke as concerns grow over whether the ceasefire can be extended and talks are meant to begin on its more difficult second phase. The six-week first phase is halfway through.
As part of the agreement, Israel said it would allow 600 aid trucks into Gaza each day, a major increase after months of aid officials expressing frustration about delays and insecurity hampering both the entry and distribution of food, medicines and other badly needed items.
The UN humanitarian office has said more than 12,600 aid trucks have entered Gaza since the ceasefire took effect.
Fletcher urged both Hamas, which quickly reasserted its control of the territory in the hours after the ceasefire took effect, and Israel to stick to the deal that has “saved so many lives.”
“The conditions are still terrible, and people are still hungry,” he said. “If the ceasefire falls, if the ceasefire breaks, then very quickly those (famine-like) conditions will come back again.”
The internationally recognized mortality threshold for famine is two or more deaths a day per 10,000 people.
For months before the current ceasefire, food security monitors, UN officials and others had been warning of possible famine in parts of devastated Gaza, especially the north, which had been largely isolated since the earliest weeks of the 16-month war. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been able to return to the north under the ceasefire.
“We can’t ... sit by and just allow these people to starve to death,” Cindy McCain, the American head of the UN World Food Program, told CBS in December. The Biden administration repeatedly urged Israel to allow more aid deliveries and warned that failing to do so could trigger US restrictions on military support.
Fletcher said more food and medical supplies are crucially needed for the territory of more than 2 million people, most of them displaced, and he expressed concerns about disease outbreaks due to the lack of basic health supplies. He also called for scaling up the delivery of tents and other shelters to those who have returned to their home areas, as winter continues.
“We must get tens of thousands of tents very rapidly in, so that people who are moving back, particularly moving back into the north, are able to take shelter from those conditions,” he said.
Fletcher entered the Palestinian territory through the Erez crossing between Israel and northern Gaza, where he said he drove through “bombed-out, flattened and pulverized” areas.
“You can’t see the difference between a school or a hospital or a home,” he said of the north.
He said he saw people trying to find where their homes had been and collecting the bodies of loved ones from the rubble. He saw dogs looking for corpses in the rubble, too.
“It is a horror movie. It’s a horror show,” he said. “It breaks your heart again and again and again. You drive for miles and miles and miles, and this is all you see.”
Fletcher acknowledged that some Palestinians have been angry at the international community over the war and its response.
“There was despair and anger. And I can understand the anger at the world that this has happened to them,” he said. “But there was also a sense of defiance as well. People were saying, ‘We will go back to our homes. We will go back to the places that we have lived for generations, and we will rebuild.’”
UN humanitarian chief says Gaza ceasefire has averted famine but any truce collapse brings danger
https://arab.news/55mfg
UN humanitarian chief says Gaza ceasefire has averted famine but any truce collapse brings danger
- Fletcher urged both Hamas, which quickly reasserted its control of the territory in the hours after the ceasefire took effect, and Israel to stick to the deal that has “saved so many lives”
Sudan war drains life from once-thriving island in capital’s heart
Nestled at the confluence of the Blue and White Nile rivers, Tuti Island has been devastated by two years of war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with residents subjected to violence and looting.
When fighting broke out on April 15, 2023, RSF fighters swiftly captured the crescent-shaped island, forcing residents to flee in panic.
“They fled in feluccas (sailing boats), leaving everything behind,” said Youssef Al-Naim, 67, one of the handful of residents who never left.
The war has devastated the nation, killed tens of thousands and uprooted 13 million, according to the United Nations.
At the beginning of the war, the RSF had gained control of wide swathes of the capital, outflanking the army in the north and south, before the tides turned in the army’s favor earlier this year.
The island, accessible only by a single suspension bridge, was cut off and besieged by the RSF since the war began.
Residents were deprived of food, electricity and safe drinking water, even before fighters descended on the island.
“We used to carry water from a well for washing and drink from the Nile,” Naim said.
“Sometimes we couldn’t reach the river and drank the well water, which made people sick.”
Those able to pay for passage, fled in sailing boats and then the back of lorries, headed east.
“Every day, 10 or more people would leave,” Naim recalled as he sat on a tattered fabric chair.
Tuti island was once known as “Khartoum’s garden” for its verdant fields of beans, arugula and fruit trees that supplied much of the capital’s produce.
Now, the eight-square-kilometer (three-square-mile) floating patch, overlooking Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri (Khartoum North) which form the greater Sudanese capital, appears nearly lifeless.
“For nearly two years, I haven’t seen a single tomato,” Naim said.
An AFP team that visited the island after the army retook it in March saw signs of the sudden exodus.
Doors hung ajar, children’s toys were scattered across the ground and shredded fabric fluttered through the ruins.
On March 22, Sudan’s army regained control of the Tuti bridge as part of its broader offensive to retake Khartoum. Within a week, Burhan declared the capital “free.”
But the scars of two years of war run deep, with RSF fighters accused of subjecting civilians to indiscriminate violence.
“They beat children, the elderly and even pregnant women,” Abdel Hai Hamza, another resident, told AFP.
Witnesses also described systematic looting, with fighters raiding homes in search of gold jewelry, cash and weapons.
“They had to leave houses with something,” added Hamza, 33.
The conflict has decimated Sudan’s infrastructure, crumbled an already weak economy and pushed millions to the brink of mass starvation.
In Khartoum alone, at least 3.5 million have been displaced while 100,000 are suffering from famine-levels of hunger, according to the UN.
Both the army and the RSF have been accused of war crimes, but the paramilitary in particular has become notorious for allegedly committing systematic sexual violence, ethnic cleansing and massive looting.
Now, with the bridge to Tuti reopened and RSF fighters pushed out, some residents are making their way back, determined to rebuild their lives.
“Residents are trying to restore electricity,” after cables were cut by the RSF, said Sherif Al-Tayeb, a former resident of Tuti who now lives abroad and still has close friends among the island’s residents.
Despite the devastation, small groups of civilians clean the streets with shovels and buckets, while dump trucks haul away the remnants of their shattered lives.
UN human rights office concerned about Israeli strikes on civilians in Lebanon
- At least 71 civilians — including 14 women and nine children — have been killed by Israeli forces in Lebanon
GENEVA: The United Nations human rights office is concerned about the protection of civilians in Lebanon as Israeli military operations have continued to kill civilians since the ceasefire.
“Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians,” the spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the High Commissioner of Human Rights, Thameen Al-Kheetan, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.
At least 71 civilians — including 14 women and nine children — have been killed by Israeli forces in Lebanon, since the ceasefire came into effect on 27 November last year, and 92,000 are still displaced, according to OHCHR.
“We are calling for investigations into all allegations of violations...Each and every military action where civilians are killed must be investigated,” Al-Kheetan said.
“The ceasefire must hold and any escalation is a risk for stability in general in Lebanon, Israel and the whole region,” he added.
Israeli airstrike hits hospital entrance in Gaza, killing medic and wounding 9 other people
- The Israeli military has struck hospitals on several occasions during the 18-month war
DEIR AL-BALAH: An Israeli airstrike hit the northern gate of a field hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing a medic and wounding nine other people, a spokesman for the hospital said.
The strike hit the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in the Muwasi area, where hundreds of thousands have sought shelter in sprawling tent camps. The wounded were all patients and medics, and two of the patients were in critical condition after the strike, said Saber Mohammed, a hospital spokesman.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
The military has struck hospitals on several occasions during the 18-month war, accusing Hamas militants of hiding out in them or using them for military purposes. Hospital staff have denied the allegations and accused Israel of recklessly endangering civilians and gutting the territory's health system.
On Sunday, Israel struck the last major hospital providing critical care in northern Gaza after ordering an evacuation. A patient died during the evacuation, and the strike severely damaged the emergency room, pharmacy and surrounding buildings, according to Al-Ahli Hospital.
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which runs the hospital, condemned the strike.
A spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the UN chief is “deeply alarmed” at Sunday's strike by Israeli forces on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza.
“Under international humanitarian law, wounded and sick, medical personnel and medical facilities, including hospitals, must be respected and protected,” the UN chief's spokesperson said Tuesday.
Israel said it targeted a Hamas command and control center within the facility, without providing evidence. Hamas denied the allegations.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed nearly 51,000 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says women and children make up more than half of the dead. The offensive has destroyed a vast part of the territory and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians.
Hamas says it’s sending a delegation to Qatar to continue Gaza ceasefire talks
- Hamas official says group likely to respond to Israel truce proposal within 48 hours
- Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry said that 38 people were confirmed dead over the past day
DEIR AL-BALAH: A senior Hamas official told AFP on Tuesday that the Palestinian Islamist movement will “most likely” respond to an Israeli ceasefire proposal it received through mediators within 48 hours.
“Hamas will most likely send its response to the mediators within the next 48 hours, as the movement is still conducting in-depth consultations... within its leadership framework, as well as with resistance factions, in order to formulate a unified position,” the official told AFP.
A Hamas official said Monday that the group is sending a delegation to Qatar to continue indirect ceasefire talks with Israel over the war in Gaza, as the territory’s Health Ministry said that 38 people were confirmed dead over the past day.
The Hamas official said teams have been discussing terms for a new ceasefire agreement over recent days in Cairo, including a proposal that Hamas free eight to 10 hostages held in Gaza. But the Hamas official said a major sticking point remained over whether the war would end as part of any new deal.
The talks in Qatar are meant to take place later this week or next, the official said.
The Hamas official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the sensitive talks with the media. Officials from Israel and Qatar had no immediate comment.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in January that lasted eight weeks before Israel resumed the war last month. The initial ceasefire agreement was meant to bring the sides toward negotiating an end to the war, something Israel has resisted doing because it wants to defeat Hamas first.
Hundreds have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire collapsed
Since the ceasefire fell apart last month, Israel has blocked aid from entering Gaza and forces have also seized swaths of the coastal enclave in a bid to ratchet up pressure on Hamas to agree to a deal more aligned with Israel’s terms.
On Monday, the United Nations humanitarian office warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is now likely to be “the worst” since Israel launched its retaliation to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, pointing to the Israeli ban on all supplies entering the Gaza Strip since March 2.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters: “No fuel has come in, no food has come in, no medicine has come in.”
The war started when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, during the attack on southern Israel and took 251 people captive. Most have since been freed in ceasefire agreements and other deals. Fifty-nine remain in Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to still be alive.
Nearly 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count but says more than half of the dead have been women and children.
The Health Ministry said Monday that the bodies of 38 people killed in Israeli strikes were brought to hospitals across the territory over the past 24 hours. It said more than 1,600 people have been killed since the ceasefire collapsed.
The Red Cross says Israel has detained a Palestinian medic
Also Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that a Palestinian medic was detained during an Israeli military operation in which troops killed 15 first responders in the Gaza Strip. It was the first confirmation of the medic’s whereabouts since the March 23 attack in southern Gaza.
A statement from the Red Cross said it has not been granted access to visit him and did not say how it had received confirmation of his detention. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
The Israeli military initially said troops had opened fire on vehicles that raised suspicion because they were traveling without lights on. It later backtracked after a cellphone video emerged showing clearly marked ambulances traveling with their sirens flashing before the shooting.
The military also said it killed nine militants traveling in the ambulances, without providing evidence. It named one of the militants, but the name did not match those of any of the paramedics, and no other bodies are known to have been recovered.
The military says it is investigating further.
Sudan’s two years of war have ‘shattered’ children’s lives: UNICEF
- The number of children in need of humanitarian assistance has doubled in two years
UNITED NATIONS, United States: The number of major violations against children in Sudan, from killings to abductions, has increased by 1,000 percent following two years of civil war, UNICEF said Monday, calling for increased global awareness.
The United Nations children’s agency said that such incidents — which also include maiming and attacks on schools and hospitals — had previously been confined to a few regions.
But the ongoing nature of the conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and Sudan’s army had resulted in their spread to further areas.
“Two years of violence and displacement have shattered the lives of millions of children across Sudan,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.
“The number of grave violations against children has surged by 1,000 percent in two years,” the statement said.
For example, the number of children killed or maimed has increased drastically from 150 verified cases in 2022 to an estimated 2,776 across 2023 and 2024, according to figures provided to AFP by UNICEF, which are likely underestimates.
Attacks on schools and hospitals have also gone up from 33 verified cases in 2022 to around 181 over the two prior years.
Furthermore, the number of children in need of humanitarian assistance has doubled in two years, from 7.8 million at the beginning of 2023 to more than 15 million today, UNICEF said.
“Sudan is the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world today, but it is not getting the world’s attention,” Russell said, adding “we cannot abandon the children of Sudan.”
“We have the expertise and the resolve to scale up our support, but we need access and sustained funding,” she said.
The war between army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, first erupted in April 2023.
Since then, the conflict has left tens of thousands dead and displaced 13 million people, according to the UN.
Famine has additionally been declared in at least five locations, including the Zamzam displacement camp in Darfur, where the RSF recently wrested control.
With the arrival of the rainy season and the risk of flooding, the situation in Sudan could worsen further. According to UNICEF, this year’s rainy season could result in 462,000 children suffering severe acute malnutrition.
