World Food Programme stocks in Gaza have run out under Israel’s blockade, UN agency says
The UN food agency has warned its food stocks in Gaza have run out under Israel’s blockade.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has been a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.
In a statement, it said it had delivered its last remaining food stocks on Friday, with kitchens it supports expected to fully run out of food in the coming days.
The WFP said it has 116,000 tonnes of food, enough to feed one million people for up to four months, ready to be brought into Gaza as soon as Israel lifts its nearly eight-week blockade.
Some 80% of Gaza’s population of more than two million people rely primarily on charity kitchens for food after other sources shut down due to the sustained closure of crossings into the enclave, according to the UN.
Palestinians receive food from a charity kitchen. Pic: Reuters/Mahmoud Issa
A charity kitchen among the rubble in Gaza. Pic: Reuters/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Such kitchens, the WFP said, have been the “only consistent source of food” for the people of Gaza for weeks.
The WFP distributes 644,000 meals a day, according to its spokesperson, and in its absence, it isn’t clear how many kitchens will be operating in Gaza.
Speaking on his way to Rome for the Pope’s funeral, US President Donald Trump claimed he had pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get more food and medicine into Gaza.
The deepening crisis takes place against the backdrop of continued Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
At least 78 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
It comes after a Sky News investigation into Israeli killings of aid workers found inconsistencies in the Israel Defence Forces’ version of events.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sky News investigation reveals how Israel’s deadly attack on aid workers unfolded
Israel’s blockade
Israel is yet to comment on the latest warnings by the WFP.
It cut off the entry of all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies on 2 March and resumed bombing Gaza two weeks later, ending a two-month ceasefire.
Israel made the decision to stop aid going into Gaza after Hamas rejected an Israeli request to extend the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire.
A girl waits with other Palestinians to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters/Mahmoud Issa
While Hamas wanted to move on to the second phase of the ceasefire, working towards a permanent peace, Israel wanted to immediately release more hostages, extending the then-current phase.
Responding to previous criticisms of its blockade, Israel has claimed Hamas hijacks the aid trucks and “turns aid into weapons”.
Humanitarian workers deny there is a diversion of supplies, saying the UN strictly monitors distribution.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The UK government previously said that Israel was breaking international law by stopping aid from getting into Gaza.
With no new food entering Gaza, many items have disappeared from the markets, including meat, eggs, fruits, dairy products and many vegetables.
Prices for what remains have risen dramatically, now unaffordable for much of the population.
Malnutrition is already surging and many leading charities have repeatedly warned of a humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
Read more from Sky News:
Inside Pope Francis’s final farewell
Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty
Warhol art ‘most likely’ thrown away by Dutch town hall
The latest round of fighting began on 7 October 2023 when Hamas and other militant groups surged across the southern Israeli border, killing some 1,200 people and abducting 251 hostages.
Most have since been released, but the release of those remaining has proven a sticking point in any ceasefire efforts.
More than 51,000 people have been killed in Israel’s offensive, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.
World
US blocks Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials from United Nations’ annual meeting in New York
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending September’s annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the US visas of delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and denied others from applying for one.
It is the latest step by Donald Trump’s administration to target Palestinians with visa restrictions, and follows the suspension of a programme to allow injured children from Gaza to receive treatment in the US.
Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month’s meeting. Pic: Reuters
“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” a statement from the US State Department said.
It added that, to be considered partners for peace, both groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO”.
Offensive will cause ‘intolerable deaths’
Several US allies, including France, Malta, and Australia have announced plans to recognise Palestine as a state at September’s United Nations General Assembly. Canada and the UK will too, unless Israel meets certain conditions.
Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone on Friday.
The army launched a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Thick smoke rises from Gaza City after Israeli strikes
Foreign ministers from Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain released a joint statement saying the military operations in Gaza City will cause “intolerable deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians”.
Gaza latest: Israel’s Gaza City offensive condemned
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Gaza City while enduring famine.
An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP
Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Riyad Mansour, said Mr Abbas had planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the general assembly at the general debate, which begins on 23 September.
He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on 22 September about a two-state solution, a broad idea involving Israel coexisting with an independent Palestinian state.
The State of Palestine is an observer member of the UN, meaning it can speak at meetings but not vote on resolutions.
The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP
US decision ‘contravenes international law’
The Palestinian Authority “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, calling it “a violation of US commitments” as the host of the UN, and claiming it “contravenes international law”.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification in the “hope that this will be resolved”.
Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.
Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.
But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
Read more from Sky News:
Analysis: Israel is killing a lot of journalists
Hospitals ‘overwhelmed’ by malnutrition cases
Tony Blair meets Trump over Gaza
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 63,025, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
It also reported five more malnutrition-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number during the war to 322, with 121 of them children.
World
Brazil implores businesses to attend major climate summit, despite ‘second thoughts’ amid Trump backlash
The Brazilian hosts of the biggest climate meeting of the year have implored businesses to attend in November, amid concerns some are backing away from the climate agenda into the shadow of Donald Trump.
In an interview with Sky News, Ana Toni, chief executive of the COP30 climate summit in November, admitted some companies were having “second thoughts” about the global switch to green economies because policymakers were creating uncertainty.
The US President Donald Trump has been attacking wind farms and waging tariff wars that could slow the transition to green energy.
Banks including HSBC and Barclays have ditched a net zero alliance set up just four years ago by Mark Carney, now the Canadian Prime Minister.
Ana Toni, Brazil’s climate secretary, is chief executive of the COP30 climate talks. Pic: Reuters
But even before Trump took office, tech companies were quietly dropping climate targets to prioritise energy-hungry AI, and other businesses were “greenhushing” their climate initiatives for fear of backlash.
In this environment, there are fears fewer business leaders will attend the annual talks, which are also being hosted in a city on the edge of the Amazon that hasn’t enough hotel rooms.
On Friday, the COP30 team wrote to business leaders urging them to “step forward, not back” and travel to Belem, despite “logistical challenges” and the “background of systemic uncertainty”.
Ana Toni told Sky News: “We are very concerned that the enabling conditions must be there so that the private sector can also deliver where they do best, which is bringing in technology, bringing innovation and accelerating the process of decarbonisation.”
In August the share price of Danish wind farm developer plummeted after the US halted its Rhode Island wind farm, while the British Tories and Reform parties are also attacking net zero.
Ana Toni met with King Charles and leaders of other COP summits at Clarence House last year. Pic: Reuters
But Ms Toni there is “nothing to panic [about], because we can see that the transition is inevitable,” citing major progress in China, India and Europe and Brazil.
Referring to the US’s withdrawal from the COP process, she said: “198 countries minus one is not zero. And we will put all our efforts of working with the 197 countries that want to go forward and want to protect their population.”
“Climate action is not only [still] cool, it is necessary,” Ms Toni said.
“We all need to face reality. We are going through a huge climate crisis… If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Companies understand that.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment11 months agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024