The United Nations humanitarian aid agency says hundreds of thousands of people would be “at imminent risk of death” if Israel carries out a military assault in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The border city is a critical entry point for humanitarian aid and is filled with displaced Palestinians, many in densely packed tent camps.
An Israeli airstrike in Rafah overnight Friday killed seven people — mostly children. The Biden administration, which provides Israel crucial military and diplomatic support, says it opposes a Rafah invasion unless Israel provides a “credible” plan for protecting civilians there.
Northern Gaza is experiencing “full-blown famine,” according to the head of the U.N. World Food Program, Cindy McCain. The comments from the head of the agency that distributes food assistance go farther than others, as the U.N. and others have said the Palestinian territory is on the brink of famine.
The Israel-Hamas war has driven around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes and caused vast destruction in several towns and cities. The death toll in Gaza has soared to more than 34,500 people, according to local health officials.
The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, abducting about 250 people and killing around 1,200, mostly civilians. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
Currently:
— Hamas is sending a delegation to Egypt for further cease-fire talks in the latest sign of progress.
— What’s on the table for Israel and Hamas in the latest cease-fire talks?
— Striking deals to end campus protests, some colleges invite discussion of their investments.
— Jewish students grapple with how to respond to pro-Palestinian campus protests.
— The unprecedented destruction of housing in Gaza hasn’t been seen since World War II, the U.N. says.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here’s the latest:
NORTHERN GAZA IS IN A ‘FULL-BLOWN FAMINE’, SAYS THE HEAD OF U.N. WORLD FOOD PROGRAM
SEDONA, Ariz. — The head of the U.N. World Food Program, Cindy McCain, says northern Gaza is experiencing “full-blown famine.”
Speaking to NBC News on Friday at the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum in Arizona, McCain pressed for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and access for humanitarian aid because “there is famine — full-blown famine — in the north, and it’s moving its way south.”
There hasn’t yet been an official declaration of famine. The U.N. and others have said the Palestinian territory is on the brink of famine, and the comments from the head of the agency that distributes food assistance go farther than others.
The nearly seven-month-old Israel-Hamas war has thrown Gaza into humanitarian crisis, and relief workers struggle to bring in desperately needed aid because of the fighting and Israeli restrictions on land crossings.
Facing pressure to ease the catastrophe, the U.S. has pressed its ally Israel to open more land routes. One reopened this week for the first time since the start of the war. The U.S. is also building a pier system off Gaza to bring in aid by sea.
McCain’s comments come as U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power pointed Friday to the food crises in Gaza and other parts of the world in announcing a $200 million investment aimed at increasing production of emergency nutritional paste for starving children under 5.
U.N. REPORTS ‘INCREMENTAL PROCESS’ RESTORING WATER TO GAZA
UNITED NATIONS – U.N. humanitarian officials report “incremental progress” in restoring water to Gaza, with the territory producing just 20% of the water supply it did before the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7.
The Palestinian Water Authority announced earlier this week that the Al Muntar water line from Israel has resumed pumping, and U.N. humanitarian officials reported this would benefit four neighborhoods in Gaza City, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Friday. The water line, which had been shut down for 200 days, was the third Israeli water line to restart operations and can potentially serve some 300,000 people in Gaza City, he said.
With much of northern Gaza’s population displaced, it’s not clear how many people are still living in those neighborhoods, or how badly the water infrastructure has been damaged.
Before Oct. 7, Gaza normally got its water supplies from a combination of sources, including pipelines from Israel, desalination plants on the Mediterranean Sea, and wells.
Those supplies were slashed when Israel cut off water, along with the fuel and electricity that power water and sewage plants, in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks by…
Read More: Israel-Hamas war: Rafah incursion would put hundreds of thousands at risk