UNWRA aid crisis
The gap between what Palestinian civilians need and what's been given is enormous
After the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, the United Nations has estimated Palestinians need more than $1.2 billion in urgent humanitarian relief, with more than 90% of that for Gaza residents. So far, just over half of the required emergency funding has been provided.
This is one of our schools turned shelters in northernš#Gaza
At least 260Ā attacks have impacted @UNRWA premises & people sheltering inside, killing 360 people.
Sad reality is Gazans have nowhere to go & are not safe anywhere: not at home, not in hospital, not in @UN shelters. pic.twitter.com/Qmi3r3Fby5
Bizarre
Gaza authorities say 100 unidentified bodies have been returned from Israel
The Gaza Crossings Authority says that 100 unidentified bodies have been returned to Gaza from Israel.
Hisham Adwan, a spokesperson for the Crossings Authority, told CNN that “100 unidentified bodies were delivered from the Israeli side through the Kerem Shalom crossing on Tuesday morning in a container.” He said the bodies had been taken from the Gaza Strip, and it was possible that some of them were taken from cemeteries in Gaza. CNN has previously reported that the Israeli military desecrated at least 16 cemeteries in its ground offensive in Gaza, leaving gravestones ruined, soil upturned, and, in some cases, bodies unearthed.
In Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, where fighting escalated recently, Israeli forces destroyed a cemetery, removing bodies in what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN was part of a search for the remains of hostages seized by Hamas during the October 7 terror attacks. The bodies returned on Tuesday were later buried in an open space in Rafah in southern Gaza.
In response to a question from CNN, the IDF said the bodies of about 100 Palestinians had been returned to Gaza once it was established they were not those of Israeli hostages. The IDF said it “is committed to fulfilling its urgent mission to rescue the hostages, and find and return the bodies of hostages that are held in Gaza.”
Israeli protesters again block Gaza-bound aid trucks
Demonstrators gather by the border fence with Egypt at the Nitzana border crossing in southern Israel on January 30.
Israeli protesters have again blocked trucks carrying aid for Gaza, demanding that humanitarian aid only be delivered in exchange for the release of the hostages. Activists with the "Tsav 9’" movement evaded police roadblocks to reach the Nitzana crossing, where aid trucks are inspected before being sent to Rafah to cross into Gaza.
Rafah crossing, where aid travels from Egypt into Gaza, and Kerem Shalom crossing, where aid travels into Gaza directly from Israel
Israel increasingly ‘impeding life-saving aid’ into Gaza: UN
More and more Israel is denying or restricting the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, according to the United Nations. In the second half of January, “humanitarian partners continue to observe an increasing trend in denied and restricted access to the northern and central areas of Gaza”, said the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
It cited excessive delays for aid convoys before or at Israeli checkpoints and heightened military attacks in central Gaza. “Threats to the safety of humanitarian personnel and sites are also frequent, not only impeding the delivery of time-sensitive and life-saving aid, but also posing serious risks to those involved in humanitarian efforts.”
Biden says he has decided how to respond to drone attack in Jordan
President Joe Biden told reporters Tuesday he has made a decision about the US response to the drone strike that killed three US service members and injured dozens in Jordan. Asked by CNN’s Arlette Saenz whether he has decided how to respond, Biden said, “Yes,” but declined to provide further details.
Biden had warned in a statement Sunday that the US will respond in a “time and manner of our choosing” as he weighs how to deter future attacks without escalating the conflict. US officials said on Monday that the American response was likely to be more powerful than previous US strikes in Iraq and Syria against Iranian interests, but they have suggested it is unlikely the US will strike within Iran.
Biden said Tuesday as he prepared to depart for a fundraising swing in south Florida that he holds Iran responsible for the attack, which CNN has reported was carried out by suspected Iranian proxy forces.
“I do hold them responsible in the sense that they're supplying the weapons to the people who did it,” he said.
But, he reiterated that he is hoping to deter a broader conflict in the Middle East. “I don't think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That's not what I'm looking for.”
Says the main supplier of bombs that kill women and children on a daily basis in Gaza...
Also next time there is a school shooting, bomb some gun stores as response ;)
Key to Israel’s security is dealing with Iran: CIA chief
CIA director William Burns believes that the key to the security of Israel and the entire region is “dealing with Iran”. Burns, who was just in Paris for multilateral negotiations on Israel’s war on Gaza, writes this in a lengthy article for US outlet Foreign Affairs. “The Iranian regime has been emboldened by the crisis and seems ready to fight to its last regional proxy, all while expanding its nuclear program and enabling Russian aggression,” he said.
Burns does not specifically say how he believes the US should act on Iran – with the comments coming shortly after the Tehran-supported Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed a drone attack that killed three US soldiers. The CIA director also says “none” of the problems across the Middle East can be managed or resolved without “active US leadership”.
Just wow.
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