US woman rescued from Gaza rubble after Israeli air strike
An American woman living in Gaza was pulled from the rubble of an Israeli air strike after a two-hour operation to free her. After she was freed, she had a message of solidarity with Palestinians facing Israel’s war. Watch the video below:
EU, 5 other nations call on Israel to open additional crossings to Gaza
The European Union and five other countries in a joint statement called on Israel to open additional crossings besides the Cyprus maritime corridor so more aid can reach the coastal enclave.
“The ministers agreed there is no meaningful substitute to land routes via Egypt and Jordan and entry points from Israel into Gaza for aid delivery at scale,” it said, following a virtual ministerial meeting.
“The ministers underscored the need for Israel to open additional crossings so more aid can reach Gaza, including the north, and to ease overall customs restrictions to facilitate an increased flow of life-saving humanitarian assistance.”
While supporting ๐จ๐พ maritime corridor, we call on ๐ฎ๐ฑ to open additional crossings so more aid can reach #Gaza, including the North, and to ease overall customs restrictions.
Joint statement after ministerial meeting by @EU_Commission, ๐จ๐พ, ๐ฌ๐ง, ๐บ๐ฒ, ๐ฆ๐ช, ๐ถ๐ฆhttps://t.co/QQsK1BiOaG
— Janez Lenarฤiฤ (@JanezLenarcic) March 13, 2024
Getting aid into Gaza ‘very unpredictable’
Janti Soeripto, president of the charity Save the Children US, says it is “very unpredictable” which aid trucks can make it into Gaza and which ones are rejected.
“I saw a wooden toy box with games for children being rejected because the box was made of wood, and it had to be packed in carton boxes,” Soeripto, who was at the Rafah crossing in January, told Al Jazeera.
“Hygiene kits with soap, blankets and sanitary pads for women got rejected because there was a nail clipper in it. The list goes on.”
Moreover, Soeripto said even if trucks make it into Gaza, distribution inside was “problematic” amid the ongoing fighting in the coastal enclave. “There’s so much rubble and destruction around that it is physically even hard to actually get the last mile in order to deliver our supplies when they make it in,” she added.
