UN says nighttime ‘aid movements’ have resumed in Gaza
UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says that “aid movements resumed tonight” after a 48-hour pause in nighttime movements.
The United Nations had suspended movements at night in Gaza to evaluate security concerns following the killing of seven workers from the World Central Kitchen food charity. The UN’s World Food Programme continued operations during the day, including daily efforts to send convoys to the north of Gaza, where famine is imminent, he said.
Dujarric also said teams with the World Health Organization (WHO) managed to speak to patients who were able to flee al-Shifa Hospital. The medical complex in Gaza City was raided by Israeli forces, who also besieged and heavily destroyed parts of it, before withdrawing earlier this week.
Survivors described “dark conditions during the siege, with no food, water or medicine available”, Dujarric said. Patients and doctors resorted to “putting salt and vinegar in people’s wounds in place of antiseptics, which are nonexistent,” he said.
Famine stalks Gaza as aid deliveries now in question
Israel’s killing of seven World Central Kitchen workers in Deir el-Balah earlier this week has led many humanitarian organisations to express reluctance to continue operating inside the Gaza Strip for fear of repeat incidents.
This has driven fears among Palestinians that food shortages, which already have Gaza’s population on the brink of starvation, will get worse.
Israeli minister claims Qatar dishonest party in ceasefire talks
Nir Barkat, the country’s economy minister, told Bloomberg TV today that he does not trust the state of Qatar to act as a mediator with Hamas during ongoing talks to bring about a truce in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli captives held by Hamas and other groups there.
“They’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” he told Bloomberg. “We must wake up.” Barkat also accused Qatar of “funding terror all over the world”.
The state of Qatar, which has repeatedly rejected allegations of supporting “terrorism”, has played a mediator role throughout Israel’s war on Gaza. It was instrumental in the first and only temporary cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, which saw the release of doznes of Israeli captives for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
The Qatari prime minister on Wednesday stressed his country is not a party to the conflict but a mediator that has been committed from the beginning to the mediation process to ensure the safe release of the captives and that the war ends.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani also criticised the “irresponsible statements against Qatar” made by some politicians, who, he said, try to play a blame game “instead of being cooperative” and engaging constructively in order to find solutions.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to comment to Bloomberg on Barkat’s words, leaving it unclear whether his criticism represents an official position of Israel’s government. Barkat is a member of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud party.
Hamas official says no progress in negotiations despite group’s flexibility
Jordanians again flood the streets of capital in support of Palestinians
Video verified by Al Jazeera shows mass demonstrations on the streets of Jordan’s capital for the 12th day in a row.
As always, the protesters marched to the Israeli embassy, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, with some demanding a cancellation of Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel.
More than 200 children held in Israeli jails, prisoners group says
There are currently more than 200 Palestinian children held in Israeli prisons, the Palestinian prisoner rights group Addameer says, including children from the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Despite an uptick in arrests since October 7, the group said Israel has been “systematically arresting and abusing” Palestinian children for decades.
“Israel is the only state in the world that systematically prosecutes between 500 and 700 Palestinian children annually in military courts, lacking basic rights of fair trial,” it said, citing the group Defence for Children International – Palestine (DCIP).
According to Addameer, the period following October 7 is considered to be “the toughest and harshest” on prisoners in general, and particularly on children.
Freed Palestinian prisoners have reported physical and psychological abuse in Israeli jails. Many are denied adequate amounts of food and water and are also denied healthcare and medical attention, which has led to several deaths.
Thousands of detainees, including at least 41 children, are currently held under administrative detention, Addameer added, meaning they are being held indefinitely without charge or trial.
