WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Israel must take urgent steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza to avoid legal action involving US military aid, according to news reports on Tuesday.
“We are writing now to underscore the US government’s deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, and seek urgent and sustained actions by your government this month to reverse this trajectory,” they wrote in an Oct. 13 letter to their Israeli counterparts, posted by an Axios reporter on X.
The State Department and Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for Israel’s government also could not be immediately reached for comment.
The report comes as Israeli forces expand operations into northern Gaza amid ongoing concerns about access to humanitarian aid throughout the enclave and civilians’ access to food, water and medicine.
US officials earlier this year said Israel may have violated international humanitarian law using US-supplied weapons during its military operation in Gaza.
This week’s letter cited Section 620i of the Foreign Assistance Act, which restricts (prohibits) military aid to countries that impede delivery of US humanitarian assistance.
It also cited a National Security Memorandum that US President Joe Biden issued in February that requires the State Department to report to Congress on whether it finds credible Israel’s assurances that its use of US weapons does not violate US or international law.
US says Israel must improve Gaza’s humanitarian situation or risk aid – reports
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US says Israel must improve Gaza’s humanitarian situation or risk aid – reports
- “We are writing now to underscore the US government’s deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza,” they wrote
- US officials earlier this year said Israel may have violated international humanitarian law using US-supplied weapons during its military operation in Gaza
Lebanon welcomes return of Emirati tourists with pledges to ensure their safety
- Nawaf Salam announced that the security services are ready to ensure the safety and security of our Arab brothers during the summer
- Meeting was attended by the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar, as well as the charge d’affaires of the UAE and Kuwait
BEIRUT: Three UAE planes arriving at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport on Wednesday are scheduled to carry Emirati nationals for the first time since a travel ban was imposed in 2024 due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced that the security services “are ready to ensure the safety and security of our Arab brothers during the summer.”
Salam welcomed the UAE’s decision to lift the ban on its citizens traveling to Lebanon.
During a meeting on Tuesday with the ambassadors of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Salam expressed hope that “this will extend to other Arab countries in the coming weeks.”
The meeting was attended by the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar, as well as the charge d’affaires of the UAE and Kuwait.
On the Lebanese side, the meeting was attended by the ministers of defense, interior, tourism, and public works.
Salam said he listened to the concerns of the ambassadors and assured them that “we will work to address them. I informed them of the security changes taking place at Beirut airport and its surroundings.”
President Salam’s adviser, Mounir Rabie, told Arab News: “The Gulf diplomats raised their concerns regarding the return of their nationals to Lebanon, including the need to improve and develop airport procedures, as well as security and economic concerns.”
Rabie described the atmosphere as “positive.”
He said Lebanon has proposed a plan that will include the formation of a tourism operations room to monitor all security and tourism issues.
According to Salam’s office, the diplomats were briefed on the measures taken by the Lebanese authorities at Beirut airport and its surroundings, including on the roads leading to it, to reassure these countries before they decide to lift the ban on the return of their nationals to Lebanon.
Emirati airlines resumed flights to Beirut last December, but without allowing Emirati citizens to come to Beirut.
The announcement comes after Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun met his UAE counterpart Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, after which it was announced that the ban would be lifted.
A special reception is scheduled for the UAE passengers at the airport, with Information Minister Paul Morcos participating.
Lebanese officials and the public are counting on this step to revitalize tourism and investment activity in the country, especially in light of the stifling economic crisis it is experiencing.
A ministerial source said: “Efforts are focused on sending reassuring messages domestically and abroad that Lebanon is capable of attracting its Arab brothers once again, given the climate of stability it is keen to maintain through the security and political measures being implemented.”
The lifting of the ban on the return of Emiratis was accompanied by a series of conditions and procedures they must follow, most notably “mandatory registration in the Tawajudi service before traveling to Beirut to ensure their safety and the smooth running of the travel process, whether from the UAE or any other country. This is aimed at ensuring effective communication with citizens while abroad and avoiding the suspension of travel procedures or exposure to legal accountability.”
Emirati citizens must also “fill in the required information, including their place of residence in Lebanon, emergency numbers, and reasons for the visit, with the necessity of updating this information in the event of any change.”
Morocco begins tendering process to expand Casablanca airport
- The terminal is expected to be ready in 2029
- The new terminal will serve as an international hub
RABAT: Morocco issued on Wednesday two expressions of interest to identify bidders for its plan to build a new terminal that will increase capacity at its largest airport in Casablanca by 20 million passengers.
Casablanca airport’s expansion is part of a push to double Morocco’s overall airport capacity to 78 million to meet increasing traffic in the run-up to the soccer World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal.
The terminal is expected to be ready in 2029 at a cost of $1.6 billion, airports authority ONDA said in a statement.
The new terminal will serve as an international hub and will be served by a high-speed train network connecting the airport to the key cities of Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech.
Morocco reported a record 17.4 million visitors last year, up 20 percent from 2023, and it expects to attract 26 million tourists in 2030.
UN experts demand action to avert ‘annihilation’ of Palestinians in Gaza
- UN experts said Israel’s actions in Gaza 'follow alarming, documented patterns of genocidal conduct'
GENEVA: Countries are at a moral crossroads over the conflict in Gaza, UN experts warned Wednesday, urging action to halt the violence and avoid “the annihilation of the Palestinian population” in the territory.
A two-month ceasefire in the war collapsed in March, with Israel resuming intense strikes and calling up tens of thousands of reservists for an expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip.
“The decision is stark: remain passive and witness the slaughter of innocents or take part in crafting a just resolution,” dozens of United Nations-appointed independent experts said in a statement, urging the world to avert the “moral abyss we are descending into.”
An Israeli official said the expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip would entail the “conquest” of the Palestinian territory.
The experts, who are mandated by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, said Israel’s actions in Gaza “follow alarming, documented patterns of genocidal conduct.”
While states debate terminology — is it or is it not genocide? — Israel continues its relentless destruction of life in Gaza
Experts mandated by the UN Human Rights Council
Israel flatly rejects such charges.
The experts, including Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, said that “while states debate terminology — is it or is it not genocide? — Israel continues its relentless destruction of life in Gaza.”
“No one is spared — not the children, persons with disabilities, nursing mothers, journalists, health professionals, aid workers, or hostages,” the experts said.
They highlighted the devastating impact of Israel’s blockade on Gaza.
“Food and water have been cut off for months, inducing starvation, dehydration, and disease, which will result in more deaths becoming the daily reality for many,” the statement read.
Israel’s statements about the conflict, they said, “showcase a clear intent to wield starvation as a weapon of war.”
The experts highlighted the responsibility of other countries to end the bloodshed, saying that “the world is watching.”
Countries continuing to support Israel, especially militarily but also politically, they said, risk “complicity in genocide and other serious international crimes.”
European leaders, aid groups criticize Israeli aid plans for Gaza
- European Union foreign ministers meeting in Warsaw will discuss EU-Israel relations on Thursday following a request by Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp
JERUSALEM/GENEVA: European leaders and aid groups have criticized Israeli plans to take over distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza and use private companies to get food to families after two months in which the military has prevented supplies entering the Strip.
Israel has given few details of its aid plans, which are part of an expanded operation announced on Monday that could include seizing the entire Palestinian enclave.
For now, the blockade will continue until a large-scale displacement of people from northern and central areas of Gaza to the south, where a specially designated area protected by the Israeli military will be cleared near the southern city of Rafah, Israeli officials have said.
They said those entering the zone will be vetted by Israeli forces to ensure that supplies do not reach Hamas, with what aid agencies have described as special “hubs” to handle distribution by private contractors.
Israel has cleared around a third of the territory to create “security zones” and the aid policy, combined with plans for moving much of the population to the south, have reinforced fears that the overall intention is full occupation.
UN agencies, aid groups and European leaders condemned Israel’s plans, calling for the aid blockade to be lifted and for supplies to be distributed by humanitarian organizations that are not party to the conflict.
The European Union said humanitarian aid “must never be politicized or militarised,” echoing concerns expressed by leaders including Germany’s newly elected Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, who said the situation in Gaza was “the worst we’ve ever seen.”
European Union foreign ministers meeting in Warsaw will discuss EU-Israel relations on Thursday following a request by Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, the EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas told reporters on Wednesday.
The letter in which Veldkamp made the request, seen by Reuters, stated that relations between the EU and Israel must align with human rights and democratic values under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
“In my view, the humanitarian blockade is a violation of Israel’s obligations under International Humanitarian Law and thereby of ... the Association Agreement,” Veldkamp wrote.
UN humanitarian agency OCHA said on Tuesday that what Israel was proposing was “the opposite of what is needed.” However, aid officials have also said they have limited insight into the plan, on which they have only been briefed verbally.
Aid distribution
Aid officials have frequently accused Israel of deliberately disregarding the complexity of aid distribution in an environment such as Gaza, laid waste by 19 months of a war that has destroyed much of its infrastructure and displaced almost all of its 2.3 million population several times.
Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said on the social media platform X that it was “totally wrong” for one party in a conflict to be distributing aid.
“This new Israeli aid plan is both totally insufficient to meet the needs in Gaza, and a complete breach of all humanitarian principles,” he said.
Israel has accused agencies including the United Nations of allowing large quantities of aid to fall into the hands of Hamas, which it accuses of seizing supplies intended for civilians and using them for its own forces.
“If Hamas continues to steal the aid from the people as well as earning money from it, the war will continue forever,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a statement.
However, aid agencies say the plan would compel a transfer of civilians from the north to the south, contributing to conditions that could lead to them being forced out of Gaza permanently.
Israeli hard-liners have made no secret of their desire to see the Palestinian population moved out of Gaza, with politicians including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declaring the plan would result in a full occupation of Gaza.
An earlier Israeli plan, known as the General Eiland plan, foresaw severe restrictions on aid to Gaza as a way of choking off supplies to Hamas, and Israeli hard-liners have often harked back to that.
Many Palestinians believe Israel’s ultimate aim is to use aid as leverage to force them to leave and to occupy Gaza.
In Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa denounced what he described as international silence and inaction.
“Do not let the besieged children of Gaza starve to death,” he said.
Yemen’s Houthis to keep attacking Israeli ships despite US deal
- “The waterways are safe for all international ships except Israeli ones,” Alejri told AFP
- “Israel is not part of the agreement, it only includes American and other ships“
SANAA: Yemen’s Houthi militants will continue targeting Israeli ships in the Red Sea, an official told AFP on Wednesday, despite a ceasefire that ended weeks of intense US strikes on the Iran-backed group.
A day after the Houthis agreed to stop firing on ships plying the key trade route off their shores, a senior official told AFP that Israel was excluded from the deal.
“The waterways are safe for all international ships except Israeli ones,” Abdulmalik Alejri, a member of the Houthi political bureau, told AFP.
“Israel is not part of the agreement, it only includes American and other ships,” he said.
The Houthis, who have controlled large swathes of Yemen for more than a decade, began firing on Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November 2023, weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
They broadened their campaign to target ships tied to the United States and Britain after military strikes by the two countries began in January 2024.
Alejri said the Houthis would now “only” attack Israeli ships. In the past, vessels visiting Israel, or those with tenuous Israeli links, were in the militants’ sights.
The US-Houthi deal was announced after deadly Israeli strikes on Tuesday put Sanaa airport out of action in revenge for a Houthi missile strike on Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.
Sanaa airport director Khaled alShaief told the militants’ Al-Masirah television Wednesday the Israeli attack had destroyed terminal buildings and caused $500 million in damage.
Oman said it had facilitated an agreement between Washington and the militants that “neither side will target the other... ensuring freedom of navigation.”
US President Donald Trump, who will visit Gulf countries next week, trumpeted the deal, saying the Houthis had “capitulated.”
“They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore, and that’s... the purpose of what we were doing,” he said during a White House press appearance.
The ceasefire followed weeks of stepped-up US strikes aimed at deterring Houthi attacks on shipping. The US attacks left 300 people dead, according to an AFP tally of Houthi figures.
The Pentagon said last week that US strikes had hit more than 1,000 targets in Yemen since mid-March in an operation that has been dubbed “Rough Rider.”
Alejri said recent US-Iran talks in Muscat “provided an opportunity” for indirect contacts between Sanaa and Washington, leading to the ceasefire.
“America was the one who started the aggression against us, and at its beginning, we did not resume our operations on Israel,” he added.
“We did not target any American ships or warships until they targeted us.”
Scores of Houthi missile and drone attacks have drastically reduced cargo volumes on the Red Sea route, which normally carries about 12 percent of global maritime trade.
The Houthis say their campaign — as well as a steady stream of attacks on Israeli territory — is in solidarity with the Palestinians.
