JERUSALEM: The United Nations on Sunday called on Israel to immediately allow aid into Gaza, hours after it suspended humanitarian deliveries into the war-battered territory as talks on a truce extension appeared to hit an impasse.
With uncertainty looming over the truce, both Israel and Palestinian sources reported Israeli military strikes in the Gaza Strip which the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said killed at least four people.
The 42-day first phase of the ceasefire drew to a close, and early on Sunday Israel announced a truce extension until mid-April that it said US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had proposed.
Hamas has repeatedly rejected an extension, instead favoring a transition to the truce deal’s second phase that could bring a permanent end to the war.
The Palestinian group, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the fighting, said the “decision to suspend humanitarian aid is cheap blackmail, a war crime and a blatant coup against the (ceasefire) agreement.”
In a statement posted online, UN chief Antonio Guterres called for “humanitarian aid to flow back into Gaza immediately,” urging “all parties to make every effort to prevent a return to hostilities” and militants to release “all hostages.”
The head of the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA, Thomas Fletcher, said in a post on X that “Israel’s decision to halt aid into Gaza is alarming” and may be in violation of international law.
Following the announcement of the aid suspension, AFP images showed trucks loaded with goods lined up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing.
“Since the morning we haven’t seen any trucks entering,” said Umm Mohammad Abu Laia, a resident of Rafah on Gaza’s southern border.
She warned of a “crisis” as the prices of basic commodities surged “as soon as the merchants heard about the closing of the crossing.”
The first phase of the truce, which took effect on January 19, saw an increase of aid into Gaza, where the war destroyed or damaged most buildings, displaced almost the entire population and triggered widespread hunger, according to the UN.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, asked by reporters about the risk of starvation, dismissed such warnings as “a lie.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had “decided that, from this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be suspended.”
It said there would be “consequences” for Hamas if it did not accept the temporary truce extension, which would cover the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover.
On a sandy street in Gaza City, Mays Abu Amer, 21, expressed hope the ceasefire can continue “forever.”
“We have so much destruction, we need a lot of time for reconstruction,” she said.
Mediator Egypt and the International Committee of the Red Cross have appealed for the truce to be maintained.
Militant group Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally, accused Israel of “sabotaging” the ceasefire.
According to Israel, the truce extension would see half of the hostages still in Gaza freed on the day the deal came into effect, with the rest to be released at the end if an agreement was reached on a permanent ceasefire.
Of the 251 captives taken during Hamas’s October 2023 attack, 58 remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead.
In Israel, mourners who turned out to farewell Shlomo Mansour, 85, whose body militants had held in Gaza and returned to Israel on Thursday, said more should be done to get the remaining captives home.
“Return all of them immediately,” said Vardit Roiter.
Under the first phase of the truce, Gaza militants handed over 25 living hostages and eight bodies, including Mansour’s, in exchange for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners.
Israelis in Jerusalem welcomed the decision to block aid, describing it as a way to pressure Hamas into making concessions.
Neria, a 27-year-old teacher who only gave his first name, told AFP it was a “smart move” that could “push forward new things, the release of more hostages and the end of the war.”
In southern Gaza on Sunday, the civil defense agency reported shelling and gunfire “from Israeli tanks,” which the army said it was “unaware of.”
The Palestine Red Crescent said Israeli drone strikes killed one person in the same area and another in a nearby town.
The military said it had conducted an air strike in northern Gaza targeting suspects it said had “planted an explosive device” near its troops.
Including the deaths on Sunday, Gaza’s health ministry has recorded 116 people killed by Israel’s military since the ceasefire took effect on January 19, substantially reducing violence.
The 2023 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians, while Israel’s retaliation in Gaza has killed more than 48,300 people, also mostly civilians, data from both sides show.
UN urges Israel to restore Gaza aid as Hamas sees ‘coup’ against truce
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UN urges Israel to restore Gaza aid as Hamas sees ‘coup’ against truce
- “Since the morning we haven’t seen any trucks entering,” said a resident of Rafah on Gaza’s southern border
- She warned of a “crisis” as the prices of basic commodities surged “as soon as the merchants heard about the closing of the crossing”
Hungry Palestinians in Gaza block and offload dozens of UN food trucks
“We need to flood communities with food for the next few days to calm anxieties and rebuild the trust with communities that more food is coming”
TEL AVIV: Palestinians in the Gaza Strip blocked and offloaded dozens of food trucks, the UN World Food Program said Saturday, as desperation mounts following Israel’s monthslong blockade and airstrikes while talks of a ceasefire inch forward.
The WFP said that 77 trucks carrying aid, mostly flour, were stopped by hungry people who took the food before the trucks were able to reach their destination.
A nearly three-month Israeli blockade on Gaza has pushed the population to the brink of famine. While the pressure slightly eased in recent days as Israel allowed some aid to enter, organizations say there still isn’t nearly enough food getting in.
Hamas on Friday said it was reviewing a US proposal for a temporary ceasefire. US President Donald Trump said that negotiators were nearing a deal.
A ceasefire would pause the fighting for 60 days, release some of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and much needed food aid and other assistance, according to Hamas and Egyptian officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The WFP said the fear of starvation in Gaza is high despite the food aid that’s entering now. “We need to flood communities with food for the next few days to calm anxieties and rebuild the trust with communities that more food is coming,” said agency said in a statement.
A witness in the southern city of Khan Younis told The Associated Press the UN convoy was stopped at a makeshift roadblock and offloaded by desperate civilians in their thousands. Most people carried bags of flour on their backs or heads. He said at one point a forklift was used to offload pallets from the stranded trucks. The witness spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisal.
The United Nations said earlier this month that Israeli authorities have forced them to use unsecured routes within areas controlled by the Israeli military in the eastern areas of Rafah and Khan Younis, where armed gangs are active and trucks were stopped.
Israel’s military didn’t immediately respond to comment.
Attacks, gangs, lack of protection hamper UN distribution
An internal document shared with aid groups about security incidents, seen by the AP, said there were four incidents of facilities being looted in three days at the end of May, not including the convoy on Saturday.
The UN says it’s been unable to get enough aid in because of fighting. On Friday, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said it only picked up five truckloads of cargo from the Palestinian side of the Kareem Shalom crossing, and the other 60 trucks had to return due to intense hostilities in the area.
An Israeli official said his country has offered the UN logistical and operational support but “the UN is not doing their job.” Instead, a new U.S- and Israeli-backed foundation started operations in Gaza this week, distributing food at several sites in a chaotic rollout. Israel says the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will replace the massive aid operation that the UN and others have carried out throughout the war.
It says the new mechanism is necessary, accusing Hamas of siphoning off large amounts of aid. The UN denies that significant diversion takes place.
The GHF works with armed contractors, which is says is needed to distribute food safely. Aid groups have accused the foundation of militarizing aid.
Istanbul mayor’s staff targeted by dozens of arrest warrants
- The warrants were based on “four separate corruption investigations centered on Istanbul,” Anadolu said
- Police had already detained nearly 70 people in subsequent raids
ISTANBUL: Turkish authorities have issued 47 arrest warrants for municipal officials and staff across Istanbul, whose mayor — the main political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — has been jailed since March, the state news agency Anadolu reported on Saturday.
The warrants were based on “four separate corruption investigations centered on Istanbul,” Anadolu said, without revealing how many people were actually taken into custody.
The March 19 arrest and jailing of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu sparked the biggest street protests Turkiye had seen in decades.
Police had already detained nearly 70 people in subsequent raids linked to alleged corruption at Istanbul City Hall, including Imamoglu’s private secretary and his private protection officer.
The latest warrants targeted a former opposition lawmaker and five mayors of Istanbul districts, according to Anadolu.
The private television station Halk, seen as close to the opposition CHP party that Imamoglu belongs to, said that nine district mayors — out of a total of 39 — had now been arrested and were being kept in custody.
The CHP, which has nominated Imamoglu as its candidate in presidential elections due in 2028, did not immediately comment on the latest warrants.
Divided UN extends arms embargo on South Sudan as fears of renewed civil war grow
- The arms embargo, and travel bans and asset freezes on South Sudanese on the UN sanctions blacklist, were extended for a year until May 31, 2026
- There were high hopes for peace and stability after oil-rich South Sudan gained independence
UNITED NATIONS: A divided UN Security Council voted Friday to extend an arms embargo on South Sudan, where escalating political tensions have led the UN to warn that the country could again plunge into civil war.
A US-sponsored resolution to extend the embargo and other sanctions was approved by the narrowest margin — the minimum nine “yes” votes required. Six countries abstained – Russia, China, Algeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Pakistan.
The arms embargo, and travel bans and asset freezes on South Sudanese on the UN sanctions blacklist, were extended for a year until May 31, 2026.
There were high hopes for peace and stability after oil-rich South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, becoming the world’s newest nation.
But the country slid into civil war in December 2013 when forces loyal to President Salva Kiir, who is from the largest ethnic group in the country, the Dinka, started battling those loyal to Riek Machar, who is from the second-largest ethnic group, the Nuer.
A 2018 peace deal that brought Machar into the government as first vice president has been fragile, and implementation has been slow. A presidential election has been postponed until 2026.
Last month, the UN envoy to South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, warned that the escalating rivalry between Kiir and Machar had degenerated into direct military confrontation between their parties and led to Machar’s arrest.
A campaign of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech is “fueling political and ethnic tensions — particularly on social media,” he warned. And “these conditions are darkly reminiscent of the 2013 and 2016 conflicts, which took over 400,000 lives.”
US Minister Counselor John Kelley thanked the council after the vote, saying the arms embargo “remains necessary to stem the unfettered flow of weapons into a region that remains awash with guns.”
“Escalating violence in recent months has brought South Sudan to the brink of civil war,” he said, urging the country’s leaders to restore peace.
Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Anna Evstigneeva countered by saying the easing of Security Council sanctions on South Sudan is long overdue. She said the arms embargo and other sanctions are restricting implementation of the 2018 peace agreement.
She accused the resolution’s supporters of “putting a brake on a successful political process unfolding in Sudan, as well as complicating the deployment and proper equipping of the national armed forces.”
South Sudan’s UN ambassador, Cecilia Adeng, expressed “deep disappointment” at the extension of the arms embargo and other sanctions.
“The lifting of the sanctions and the arms embargo is not only a matter of national security or sovereignty, but also a matter of economic opportunity and dignity,” she said. “These measures create barriers to growth, delay development, discourage foreign investment, and leave the state vulnerable to non-state actors and outlaws.”
Sudden hailstorm lashes Egypt’s Alexandria
- Storms are common along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast in winter, however this spring event was described as “unprecedented"
ALEXANDRIA: An unseasonal rainstorm battered the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Saturday, flooding roads and damaging seafront businesses in the latest bout of erratic weather to hit the region.
Hailstones pelted the city overnight, forcing people to flee cafes as gusts of wind blew the ice pellets through windows, according to footage posted on social media.
Lightning lit up the skies and underpasses were submerged.
Alexandria governor Ahmed Khaled Hassan raised the alert level and emergency crews worked through the morning to tow cars and clear debris.
No casualties were reported, Egypt’s health ministry said.
Storms are common along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast in winter, but media outlets described this spring event as “unprecedented.”
Scientists warn extreme weather is becoming more frequent due to climate change, which drives both droughts and intense, unpredictable rainstorms.
Alexandria is highly vulnerable to climate impacts, suffering from coastal erosion, rising sea levels and flooding from annual storms.
The Mediterranean could rise by up to a meter (three feet) within three decades, according to the UN-mandated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Even under more optimistic forecasts, a 50-centimeter rise by 2050 would flood 30 percent of Alexandria, displace a quarter of its six million residents and cost 195,000 jobs.
Authorities have begun mitigation efforts, including constructing a massive breakwater along the coast.
Arab ministers condemn Israel ‘ban’ on planned Ramallah visit
- Palestinian Authority official says that the issue of whether the meeting in Ramallah would be able to go ahead is under discussion
- The move comes ahead of an international conference due to be held in New York on June 17-20 to discuss the issue of Palestinian statehood
DUBAI: Israel’s decision to prevent an Arab delegation from visiting Ramallah and meeting with Palestinian officials “represents a blatant violation of Israel’s obligations as the occupying power,” Jordan’s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.
Members of the ministerial committee, assigned by the extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic summit on Gaza, decided to postpone the visit to Ramallah after Israel refused the delegation’s entry through the airspace of the occupied West Bank, which it controls.
“It reflects the extent of the Israeli government’s arrogance, its disregard for international law, and its continued illegitimate measures and policies that besiege the brotherly Palestinian people and their legitimate leadership, perpetuate the occupation, and undermine the chances of achieving a just and comprehensive peace,” the foreign ministry said.
يصل أعضاء في اللجنة الوزارية المكلّفة من القمة العربية الإسلامية الاستثنائية المشتركة بشأن غزة إلى عمّان مساء اليوم في زيارة كانت تهدف إلى عقد اجتماع تنسيقي قُبَيل زيارة كانت مقررة إلى رام الله انطلاقًا من عمّان غدًا الأحد.
— وزارة الخارجية وشؤون المغتربين الأردنية (@ForeignMinistry) May 31, 2025
وقررت اللجنة تأجيل الزيارة إلى رام الله في ضوء تعطيل… pic.twitter.com/PtWEkX5O7w
The delegation included ministers from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Palestinian Authority officials said. The ministers would require Israeli consent to travel to the West Bank from Jordan.
An Israeli official said the ministers intended to take part in “a provocative meeting” to discuss promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“Such a state would undoubtedly become a terrorist state in the heart of the land of Israel,” the official said. “Israel will not cooperate with such moves aimed at harming it and its security.”
A Palestinian Authority official said that the issue of whether the meeting in Ramallah would be able to go ahead was under discussion.
The move comes ahead of an international conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, due to be held in New York on June 17-20 to discuss the issue of Palestinian statehood.
Israel has come under increasing pressure from the United Nations and European countries which favor a two-state solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, under which an independent Palestinian state would exist alongside Israel.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that recognizing a Palestinian state was not only a “moral duty but a political necessity.”
Israel this week announced the creation of 22 new West Bank settlements, which are regularly condemned by the United Nations as illegal under international law, and are seen as one of the main obstacles to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
On Friday, visiting one of the areas slated for recognition, Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed to build a “Jewish Israeli state” in the West Bank.
Taking aim at foreign countries that would “recognize a Palestinian state on paper”, he added: “The paper will be thrown into the trash bin of history, and the State of Israel will flourish and prosper.”
– with agencies
