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Israel fails to meet US deadline to increase Gaza aid, rights groups say

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Israel fails to meet US deadline to increase Gaza aid, rights groups say

International rights groups say Israel has failed to meet a deadline set by the United States to allow more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip or face unspecified restrictions on military assistance.

The conditions in the war-ravaged enclave are worse than at any point in a war that started in October 2023, eight groups said on Tuesday when the 30-day deadline was set to expire.

On October 13, the administration of US President Joe Biden told Israel to increase the flow of humanitarian supplies into Gaza, failing which Washington would scale back military support to its key ally.

“Israel not only failed to meet the US criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in northern Gaza,” said the groups, which include the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, Refugees International and Save the Children.

“That situation is in an even more dire state today than a month ago,” they said in a statement after the humanitarian agencies assessed Israel’s measures. They added: “Israel has failed to comply with its ally’s demands – at enormous human cost for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”

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Speaking to reporters, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar seemed to downplay Tuesday’s deadline, saying he was confident “the issue would be solved”.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to meet Biden later on Tuesday.

After analysing the 19 requirements outlined by the US, the rights groups said Israel failed “to take meaningful action” and “actively worsens the humanitarian situation” in 15 of them, including enabling the entrance of at least 350 aid trucks per day into Gaza.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military said hundreds of food and water packages were delivered to Jabalia and Beit Hanoon in besieged northern Gaza in coordination with COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for Palestinian civil affairs.

It also said that since October, 741 aid trucks have made deliveries to northern Gaza, where Israeli forces have pursued a major offensive.

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The United Nations has said the amount of aid entering Gaza has plummeted to its lowest level in a year and has repeatedly accused Israel of blocking attempts to deliver humanitarian supplies, particularly to the north of the enclave.

Under the US Foreign Assistance Act, the president is required to halt security assistance to any country that restricts US humanitarian aid. The US is Israel’s key political and military backer and recently deployed the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, along with soldiers to operate it.

Campaign of ‘ethnic cleansing’

A committee of global food security experts warned of a “strong likelihood that famine is imminent in areas” of northern Gaza.

“Immediate action, within days not weeks, is required from all actors who are directly taking part in the conflict, or have influence on its conduct, to avert and alleviate this catastrophic situation,” the independent Famine Review Committee said.

The eight rights groups said Israel’s failure to address urgent humanitarian needs raises questions about its adherence to international humanitarian law and its obligations as an occupying power.

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“The US government once again laid out basic measures for how the government of Israel must follow international law and allow for aid delivery in Gaza,” Oxfam America President and CEO Abby Maxman said. “Since then, we have seen Israeli forces accelerate their efforts to bombard, depopulate, deprive, and erase the Palestinian population of the North Gaza governorate. We are witnessing a campaign of ethnic cleansing.”

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 43,603 Palestinians and wounded 102,929 since October 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Since October this year, the Israeli military has escalated its shelling and ground incursions in northern Gaza, claiming its aim is to avoid Hamas fighters from regrouping.

The UN said in a report on Friday that nearly 70 percent of the Gaza war dead were women and children.

The youngest was just a day old and the oldest was a 97-year-old woman, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said, having verified 8,119 of the people reportedly killed during the first six months of the war.

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The report warned that “widespread or systematic” attacks on civilians could amount to “crimes against humanity”.

“And if committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, they may also constitute genocide,” it said.

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Video: Israel and Hezbollah Trade Deadly Attacks

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Video: Israel and Hezbollah Trade Deadly Attacks

Israeli strikes pounded areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a day after eight people were killed, according to the authorities, in the northernmost attack on Lebanese soil since the start of the war. Israeli officials said two men were killed in a rocket attack from Lebanon on Tuesday.

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Germany braces under collapsing government and looming Trump trade war

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Germany braces under collapsing government and looming Trump trade war

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With the re-election of former President Donald Trump to the White House and the collapse of the coalition government under German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Germany is bracing for an economically and politically dubious time. 

From the campaign trail, Trump pledged to increase import tariffs on friends and foes alike under the “Trump Reciprocal Trade Act” which would increase all U.S. tariffs to match the taxes enforced by each corresponding country.  

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“If India, China, or any other country hits us with a 100 or 200 percent tariff on American-made goods, we will hit them with the same exact tariff,” he outlined in his campaign agenda. “If they charge US, we charge THEM—an eye for an eye, a tariff for a tariff, same exact amount.”

Former President Donald Trump speaks to a rally crowd on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 at the Dodge County Airport in Juneau, Wisconsin. (Jovanny Hernandez/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

GERMANY’S SCHOLZ REJECTS CALLS FOR NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE AS COALITION GOVERNMENT COLLAPSES

However, it is unclear if the president-elect still plans to push these specific tariff increases, as he has also suggested there should be a 10% tariff on imports from all countries, as well as 60% duties on imports from China, according to a Reuters report. 

China was not the only country in Trump’s crosshairs, as the now president-elect also referred to the European Union (EU) as a “mini China” and warned the bloc would have to pay up.

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“They don’t take our cars. They don’t take our farm products. They sell millions and millions of cars in the United States,” he told supporters at an October rally in Pennsylvania. “No, no, no. They are going to have to pay a big price.”

Some economic experts have warned that increasing tariffs – which are paid by companies importing the goods, not by government entities – could lead to rising costs worldwide, including in the U.S., as well as further inflation.

A report earlier this month by the German Marshall Fund (GMF) pointed to findings by Germany’s Institute for Economic Research in Cologne that said the promised Trump tariffs are estimated to cost the country roughly $127 billion over the next four years. 

Olaf Scholz

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz leaves the Bellevue Palace in Berlin on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

FEDERAL MILITARY DRAFT AGENCY REPOSTS MESSAGE SUGGESTING US IS BECOMING 1936 NAZI GERMANY: REPORT

“Trump’s victory does not bode well for a Germany that is dependent on U.S. security and thrives on open markets,” the GMF said in its report on how the U.S. election will impact Germany. “And uncertainty in Europe’s largest economy is not ideal when the EU needs to find its place in a world in which the U.S. president is not expected to support the traditional, rules-based international order.”

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However, it is not only Germany’s flagging economy that could spell uncertainty for Berlin’s international standing, as Scholz faces a vote of no confidence in January after he fired his Finance Minister Christian Lindner and his coalition government collapsed. 

A confidence vote is now set to be held in Germany on December 16 – which Scholz, given his minority status, is expected to lose. 

European Parliament drilling

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Jan. 17, 2024. (Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images)

The most likely next step will be for German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to dissolve the parliament and call for elections which are not expected to be held on Feb. 23, 2025.  

The EU now stares down a potential trade war with the Trump administration while one of its leading nations, both geopolitically and economically, will essentially sit as a lame duck while Berlin waits to see who will be next to lead the country. 

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German opposition leader Friedrich Merz – who could find himself the next German chancellor – said he intends to cut a deal with Trump.

In an interview with Stern magazine, Merz reportedly said, “In Germany, we have never really articulated and enforced our interests well enough, and we have to change that.

“The Americans are much more on the offensive. It shouldn’t end with only one side profiting, but rather with us making good arrangements for both sides,” Merz said according to a Bloomberg report on the interview. “Trump would call it a deal.”

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There is no safe zone in Gaza, warns UNRWA

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There is no safe zone in Gaza, warns UNRWA

UNRWA’s Scott Anderson described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as critical and called on all sides to respect civilian safe zones.

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The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip remains critical and could deteriorate further, warns the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA).

Speaking to Euronews in Brussels, UNRWA Director in Gaza, Scott Anderson, called on all parties to the conflict to respect the sanctity of safe places for civilians.

“There’s nowhere safe in Gaza. Including the safe zones. And unfortunately, all parties to the conflict are not respecting the sanctity of sites that should be safe for civilians, including hospitals and schools.” said Anderson.

He stressed that both UNRWA facilities and Palestinian schools have been targeted, appealing to all sides to uphold the protection of these locations so civilians can find safety for themselves and their families.

Too cosy with Hamas?

Anderson also responded to past allegations that his agency was too lenient with Hamas, which the EU designates as a terrorist organisation.

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He underlined that UNRWA took swift action after discovering that some of its employees were linked to the group.

When asked if he could confidently say that UNRWA had removed all Hamas operatives, Anderson was frank in his reply:

“No, I don’t think anybody can say anything with certainty about their workforce anywhere. We have over 13,000 people. We do take ‘neutrality’ very seriously, as shown by the commissioner general’s very swift action. But no, I can’t with certainty say that’s done,” he said.

Anderson also reiterated that they don’t have any evidence of employing Hamas members, and if they did, the necessary actions would have already been taken.

You can watch the full interview on the situation in Gaza on Thursday and online at euronews.com.

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