UK's Cameron Tells Israel: More Aid Needs to Be Able to Enter Gaza

David Cameron (AA)
David Cameron (AA)
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UK's Cameron Tells Israel: More Aid Needs to Be Able to Enter Gaza

David Cameron (AA)
David Cameron (AA)

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that more aid trucks must be able to enter Gaza and an immediate humanitarian pause is needed to help those trapped in a "desperate situation".
Cameron, who is on a visit to the Middle East and met separately with Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday, announced Britain and Qatar are working together to get more aid into Gaza, with a first joint consignment containing tents being flown into Egypt on Thursday before traveling by road to Gaza, Reuters said.
Israel, which denies holding up aid, launched an air and ground war in Gaza after Hamas militants stormed across its border on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking hostages, about 130 of whom remain in captivity.
Israel's response has left more than 25,000 dead and caused a severe humanitarian crisis, with most of Gaza's 2.3 million people left homeless and acutely short of food, water, medicine and fuel.
"The scale of suffering in Gaza is unimaginable. More must be done, faster, to help people trapped in this desperate situation," Cameron said. "We have trebled our assistance for Gaza ... But our efforts will only make a difference if aid gets to those who need it most."
"As I said to PM Netanyahu ... far more trucks need to be able to enter Gaza and more crossings need to open. We need an immediate humanitarian pause to get aid in and hostages out, followed by a sustainable ceasefire."
Cameron pushed Israeli leaders for the port of Ashdod to be used for the delivery of aid into Gaza, his office said.



Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Israel Nearly Killed 2 of its Hostages in Gaza

Smoke rises after an explosion in the northern Gaza Strip, ahead of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, January 16, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Smoke rises after an explosion in the northern Gaza Strip, ahead of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, January 16, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
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Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Israel Nearly Killed 2 of its Hostages in Gaza

Smoke rises after an explosion in the northern Gaza Strip, ahead of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, January 16, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Smoke rises after an explosion in the northern Gaza Strip, ahead of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, January 16, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israel nearly killed two of its captives held by Hamas in an airstrike on Gaza City, Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday.

The sources, which are from resistance factions, said that the two captives were injured as a result of the Israeli bombardment targeting a house in one of Gaza City's neighborhoods. The sources refused to disclose the conditions of the captives, the severity of their injuries, or their identities.

However, the sources indicated that the hostages received the necessary treatment and were moved to a safe location after the Israeli airstrike.

A truce in the Gaza Strip, announced by mediators Qatar and the United States on Wednesday, would take effect on Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be finalized.

Hamas confirmed on Thursday that Israel targeted a site where a hostage was located. The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said that an Israeli airstrike targeted a location where a female hostage was present after the ceasefire agreement was announced.

The spokesperson for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades did not reveal details about the fate of the captive after the airstrike.

"The enemy’s military targeted a place where one of the female captives included in the first stage of the upcoming deal was located," he said.

"Any aggression or bombing at this stage by the enemy can turn a prisoner’s freedom into a tragedy," the spokesperson added.