UN Suspends Aid Movements at Night in Gaza

A man stands by a destroyed car of the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) as it sits along Al Rashid road, between Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2024. (EPA)
A man stands by a destroyed car of the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) as it sits along Al Rashid road, between Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2024. (EPA)
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UN Suspends Aid Movements at Night in Gaza

A man stands by a destroyed car of the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) as it sits along Al Rashid road, between Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2024. (EPA)
A man stands by a destroyed car of the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) as it sits along Al Rashid road, between Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2024. (EPA)

The United Nations has suspended movements at night in Gaza for at least 48 hours to evaluate security issues following the killing of staff working for the World Central Kitchen food charity, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Wednesday.

He said the suspension started on Tuesday. The World Food Program is continuing operations during the day, including daily efforts to send convoys to the north of Gaza "where people are dying," Dujarric said.

"As famine closes in we need humanitarian staff and supplies to be able to move freely and safely across the Gaza Strip," he told reporters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel mistakenly killed seven people working for World Central Kitchen in a Gaza airstrike on Monday, prompting condemnations and calls for explanations from the United States and other allies

The UN has long complained of obstacles to getting aid in and distributing it throughout Gaza.

The UN has repeatedly called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the six-month long war between Israel and Hamas. Israel is retaliating against Hamas in Gaza over a deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian gunmen.



Meeting with Syrian Interim Govt was 'Good Opportunity' for Diplomacy, Berlin Says

A person holds a Syrian opposition flag with the word "Freedom" on it during a demonstration celebrating the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, outside the Syrian embassy in Madrid, Spain, December 8, 2024. (Reuters)
A person holds a Syrian opposition flag with the word "Freedom" on it during a demonstration celebrating the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, outside the Syrian embassy in Madrid, Spain, December 8, 2024. (Reuters)
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Meeting with Syrian Interim Govt was 'Good Opportunity' for Diplomacy, Berlin Says

A person holds a Syrian opposition flag with the word "Freedom" on it during a demonstration celebrating the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, outside the Syrian embassy in Madrid, Spain, December 8, 2024. (Reuters)
A person holds a Syrian opposition flag with the word "Freedom" on it during a demonstration celebrating the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, outside the Syrian embassy in Madrid, Spain, December 8, 2024. (Reuters)

German diplomats' meeting with members of the Syrian interim government was a good opportunity to make contact with the country's new rulers, a German foreign ministry spokesperson said.

"This was the first good opportunity to get in touch with HTS and the de facto guardians in Damascus," the spokesperson said, referring to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist group left in charge following the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad, Reuters reported.

Tuesday's talks in Damascus focused on stabilizing Syria and looked at ways to resume Germany's diplomatic presence there, according to the spokesperson.