Guatemala Will Not Reverse Decision to Move Embassy to Jerusalem

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (AFP)
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (AFP)
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Guatemala Will Not Reverse Decision to Move Embassy to Jerusalem

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (AFP)
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (AFP)

Guatemala announced on Friday that it will not retract its decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

The foreign ministry insisted that President Jimmy Morales' plan to move the embassy will not be reversed, and called for critics to "respect" the country's decisions.

"It's a decision that has been made ... it is not going to be reversed," Sandra Jovel told journalists during an event to commemorate the end of the Guatemalan civil war in 1996.

"The Guatemalan government is very respectful of the positions that other countries have taken, and as we are respectful of those decisions, we believe others should respect decisions made by Guatemala," she added in response to critics including the Palestinians.

Last Sunday, Morales unexpectedly announced the transfer of the embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel on social media, in the wake of the UN General Assembly's condemnation of a similar move by the United States.

The announcement made Guatemala the first country to follow the United States's controversial lead on the holy city.

Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, while Palestinians, consider east Jerusalem as the occupied capital of their future state.

Morales, defending his decision, said Israel is an "ally" and that Guatemala has "historically been pro-Israel."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Morales for his move, predicting that several other countries will follow suit.



WHO Chief Says Continuous Medical Aid into Gaza ‘Critical’

 Smoke rises from Gaza as the sun sets, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, July 30, 2025. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from Gaza as the sun sets, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, July 30, 2025. (Reuters)
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WHO Chief Says Continuous Medical Aid into Gaza ‘Critical’

 Smoke rises from Gaza as the sun sets, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, July 30, 2025. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from Gaza as the sun sets, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, July 30, 2025. (Reuters)

The World Health Organization's chief said getting a continuous flow of medical supplies into Gaza was "critical", as WHO trucks carrying aid headed for the border on Wednesday.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN health agency had moved 10 trucks from El-Arish in Egypt to Israel's Kerem Shalom border crossing into the Gaza Strip.

The trucks are carrying "essential medicines, laboratory and water testing supplies", he said, with two additional trucks with medical supplies, along with 12 pallets of blood products, expected to join them on Thursday.

"All WHO supplies will then be moved into Gaza, along with three trucks with medical supplies from health partners," Tedros said on X.

"The health needs in Gaza are immense. A continuous flow of medical supplies is critical.

"We continue to call for sustained, safe, and unhindered access for medical aid into and across Gaza and for a ceasefire. Peace is the best medicine."

Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2 after ceasefire talks broke down. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume, amid warnings of a wave of starvation.

This week, Israel launched daily pauses in its military operations in some parts of Gaza and opened secure routes to enable UN agencies and other aid groups to distribute food in the densely populated territory of more than two million.

The WHO says that in Gaza, airstrikes and a lack of medical supplies, food, water and fuel have "virtually depleted" the under-resourced health system, with many hospitals out of operation and others barely functioning.

The provision of essential health services -- from maternal and newborn care to treatment for chronic conditions -- has been "severely compromised", the UN health agency it says.

A WHO spokesman told AFP that nine of the agency's trucks had gone into Gaza on June 25; four on June 28; 11 on July 8; and six more on July 20.

"None of the trucks were looted since we resumed supplies," he added.