US Moves Towards Opening its Consulate in Jerusalem

A Gazan displaced family in a UNRWA school after the destruction of their house during the recent Israeli raids (AFP)
A Gazan displaced family in a UNRWA school after the destruction of their house during the recent Israeli raids (AFP)
TT
20

US Moves Towards Opening its Consulate in Jerusalem

A Gazan displaced family in a UNRWA school after the destruction of their house during the recent Israeli raids (AFP)
A Gazan displaced family in a UNRWA school after the destruction of their house during the recent Israeli raids (AFP)

The United States confirmed that it is moving forward with reopening its consulate in Jerusalem, without specifying a date.

“I don’t have a timetable to offer you at this time, but it is something that we are working on, as we have discussed, with our Israeli and Palestinian partners, both when we were in Israel the other week and in continued discussion since," State Department spokesman Ned Price announced in a press briefing.

Price described the vaccine agreement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority as a “bilateral arrangement.”

“What we would say is that we encourage them – both parties, the Israelis and the Palestinians – to do whatever they can to maximize vaccinations of Israelis and Palestinians.”

Price indicated that this matter is within US national interests, knowing that as long as COVID-19 is uncontrolled anywhere, it is a threat to people everywhere, “including Americans at home, but also knowing that it’s just simply the right thing to do.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is launching a $164 million humanitarian and early recovery appeal following the hostilities in the Gaza Strip last month.

UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced that this updated appeal incorporates the immediate emergency response actions implemented by UNRWA in Gaza and the West Bank between May10 and 31, as well as early recovery needs of Palestine refugees in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, until December 31.

It supersedes the initial $38m Flash Appeal that was issued on May 19.

The appeal outlines the need for emergency shelter repairs, humanitarian assistance to displaced families, and emergency repairs and maintenance of UNRWA installations.

Also, funds will be required to temporarily subsidize rental payments for those Palestine refugee families whose shelters have been completely destroyed or damaged in the form of Transitional Shelter Cash Assistance.

UNRWA reported that airstrikes have caused substantial damage to physical infrastructure, including homes and UNRWA installations and water and sanitation networks in refugee camps.

UNRWA installations that served as designated emergency shelters also suffered damage with up to 71,000 people seeking shelter at the height of the conflict.

An estimated 7,500 Palestinian refugees remain displaced, of whom 7,150 individuals are sheltering with relatives and friends, and approximately 350 individuals remain in two UNRWA schools in Jabalia and Beach Camp.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini asserted that the impact of this conflict on Palestine refugees, like that of the three preceding rounds of violence, has been devastating.

“The trauma suffered by Gaza’s population, including some 1.4 million Palestine refugees, will continue to reverberate for a long time,” he added.

Lazzarini concluded that UNRWA is on the ground in Gaza ready to press on with the massive recovery efforts in a timely, efficient and secure manner.

“But we rely on the generous support of our partners to implement all the necessary reconstruction, humanitarian assistance, and protection projects outlined in this urgent appeal.”



UN Agency Closes the Rest of Its Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle under Israeli Blockade

Palestinians receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP)
TT
20

UN Agency Closes the Rest of Its Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle under Israeli Blockade

Palestinians receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP)

The UN food agency is closing all of its bakeries in the Gaza Strip, officials said Tuesday, as food supplies dwindle after Israel sealed the territory off from all imports nearly a month ago.

Israel, which tightened its blockade and later resumed its offensive in order to pressure Hamas into accepting changes to their ceasefire agreement, said that enough food entered Gaza during the six-week truce to sustain the territory's roughly 2 million Palestinians.

Markets largely emptied weeks ago, and UN. agencies say the supplies they built up during the truce are running out. Gaza is heavily reliant on international aid, because the war has destroyed almost all of its food production capability.

Mohammed al-Kurd, a father of 12, said that his children go to bed without dinner.

“We tell them to be patient and that we will bring flour in the morning,” he said. “We lie to them and to ourselves.”

A World Food Program memo circulated to aid groups on Monday said that it could no longer operate its remaining bakeries, which produce the pita bread on which many rely. The UN agency said that it was prioritizing its remaining stocks to provide emergency food aid and expand hot meal distribution. WFP spokespeople didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that the WFP was closing its remaining 19 bakeries after shuttering six others last month. She said that hundreds of thousands of people relied on them.

The Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian affairs, known as COGAT, said that more than 25,000 trucks entered Gaza during the ceasefire, carrying nearly 450,000 tons of aid. It said that amount represented around a third of what has entered during the entire war.

“There is enough food for a long period of time, if Hamas lets the civilians have it,” it said.

UN agencies and aid groups say that they struggled to bring in and distribute aid before the ceasefire took hold in January. Their estimates for how much aid actually reached people in Gaza were consistently lower than COGAT’s, which were based on how much entered through border crossings.

The war began when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. Hamas is still holding 59 captives — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel's offensive has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, including hundreds killed in strikes since the ceasefire ended, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't say whether those killed in the war are civilians or combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Israel sealed off Gaza from all aid at the start of the war, but later relented under pressure from Washington. US President Donald Trump's administration, which took credit for helping to broker the ceasefire, has expressed full support for Israel's actions, including its decision to end the truce.

Israel has demanded that Hamas release several hostages before commencing talks on ending the war, negotiations that were supposed to have begun in early February. It has also insisted that Hamas disarm and leave Gaza, conditions that weren't part of the ceasefire agreement.

Hamas has called for implementing the agreement, in which the remaining hostages would be released in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli pullout.