Sudan Running Out of Essential Medicine, Fuel and Wheat Due to Port Blockade

FILE PHOTO: A man stands opposite the modern port at the harbor in Port Sudan at Red Sea State February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A man stands opposite the modern port at the harbor in Port Sudan at Red Sea State February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
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Sudan Running Out of Essential Medicine, Fuel and Wheat Due to Port Blockade

FILE PHOTO: A man stands opposite the modern port at the harbor in Port Sudan at Red Sea State February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A man stands opposite the modern port at the harbor in Port Sudan at Red Sea State February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo

Sudan is about to run out of essential medicine, fuel and wheat after political protests forced the closure of Port Sudan, the main port in the east of the country, the cabinet said on Sunday.

Members of eastern Sudan’s Beja tribes have blocked roads and forced Red Sea ports to close in recent weeks in protest at what they say is the region’s lack of political power and poor economic conditions there, Reuters reported.

The cabinet acknowledged eastern Sudan’s “just cause” and stressed the right to peaceful protest, but warned that the closure of Port Sudan and highways connecting the east with the rest of the country was “harming the interests of all Sudanese.”

In a statement, it pledged to work on a political solution to the problems of eastern Sudan and called on the protesters to start a dialogue with the government.

The demonstrators agreed last month to allow the resumption of exports of crude oil from landlocked South Sudan via a terminal on the Red Sea.

They had also forced the closure of a pipeline that carries imported crude to the capital Khartoum.



Israel Strikes Kill Five People in Gaza, Local Medics Say

Men and children stand next to a destroyed car amidst debris and rubble by a collapsed building at the site of Israeli bombardment on a residential block in Jalaa Street in Gaza City on January 14, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Men and children stand next to a destroyed car amidst debris and rubble by a collapsed building at the site of Israeli bombardment on a residential block in Jalaa Street in Gaza City on January 14, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Israel Strikes Kill Five People in Gaza, Local Medics Say

Men and children stand next to a destroyed car amidst debris and rubble by a collapsed building at the site of Israeli bombardment on a residential block in Jalaa Street in Gaza City on January 14, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Men and children stand next to a destroyed car amidst debris and rubble by a collapsed building at the site of Israeli bombardment on a residential block in Jalaa Street in Gaza City on January 14, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

An Israeli air strike killed three Palestinian men in Gaza on Monday as they tried to gather firewood, medics said, with no sign of progress from renewed talks on sustaining a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

In the latest bloodshed to underline the fragility of the Gaza war's three-stage truce, the three, all from the same family, had left their homes in central Gaza to collect the wood for cooking.

That has become a daily task for many Gazans as Israel has continued to ban fuel, food, and medical goods from entering Gaza for over two weeks, residents said.

The Israeli military said in a statement it struck "terrorists" operating near their forces and attempting to plant a bomb, Reuters reported.

At Al-Aqsa Hospital in Gaza's Deir Al-Balah, relatives rushed to pay farewell to the three white-shrouded bodies.

"They were targeted - and when their cousins and others in the area came to rescue them, the drone targeted them with bombs," said Jabr Abou Hajeer, the father of one of the victims.

Later on Monday, medics said an Israeli air strike killed a father and his son inside a school sheltering displaced families in Bureij camp, near the site of the earlier strikes, raising the day's death toll to five. There was no immediate Israeli comment.

Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, said Israel's "violations" could "undermine all efforts for de-escalation".

He put the number of Palestinians killed since the January ceasefire at 150.

Israel's military says it has repeatedly thwarted attempts by Palestinians to plant bombs or otherwise threaten their forces.

Israel's suspension of goods entering Gaza for 16 days has increased pressure on Gaza's 2.3 million people, most of whom have been made homeless by the war. The suspension, which Israel said was aimed at pressuring Hamas in ceasefire talks, applies to food, medicine, and fuel imports.