No Aid Supplies Left and Staff Starving in Gaza, Says Norwegian Refugee Council

People make their way along al-Rashid street in western Jabalia on July 22, 2025, after receiving humanitarian aid from an aid distribution point in the northern Gaza Strip. (AFP)
People make their way along al-Rashid street in western Jabalia on July 22, 2025, after receiving humanitarian aid from an aid distribution point in the northern Gaza Strip. (AFP)
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No Aid Supplies Left and Staff Starving in Gaza, Says Norwegian Refugee Council

People make their way along al-Rashid street in western Jabalia on July 22, 2025, after receiving humanitarian aid from an aid distribution point in the northern Gaza Strip. (AFP)
People make their way along al-Rashid street in western Jabalia on July 22, 2025, after receiving humanitarian aid from an aid distribution point in the northern Gaza Strip. (AFP)

The Norwegian Refugee Council told Reuters on Tuesday its aid stocks are completely depleted in Gaza, with some of its staff now starving, and the organization accused Israel of paralyzing its work.

"Our last tent, our last food parcel, our last relief items have been distributed. There is nothing left," Jan Egeland, the secretary general of the council told Reuters in an interview via video link from Oslo.

The council's comments echo those made earlier on Tuesday by the head of the Palestinian refugee agency, who said UNRWA's staff were fainting on the job from hunger and exhaustion.

The NRC says that for the last 145 days, it has not been able to get hundreds of truckloads of tents, water, sanitation, food and education materials into Gaza.

COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, and Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has denied accusations that it is preventing aid from reaching Gaza, and has accused Palestinian group Hamas of stealing food, which Hamas denies.

"Hundreds of truckloads have been sitting in warehouses or in Egypt or elsewhere, and costing our Western European donors a lot of money, but they are blocked from coming in... That's why we are so angry. Because our job is to help," Egeland said.

"Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyze our work," he added.

The NRC has 64 Palestinian and two international staff on the ground in Gaza. On Sunday the NRC had to move 33 of its staff out of Deir al Balah following Israeli evacuation warnings.

The NRC said its supplies of safe drinking water are also running out, due to dwindling supplies of fuel to run desalination plants. The water has reached 100,000 people in central and northern parts of Gaza in recent weeks

An Israeli official told Reuters there is about a half a million liters of fuel that the UN has been given approval to bring in.

"They're bringing in fuel and collecting, but they can bring in and they can collect more, and we are having discussions with them," the official said.

The official also said that there are about 700 trucks of unpacked aid on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing which have not been distributed.



Israeli Strikes Hit South and East Lebanon

A fireball rises from the site of an Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 9, 2026. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
A fireball rises from the site of an Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 9, 2026. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
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Israeli Strikes Hit South and East Lebanon

A fireball rises from the site of an Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 9, 2026. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
A fireball rises from the site of an Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 9, 2026. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)

Israeli strikes hit southern and eastern Lebanon overnight, state media reported on Tuesday, as Israel targets Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.

"Enemy warplanes launched strikes overnight on the towns of Almajadel, Shaqra, and Srifa," the National News Agency (NNA) reported, adding strikes had also taken place in the Bekaa Valley.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.

Lebanese authorities said on Monday that Israel's attacks since March 2 have killed at least 486 people and wounded at least 1,313.

AFP has not been able to carry out a detailed breakdown of the figures.

According to the government, more than 660,000 people have registered as displaced, with 120,000 sleeping at official shelters as of Monday.


Syria Accuses Hezbollah of Firing Shells into Its Territory

Syrian soldiers are deployed near the border with Lebanon. (Reuters)
Syrian soldiers are deployed near the border with Lebanon. (Reuters)
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Syria Accuses Hezbollah of Firing Shells into Its Territory

Syrian soldiers are deployed near the border with Lebanon. (Reuters)
Syrian soldiers are deployed near the border with Lebanon. (Reuters)

Syria said Iran-backed Hezbollah had fired artillery shells into its territory from Lebanon overnight, state media reported on Tuesday, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Lebanese movement.

Syrian army officials said artillery shells fired from Lebanon landed near the town of Serghaya, west of Damascus, the state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday.

The army accused Hezbollah of targeting Syrian army positions, telling the news agency it observed Hezbollah reinforcements at the Syrian-Lebanese border.

"The Syrian Arab Army will not tolerate any aggression targeting Syria," the army said in a statement to SANA.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes.

Hezbollah and Israeli forces have clashed in eastern Lebanon in recent days, and Israel has carried out strikes across Lebanon, including on the capital Beirut.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Hezbollah of working to "collapse" the state, while the head of the group's parliamentary bloc said it had "no other option... than the option of resistance."

Hezbollah provided military support to former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown in December 2024 by a coalition hostile to the Iran-backed party.

Since then, its supply routes from Syria have been cut off, and Lebanese and Syrian authorities are trying to combat smuggling across the porous border between the two countries.


Syrian Leader Announces Support for Lebanese Counterpart to Disarm Hezbollah

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa attends the Ministry of Awqaf conference titled "Unity of Islamic Discourse" at the Conference Palace in Damascus, Syria, February 16, 2026. (Reuters)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa attends the Ministry of Awqaf conference titled "Unity of Islamic Discourse" at the Conference Palace in Damascus, Syria, February 16, 2026. (Reuters)
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Syrian Leader Announces Support for Lebanese Counterpart to Disarm Hezbollah

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa attends the Ministry of Awqaf conference titled "Unity of Islamic Discourse" at the Conference Palace in Damascus, Syria, February 16, 2026. (Reuters)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa attends the Ministry of Awqaf conference titled "Unity of Islamic Discourse" at the Conference Palace in Damascus, Syria, February 16, 2026. (Reuters)

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday declared his support for his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun in the latter's effort to disarm Hezbollah, state media reported.

The Middle East war expanded to Lebanon on March 2, after Tehran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets towards Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of US-Israeli attacks on Iran, prompting Israeli retaliation.

Since March 2, Israel has been conducting large-scale air raids on Lebanon and incursions with ground troops, killing at least 486 people according to the Lebanese health ministry.

"We stand alongside Lebanese president Joseph Aoun in disarming Hezbollah," Sharaa said during a video conference with top European officials.

The Syrian army has bolstered its troop deployments on the country's borders with Lebanon and Iraq, a Syrian government source told AFP on Wednesday.

"We have reinforced our defensive forces along the border as a precaution to prevent the repercussions of the conflict from spilling over onto Syrian territory, and to combat cross-border organizations and prevent them from using Syrian soil," Sharaa said.

On Monday, Aoun accused Hezbollah of seeking the "collapse" of the Lebanese state with its decision to launch rockets towards Israel.

Iran-backed Hezbollah was a prominent ally of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, sending forces to help him in the civil war.

His brutal rule was brought to an end in December 2024 and he was replaced by new authorities hostile to Hezbollah.