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Some Tents Enter Gaza, but Red Cross Says Enclave Needs Many More

An Israeli vehicle patrols along the northern side of the Gaza border, as seen from an undisclosed location along the Israeli side of the border, 08 September 2025. (EPA)
An Israeli vehicle patrols along the northern side of the Gaza border, as seen from an undisclosed location along the Israeli side of the border, 08 September 2025. (EPA)
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Some Tents Enter Gaza, but Red Cross Says Enclave Needs Many More

An Israeli vehicle patrols along the northern side of the Gaza border, as seen from an undisclosed location along the Israeli side of the border, 08 September 2025. (EPA)
An Israeli vehicle patrols along the northern side of the Gaza border, as seen from an undisclosed location along the Israeli side of the border, 08 September 2025. (EPA)

The Red Cross said on Monday it has distributed over 300 tents to displacement camps in southern Gaza in recent days but warned that the current supply of shelter materials to the enclave falls far short of urgent needs on the ground.

In addition to the 300 tents, more than 1,500 are expected to be delivered in coming days, the Red Cross added, but said hundreds of thousands of people desperately need new tents or tarpaulins after months of wear and tear on existing supplies.

"Many displaced families are living in appalling conditions -- some among the rubble of their destroyed homes, others in makeshift tents constructed from tarpaulins and scrap metal," Sarah Davies, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, told Reuters.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told Reuters separately that humanitarian groups had sent "a limited number of tents" into Gaza in recent weeks, but many more were needed.

Over 1.3 million Gazans currently lack tents, according to the United Nations, and further displacement is anticipated as Israel conducts a major assault on Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of residents are living among the ruins.

COGAT, the Israeli defense agency that deals with humanitarian issues, told Reuters that 5,000 tents had entered Gaza since restrictions on shelter materials were lifted near the end of August.

Aid organizations say Israel effectively blocked deliveries of materials for shelter for nearly six months, and despite the lifting of the restriction last month, international NGOs such as CARE International, ShelterBox, and the Norwegian Refugee Council reported on Monday they have yet to receive authorization to deliver such materials.

However, COGAT said: "Every organization that wants to enter tents is absolutely allowed to do so."

Israel's assault has reduced much of the enclave to rubble and caused a humanitarian catastrophe. More than 64,000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed, according to health officials in Gaza.

The war began with an assault by Hamas-led fighters on southern Israel in 2023. The attackers killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.