At least 82 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza as critical aid fails to reach Palestinians
Deir al-Balah (Gaza), May 21 (AP): Israeli strikes continued to pound the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, despite a surge in international anger at Israel's widening offensive.
The attacks killed at least 82 people, including several women and a week-old infant, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and area hospitals.
Israel began allowing dozens of humanitarian trucks into Gaza on Tuesday, but the aid has not yet reached Palestinians in desperate need.
Jens Laerke, the spokesperson for the UN's humanitarian agency, said no trucks were picked up from the Gaza side of Kerem Shalom, the Israeli border crossing with southern Gaza.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Tuesday that although the aid had entered Gaza, aid workers were not able to bring it to distribution points, after the Israeli military forced them to reload the supplies onto separate trucks and workers ran out of time.
The Israeli defence body that oversees humanitarian aid to Gaza said trucks were entering Gaza on Wednesday morning, but it was unclear if that aid would move deeper into Gaza for distribution.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said its staff had waited several hours to collect aid from the border crossing in order to begin distribution but were unable to do so on Tuesday.
A few dozen Israeli activists opposed to Israel's decision to allow aid into Gaza while Hamas still holds Israeli hostages attempted to block trucks carrying supplies Wednesday morning, but were kept back by Israeli police.
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New Zealand women's captain Sophie Devine to retire from ODIs after World Cup
Auckland, Jun 17 (PTI): New Zealand women's team captain and prolific all-rounder Sophie Devine will retire from the ODIs after the World Cup in India and Sri Lanka later this year.
The 35-year-old is widely regarded as one of the most prolific all-rounders in women's cricket, having amassed 3990 runs from 152 ODIs at an average of 31.66 with the help of eight centuries. She has also scored 3431 runs from 146 T20Is with one century.
She has also taken 107 and 119 wickets in the ODIs and T20Is respectively. She, however, has not played in any Test.
"It feels like the right time for me to start stepping away. I feel very fortunate to have NZC’s support in finding a solution that means I can still give to the WHITE FERNS," said Devine in a statement issued by New Zealand Cricket on Tuesday.
Devine's statement came ahead of the announcement of the 17 centrally contracted players by New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on Wednesday. She will remain available for T20I cricket on a "casual playing arrangement" but will not be centrally contracted.
"It's important that everyone knows I'm focused and dedicated to giving this group everything I can before I step away. I'm really excited by where this young group’s going and I'm looking forward to playing my part in the next six to nine months."
Her decision to retire after the ODI World Cup in India and Sri Lanka from September 30 to November 2 came after Devine took a break from cricket to prioritise her mental health in January. She will lead the team in the ODI World Cup in September.
Devine was permanent captain of the White Ferns in 2020, and has since led the team to new heights, including a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and a maiden ICC Women's T20 World Cup victory last year.
NZC's head of women's high performance Liz Green said Devine had the organisation's full support.
"Sophie's given nearly 20 years of service to the White Ferns and NZC is fully supportive of her quest to find more balance at this stage in her career," Green said.
"We're pleased to be able to reach an agreement that means she can continue to be involved with the White Ferns on a case-by-case basis, whilst opening up the opportunity for another player to be contracted in full."
NZC Chief Executive Scott Weenink praised Devine’s contribution to the White Ferns.
"Sophie has been an extraordinary leader and ambassador for the WHITE FERNS. Supporting her move to a casual playing agreement will allow her to continue contributing to the WHITE FERNS environment," he said.
The White Ferns are scheduled to begin their World Cup campaign against seven-time champions Australia on October 1 in Indore.
