UN chief calls Israel's decision to control Gaza City 'dangerous escalation'
United Nations, Aug 8 (AP): United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday said Israel's decision to control Gaza City “risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians, and could further endanger more lives, including of the remaining hostages”, according to his spokesperson.
Guterres also warns that an Israeli offensive will result in additional forced displacement, killings and massive destruction, "compounding the unimaginable suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza,” associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said.
The secretary-general reiterated his urgent appeal for a ceasefire, she said.
The UN chief strongly urged Israel to abide by the July 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice to end its “unlawful presence” in Palestinian territory including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Tremblay told UN reporters on Friday.
EU report finds little aid is getting into Gaza
The European Union has concluded that little aid is flowing into Gaza despite an understanding reached between Brussels and Israel last month, according to a report by the 27-nation bloc's foreign service.
Although roughly 5,000 trucks entered Gaza during the “limited lifting of the blockade by Israel,” there are still “significant operational and bureaucratic constraints” on aid delivery, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Associated Press.
Since May 19, an average of 36 trucks a day has entered Gaza, laden with food, nutrition supplements, medical supplies and chlorine, but 90% was looted once in Gaza, the report says.
The EU had reached an agreement with Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza, but officials have not been able to confirm any improvements for themselves.
Israel has blocked an EU monitoring team from entering Gaza because they were not humanitarian aid providers, said Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, a European Commission spokesperson, at a press conference in Brussels on Thursday.
Palestinians call for emergency UN meeting on Israeli announcement
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, said the Security Council meeting should take place immediately - possibly Friday afternoon or Saturday.
He called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement of a military operation to control all of Gaza, starting with Gaza City, which he said is populated by about 1 million Palestinians, “a crazy, irresponsible, dangerous, vicious plan”.
“Our objective is to stop Israel from taking this extremely dangerous escalation,” he said. “We need all of us collectively to prevail, to stop this insanity and to allow peace to be the option of war and the continuation of the suffering.”
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
