The World Health Organization says the Gazan Red Crescent is ready for the opening of the border crossing, and it reiterates calls for a cease-fire
The director general of the World Health Organization said in a virtual news event that their trucks are ready to go. “We’re working with Egypt and Palestine Red Crescent societies to deliver our supplies into Gaza as soon as the border crossing is opened, hopefully tomorrow.”
The deal was announced by President Biden late Wednesday after a visit to Israel, during which he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and later spoke by phone with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
That has left only Egypt’s Rafah border crossing, where trucks carrying some 3,000 tons of food, water and medicine are “awaiting” Egypt’s approval to enter, the United Nations says.
It isn’t clear if any fuel would be included in the shipment. With the main power plant in Gaza unable to function, aid groups say fuel is badly needed to power other plants.
Concrete results were missing from previous attempts to get aid into Gaza from Egypt. One sticking point has been over how to ensure that Hamas is not involved in the deliveries or able to divert aid from civilians for its own use.
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza intensifies and Israel readies an expected ground invasion, scores of people have been waiting on the Gaza side for days in hopes of leaving.
Earlier discussions around opening the crossing had included efforts to get foreign nationals out of Gaza. On Thursday, E.U. officials said there had been no progress on that front. There are approximately 350 to 400 Americans; 1,200 E.U. citizens; 300 Canadians; 200 British citizens and 45 Australians in Gaza, according to diplomats.
There has been a rise in calls for a cease-fire since an explosion at the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. Reports of the death toll have varied; Gaza’s Ministry of Health says the blast killed more than 470 people, most of whom were patients at the hospital or people who had come to the hospital’s courtyard to seek a safe place to stay.
The explosion sparked protests across the region, including in the occupied West Bank, where three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces overnight.
Up First: An Update on the U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres’s Call for an “Immediate Stop-fire”
On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called for an “immediate cease-fire” in order to facilitate Hamas’s release of the hostages and for Israel to allow unrestricted access to aid.
Guterres is expected to arrive in Cairo Thursday as part of a wave of diplomatic efforts to address the crisis; British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was set to arrive in Israel Thursday to meet Netanyahu, and French leader Emmanuel Macron was expected to follow in the coming days.
Israeli officials say 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in the conflict. Palestinian health officials say there have been over 3000 deaths in Gaza and more than 60 deaths in the West Bank.
Good morning. The newsletter is called Up First. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.
In a second vote, House Republicans again rejected Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as the new speaker. His nomination had opposition from 20 GOPs and 22 defections.
How to protect your car when a catalytic converter theft is a problem of Joran van der Sloot: A new FBI investigation of the Gaza aid deal
According to a new Federal Reserve survey, the average American family’s net worth went up by over three quarters of a century. It’s the biggest jump the agency has seen since the surveys began. The rich and poor have different wealth gaps. The gains could be tied to the government’s temporary COVID relief measures.
After 18 years after their daughter vanished on a high school graduation trip, the family of murdered American teen Natalee’s finally knows what happened. Joran van der Sloot was indicted on a murder charge. He promised to tell Beth where her daughter’s body was stashed as a condition of his plea deal.
Catalytic converter theft has risen 1,215% since 2019, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. They are underneath cars and help with exhaust cleaning. Thieves target them because they are made of expensive metals. It can cost thousands to replace one. Here’s how you can protect your car.
Source: Up First briefing: Gaza aid deal; preventing catalytic converter theft
The Barber Experience: How to Get Aid into Gaza and What to Expect to Do If You Don’t Let It Go Without Getting Away
When she was in a town that was rural, NPR scientistRegina G. Barber would use TV as an escape. Star Trek: She liked The Next Generation a lot. Her dad, also a Trekkie, pointed out the morals in each episode and taught her to value diversity. The foundation for her sense of social justice was built by this.
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Diplomats and aid workers on Thursday were hammering out the logistics of getting food and medicine into Gaza a day after President Biden said Israel agreed to allow it.
The area around the crossing has been repeatedly bombed by Israel. According to an aid official briefed on the situation, on Thursday Egyptian workers were repairing roads so that big trucks with aid would be able to pass.
Major humanitarian groups including the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross also have sent equipment and supplies.
Egyptian officials are holding intensive talks in Cairo with the U.N. secretary general, António Guterres; his humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths; and a special U.S. envoy about how to deliver the aid to Gaza.
The border crossing area is closed to non-Egyptian officials. The government in Cairo is wary of any spillover from the Gaza conflict because it is located in a province where they have fought militants for years.
The Egyptian Red Crescent is most likely to handle aid on the Egyptian side and then transfer it to the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza, officials said Thursday.
Another sticking point is Israel’s demand that the cargo be checked for weapons that Hamas could use for attacks. The American, U.N. and Egyptian officials are discussing who would carry out those cargo inspections, a person directly familiar with the matter said, requesting anonymity to speak about the delicate negotiations.
Abood Okal, a Palestinian American who has been stranded with his wife and one-year-old son, said in a WhatsApp message that he was “very concerned” that there had been no updates about an evacuation despite the talk of an agreement to allow aid into Gaza.
Mr. Okal said that there was an explosion near the house where he was staying. With no safe place to go, and no evacuation plan in sight, he wrote, “We are extremely afraid for our lives.”