Relief agencies criticise Israel's Gaza aid plans as scores killed in new strikes

Relief agencies have criticised Israeli plans to vet recipients of food and aid as part of a proposal to ease the nine-week siege on Gaza.
11 min read
03 May, 2025
Last Update
26 May, 2025 10:30 AM

Relief agencies have criticised Israeli plans to allow aid into Gaza, which they say do not meet humanitarian standards and could facilitate further displacement.

A US report on Friday suggested that Israel could soon start allowing aid to enter Gaza under an agreement with the US, easing starvation conditions in the strip which has been under blockade for almost nine weeks.

But according to reporting from the Financial Times, the plans would see Israel vet who is allowed to receive food, determine where it is distributed, and cut out some of the largest aid groups working on the ground.

"What we’re seeing is an attempt to . . . essentially instrumentalise the delivery of aid to pursue military objectives," the newspaper quotes the Norwegian Refugee Council's Gavin Kelleher as saying.

"The suggestion that a party to the conflict can vet the employees or civilians of another party to the conflict . . . is just not something that lines up at all with a principled humanitarian response."

Israel has imposed a nine-week blockade on Gaza that the UN and other agencies say amounts to the deliberate starvation of the territory's 2.2 million residents.

The Netanyahu government has until now doggedly refused to allow food to enter the strip, but has come under growing international pressure to relent, including from the US president.

The news comes amid reports that at least 28 Palestinians were killed in a new round of Israeli attacks in Gaza on Saturday.

Strikes were reported in Khan Younis and Gaza City.

12:01 AM

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Israeli shelling wounds several in northern Gaza
11:45 PM
The New Arab Staff

Several Palestinians were injured in Jabalia al-Balad after Israeli forces shelled an apartment - Wafa reports.

Three children detained in occupied West Bank
11:06 PM
The New Arab Staff

Three children were arrested by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank - Al Jazeera reports. 

The children were arrested while the forces were raising the town of Azzun, east of Qalqilya.

11 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza
10:31 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

In Gaza, the civil defence agency said on Saturday that an overnight Israeli strike on the Khan Younis refugee camp killed at least 11 people, including three infants aged one or less.

Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal say they were killed in the "bombardment of the Al-Bayram family home in Khan Yunis camp" at around 3:00 am.

Bassal told AFP that eight of the dead had been identified and were all from the same extended family, including a boy and a girl, both one year old, and a month-old baby.

An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed the strike, claiming it targeted a "Hamas member", without providing any evidence.

Israeli strike on Rafah kills several Palestinians
10:06 PM
The New Arab Staff

An Israeli drone strike killed several Palestinians in Rafah and targeted a group of civilians in the city.

Medical sources told Wafa the strike targeted civilians in the Al-Mawasi area.

Netanyahu says Qatar must 'stop playing both sides'
9:35 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said Gaza mediator Qatar needed to "stop playing both sides" over negotiations for a truce in the Palestinian territory with Hamas.

"The time has come for Qatar to stop playing both sides with its double talk and decide if it's on the side of civilization or if it's on the side of Hamas barbarism," Netanyahu wrote on X, adding: "Israel will win this just war with just means."

Israeli strikes kill two sisters killed in Khan Younis
9:05 PM
The New Arab Staff

Two Palestinian sisters were killed after Israeli airstrikes targeted a home in Khan Younis.

Local sources confirmed to Wafa that the strike destroyed the house completely.

Israeli military issues thousands of call-up notices
8:29 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

The Israeli military was issuing call-up notices to thousands of reservists on Saturday to support an expansion of its offensive in Gaza, Israeli media reported, after the prime minister announced that his upcoming visit to Azerbaijan was postponed.

The reservists will be deployed to Israel's border with Lebanon and in the occupied West Bank, replacing regular soldiers who will lead a new offensive in Gaza, the news site Ynet reported.

The military had no immediate comment.

(Reuters) 

Egypt sentences two Israelis for assaulting hotel workers
7:57 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

An Egyptian court has sentenced two Israelis to five years in jail for assaulting hotel workers in the Red Sea town of Taba near the border with Israel last year, an Egyptian security source said on Saturday.

In August, three tourists and two Egyptian hotel workers were injured when a fight broke out at a hotel after one of the tourists insulted one of the employees, security sources said at the time. 

(Reuters)

Three Palestinians killed in Israeli strike in Gaza City
7:30 PM
The New Arab Staff

At least three Palestinians were killed after Israeli strikes targeted a residential building in Gaza City, Wafa reports.

The agency says the strikes also caused a lot of civilian injuries.

Israeli PM Netanyahu postpones upcoming visit to Azerbaijan
7:08 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed next week's visit to Azerbaijan, his office announced on Saturday, in part due to recent developments in Gaza and Syria.

The prime minister's office also cited "the intense diplomatic and security schedule" and said the visit would be rescheduled, without announcing a new date.

Netanyahu was to visit Azerbaijan from 7-11 May and was expected to meet with President Ilham Aliyev. Israel and Azerbaijan maintain close security and energy ties.

(Reuters) 

Israeli settlers detain two journalists and an activist
6:29 PM
The New Arab Staff

Two Palestinian journalists and an activist were detained by armed Israeli settlers in Ramallah while reporting Israeli attacks in the area, Wafa reports.

A local activist, Rabee Abu Naeem, told the agency that the settlers got out of their vehicle and took him and Mohammad Turkman, Karim Khmayseh, and Ahmad Al-Khatib.

Naeem also said the settlers tried to take their car keys and prevent them from leaving the area, tried to take their filming equipment and threatened them with death.

GHM: 52,495 Palestinians killed since 7 October
6:01 PM
The New Arab Staff

The Gaza Health Ministry revealed that over 52,495 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October 2023, while at least 118,366 have been injured. The toll does not include the 11,000 missing presumed dead.

The Ministry has received 77 bodies over the past 24 hours and 275 injuries.

Netanyahu denies 'intense' Iran talks with Mike Waltz
5:37 PM
The New Arab Staff

The Israel prime minister's office has denied reporting earlier today by The Washington Post which claimed that Israeli officials were working with the ousted US national security chief Mike Waltz to press Trump into backing an attack on Iran.

"Contrary to the Washington Post report, PM Netanyahu did not have intensive contact with Mike Waltz on Iran," Netanyahu's office wrote on X.

According to the Post, Trump's decision to fire Waltz this week was in part motivated by his "intense coordination" with Israel over an attack on Tehran's nuclear sites.

Hamas releases video of Israeli prisoner Maxim Herkin
4:51 PM
The New Arab Staff

Hamas has released a video of a prisoner held in Gaza who Israeli media says is Israeli-Russian national Maxim Herkin.

In the footage, Herkin appears injured and claims to have survived an Israeli airstrike after the collapse of the recent ceasefire.

Herkin - who was among the civilians taken hostage from the Nova Music festival on 7 October 2023 - criticises Netanyahu for failing to secure the remaining captives' release, and calls on Israelis to protest against the government.

Though the video is undated, he makes reference to Israel's Independence Day that took place earlier this week, indicating that it was filmed recently.

 

Israel sends 'equipment', aid to Druze in Syria
3:36 PM
The New Arab Staff

The Israeli air force has flown unspecified equipment and humanitarian aid to Druze territory in southern Syria, according to Israel Army Radio.

Israeli sources say the equipment was sent to a location in Suweida 70 kilometres from Israel's borders.

 

Syria detains head of Palestinian group based in Damascus
3:10 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Officials from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) said Syrian authorities on Saturday detained the head of the faction, which was close to ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad's government.

An official from the Damascus-based faction, requesting anonymity as the matter is sensitive, told AFP that "secretary-general Talal Naji was arrested" in the capital. A second official confirmed the arrest, while a third source from the faction said "Naji was asked... to report to one of the security branches and has not returned. Most likely he was arrested."

(AFP)

Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak resigns
2:43 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, the prime minister of Yemen's internationally recognized government, said on Saturday he had submitted his resignation.

In a statement, Mubarak said he had faced "lots of difficulties", including being unable to reshuffle the government.

(Reuters)

Five injured Syrian Druze evacuated by Israel for treatment
2:11 PM
The New Arab Staff

The Israeli military has evacuated five injured people from Syria's Druze community for treatment in Israel, it said in a statement on Saturday.

The people were treated at a medical centre in the northern Israeli city of Safed.

The army is "deployed in the southern Syrian region and are prepared to prevent hostile forces from entering the region and Druze villages", it said.

The Israeli military has launched dozens of airstrikes against Syria in recent days claiming to defend Syria's Druze community following clashes between government forces and Druze gunmen.

Foreign Press Association slams Israel Gaza media access ban
12:46 PM
The New Arab Staff

The Foreign Press Association has condemned Israel's refusal to allow foreign journalists into Gaza.

In a statement marking World Press Freedom Day, the association described the restrictions as a "mark of shame" on the country and called on the government to lift its "unprecedented" ban.

Trump angered by ousted US natsec chief's Israel ties: WaPo
11:59 AM
The New Arab Staff

This week, US president Donald Trump ousted his national security chief Mike Waltz, a decision that according to The Washington Post was in part motivated by his discussions with Israeli leaders about attacking Iran.

Sources say that Waltz had been in intense discussions with the Israelis about the US backing a military strike against Tehran's nuclear sites, a position opposed by the US president who favours a diplomatic solution.

The former natsec chief had come out in support of Netanyah when the Israeli leader presented attack plans at the White House last month.

Waltz “wanted to take US policy in a direction Trump wasn’t comfortable with because the US hadn’t attempted a diplomatic solution,” according to one of the Post's sources.

“It got back to Trump and the president wasn’t happy with it,” that person said.

Members of the administration reportedly felt that Waltz was working with the Israelis to push the US into a war against Trump's wishes.

US natsec chief Mike Waltz was ousted after just three months in the role. [Getty]
UN envoy condemns Israeli attacks on Syria
11:15 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

A UN envoy has condemned Israel's escalating attacks on Syria and urged it to stop the aggression "at once".

"I strongly condemn Israel's continued and escalating violations of Syria's sovereignty, including multiple air strikes in Damascus and other cities," the UN's Syria envoy Geir Pedersen wrote in a post on X.

"I call for these attacks to cease at once and for Israel to stop endangering Syrian civilians and to respect international law and Syria's sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and independence."

Pedersen's statement came hours after Israel launched another barrage of airstrikes against Syrian military targets.

UN Syria envoy Geir Pedersen. [Getty]
77 killed in Gaza in past two days: health ministry
11:00 AM
The New Arab Staff

Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed 77 people over the past 48 hours, the local health ministry said this morning.

Some 275 others have been wounded.

Almost 52,500 people have been killed during Israel's 19-month war on Gaza, according to the ministry's latest tally.

57 die of starvation in Gaza amid Israel's nine-week siege
10:32 AM
The New Arab Staff

The number of people who have died from starvation in Gaza has risen to 57, local authorities said today, as Israel's blockade approaches its ninth week.

The "vast majority" of the victims were children, the Gaza Government Media Office said, adding the number is expected to increase as Israel continues to block food from entering the strip.

Humanitarian agencies criticise Israel's Gaza aid plans: FT
9:47 AM
The New Arab Staff

Relief agencies have criticised Israeli plans to allow aid into Gaza, which they say do not meet humanitarian standards and could facilitate further displacement.

Under a proposal being discussed by the Netanyahu government, Israel would vet who is allowed to receive food and cut out some of the largest organisations involved in aid distribution, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

Israel has imposed a nine-week blockade on Gaza that the UN and other agencies say amounts to the deliberate starvation of the territory's 2.2 million residents.

"What we’re seeing is an attempt to . . . essentially instrumentalise the delivery of aid to pursue military objectives," the newspaper quotes the Norwegian Refugee Council's Gavin Kelleher as saying.

"The suggestion that a party to the conflict can vet the employees or civilians of another party to the conflict . . . is just not something that lines up at all with a principled humanitarian response."

Under the plans, food distribution would be restricted to specific 'humanitarian zones', which Kelleher said could facilitate further forced displacement.

Gaza rescuers say 3 babies among 11 killed in Israel strike
9:24 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Gaza's civil defence agency said Saturday that an overnight Israeli strike on the Khan Yunis refugee camp killed at least 11 people including three babies up to a year old.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal reported 11 killed "after the bombardment of the Al-Bayram family home in the Khan Yunis camp" in southern Gaza at around 3:00 am (0000 GMT).

Bassal told AFP that eight of the dead had been identified and were all from the same extended family, including a boy and girl, both one-year-olds, and a month-old baby.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike.

(AFP)

US launches fresh strikes in Yemen overnight
8:44 AM
The New Arab Staff

The US launched a new round of airstrikes in Yemen against the Houthis overnight, media affiliated with the rebel group reported.

The strikes reportedly took place in the Amran province in the north of the country. No further details have been reported.

This came as the Israeli military said it had intercepted another missile launched from Yemen.

Scores killed in fresh Israeli raids in Gaza
8:38 AM
The New Arab Staff

Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed 28 Palestinians since dawn today, Al Jazeera Arabic is reporting, citing medical sources on the ground.

Aftermath of Israeli strike in Jabalia, north Gaza, on 2 May 2025. [Getty]
US pushes Israel to end Gaza blockade
8:32 AM
The New Arab Staff

Israel could soon start allowing humanitarian aid to enter Gaza under an agreement with the US, easing starvation conditions in the strip which has been under blockade for almost nine weeks.

Axios reported yesterday that US and Israeli officials have agreed to establish a new organisation that will distribute aid in the war-torn territory.

The UN and aid agencies on the ground have warned that food will run out in the coming days, and have accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war.

The Israeli government has until now rejected calls to lift the siege, saying that it will only relent when Hamas releases the remaining Israeli prisoners.

The report comes days after US President Donald Trump said he told the Israeli prime minister to "be good to Gaza" and allow food and aid to enter the strip.

Tens of thousands of children are suffering from acute malnutrition in Gaza. [Getty]