December 26, 2024

Brighton Journal

Complete News World

News, hostage release and more

News, hostage release and more

Morning time in the Middle East. Here's what you need to know

A ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza is arriving from Cyprus, according to the non-profit World Central Kitchen.

The departure follows announcements that Cyprus, the European Union, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom are working to establish a sea route to deliver aid to Gaza.

World Central Kitchen said it plans to distribute approximately 500,000 meals including rice, flour, beans, lentils and canned meats when the ship arrives in Gaza.

The UN welcomed news of the export, but insisted it was “not an alternative” to ground aid to Gazans on the brink of famine.

The United Nations World Food Program said a food convoy arrived in Gaza City on Tuesday, successfully reaching the northern part of the enclave for the first time since February 20.

Here's what you need to know:

Status of negotiations: Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari told CNN, “We are not close to an agreement at this time.” Some officials, including Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “hold the keys to getting a deal right now,” he said, urging them to consider negotiations. CIA Director Bill Burns said it was “still possible” to reach an agreement, but it would be a “very difficult process”.

Body count: Gaza's health ministry said Wednesday that 31,184 people have been killed and more than 72,000 injured since Oct. 7. CNN cannot independently confirm these figures because Gaza does not have international media access.

A dual citizen dies: Itai Chen, a dual US-Israeli citizen, was found dead on October 7, the Israeli military said on Tuesday. He was working at the Gaza border that day, the Forum for Disappeared Families and Hostages said. The Israel Defense Forces said his remains were taken to Gaza after his death.

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Police killed a child: An Israeli Border Police officer shot and killed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy in the Shufat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli police and hospital officials said. In a video obtained by CNN, the boy can be seen lighting fireworks above his head before a gunshot is heard.

A warning to the Palestinians: The Hamas-linked website Al Majd Security warned Palestinians that working with Israel – including facilitating aid and food deliveries – could be seen as collaborating with the enemy and an act of treason against the Palestinian people. Al Majd Security is Hamas's intelligence agency, founded in Gaza in the 1980s by Yahya Sinwar, Hamas's political leader, to monitor Palestinian organizations that work directly with Israel.