The Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday’s events as they happen.
UK says 2,000-ton food aid package has entered Gaza
More than 2,000 tons of British food aid has crossed into Gaza via Jordan and is being distributed by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to families in need, Britain’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
Aid agencies have reported widespread shortages of food, medicines and clean water in Gaza, with a UN-backed report projecting famine and about half the population across the whole of the Gaza Strip facing “catastrophic hunger.”
“We need sustained humanitarian access by road to get more aid in,” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron says in a statement.
“We continue to push Israel to allow more crossings to open and for longer, and for healthcare, water and sanitation to be restored,” he says.
Britain’s Foreign Office says its food parcels would be distributed by the WFP and feed over 275,000 people in Gaza.
In addition to the 2,000 ton of food aid delivered, it said 150 ton of UK-funded aid assistance, including tents and blankets, sent on March 13 would be distributed by UNICEF.
US Congress deal bars US funds to UNRWA until March 2025, sources say
An agreement reached by US congressional leaders and the White House on a massive bill funding military, State Department and a range of other government programs will continue a ban on US funding for UNRWA, the main UN agency for Palestinians, until March 2025, two sources say.
US President Joe Biden’s administration said in January it was temporarily pausing new funding to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after Israel accused over a dozen of the agency’s staff of directly participating in the Oct. 7 Hamas killing spree, and said hundreds more were tied to terrorists.
The US Senate passed legislation last month cutting off funding for the agency, part of a $95 billion bill providing aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that has stalled in the House of Representatives.
Backers of the aid have been trying to get it restored, calling on Washington to support the relief body as aid groups work to ward off humanitarian crisis and possible famine in Gaza.
The two sources familiar with the agreement say the funding would be blocked for a year, and that details of alternative efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza would be discussed after the legislation is made public.
The White House and congressional leaders declined comment on details of the agreement until texts of the spending bills are released.
The UN has launched an investigation into the allegations against the UNRWA staff, and the agency fired some staff after Israel provided it with information.
The US, UNRWA’s largest donor, providing $300 million to $400 million annually, said it wants to see the results of that inquiry and corrective measures taken before it will consider resuming funding.
Pentagon chief Austin to host Israeli defense minister Gallant next week — official
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant next week for a bilateral meeting at the US Defense Department, says an American defense official.
The meeting comes after Austin recently invited Gallant for a visit and is separate from Monday’s announcement that followed a call between US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who agreed to send a team of senior officials to Washington to discuss developments regarding the war in Gaza, the official adds.