Photo: AA
Foods like flour and vegetables are 100 times more expensive in Gaza than before Israel halted all food from entering a day earlier, the United Nations says.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the price increases were reported by the U.N.’s humanitarian partners on the ground Monday who are currently assessing stocks that are still available in the Gaza Strip.
Dujarric said the United Nations has not received reports that militants or other groups were diverting aid meant for civilians. “What we have seen since the ceasefire is a much freer and more direct flow of aid, and we have not seen any of the looting that we had seen prior to the ceasefire,” he told reporters.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Hamas of selling aid and preventing Palestinians from getting it.
A fight breaks out in the Israeli parliament between hostages’ families and security guards
Chaos erupted in the Israeli parliament on Monday when security guards scuffled with relatives of people killed or taken hostage in the Hamas attack that triggered the war in Gaza.
Relatives of people killed tried to enter the parliament hall as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared for a debate about a governmental inquiry into the events of October 2023. Security guards blocked them from entering the observation area. Some family members wailed in frustration and grief before the two sides began pushing and hitting one another outside the hall, including on a crowded stairwell.
“You are hitting bereaved parents!” one person screamed in footage of the episode released by the October Council, a group representing the families. “Our children were killed and murdered!” One family member fainted, according to Israeli media.
A spokesperson for Israel’s parliament said too many people had attempted to enter the hall, and they would examine the episode. The families were eventually allowed in.
Palestinians say Israel blocking aid is a death sentence for Gaza
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are deeply concerned that their already dire situation will get much worse now that Israel has cut off all food and humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.
“This is a decision of genocide … Our children are being starved,” said Mohammed Abu Shalhoub, a displaced man from Rafah, who was waiting alongside dozens of people to receive a hot meal from a charity in the Muwasi area, west of the city of Khan Younis.
He urged other countries to pressure Israel to give Palestinians their most basic rights: “food, clothing, and drink — nothing more.”
A displaced woman, Umm Akram Shalhoub, said Israel’s decision to cut off aid was “an execution.”
The war has displaced at least 90 per cent of Gaza’s population of over 2 million and left them dependent on international aid.
Sharabi, who has spoken of the tough conditions in captivity, is set to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday. Netanyahu said the meeting was important and Sharabi responded, according to the statement, that perhaps “with joint efforts, we will bring this whole saga to an end.”
The heated scene reflects the heightened emotions in Israel as Netanyahu’s government debates whether to resume the war against Hamas after a six-week ceasefire. It also came a day before a group of newly freed Israeli hostages are expected to press President Donald Trump at a White House meeting to continue the ceasefire and bring home all remaining hostages from Hamas captivity.
This post was last modified on March 4, 2025 2:18 pm