Arab foreign ministers met in Cairo on Monday for talks focusing on Egypt’s plan to rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, hoping to counter President Donald Trump’s proposal to expel Palestinians from the coastal enclave and take it over.
In Israel, an attacker fatally stabbed a man in his 60s and wounded four others in the northern city of Haifa, police said. Israeli authorities said the assailant was a Palestinian citizen of Israel and that bystanders killed him. The militant group Hamas praised the attack but stopped short of claiming responsibility for it.
The attack took place as regional tensions are high surrounding the fate of the ceasefire in Gaza. Israel has stopped the entry of all food and other supplies into Gaza and warned of “additional consequences” for Hamas if the ceasefire’s first phase isn’t extended. Hamas accused Israel of trying to derail the second phase. Mediators Egypt and Qatar accused Israel of violating humanitarian law by using starvation as a weapon against the Palestinians in Gaza.
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Here’s the latest:
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% of Gaza’s population of over 2 million and left them dependent on international aid.
Price of food skyrockets after Israel closes Gaza’s borders, UN says
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…