Israel Agrees to Allow Humanitarian Aids to Flow into Gaza through Egypt
NEW DELHI, Oct 18: Israel has agreed to allow some humanitarian aids to reach Gaza through Egypt.
In a late evening development on Wednesday, the Israel Prime Minister’s office announced that Israel would let aid enter Gaza via Egypt. The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said only “food, water and medicine” would be allowed into the blockaded Palestinian enclave.
“In light of (US) President (Joe) Biden’s demand, Israel would not foil the supply of humanitarian aid via Egypt,” the prime minister’s office said, announcing a cabinet decision. The statement noted that aid to civilians in the southern Gaza Strip would be allowed “so long as these supplies do not reach Hamas” which rules Gaza.
The Israel – Hamas conflict, which erupted on Oct. 7 after Hamas fighters stormed into Israel, has inflamed tensions across the Middle East. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned on Tuesday of further action by Tehran’s allies against Israel if it did not cease its retaliatory attacks on Gaza.
The United States vetoed on Wednesday a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have called for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas to allow humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip. The vote on the Brazilian-drafted text was twice delayed in the past couple of days as the US tried to broker aid access to Gaza. Twelve members voted in favour of the draft text on Wednesday, while Russia and Britain abstained.
Meanwhile, in Mumbai Police arrested four persons for allegedly defacing the flag of Israel in South Mumbai, an official said on Wednesday. A video of the incident, which took place at a junction in the Bhendi Bazaar area on Tuesday night, has surfaced on social media platforms. In the video, a group of people can be seen defacing the Israeli flag.
(Manas Dasgupta)
