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Kamala Harris Repeats Claim Israel Blocking Aid From Entering Northern Gaza Contradicted by UN, Israeli Data
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, US, Aug. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Erica Dischino
US Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday repeated a claim that the Israeli government has hindered food from entering northern Gaza since the beginning of October, contradicting data compiled by both the Jewish state and humanitarian aid organizations affiliated with the United Nations.
“The UN reports that no food has entered northern Gaza in nearly 2 weeks. Israel must urgently do more to facilitate the flow of aid to those in need. Civilians must be protected and must have access to food, water, and medicine. International humanitarian law must be respected,” Harris posted on X/Twitter.
The Democratic presidential nominee was referring to a recent report produced by the UN World Food Program (WFP) claiming that, due to Israeli military actions, nearly all food distribution points in northern Gaza have been shut down since Oct. 1. The report said that communities in northern Gaza were left with dwindling supplies and on the brink of total starvation.
“WFP distributed its last remaining food stocks in the north to partners and kitchens sheltering newly displaced families, but these are barely enough to last two weeks,” the report read.
Subsequent media reports said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was considering establishing a “closed military zone” in northern Gaza to combat Hamas terrorists. The reported plan would mandate the cessation of aid transfers into the enclosed area in an attempt to starve out Hamas fighters, who according to US and Israeli authorities often steal aid meant for civilians. Israel had ordered the evacuation of civilians from northern Gaza, but many people had not left the designated military zone and would be impacted by the withholding of supplies.
According to Axios, however, Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in a phone call on Sunday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was not carrying out the plan to seal off aid to northern Gaza.
Data provided by the UN and the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli government agency coordinating civilian issues in the Palestinian territories, directly challenge the claim that Israel has blocked aid from entering northern Gaza.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that 54 aid trucks entered northern Gaza just from Oct. 8-10 via Gate 96, a recently created route for humanitarian aid to enter the northern part of the Palestinian enclave. Food made up a majority of the supplies. From Oct. 1-Oct. 10, 25 truckloads of aid were received in Gaza through the Erez West crossing into northern Gaza, and most of the trucks contained food.
According to data compiled by COGAT, 31 aid trucks entered northern Gaza through the Erez West crossing from Oct. 1-Oct. 12.
COGAT also posted a video on X/Twitter on Monday showing a humanitarian aid truck entering northern Gaza.
“30 trucks entered northern Gaza through the Erez Crossing earlier today. Israel is not preventing the entry of humanitarian aid, with an emphasis on food, into Gaza,” COGAT wrote.
“In the last two weeks, the Israel Defense Forces [IDF] has been conducting a ground operation in northern Gaza to destroy Hamas terrorist infrastructure, which just this week launched rockets from northern Gaza towards civilian populations in Israel,” the agency added.
30 trucks entered northern Gaza through the Erez Crossing earlier today.
Israel is not preventing the entry of humanitarian aid, with an emphasis on food, into Gaza.
In the last two weeks, the @IDF has been conducting a ground operation in northern Gaza to destroy Hamas… pic.twitter.com/xBW54K3s0Z
— COGAT (@cogatonline) October 14, 2024
The UN has long been accused by critics of harboring a bias against Israel. In June, the global organization placed Israel on its so-called “list of shame” alongside other “countries that kill children” in armed conflict. The United Nations Human Rights Office also published a report in June claiming that Israel cut off humanitarian assistance to Gaza without noting that Hamas terrorists often attempt to steal and hoard aid or that Israel has allowed large numbers of supply trucks to enter the war-torn enclave. The United Nations’ special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has repeatedly circulated an unsubstantiated claim from a medical journal that 186,000 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Last year, the UN General Assembly condemned Israel twice as often as it did all other countries combined. Meanwhile, of all the country-specific resolutions passed by the UN Human Rights Council, nearly half have condemned Israel, a seemingly disproportionate focus on the lone democracy in the Middle East.
Harris’s office did not respond to a request for comment by The Algemeiner.
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New York City Mayor, Police Commissioner Detail Increased Security Measures for Israel Day Parade
Thousands of participants and spectators gather along Fifth Avenue to express support for Israel during the 59th Annual Israel Day Parade in New York City, on June 2, 2024. Photo: Melissa Bender via Reuters Connect
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch held a briefing on Friday morning to detail their “comprehensive security plan” to ensure the safety of New Yorkers at the Israel Day Parade on Sunday.
The theme of this year’s parade is “Hatikvah,” which means “the hope” and is also the title of Israel’s national anthem. Several former hostages — abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attack in Israel — will march in the parade on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, including Andrey Kozlov, Ilana Gritzewsky, Aviva and Keith Siegel, Eliya Cohen, and Doron Steinbrecher. The hostages are marching to raise awareness for the 58 people still held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The logo of this year’s parade is a multicolored tree that has a yellow ribbon on its trunk, in solidarity with the hostages.
Almost daily, there have been anti-Israel protests in New York City, including on college campuses, and the city is facing an unprecedented uptick in antisemitism, according to the New York City Police Department (NYPD).
“We will not tolerate any attempts to disrupt this event or engage those who come to celebrate,” Trish started the security briefing on Friday morning by saying. She then detailed measures that will be taken by the NYPD at the parade on Sunday, which include requiring spectators to enter the viewing area through designated screening entry points. No backpacks, chairs, large bags, and other items will be allowed.
Tisch added that, while currently the NYPD is not aware of any specific or credible threats related to the parade, nevertheless there will be a “robust and visible police presence” at the event, including uniformed police officers as well as bomb squads and both counterterrorism and surveillance teams. NYPD helicopters and drones will also be in the area and intelligence teams will be moderating social media for potential threats.
“The NYPD will be out there to make sure Sunday is safe, joyful, and everything that it’s meant to be,” Tisch concluded.
“We want to ensure we have a safe acknowledgement of Israel’s Independence Day on Sunday,” Adams added. “We look forward to the flags and beauty of this celebration.”
Adams announced earlier this week the establishment of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, the first office of its kind to open in a major city in the US. The new mayoral office will aim to tackle “all forms of antisemitism.”
“There is no place for antisemitism and hate in the state of New York. Plain and simple,” Adams said at Friday’s security briefing. “Those who spread hate want to divide us, but we must remain united. A hateful few will not dictate how the rest of us live.”
Adams is scheduled to march in the parade on Sunday. New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James are also scheduled to attend. The parade is organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York with support from the UJA-Federation of New York.
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Israel’s Yuval Raphael Advances to Grand Final of 2025 Eurovision Song Contest
Yuval Raphael from Israel with the title “New Day Will Rise” on stage at the second semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in the Arena St. Jakobshalle. Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa via Reuters Connect
Israel’s Yuval Raphael advanced to the grand final of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest after a stunning performance of her song “New Day Will Rise” in the second semi-finals on Thursday night in Basel, Switzerland.
The 24-year-old, who is a survivor of the Oct. 7, 2023, Nova music festival massacre, performed an emotional ballad in English, French, and Hebrew that was written by singer and songwriter Keren Peles. The results of the semi-finals are based solely on public vote.
Ten acts from the second semi-final advanced to the grand final, including performers from Armenia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, and Malta. Raphael will compete in Saturday’s grand final against those acts and the qualifiers from Tuesday’s semi-final. They include performers from Albania, Iceland, Estonia, Portugal, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine, Norway, San Marino, and the Netherlands. Also competing in the grand final is the Eurovision “Big Five” — Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Italy – and Switzerland, which was last year’s winner.
Unlike in the semi-finals, the results of the grand final are based on a combination of the televote and the jury vote, in which professional juries from all 37 participating countries vote for their favorites. Last year, a Eurovision jury member from Norway admitted that he refused to give points to Israel’s representative, Eden Golan, because of his personal resentment toward Israel’s military actions in the Gaza war.
There have been a number of public calls, including from national broadcasters and former Eurovision contestants, to have Israel banned from this year’s competition because of the country’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip targeting the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
During a dress rehearsal for the semi-final on Thursday afternoon, audience members booed at Raphael, whistled, and waved oversized Palestinian flags. Under rules of the competition, all flags are allowed but there are limitations on the size. The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, which is organizing this year’s Eurovision events, said in a released statement that the audience members with the oversized flags were escorted out of the St Jakobshalle arena by security personnel.
The 2025 Eurovision Song Contest grand final will take place on Saturday night in Basel’s St Jackobshalle arena. The detailed results of the second semi-final will be revealed after the grand final.
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Iran, Europeans Hold Nuclear Talks, Agree to More, Diplomats Say
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Diplomats from Iran and the three European parties remaining in a moribund 2015 nuclear deal met in Istanbul on Friday, Iranian and British officials said, their first round of talks since the US began nuclear talks with Tehran in April.
The talks between senior diplomats from Iran and Britain, France, and Germany – known as the E3 – took place as US President Donald Trump pushes for a deal to limit Iran‘s nuclear program. On Friday he called on Iran to move quickly after he said his administration had put forward a proposal to Iran.
An Iranian source close to the negotiating team said Tehran has yet to receive the US proposal, “but Oman has got it and will hand it over to Tehran soon.”
The European powers are not part of current negotiations between Iran and the United States, the fourth round of which ended in Oman on Sunday. A new round has not been scheduled yet.
However, they have held repeated talks with the Iranians most recently in March where they discussed how they saw the parameters of a deal to replace the 2015 accord.
The three powers have sought to coordinate with Washington notably on whether and when they should reimpose UN sanctions against Tehran – known in diplomatic circles as the “snapback mechanism” – if no agreement is reached.
That coordination has not been easy with European diplomats bemoaning a lack of clarity in US policy on its negotiations with Tehran.
Iran and the Europeans agreed to hold further talks if needed, Iran‘s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on X on Friday.
“Iran and the three European countries are determined to maintain and make optimal use of diplomacy,” Gharibabadi said. “We will meet again to continue the discussions if necessary.”
British diplomat Christian Turner said on X that Iran and the E3 shared a commitment to dialogue and that they agreed to meet again, without giving a timeframe.
Under the terms of a UN resolution ratifying the 2015 nuclear pact, the three European powers have until October 18 to trigger the snapback mechanism before the resolution expires.
According to diplomats and a document seen by Reuters, the E3 countries may do this by August if no substantial deal can be found by then.
Relations between the E3 and Iran have worsened over the last year despite sporadic meetings, against a backdrop of new sanctions imposed on Tehran over its ballistic missile program, its detention of foreign citizens and support for Russia in its war against Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met the equivalent of national security advisers of the E3 powers also in Istanbul on Friday to discuss Iran and Ukraine, a US official said.
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