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A United Nations watchdog organization published a series of chat room posts by Palestinians purportedly accusing U.N. Relief and Works Agency staff members of stealing humanitarian aid intended for civilians and selling it or hoarding it in their homes. On Wednesday, the Geneva-based non-governmental organization UN Watch published posts from a chat room run by former UNRWA employee Haitham al-Sayyed, who continues to run the chat rooms.The NGO, accredited in special consultative status to the U.N. Economic and Social Council and affiliated with the American Jewish Committee, reported that al-Sayyed was fired after he publicly criticized the agency for hiding...

Sal Mercogliano - a maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner - discusses the Joint Logistics Over the Shore Operation preparing to start over the beach in Gaza.

Hamas fired rockets Friday at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, one of several points at which humanitarian aid enters the Gaza Strip from Israel. It was just the latest such attack, after a barrage of rockets hit the crossing last weekend, killing four Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers and wounding others. The IDF released a statement: Following the sirens that sounded earlier today (Friday) in the area of Kerem Shalom, one launch was identified crossing from the Rafah area into Israel. The launch was successfully intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array. A short while ago, sirens again sounded in...

On Wednesday, a UNWatch report revealed that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency staff have been stealing humanitarian aid materials meant for Gazan civilians, and reselling the materials at a profit. UNRWA staff are stealing aid and selling it for profit, while those who report it face reprisals, according to numerous reports published by Palestinians in an UNRWA-related chatroom.The posts expose a deep frustration by employees that senior UNRWA employees are engaged in the abuses, and that the agency is doing nothing about it. This comes amid a recent call by UNRWA Commissioner-General Phillipe Lazzarini for countries to increase...

Hamas opened fire near the Keren Shalom crossing that had been used to bring in aid to Gaza. The attack was predictably launched from near a civilian shelter in Rafah. Meanwhile, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, whose employees have been shown to be Hamas, again and again, accused Israel of blocking aid. Every UN and international aid body in the region keeps claiming that there’s famine in Gaza. As they’ve been claiming for the past 6 months. Except that the famine is always on the verge of arriving, but never quite does. Israel has not only moved aid through...

Hamas terrorists claimed credit for a rocket attack on Sunday targeting the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza near the Egyptian border, the main entry point for humanitarian aid headed into the enclave. Sirens sounded in Kerem Shalom, southern Israel. pic.twitter.com/OIKEkHSOKq— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) May 5, 2024Photos taken just after the attack show clouds of black smoke rising from the port of entry used to ensure weapons and other terrorist supplies don't make it into Gaza. At least three IDF soldiers were killed and more were injured in the Hamas attack which was launched by the Iran-backed...

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released the first photos of the pier under construction off the coast of Gaza which is intended to provide a means of getting aid to the war-torn region. "Construction of the floating JLOTS pier in the Mediterranean is underway," they wrote Monday:Pier-building beginsConstruction of the floating JLOTS pier in the Mediterranean is underway.The pier will support @USAID and humanitarian partners to receive and deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. @USTRANSCOM and @USEUCOM support the movement of of #humanitarianaid. pic.twitter.com/tC9J12wz4Z— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 29, 2024JLOTS stands for "Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore."The pier was announced...

A Fatah TV anchor reported that Hamas had attacked aid workers, stolen food and water and caused food prices to skyrocket in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian political faction Fatah charged on air that Hamas had deliberately killed aid workers, stolen aid and manufactured a food crisis in Gaza, according to a Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) investigation published on Sunday. A Fatah TV anchor reported that Hamas had attacked aid workers, stolen food and water and caused food prices to skyrocket in the Gaza Strip – which PMW said constituted a triple crime. “Hamas’ persecution of any party who is...

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Friday that the US is sending Ukraine its largest aid package to date — worth $6 billion — that will include munitions for Patriot missile defense systems that Kyiv has said could change the course of the war, but not the systems themselves. The massive package comes just two days after a separate $1 billion tranche for Ukraine was announced upon President Biden signing a $95 billion foreign aid supplemental funding bill into law. “The announcements this week underscore America’s enduring commitment to Ukraine’s defense,” Austin said after a meeting of the Ukraine...

Apparently taking the example of Washington, London committed Tuesday to deliver more military hardware and another £500 million in aid to Kyiv as UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned that Vladimir Putin will seek to expand further into Europe if Ukraine loses to Russia. Britain will supply Ukraine with 60 boats, 400 vehicles, over 1,600 missiles, and nearly four million rounds of ammunition as well as £500 million in additional military funding, in the largest single aid package from the UK since the Russian invasion of 2022 and taking the country’s total contributions to £3 billion during this financial year,...

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said he voted against additional aid to Israel to oppose a “blank check” to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Khanna was one of the 37 Democrats who voted against sending more funding to Israel on Saturday amid its ongoing war in Gaza. The House approved a long-awaited foreign aid package on Saturday that includes more funding for Ukraine, Israel and U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific region.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on this week’s broadcast on “Fox News Sunday” that Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) aid package that included for Ukraine would not have passed the House without help from former President Donald Trump. Graham said, “The Ukrainian military, with our help, has killed about 50% of the combat power of the Russians. This is the year of more. They’re going to have more weapons, but we also want them to have new weapons, ATACMS to knock the bride down between Crimea and Russia. They are going to have F-16s. So, this idea give up on Ukraine...

Fatah, the “moderate” ruling party of the Palestinian Authority, has admitted on live television that Hamas steals humanitarian aid and kills aid workers in the Gaza Strip. The admission, captured by Palestinian Media Watch, confirms what Israel has been saying all along — and goes further, stating that Hamas is not only responsible for endangering aid workers by hiding among them, but also asserts that Hamas has been killing aid workers directly. Palestinian Media Watch reported (original emphasis):

On Saturday’s “CNN Newsroom,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) stated that none of the Israel aid in the package passed by the House earlier in the day “should be used for any offensive operations in Gaza until the hostages have [been] released, massive humanitarian aid flows into Gaza, and an understanding about what, if any, operations would be commenced with respect to Rafah.” Host Alex Marquardt asked, “[Y]ou’ve also been quite vocal about the war in Gaza, saying the death toll is way too high. In terms of this new aid for Israel, would you have wanted to see more conditions...

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal called on the House to approve further funding for his nation, arguing it is needed to support Ukraine’s war losses and guarantee a win against Russia. “We hope that this week, [the] House will support one of the drafts, no matter for us which one. We need support for yesterday, not for today or tomorrow, for yesterday,” Shmyhal said Thursday during an interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. INTERNATIONAL Ukrainian PM stresses urgency of aid: ‘We need support for yesterday, not today’ BY MIRANDA NAZZARO - 04/18/24 3:39 PM ET SHARE POST Video Player is loading....

In this episode, Sal Mercogliano - a maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner - discusses the fire onboard the US Navy's Military Sealift Command USNS 2nd Lt John P Bobo while enroute to Gaza, along with the status of the other ships sent to the Mediterranean.

House conservatives have stymied proposed supplemental funding packages for Ukraine since the fall. But their justifications for further delays in delivering military aid to Kyiv got little oxygen during an April 17 defense budget hearing before a key appropriations panel. “With Mr. Putin saying very openly and repeatedly that he wants to restore the old Soviet Union, all of the nation states, in Eastern Europe especially, are looking to us,” House Armed Services Committee Chair Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said, referring to the Russian leader’s demands seeking no further NATO expansion, no missiles on Russia’s borders, and a return of...

"There is no food shortage in Gaza, and there never was," says an Israeli official familiar with the details. "The stores are full, the markets are bursting with goods, fruits, vegetables, shawarma, pitas - there is everything. Do you know why they no longer loot convoys? Because there is no shortage. The quantities entering are not normal."

President Joe Biden announced he “strongly” supports the House foreign aid package as Republicans rapidly turn on Speaker Mike Johnson over efforts to combine several supplemental bills into a single rule with a lack of border security legislation in the package. Shortly after the texts of the bills–a 49-page Ukraine supplemental, a 25-page Israel supplemental, and a 15-page “Indo-Pacific” supplemental–were released, Biden urged the passing of the “package,” according to a statement shared to X by Politico’s Daniella Diaz. A document from House Republicans on the appropriations committee notes that $26.38 billion would go to Israel, $60.84 billion would go...

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warned Russia is gaining the initiative on the battlefield and that Ukraine “cannot hold the present lines now without the rapid resumption” of U.S. aid, highlighting the dire situation Kyiv is in while Congress debates sending more weapons. The Tuesday ISW analysis said only the U.S. can provide critical air defense munitions and artillery shells for Ukraine that can keep them in the fight. “Lack of air defense has exposed Ukrainian front-line units to Russian aircraft that are now dropping thousands of bombs on Ukrainian defensive positions for the first time in...