Skip next section Aid arrives in Gaza over US-built pier
05/18/2024May 18, 2024
Aid arrives in Gaza over US-built pier
Some humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza via a , the Israeli army said in a statement.
So far, 310 pallets began moving ashore in “the first entry of humanitarian aid through the floating pier,” the statement said.
The pier, over which some 500 tons of aid are expected to be transported in the coming days, was built to deliver supplies to the Palestinian enclave despite key land crossings being closed or operating at limited capacity.
However, aid agencies have warned that truck convoys would be by far the most efficient was to transport aid to the Gaza Strip to curb the threat of famine.
https://p.dw.com/p/4g1eu
Skip next section IDF says Islamic Jihad commander killed
05/18/2024May 18, 2024
IDF says Islamic Jihad commander killed
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday that it killed a commander of the Islamic Jihad organization, an Iran-backed militia allied with the Palestinian militant Islamist Hamas.
The man was said to have been the head of logistics for the group in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The commander was killed in an airstrike east of Rafah, the army said.
It said militants’ weapons depots and rocket positions were also destroyed in airstrikes.
https://p.dw.com/p/4g1eG
Skip next section US security adviser to visit Saudi Arabia and Israel
05/18/2024May 18, 2024
US security adviser to visit Saudi Arabia and Israel
Jake Sullivan, the security adviser to US President , is to travel to and this weekend for talks with both countries’ leaders focused on tensions in the region, US officials say.
Sullivan is to meet Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, on Saturday, then to travel on to Israel for talks with Prime Minister .
National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby said talks with Netanyahu would center on the war and humanitarian situation in and negotiations on an agreement to release the remaining hostages.
According to Israel, the militant Palestinian Islamist group Hamas took on October 7 last year in deadly raids in southern Israel in which some 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed.
Altogether 125 hostages remain unaccounted for.
https://p.dw.com/p/4g1WR
Skip next section Oil tanker attacked off Yemen
05/18/2024May 18, 2024
Oil tanker attacked off Yemen
British security firm Ambrey says it has received information about an attack on a Panama-flagged crude oil tanker some 10 nautical miles (18.5 kilometers) southwest of the Red Sea port city of Mokha in .
Ambrey said the first indications were that the ship had been hit by a missile that caused a fire.
The British navy’s maritime security agency had received a report of a vessel “sustaining slight damage after being struck by an unknown object.”
“The vessel and crew are safe and continuing to its next port of call,” United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) added.
Although the cause of the incident has yet to be confirmed, Yemen’s Iran-backed militia have been carrying out , saying they are doing it to show solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israeli forces in Gaza.
The string of attacks in the Red Sea has disrupted global shipping and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could destabilize the wider Middle East.
The United States and Britain have targeted Houthi forces in response to the attacks on shipping.
https://p.dw.com/p/4g1Vy
The post Middle East updates: Fighting rages in Rafah, Jabaliya appeared first on Deutsche Welle.