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Jordanian and Emirati planes dropped food into Gaza on Sunday, as Israel began a limited “tactical pause” in some military operations to allow the UN and aid agencies to tackle a deepening hunger crisis.The Palestinian territory is gripped by dire humanitarian conditions created by 21 months of war and made worse by Israel’s total blockade of aid from March to May.Since the easing of the blockade, the levels of aid reaching Gaza have been far below what aid groups say is needed.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted his government was not to blame for the dire situation and lashed out at the UN.The Israeli military dismissed allegations that it had been using starvation as a weapon, saying it had coordinated with the UN and international agencies to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip”.The World Health Organisation warned on Sunday that malnutrition was reaching “alarming levels” in Gaza.It said that of the 74 recorded malnutrition-related deaths in 2025, 63 had occurred in July — including 24 children aged under five, one child older than five, and 38 adults.”Most of these people were declared dead on arrival at health facilities or died shortly after, their bodies showing clear signs of severe wasting,” the UN health agency said.”The crisis remains entirely preventable. Deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health and humanitarian aid has cost many lives.”The UN’s World Food Programme said a third of the population of Gaza had not eaten for days, and 470,000 were “enduring famine-like conditions”.UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher welcomed Israel’s tactical pauses, saying his teams “will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window”. – ‘Humanitarian aid now’ -The Israeli decision came as international pressure mounted on Netanyahu to prevent mass starvation in the territory. Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz joined the chorus of concern on Sunday, urging the Israeli premier “to provide the starving civilian population in Gaza with urgently needed humanitarian aid now”.Accusing the UN of fabricating “pretexts and lies about Israel” blocking aid, Netanyahu said in remarks at an airbase that “there are secure routes” for aid.”There have always been, but today it’s official. There will be no more excuses,” he added.The situation inside the territory deteriorated sharply after Israel imposed its total blockade on aid in March.It later eased the blockade, but sidelined the UN and major aid agencies and instead relied on a newly created, US-backed private foundation.Aid groups refused to work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, accusing it of furthering Israel’s military goals, while hundreds of people have been killed attempting to reach its sites.The Jordanian military said its planes, working with the United Arab Emirates, had delivered 25 tonnes of aid in three parachute drops over Gaza on Sunday. The Israeli military also said it had conducted a drop, parachuting seven pallets of aid into the territory. Truckloads of flour were also seen arriving in northern Gaza through the Zikim area crossing from Israel, according to AFP journalists.  AFP correspondents also saw trucks crossing from Egypt, heading for Israeli inspection before entering Gaza.The charity Oxfam’s regional policy chief Bushra Khalidi called Israel’s latest moves a “welcome first step” but warned they were insufficient.”Starvation won’t be solved by a few trucks or airdrops,” she said. “What’s needed is a real humanitarian response: ceasefire, full access, all crossings open and a steady, large-scale flow of aid into Gaza.”We need a permanent ceasefire, a complete lifting of the siege.”In general, humanitarian officials are deeply sceptical that airdrops can deliver enough food safely to tackle the hunger crisis facing Gaza’s more than two million inhabitants.- ‘It felt like war’ -In Gaza City’s Tel el-Hawa district, 30-year-old Suad Ishtaywi said her “life’s wish” was simply to feed her children. She spoke of her husband returning empty-handed from each day from aid points.There were chaotic scenes at the site where Israel conducted its first food drop, witnesses told AFP.Samih Humeid, a 23-year-old from the Al-Karama neighbourhood of Gaza City, said dozens of people had gathered to rush towards the parachuted supplies.  “It felt like a war, everyone trying to grab whatever they could. Hunger is merciless. The quantities were extremely limited, not enough even for a few people, because hunger is everywhere. I only managed to get three cans of fava beans,” he said. The Israeli army’s daily pause from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm will be limited to areas where its troops are not currently operating — Al-Mawasi in the south, Deir el-Balah in the centre and Gaza City in the north.Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, citing “reasonable grounds” to suspect war crimes including starvation — charges Israel vehemently denies.On Sunday, according to the Gaza civil defence agency, Israeli army fire killed 27 Palestinians, 12 of them near aid distribution areas. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties.Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.burs-str-dc/dcp

Israel is seeking to deport pro-Palestinian activists who were detained and brought to shore when their Gaza-bound boat was intercepted by the navy, a legal aid centre advising them said on Sunday.   The 21 activists from 10 countries were taken into custody late Saturday when the Handala was boarded in international waters as it attempted to breach an Israeli maritime blockade of the Palestinian territory.The Handala and its crew from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) were brought to the port of Ashdod in Israel, where, according to the legal rights centre Adalah, all but two — a pair of dual US-Israeli nationals — were being held under Israeli immigration law. “Israel is handling the custody of the volunteers as though they had entered the country illegally — even though they were forcibly taken from international waters and brought into Israel against their will,” Adalah said in a statement after its lawyers were allowed to meet the detainees.”The authorities presented them with two options: either agree to so-called ‘voluntary deportation’, or remain in detention and appear before a tribunal, to have their continued detention pending deportation reviewed,” the statement continued.According to Adalah, three detainees — an Italian, an American and a French member of parliament, Gabrielle Cathala — agreed to be deported and are expected to leave Israel in the coming hours.The US-Israeli nationals were interrogated by Israeli police and released, while 12 international activists — including another left-wing French MP, Emma Fourreau — refused to sign voluntary deportation orders and are still in Israeli custody pending legal hearings.The remaining four detainees, including a pair of Al Jazeera journalists, have retained private counsel. – ‘Peaceful’ mission -Adalah reiterated that the activists were engaged in a “peaceful civilian mission”, and maintained that both their detention and the Israeli blockade of Gaza were illegal.The Israeli foreign ministry has said the navy stopped the Handala to prevent it from entering coastal waters off Gaza, noting after its intecerption that all the vessel’s “passengers are safe”. Just before midnight local time on Saturday, video streamed live from the Handala showed Israeli troops boarding the vessel. An online tracker showed the ship in international waters west of Gaza.The ship had been on course to try to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and bring a small quantity of humanitarian aid to the territory’s Palestinian residents.The Handala’s crew had said before their capture in a post on X that they would go on hunger strike if the Israeli military intercepted the boat and detained its passengers.A previous boat sent by Freedom Flotilla, the Madleen, was also intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters on June 9 and towed to Ashdod.It carried 12 campaigners, including prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. The activists were eventually expelled by Israel.

Serving craft beer, playing mahjong, stacking shelves and boxing, the dozens of humanoid robots at Shanghai’s World AI Conference (WAIC) this weekend were embodiments of China’s growing AI prowess and ambition.The annual event is primed at showcasing China’s progress in the ever-evolving field of artificial intelligence, with the government aiming to position the country as …

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Israeli forces brought the pro-Palestinian activist boat Handala into the port of Ashdod on Sunday, after seizing the vessel in international waters and detaining the crew, an AFP journalist saw.Campaigners from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition had attempted to breach an Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian territory of Gaza, but were intercepted late Saturday.The legal rights centre Adalah told AFP its lawyers were in Ashdod and had been allowed to speak to 19 members of the 21-strong international crew, which included two French parliamentarians and two Al Jazeera journalists.The remaining two of those detained were dual US and Israeli citizens and had been transferred to police custody, Adalah said. “After 12 hours at sea, following the unlawful interception of the Handala, Israeli authorities confirmed the vessel’s arrival at Ashdod port,” said the group, set up to campaign for the rights of Israel’s Arab population.”Adalah reiterates that the activists aboard the Handala were part of a peaceful civilian mission to break through Israel’s illegal blockade on Gaza. The vessel was intercepted in international waters and their detention constitutes a clear violation of international law.”Earlier, the Israeli foreign ministry said the navy stopped the Handala to prevent it from entering the coastal waters off the territory of Gaza. “The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe,” it said.Just before midnight local time on Saturday, video streamed live from the Handala showed Israeli troops boarding the vessel. An online tracker showed the ship in international waters west of Gaza.The ship had been on course to try to break an Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and bring a small quantity of humanitarian aid to the territory’s Palestinian residents.The Handala’s crew had said before their capture in a post on X that they would go on a hunger strike if the Israeli army intercepted the boat and detained its passengers.On board were activists from 10 countries, including two French MPs from the left-wing France Unbowed party, Emma Fourreau and Gabrielle Cathala. There are also American, European and Arab activists among those detained.A previous boat sent by Freedom Flotilla, the Madleen, was also intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters on June 9 and towed to Ashdod.It carried 12 campaigners, including prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. The activists were eventually expelled by Israel.

The execution in Iran of two men convicted of carrying out armed operations for an exiled opposition group is a “brutal crime”, the group’s leader said on Sunday, urging countries to act against “bloodthirsty” authorities in Tehran.”This brutality only intensifies the outrage of the Iranian people and reinforces the determination of Iran’s courageous youth to bring an end to this theocratic tyranny,” Maryam Rajavi, leader of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), said on X.Rajavi is president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the political wing of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, which Tehran regards as a “terrorist” group.The men, identified as Mehdi Hasani and Behrouz Ehsani-Eslamloo, were found guilty of manufacturing improvised launchers and mortars and conducting attacks that targeted civilians, homes and public and charitable institutions.The Iranian judiciary said they aimed to “disrupt social order and endanger the safety of innocent citizens”.Both men were described as long-time affiliates of the MEK.According to a statement released by the NCRI, Hasani, 48, was arrested in Zanjan in northwestern Iran in October 2022.Ehsani-Eslamloo, 70, was arrested in Tehran in December 2022, said the NCRI, describing him as a political prisoner of the 1980s.”Both were subjected to savage torture in Ward 209 of Evin prison,” the statement said.The two men were hanged at dawn on Sunday in Ghezelhesar prison outside Tehran, according to the NCRI.Rajavi praised the two men’s “three years of unwavering resistance under torture, pressure, and threats.””I call upon the United Nations, its member states, and all defenders of human rights to take decisive action in response to this brutal crime. Mere words of condemnation are no longer sufficient,” Rajavi said.”The time has come for concrete and effective measures against a regime built on executions and torture. Continued inaction serves only to embolden this bloodthirsty regime at a moment when it is at its most vulnerable.”Fourteen other political prisoners have been sentenced to death by Iran for alleged membership in the MEK and “are at imminent risk of execution,” said the NCRI.Several NGOs say that Iranian authorities have arrested hundreds of people and executed dozens in a wave of repression following the 12-day war with Israel, accusing the Islamic republic of using fear to compensate for weaknesses revealed by the conflict.Iran enforces capital punishment for a range of serious crimes and ranks as the world’s second-most prolific executioner after China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International.

Israel declared a “tactical pause” in fighting in parts of Gaza on Sunday and said it would allow the UN and aid agencies to open secure land routes to tackle a deepening hunger crisis.The military also said it had begun air-dropping food into the Palestinian territory and dismissed allegations of using starvation as a weapon against civilians.It said it had coordinated with the UN and international agencies to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip”.UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher welcomed the pauses, saying on social media he was in “contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window”.The charity Oxfam’s regional policy chief Bushra Khalidi called the move a “welcome first step” but warned it could prove insufficient.”Starvation won’t be solved by a few trucks or airdrops,” she said. “What’s needed is a real humanitarian response: ceasefire, full access, all crossings open, and a steady, large-scale flow of aid into Gaza.”We need a permanent ceasefire, a complete lifting of the siege.”- ‘Life’s wish’ -In Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa district, 30-year-old Suad Ishtaywi said her “life’s wish” was to simply feed her children.She spoke of her husband returning empty-handed from aid points daily.”We hope the aid comes in today, because hunger is killing us day by day,” said 44-year-old Mohammed al-Daduh, also in Gaza City. “Egypt said it would send aid, but we don’t know if Israel will allow it in.”AFP journalists saw Egyptian trucks crossing from Rafah, with cargo routed through Israel’s Kerem Shalom checkpoint for inspection before entering Gaza.The daily pause — from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm — will be limited to areas where Israel says its troops are not currently operating — Al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah and Gaza City.Israel said “designated secure routes” would also open across Gaza for aid convoys carrying food and medicine.The military said these operations, alongside its campaign against Palestinian armed groups, should disprove “the false claim of deliberate starvation”.Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, citing “reasonable grounds” to suspect war crimes including starvation — charges Israel vehemently denies.Since Israel imposed a total blockade on March 2, the situation inside Gaza has deteriorated sharply. More than 100 NGOs warned this week of “mass starvation”.Though aid has trickled in since late May, UN and humanitarian agencies say Israeli restrictions remain excessive and road access inside Gaza is tightly controlled.Before Israel’s airdrop of seven food pallets, the United Arab Emirates said it would resume aid flights, and Britain said it would partner with Jordan and others to assist.- ‘Immediate’ airdrops -On Saturday alone, the Palestinian civil defence agency said over 50 more Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes and shootings, some as they waited near aid distribution centres.In a social media post, the military announced it “carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip”.Humanitarian chiefs are deeply sceptical airdrops can deliver enough food safely to tackle the hunger crisis facing Gaza’s more than two million inhabitants.A number of Western and Arab governments carried out airdrops in Gaza in 2024, when aid deliveries by land also faced Israeli restrictions, but many in the humanitarian community consider them ineffective.”Airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. “They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians.”Separately, the Israeli navy brought an activist boat, the Handala operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, into the part of Ashdod, after intercepting and boarding it late Saturday to prevent it attempting to breach a maritime blockade of Gaza.The legal rights centre Adalah told AFP its lawyers were in Ashdod but had been refused access to the detained crew, 21 activists and journalists from 10 countries.Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties.Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.burs-str-dc/dv

Iraqi table tennis player Nur al-Huda Sarmad adjusts her wheelchair before striking the ball into play, braving sweltering heat, social stigma and inadequate facilities as she dreams of taking her team to the Paralympics.Sarmad and seven other Iraqi women who live with disabilities train three times a week at a community centre in the southern city of Diwaniyah, preparing for an upcoming tournament that could qualify them for the national Paralympic team.The facilities, however, are far from Olympic-standard.”The tennis tables are broken, there are power outages and we even have to buy our own paddles,” said Sarmad, 25.With no dedicated training facility, the team often has to share the three second-hand tables at the public community centre with visitors.In the scorching Iraqi summer they cannot turn on the fans, which would disrupt the movement of the balls.And the air conditioner that could provide some relief remains off-limits in a country grappling with chronic power cuts, especially in summer when temperatures approach 50C. The community centre is powered by a generator, but it can barely sustain the essentials.These practical issues “affect our training” and hinder the players’ progress, Sarmad said.The team also faces obstacles in the form of insufficient government funding for sports, and conservative views on women’s rights and people with disabilities.Paralympic champion Najlah Imad, the first Iraqi to snare a gold medal in table tennis, told AFP that “despite the difficult circumstances, nothing is impossible”.Imad, who now relies on sponsorship deals, encouraged her fellow players to keep fighting.”You can do anything,” she said.- No support -Sarmad, who has already won several medals including bronze in a tournament in Thailand, takes pride in the fact that despite the many challenges, “we overcame all this, we became players”.The state-owned community centre provides the team a stipend equivalent to $75 a month to cover transportation costs, but the players had to purchase their professional paddles, at a cost of $200, out of their own pockets.The players often have to rely on taxis to travel to training sessions and back, but “sometimes cabs refuse to take disabled people”, said Sarmad.Coach Mohammed Riyad, 43, said that table tennis “has developed in Diwaniyah solely through personal efforts… due to the lack of support from the state”.Riyad, a member of the Iraqi Paralympic Committee, said that funding sports was not a priority in a country where decades of conflicts, neglect and endemic corruption have devastated infrastructure.Through the Paralympic Committee, he has managed to acquire old equipment for Sarmad and her fellow players.He said that “the state only focuses on football, despite the achievements of table tennis players” like Imad, who brought home the Paralympic gold from the 2024 Paris Games.Iraq has a long tradition of women’s sports, with teams competing in regional football, weightlifting and boxing tournaments.But there is also vocal opposition seeking to exclude women and bar mixed-gender events.In southern Iraq, a largely conservative area where Sarmad’s team is based, organisers of a marathon last year had made it a men-only event after a social media controversy over women’s participation in sports.Iraqis living with disabilities often face additional challenges amid a general lack of awareness about their rights and inclusion.For award-winning table tennis player Iman Hamza, 24, society mistakenly sees women with disabilities like her “as helpless people who cannot do anything”.”But we became world champions.”