Gaza
\nCeasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled again with Washington saying it doesn\u2019t expect an agreement in the near future due to the fact that a globally supported US-backed proposal has not been fully embraced by either side.
\nAn official with the UN\u2019s food agency says he he believes a \u201cwater and sanitation catastrophe\u201d is taking place in southern Gaza as the war between Hamas and Israel continues across the strip.
\nDeputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme Carl Skau said the agency\u2019s main concern was in the south where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced from the city of Rafah.
\n\u201cHere we have really a protection disaster and a water and sanitation catastrophe. And, you know, people are camping on the streets, on the beach, at best with some piece of shelter. But, you know, we were driving through rivers of sewage,\u201d he said.
\nSkau also said that trucks carrying WFP aid have been stuck waiting to move through border crossings in Gaza.
\n\u201cWe are stuck at different checkpoints, between five and eight hours per day,\u201d Skau claimed.
\n\u201cThis is an area where there is now an ongoing military operation and to move around in a safe way, we need clearances.\u201d
\nThose comments come on the same day as UNICEF told the BBC that one of their convoys had been denied entry into northern Gaza despite having all the necessary documents.
\nPalestinians in Gaza are facing widespread hunger because the war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies.
\nUN agencies say over one million people in Gaza could experience the highest level of starvation by mid-July.
\nMeanwhile, ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled again with Washington saying it doesn\u2019t expect an agreement in the near future due to the fact that a globally supported US-backed proposal has not been fully embraced by either side.
\nSpeaking at the G7 summit in Italy, where current world conflicts are the main topic, US President Joe Biden told reports that he \u201chadn\u2019t lost hope\u201d.
\nAs Israeli bombing continued in the Gaza strip, this week Hamas proposed modifications to a US-backed peace proposal aimed at ensuring a permanent cease-fire and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
\nBiden\u2019s proposal includes these provisions, but Hamas has expressed scepticism about Israel\u2019s commitment to implementing them.
\nIsrael\u2019s war against Hamas, which was launched last October, has killed more than 37,260 people, according to Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry, but it does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gaza Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled again with Washington saying it doesn\u2019t expect an agreement in the near future due to the fact that a globally supported US-backed proposal has not been fully embraced by either side. An official with the UN\u2019s food agency says he he believes a \u201cwater and sanitation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-413146","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n