Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC 20240703 : vimarsana.com

BBCNEWS BBC July 3, 2024

With the leaders of the uk, canada, france, germany and italy. Frances president , emmanuel macron, and the dutch Prime Minister, mark rutte, have also now announced theyll also visit on monday and tuesday. At the rafah Border Crossing , several trucks from a second convoy at the rafah Border Crossing, several trucks from a second convoy carrying humanitarian aid from egypt have crossed into the gaza strip. The convoy had earlier been detained at the rafah crossing for several hours so that they could be searched to ensure they were carrying only aid. The us Secretary Of State, Antony Blinken, has warned iran against any escalation of the israel gaza war. He was speaking on cbs news, after irans foreign minster warned israel and the us, The Middle East may go Out Of Control if Israel Military action continues, and blamed the us for providing Military Support to israel. With more on all of this, heres our correspondent wyre davies injerusalem. Israeli air strikes against what it says are strategic hamas targets have left parts of the gaza strip looking like a wasteland. Such bombings, say palestinians, is indiscriminate by its very nature and is resulting in thousands of civilian casualties. Many of those victims are children. These casualties were filmed in central gaza. There are other graphic images too distressing to broadcast, showing the bodies of at least a dozen children. At another hospital in gaza city, this 18 year old, a us citizen who lost a sister in the shelling, urges the American Government to get him and the surviving family out of gaza. After 20 trucks carrying basic food and medical aid were allowed into gaza yesterday through the border with egypt, it was hoped a similar number would cross today. But, says the un, its nowhere near the 500 trucks daily that are needed to sustain a population of more than 2 million. 30 , according to our sources, of the infrastructure is already destroyed. The un says that many who fled south to escape israeli bombing are now heading back to homes in northern gaza, towards the shelling, so dire is the humanitarian situation. Some people will die if they dont get insulin on a regular basis. There are 50,000 pregnant women in gaza. Water is absolutely necessary to keep them alive. But the situation is set to worsen. Thousands of israeli troops, tanks and heavy armour are preparing for a full scale Ground Offensive in gaza, once bombing from the air achieves its objective. Its what israel says it has to do if hamas is to be crushed. I have no doubt that israel will need to go in on the ground to be able to effectively hurt and undermine and weaken hamas, but also, to be able to project power in this region and show the world and its other adversaries that are watching that we have capabilities, and i think its a matter of day or days until that happens. But israel knows a Land Invasion of gaza could trigger conflict in the wider region. In the palestinian west bank, a hamas cell preparing for an attack was hit in the city ofjenin, says israel. And in southern lebanon, where hezbollah militia have threatened to avenge any invasion of gaza, cross border skirmishes may be a portent of things to come. But israels Prime Minister warned hezbollah and its sponsor, iran, not to get involved. If hezbollah decides to enter the war, theyll be making the biggest mistake of their lives and hit with unimaginable force, said the Prime Minister, talking to Israeli Soldiers in the north today. One factor that mr netanyahu cant control is the fate of 200 israeli and International Hostages being held by hamas in gaza. Free them now Theirfamilies Fear an israeli invasion may put their lives in further danger. 0ur gaza correspondent, rushdi abu alouf, reports from inside one of the aid camps in southern gaza, where the situation is desperate. About 2,000 families living in these tents. They are people displaced from the north, in gaza. This is, a camp has been built by the unrwa. I was speaking to the families here. They said they are struggling to find water. They are struggling to find food. They are struggling to find a bathroom. They said the bathroom here is a real challenge. They said security, also, is a real challenge because as you know, hamas has been under really heavy attack by israel for the last two weeks or so, so there is no police around the area to maintain law and order, a few problems here, social problems in the area. But those people, they said, we have been given very little food, very little water, very Little Medicine to the people who are in need for this. This is an example of how 700,000 people who are displaced from the north are living in a very difficult condition in gaza city. The unrwa is planning to have more and more camps like this, once the egyptians are allowing more tents, more food, more fuel and more medicine. Earlier i spoke to Magnus Corfixen he is the humanitarian lead at 0xfam gb. His team is currently in gaza. He says more aid on the ground is urgently needed. 0xfam, of course, welcomed yet another aid. Aid convoy of 14 trucks have passed into gaza, as well as the 20 trucks yesterday. But we must also say that its a drop in the ocean considering the large scale humanitarian needs that currently are within gaza. I mean, we have more than two Million People in need of humanitarian assistance. More than one Million People have been displaced. And people inside gaza need the most basic necessities such as food, water, fuel and access to health services. So theres still a far, far way to go considering that before the current crisis, more than 100 trucks would cross per day through the rafah Border Crossing. So theres still far, far to go. Magnus, you have colleagues on the ground who are working in gaza at the moment. What sort of conversations are they having with you about what theyre dealing with . Well, yes. 0xfam, we have several colleagues and colleagues from Partner Organisations inside gaza. And right now its a matter of staying in touch with them, ensuring that they are accounted for and that they are safe. But of course, everyone� s affected. All of our colleagues have had either to flee their homes, had to deal with loved ones, and had friends or family who unfortunately have passed away. So everyone is deeply affected. So right now, the priority is to basically stay in touch with them, which is very, very difficult considering the ongoing situation. And when we are in touch with colleagues, we can hear the bombardments ongoing. And so thats the situation right now. And what is the priority of us as 0xfam, but also many of our colleagues from other humanitarian organisations. One thing that isnt being allowed to cross over is fuel. Magnus, how key is getting fuel across the border to the work that your colleagues are doing right now . Well, fuel is essential. And as you have heard in the report, theres currently a lack of fuel to ensure that electricity or running electricity is key in order to run the water systems, water purification, the sanitation facilities. And in orderfor that to work, we need fuel. And then, of course, also to run the hospitals, which are strained right now. And i see massive needs. We have hospitals that are that dont have fuel and therefore electricity in order to do some of the most basic needs in order to run these medicalfacilities. And our concern is also like looking at some of the Supply Chains around food, which currently also is a massive issue. So fuel is an essential lifeline for gaza right now. Am i right in saying, magnus, that some of your colleagues are also really concerned about the plight of newborn babies in some facilities . Given that fuel crisis. Most certainly. And it is a massive concern. And we need to consider this in terms of like the next steps, because the current scenario with letting in a few trucks a day is simply not sufficient considering the humanitarian needs. And thats why 0xfam and other humanitarian organizations are calling for unfettered humanitarian access. But in order for that to happen, we also need to see an immediate cease fire, because one thing is to get the aid supplies across the border. The other thing is also to ensure that these supplies are reaching those most in need. And that is extremely challenging when bombs are falling on humanitarian workers and, of course, civilians. The archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, has visited jerusalem, showing solidarity with anglicans in the city. The Anglican Diocese ofjerusalem manages Al Ahli Hospital in gaza, where hundreds of people are thought to have died in an explosion on tuesday. Archbishop welby knows the hospital well, having opened one of its wings. Hes been talking to the bbc� s clive myrie. Its just an oasis in the middle of eastjerusalem. We meet in the garden of st georges cathedral, an outpost of the Anglican Church here in the holy land. I come out here early in the morning to pray. Theres been much to reflect on following the bloody events of the last two weeks, beginning with the hamas attack that filled him with rage. Whenever one sees something that is. Profoundly evil and horrific. The slaughter. The butchery. The cruelty to the bodies of infants up to elderly people. Uh, is. A horror that if you dont feel a sense of anger, i think youre missing something in your humanity. And then a tragedy closer to home. The blast at Al Ahli Hospital in gaza managed by the Anglican Episcopal Church ofjerusalem. Again, shock. And. A sense of. Grief. Id opened a wing of that hospital. Disbelief for a moment. Is there also a burning anger . Perhaps, and i sense this. That there isnt peace because it takes human beings. To want peace. I think thats very perceptive. Yes, this is hugely complicated. The conflict must be fought in a way that makes Reconciliation Conceivable at the end of the conflict, and they all come to an end. This business of how you fight defines how you make peace. But when you do see the Bombing Campaign that is taking place in gaza, what are your thoughts on . In gaza, what are your thoughts on that . It breaks my heart to see that, because i know that if you bomb a city, innocent people die horribly. And in agony. Children, people with no involvement were just caught up in this horrendous process. We cant lecture israel. We can appeal. Were not better than them. Were two faced if we lecture them. But we can appeal. And this is what i hear joe biden doing. What i heard rishi sunak doing, which i heard other people doing, is saying, of course, we understand if we do, of course we know how angry you are and rightly. And of course, you have the right of self defense and the duty of self defense. But be who you are. Be the best you are. I wonder. As a man of god. A religious leader. Is there a place for the suggestion that perhaps. Israel should turn the other cheek . It has notjust a right, but a duty to defend its citizens. Im not going to use the phrase turn the other cheek. But they are called by their history, by their conduct, by their nature. By the exceptional nature of israel. To be those who uphold the rules of war. Archbishop. Thank you. Well to sum up all these recent developments, i spoke with our Diplomatic Correspondent paul adams, whos injerusalem. I started by asking about the second convoy of aid trucks crossing into gaza. I think it was just a matter of time. I mean, it takes some time to to check everything. This is because, of course, the israelis are demanding that that aid only consist of food, water and medicine and that nothing else is on those trucks that could be of any use to to hamas. I think there might also have been a delay caused by the fact that there was an incident earlier on in which the israelis admitted that one of their tanks fired accidentally on an egyptian position not far from the rafah crossing, actually at a different crossing from gaza into southern israel. So that may have been an additional complication anyway. The 14 trucks are in the uns undersecretary of under secretary the 14 trucks are in the uns Under Secretary General for humanitarian affairs, martin griffiths, has just tweeted about it in the last few minutes. He calls this another small glimmer of hope for the millions of people in dire need of humanitarian aid. But he says very pointedly, they need much, much more. This is just a tiny, tiny proportion of the aid that is needed. Weve had 20 trucks yesterday, 14 trucks today. There are hundreds of thousands of People Living in almost apocalyptic conditions who need a great deal more assistance than that. And according to the un, the there is a very, very increasingly dire need for fuel because without fuel, according to the head of the un Agency Responsible for dealing with palestinian refugees, there can be no humanitarian effort. The aid cannot be trucked to where its needed. The hospital generators cannot work, water cannot be pumped and they are running out of fuel. They think that they have perhaps as little as two more days worth of fuel before theres nothing left. So that is, remains an extremely serious concern for the un and the other agencies involved. Indeed, paul, they were saying they need Something Like 100 trucks a day and so far weve seen 34. Weve just heard the Conversation Details between President Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu, the readout from that conversation saying that there will be a continued flow of aid. What do you make of that . I mean, it doesnt sound like its going to ratchet up a huge amount. No. Look, the israelis are saying, frankly, thats none of our business. They say thats between the egyptian authorities and the un. So they are kind of washing their hands of it. Theyve said, look, were happy to let this go on, provided the various conditions that we have have stipulated are met. But as for what a continued flow of aid means and whether that does become anything remotely resembling an adequate flow of aid, well, well have to see, because i think some officials, un officials will tell you we need 200 or 300 trucks, particularly if a lot of those trucks have to be used up bringing in water. Thats a pretty bulky process. So they need a great deal more and they need it very, very urgently. Well have more news from The Middle East later this hour, of course if you want to seen more you can go to the bbc news website where we are running a live page that includes analysis and articles from some of our correspondents who of course are on the ground reporting things there. To other news, and in the uk the rain may have eased but the impact of storm babet is still being felt across several parts. People living in hundreds of homes in retford in nottinghamshire have been told to evacuate because of rising river levels and a risk of flooding. Andy gill reports. Parts of retford are already suffering the aftermath of storm babet. Up to 600 properties were affected by the flood warning. The Environment Agency says the situation is no longer severe enough to be a threat to life, but its already affecting peoples homes. Water splashing. It flooded in 2007 here after quite torrential rain. The council and the water board blamed it on the fact that the rivers havent been dredged or anything. Theyve since dredged them, but it seems to have just completely happened again. But this time its worse. Some residents have already left. This morning when i came home. Obviously there was all this. So everyones been asked to evacuate. Ive tried to get as much as possible upstairs and out the way, but yeah, itsjust horrible. But not everyone wanted to go. Alan stayed behind to look after his sick wife and his dog. The garden flooded, shelter flooded and just waiting for hours and just waiting for th house to get flooded. Well, now we can know about it. Those who do choose to leave are being offered shelter in a local leisure centre. The absolutely unprecedented rainfall has created so much water. This hasnt happened before. And theres such a volume of water come down the river all at once that basically its not designed to cope with it. In south yorkshire, the flood water has been as high as people ceilings. Chesterfield in derbyshire has also been affected. In retford, theres relief that the risk, though still present, is not as bad as it was. Andy gill, bbc news. In ukraine, six postal workers have been killed and another 17 wounded after a Missile Strike on a mail depot in the east of the country. Ukraine has blamed russia for the attack on the Sorting Office on the outskirts of kharkiv so far theres been no comment from the russian authorites. 0ur Correspondentjenny Hill has been to kharkiv a warning her report starts with flashing images. This is the moment the missile struck. There were 30 people inside at the time, postal workers preparing parcels for delivery. These pictures recorded just seconds before the archives. The rescue teams, a familiar routine, save the survivors, recover the dead. Translation we were working. There was an explosion. Everyone started running away. I helped free people. I did what i could as much as i could. Daylight revealed the scale of the damage. This depot was part of an important and well loved ukrainian postal service. Nova scotia has kept deliveries going throughout the war. When we reached the site, an official day of mourning was already underway

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