TikTok’s effort to recruit American kids as ‘foreign agents’ for China against ban may backfire: ‘Disturbing’
FIRST ON FOX – A lawmaker leading the Congressional-Executive Commission on China sent a scathing notice to social media company TikTok for allegedly “targeting” children who use the platform to lobby members of Congress against a bill that could effectively ban the app. On Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted unanimously to advance a bill to the House floor that would require TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to fully divest all of its applications within 180 days or risk a ban on those apps. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., in a letter to TikTok on Friday obtained by Fox News Digital, accused the company of “targeting American children with Chinese Communist Party propaganda – during school hours – and recruiting minors to act as foreign agents for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)” after lawmakers were hit with a “deluge” of calls from kids not wanting to lose access to the app. “The fact that children were not only used to advance this agenda but were targeted to be the primary agents of lobbying Congress on behalf of a foreign power is greatly disturbing,” the letter read. GOP LAWMAKERS PRESS TIKTOK CEO ON ‘DELUGE OF PRO-HAMAS CONTENT’ ON PLATFORM “The policies and practices of ByteDance and TikTok represent an attempt by the CCP to assert their authoritarian agenda through soft power,” Smith said. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Smith said,”The manipulation of TikTok users – especially children – to lobby on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party’s interests by inundating congressional offices, including mine, with phone calls only underscores the urgent need for strong action to combat the CCP’s malign influence, which extends far beyond its borders even to Americans.” As chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Smith said he “extensively monitored the policies and methods the People’s Republic of China (PRC) security forces have employed to exert intrusive social controls over their own population.” “As you know, TikTok parent ByteDance, which is headquartered in the PRC with offices in Bejing, is compelled to participate in a strategic partnership with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. It appears the corporate structure of Bytedance Ltd., ByteTeam Ltd., TikTok Ltd., TikTok LLC, and TikTok Inc. are designed to provide layers of insulation to the CCP in its attempts to transform the character of America’s social fabric,” he continued. BILL BANNING TIKTOK APP HEADED TO HOUSE AFTER UNANIMOUS COMMITTEE VOTE “There is no way a business entity located in the PRC may avoid partnership with the Chinese Communist Party, and there is no reason for the United States Congress to believe TikTok is able to avoid compliance with CCP demands that advance its authoritarian practices around the world, including demands that violate the human rights of those they deem undeserving of basic human dignity,” he added. Smith said it is “imperative that Congress determine whether the CCP, directly or indirectly, demanded TikTok use children to lobby Congress on their behalf,” and gave the company seven days to provide all internal documentation related to the genesis, approval and execution of the advocacy campaign. CHINA, RUSSIA FLOAT IDEA FOR NUCLEAR POWER ON THE MOON: ‘WANT TO UPSTAGE THE UNITED STATES’ In speaking to Fox News on Friday, Rep. Rep Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., who co-authored the bipartisan bill, said that TikTok’s lobby efforts “completely backfired.” “[T]hat proves the point of why people wanted to pass the legislation. The fact that they use geolocation targeting to go after minor children, to call congressional offices with misinformation about the bill, caused so many members on the U.S. committee to vote in favor of the bill. That’s precisely the reason for the bill,” he said. TikTok did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News’ Kelly Phares contributed to this report.
Biden says debating Trump ‘depends on his behavior’
President Biden on Friday said his decision on whether to debate President Trump ahead of Election Day is dependent on his opponent’s “behavior.” Biden was asked on Friday, the day after his State of the Union address, if he would debate Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. “Depends on his behavior,” Biden said. TRUMP CALLS FOR DEBATES WITH BIDEN ‘ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE’ Biden’s comments come after Trump challenged him earlier in the week to a debate “anytime, anywhere, anyplace.” Trump, the 2024 GOP frontrunner and presumptive nominee, posted his offer on his Truth Social on Wednesday afternoon — just hours after former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, his last-standing Republican opponent, suspended her campaign. “It is important, for the Good of our Country, that Joe Biden and I Debate Issues that are so vital to America, and the American People,” Trump posted Wednesday. “Therefore, I am calling for Debates, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE! The Debates can be run by the Corrupt DNC, or their Subsidiary, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).” The Biden campaign fired back shortly after Trump’s invitation on Wednesday. “I know Donald Trump’s thirsty for attention and struggling to expand his appeal beyond the MAGA base — and that’s a conversation we’ll have at the appropriate time in this cycle,” Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler told Fox News Digital. “But if he’s so desperate to see President Biden in prime time, he doesn’t have to wait!” TRUMP BLASTS BIDEN AS ‘ANGRY, MENTALLY DISTURBED’ DURING SOTU ADDRESS: ‘HE DID A TERRIBLE JOB’ Tyler invited Trump to watch the State of the Union on Thursday night. Trump gave a live play-by-play during Biden’s address, reacting throughout. Biden invoked Trump nearly a dozen times in his State of the Union address, but never by name. He repeatedly referred to him as “my predecessor.” Trump told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview after the address that Biden “suffers from a terminal case of Trump derangement syndrome,” and said the president was “angry” and “mentally disturbed” throughout his speech. “He did a terrible job,” Trump said.
Centrist group No Labels moves forward with launching bipartisan 2024 presidential ticket
No Labels took another step toward forming a bipartisan presidential ticket in November’s general election, as the centrist group’s delegates huddled during a virtual gathering on Friday. No Labels announced that the roughly 800 delegates who took part in the meeting voted to give a thumbs up to fielding what No Labels has described as a “unity ticket” in the presidential election. “They voted near unanimously to continue our 2024 project and to move immediately to identify candidates to serve on the Unity presidential ticket,” No Labels national convention chair Mike Rawlings said in a statement. But the move comes as some high-profile potential candidates for the No Labels ticket have taken their names out of contention. NO LABELS CHARGES OPPONENTS ARE TRYING TO KEEP IT OFF THE BALLOT For over a year, No Labels has mulled a third party ticket, as it pointed to poll after poll suggesting that many Americans were anything but enthused about a 2024 election rematch between President Biden and former President Donald Trump. And No Labels had long said that it would decide whether to launch a presidential ticket following Super Tuesday, when 15 states from coast to coast held nominating primaries and caucuses. Trump is now considered the presumptive Republican nominee after winning 14 of the 15 GOP nominating contests on Tuesday. Trump’s last remaining rival — former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — dropped out of the 2024 race on Wednesday. Biden also ran the table on Super Tuesday, winning 14 of the 15 Democratic contests. And Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota — one of the two long-shot challengers to the president — suspended his White House bid on Wednesday. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2024 ELECTION RESULTS FROM FOX NEWS Both Biden and Trump will formally clinch their party nominations in the next week or two, and their campaigns have now moved into general election mode. No Labels — as expected — didn’t name its presidential and vice presidential picks on Friday but instead voted to kick off a formal selection process that would lead to the naming of candidates in the coming weeks. But former two-term Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, a former No Labels leader who was considered a potential contender for the group’s ticket, recently took his name out of contention as he announced a run this year for an open Senate seat in his home state. And moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who is not seeking re-election and who flirted with a White House run, has also said he won’t launch a presidential bid. There was plenty of speculation that Haley would consider running on a No Labels ticket if she were to drop her Republican White House bid. No Labels had expressed interest in her earlier this year. But Haley repeatedly nixed joining a No Labels ticket, most recently on Tuesday in an interview on “Fox and Friends.” “What I will tell you is I’m a conservative Republican. I have said many, many times, I would not run as an independent. I would not run as No Labels, because I am a Republican, and that’s who I’ve always been,” she reiterated. No Labels said it is already on the ballot in 16 states and currently working in 17 other states to obtain access. There’s been a chorus of calls from Democrats warning that a No Labels ticket would pave a path to victory for Trump in November, but the group dismisses that criticism. “That’s not our goal here,” Lieberman told Fox News Digital late last year. “We’re not about electing either President Trump or President Biden.” Following the No Labels meeting on Friday, Matt Bennett, a co-founder of the moderate Democratic group the Third Way, said in a statement following Friday’s No Labels meeting, “What part of ‘No’ is so hard to understand? Time and again, voters, candidates and election experts have told No Labels that a third-party presidential ticket can’t win and would help Trump.” But Rawlings praised his group’s proceedings. He emphasized that “earlier today, I led a discussion with the 800 No Labels delegates from all 50 states. These citizen leaders have spent months discussing with one another the kind of leadership they want to see in the White House in 2024. These are some of the most civic-minded, thoughtful, and patriotic Americans I have ever met. They take their responsibility seriously.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Party takeover: Trump installs top ally and daughter-in-law to steer Republican National Committee
HOUSTON – The Republican Party is once again completely under the thumb of former President Donald Trump. The former president’s picks to serve as chair and co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) – Trump ally and North Carolina GOP chair Michael Whatley and daughter-in-law Lara Trump – were unanimously confirmed on Friday by voice votes as the RNC held a recently planned general session. “Over the next eight months, the RNC will work hand in glove with President Trump,” Whatley declared in his acceptance speech. And Lara Trump, speaking minutes later, emphasized that “we have one goal. The goal on November 5th is to win. And as my father-in-law says, bigly.” WHO IS NEW TRUMP-BACKED RNC CHAIR MICHAEL WHATLEY? Whatley, who was the RNC’s general counsel, succeeded longtime chair Ronna McDaniel, whom Trump picked to steer the national party committee after he won the White House in 2016. Her departure on Friday came after Trump earlier this year repeatedly urged changes at the committee – after lackluster fundraising last year and his opposition to the RNC’s presidential primary debates – which essentially pushed McDaniel out the door. “The state of our party is strong,” McDaniel declared in her departure speech. And pointing to the RNC’s fundraising rebound in January and February, McDaniel touted “the best two months of fundraising the RNC has ever had when we didn’t occupy the White House.” TRUMP MEETS WITH MCDANIEL, THEN CALLS FOR CHANGES AT THE RNC While fundraising will be a major focus going forward, as the Trump campaign and the RNC aim to compete with the rival Democratic National Committee and President Biden’s campaign, continuing and beefing up already existing RNC programs dedicated to election integrity will also be a top priority. “Everyone in this room and every voter across the country knows that we must protect the sanctity of their vote,” said Whatley, who’s been a strong supporter of Trump’s unproven claims that his 2020 election loss to Biden was due to massive voter fraud. After highlighting that he “worked closely with Chairwoman McDaniel to build our election integrity program from scratch,” Whatley stressed “we will do more.” Trump also installed campaign adviser Chris LaCivita as RNC chief of staff. LaCivita, a longtime Republican strategist and RNC veteran, will continue to keep his role as one of the two top advisers steering Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. “The RNC today. It’s not going to look the same next week. There’s obviously going to be changes,” LaCivita told reporters ahead of the gathering. But he declined to get into details. The RNC gathering came in the same week Trump swept 14 of the 15 GOP primaries and caucuses on Super Tuesday – which moved him much closer to officially locking up the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. It also comes just two days after Trump’s last rival for the nomination – former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley – dropped out of the race. “He’s the presumptive nominee. He’s going to be our nominee. He’s going to be the guy to beat Joe Biden, and it’s normal for the presumptive nominee of the party to run the RNC,” longtime RNC committee member from Mississippi, Henry Barbour, told Fox News on the eve of the meeting. New Hampshire GOP chair and former RNC committee member Chris Ager, who attended the meeting, emphasized that “Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee and this is the party of Trump.” “The people at the RNC know and like Mike Whatley, so he’s a good choice and Lara Trump is a trusted adviser to the president, so why not give him the tools he needs to get the job done. If he trusts those people, let’s give him what he needs to get that win in November,” Ager told Fox News ahead of the meeting. Trump’s takeover of the RNC is far from controversial. It is traditional, as a presidential election cycle moves from the primaries to the general election for the presumptive nominee of the party out of power, to take control and merge operations. Barbour emphasized that while “there’s always some drama” at RNC meetings, “it’s really important that the party pull together… and we need the former president leading us on that, bringing us together as a party so we can win not just the White House but the Senate, the House, state, local.” However, there was some controversy in recent weeks over concerns that the cash-strapped RNC would be forced to pay some of Trump’s massive legal bills. The former president faces four major criminal trials and a total of 91 indictments, as well as a $355 million civil fraud judgment which Trump’s appealing. A political action committee affiliated with the former president has shelled out nearly $80 million in the past two years to pay Trump’s many lawyers. The RNC paid some of Trump’s legal bills when he was in the White House and after he left office. However, McDaniel said two years ago that the committee would stop paying those bills once Trump became a candidate again. LaCivita said in recent days that the RNC would not be paying the bills. The Trump campaign told Fox News on Wednesday that the committee would “absolutely not” be providing any of its funds to alleviate Trump’s legal costs. “Hard no. Absolutely not. Asked and answered,” a spokesperson reiterated. RNC STARTS 2024 WITH FUNDRAISING SURGE AFTER LACKLUSTER 2023 Barbour recently proposed a non-binding resolution stating that RNC funds could not be used for Trump’s legal bills. However, the resolution was nixed after Barbour was unable to earn the support of RNC members from at least 10 states. “A small group of us offered a resolution to the committee that essentially said that the number one job and the only job of the RNC is to win elections. And if that’s our job, we need to spend our money on that and not on paying anybody’s legal bills,” Barbour told Fox News. He emphasized that
House Republican drafts bill to expand access to in vitro fertilization
FIRST ON FOX: A House Republican lawmaker is working on a bill to expand access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) for families who cannot afford the procedure. Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital and Fox News Radio that he is working on a bill to lower costs associated with IVF. “It would give a tax incentive to help people that are less fortunate be able to do IVF, and I do think it’s something that’s important. Because I do think people that want children should be able to have the opportunity to have children, and IVF is [a] way to do it,” Carey said on Thursday. ALABAMA HOUSE, SENATE PASS PROTECTIONS FOR IVF AFTER COURT RULING His bill would specifically target low- and middle-income families trying to have a child. It’s a meaningful step from the GOP, which has so far struggled to coalesce around a broad message on the issue in the wake of an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that triggered three clinics in the state to cease IVF services. Two have said they’ll restart after the Alabama state legislature passed a law protecting access. Democrats have used the ruling as a political cudgel against the right, claiming that Republicans would crack down on IVF access and reproductive health measures nationwide – an attack that those on the right have denied. ALABAMA PROVIDERS SUSPEND IVF TREATMENTS AFTER STATE COURT’S RULING AS FERTILITY EXPERTS WEIGH IN The Alabama ruling prompted a wave of national Republicans to come out in support of IVF, while some conservatives said it’s an issue best left to individual states. Carey’s bill, which he said is in the “drafting stages,” is not the first piece of legislation that congressional Republicans have put forward since the court decision. However, it’s likely the most consequential so far – previous proposals have mostly included resolutions in support of IVF but with no real guardrails on access. Just one cycle of IVF treatment could cost between $15,000 and $30,000, depending on the clinic and a person’s medical history. FOLLOWING IVF RULING, BIDEN TO SEND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY TO VISIT ALABAMA “I’m looking at trying to expand IVF for folks that are on the lower-income scale, because I think anybody that wants to have a child should be able to have a child, and for whatever reason, they may not be able to,” Carey said. “We’re working hard to try to get something through.” He urged his fellow Republicans to “embrace” IVF access. “IVF is pro-family,” Carey said. “Growing the family, being pro-child, I think it’s something that we as Republicans need to embrace.”
Fulton DA Fani Willis draws Democratic, Republican challengers in re-election bid
Fani Willis, the Fulton County District Attorney behind the high-profile election-interference case in Georgia against former President Trump that she also risks disqualification from, has drawn Democratic and Republican challengers in her re-election bid this fall. Christian Wise Smith, a former Fulton prosecutor and Atlanta city solicitor who lost out to Willis in the 2020 race, announced on X Friday that he has “officially qualified” to run for the position again. Attorney Courtney Kramer, who the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says worked as a litigation consultant for President Trump’s legal team, has also launched a Republican bid for the role. Kramer, the newspaper reports, has described Willis as turning the district attorney’s office into a “clown show.” “The moment she decided to indict President Trump and 19 other defendants was the moment I said I had enough,” Kramer was quoted by the newspaper as saying. “The resources that were used in that investigation could’ve been used for many other things and been much more beneficial for the citizens of Fulton County.” JUDGE IN TRUMP’S GEORGIA CASE FACES ELECTION CHALLENGE FROM CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY Willis is facing allegations that her affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade benefited her financially and should disqualify her from the case against Trump. Willis and Wade have both denied the allegations and have claimed that their romantic involvement started after Wade was hired in 2021. Willis claimed in court testimony that she would always reimburse Wade for her portion of their shared travels in cash. There are no receipts for those reimbursements, and one witness claimed that their relationship had started as early as 2019. FULTON COUNTY ETHICS BOARD WON’T HEAR COMPLAINTS AGAINST FANI WILLIS In the last primary in 2020 for the Fulton County District Attorney position, Wise Smith received around 23% of the Democratic vote, running on a platform that included commitments to no longer seek the death penalty, end cash bail and decriminalize the possession of drugs, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. When asked earlier this week about challengers, Willis told the newspaper “This is a democracy that we live in, so people have a right to run for office. “But they should come prepared for a fight,” she added. “They should know that my heart is still in this work. My heart will continue to be in this work.” Fox News’ Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.
Rosendale suspends House race, will not seek re-election in Montana: ‘Taken a serious toll on me’
Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., will not seek re-election in Montana’s 2nd Congressional District, pointing to “current attacks” against him as the reason for deciding to exit the race. Rosendale entered the Montana Senate race in February, but suddenly dropped out less than a week after his announcement. The congressman then filed to run for re-election in his Montana district, but he announced Friday he will not be running for another term. “Since that announcement, I have been forced to have law enforcement visit my children because of a death threat against me and false and defamatory rumors against me and my family,” Rosendale said in a statement announcing his campaign suspension. “This has taken a serious toll on me, and my family. Additionally, it has caused a serious disruption to the election of the next representative for MT-02.” DONALD TRUMP ENDORSES ‘AMERICAN HERO’ TIM SHEEHY IN BATTLEGROUND SENATE RACE “To me, public service has truly always been about serving, not titles or positions of power. The current attacks have made it impossible for me to focus on my work to serve you,” Rosendale continued. “So in the best interest of my family and community, I am withdrawing from the house race and will not be seeking office.” MONTANA CONSERVATIVE FIREBRAND WITHDRAWS FROM SENATE RACE AFTER TRUMP ENDORSES OPPONENT Rosendale added that “it has been my honor to serve you and may God bless each and every one of you.” Rosendale’s exit leaves the Montana seat open in 2025, as Republicans attempt to hold onto their already slim majority in the House. In the running for Rosendale’s now open Montana seat include State Auditor Troy Downing, Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen, former Montana State Senator Ric Holden and former DEA agent Stacy Zinn.
‘Incendiary and wrong’: Biden spurs anger for calling migrant ‘an illegal’
Rights advocates have slammed United States President Joe Biden for referring to an undocumented immigrant as “an illegal” during his State of the Union address, accusing him of echoing the dehumanising rhetoric of his predecessor Donald Trump. During Thursday’s speech at the US Capitol, Biden was heckled by Republicans over the killing of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old woman who was allegedly murdered by an undocumented immigrant. Riley’s death has become a rallying cry for conservatives. “[Laken] Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That’s right — but how many thousands of people are being killed by ‘legals’? To her parents I say, my heart goes out to you,” Biden said. Rights advocates and progressive lawmakers have long condemned the use of the term “illegal” to refer to human beings who do not have immigration status in the US or who cross the border without permits in search of asylum. “We remind President Biden that no human being is illegal –– and dangerous rhetoric inevitably leads to more violence against our community,” said Faisal Al-Juburi, chief external affairs officer at RAICES, an immigrant support and advocacy group in Texas. Let me be clear: No human being is illegal. — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 8, 2024 Members from Biden’s own Democratic Party also condemned the president’s comment. “Let me be clear: No human being is illegal,” Congresswoman Ilhan Omar wrote in a widely shared post on the social media platform X. Joaquin Castro, a Democratic congressman from Texas, said that, while Biden’s address had “a lot of good” in it, “his rhetoric about immigrants was incendiary and wrong”. “The rhetoric President Biden used tonight was dangerously close to language from Donald Trump that puts a target on the backs of Latinos everywhere,” Castro wrote on social media. “Democrats shouldn’t be taking our cues from MAGA extremism,” he added, referring to Trump’s Make America Great Again movement. The former Republican president — and presumed 2024 GOP nominee — pursued staunch anti-immigration policies during his term in the White House, including restrictions on the ability of asylum seekers to seek protection in the US. Trump also continues to regularly use anti-immigrant rhetoric as he campaigns for a second term in the White House. He is widely expected to once again face off against Biden in November’s general election. In a video posted on his Truth Social platform before the State of the Union, Trump attacked migrants and asylum seekers seeking protection in the US as “illegal alien criminals” and promised to oversee “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history” if he is re-elected. We should not be trying to out-do Republican extremists with cruel and inhumane enforcement policies that fail to keep our communities safe, which is why I have stood against the provisions in the Senate border deal. Instead of surrendering to Republican demands, we must deliver… — Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (@repdeliaramirez) March 8, 2024 Last year saw new records for irregular border crossings into the US. In the 2023 fiscal year, for example, US Customs and Border Protection documented 1,475,669 “encounters” with migrants and asylum seekers arriving irregularly across the southern border with Mexico. In December alone, there were 301,983 “encounters”. That, in turn, has increased political pressure on the Biden administration to act, with Republicans and some Democrats criticising the president for failing to lower the numbers. Observers have said Trump and his allies are trying to make the situation into a winning election issue for the Republican Party. Against that backdrop, Biden himself has pushed for Congress to pass a spending bill that would tighten border security and create new restrictions on asylum claims. Democrats have accused Republicans of stalling the legislation in a bid to help Trump with his re-election campaign. During his State of the Union speech on Thursday night, Biden said the bill would allow Washington to hire more border officers and grant him the authority “to temporarily shut down the border when the number of migrants at the border is overwhelming”. “My Republican friends, you owe it to the American people to get this bill done. We need to act,” he said. “We can fight about the border, or we can fix it. I’m ready to fix it. Send me the border bill now!” Al-Juburi at RAICES, the immigrant rights group in Texas, said in a statement that Biden “embraced the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen in this country, formally adopting a more radical anti-immigrant position” in his speech. “He succumbed to the pressures of a political climate that is increasingly hostile towards immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking people and families.” At tonight’s #SOTU, @POTUS missed an opportunity to distinguish himself from his predecessor on immigration. Instead, he doubled down on the Senate’s failed border bill & parroted dehumanizing Republican rhetoric about immigrants. We urge the President to do better. — National Immigration Law Center (@NILC) March 8, 2024 The National Immigration Law Center also said Biden “missed an opportunity to distinguish himself” from Trump on immigration. “Instead, he doubled down on the Senate’s failed border bill & parroted dehumanizing Republican rhetoric about immigrants,” the group said on social media, referring to the State of the Union. “We urge the President to do better.” Adblock test (Why?)
Aid airdrop kills five people in Gaza after parachute fails
Five people were killed and several injured after a parachute landing a humanitarian airdrop failed to open, bringing a pallet crashing down into a crowd of people waiting for food in the north of the Gaza Strip. The government media office in Gaza confirmed the casualties after the incident occurred on Friday, lambasting the “useless” airdrops as “flashy propaganda rather than a humanitarian service” and calling for food to be allowed through land crossings. “We previously warned it poses a threat to the lives of citizens in the Gaza Strip and this is what happened today when the parcels fell on the citizens’ heads,” it said in a statement. Reporting from Rafah, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said that people are experiencing “a tragedy” in the north of Gaza. “Not only are they confronted with the lack of food and medical supplies, but as they wait for packages of food, they are either targeted by the Israeli military or killed by a non-functional parachute,” Mahmoud said. The deaths occurred as famine stalked the enclave, with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reporting last month that at least half a million, or one in four people in Gaza, face famine. It highlighted the problem of getting desperately needed humanitarian relief into Gaza amid Israeli restrictions. UNRWA, the largest UN agency in Gaza, says Israeli authorities have not allowed it to deliver supplies to the north of the strip since January 23. Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Rafah [File: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters] The World Food Programme, which had paused deliveries in Gaza because of security concerns, said the military forced its first convoy to the north in two weeks to turn back on Tuesday. In response, a number of countries – including the United States, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt – have conducted airdrops, which have been criticised by aid agencies as a costly and ineffective way of delivering food and medical supplies. On Wednesday, the WFP said that the controversial method should be considered “a last resort”. By way of contrast, it said that the week’s airdrops had only delivered six tonnes of food, while a failed 14-truck convoy would have brought 200 tonnes of food to people. #Airdrops are only a last resort to reach Northern Gaza. Road routes are the only way to bring in the large quantities of food desperately needed to avert #famine. For comparison: 🪂 This week’s airdrops = 6 tons of food🚛This week’s failed 14-truck convoy = 200 tons of food pic.twitter.com/xkR3ZfDgmt — WFP in the Middle East & North Africa (@WFP_MENA) March 6, 2024 On Friday, Juliette Touma, UNRWA’s communications director told Al Jazeera, “There is an easier and cheaper way to bring in much-needed supplies into the Gaza Strip … That is via the road including sending more trucks from Israel into the Gaza Strip. “When there is a political will there is a way,” she said, adding that, so far, desperately needed supplies have not been cleared fast enough and “there needs to be much more” going into the strip. Friday’s disaster struck only a day after US President Joe Biden announced a complicated workaround to build a temporary pier off Gaza’s coast to deliver aid, a move criticised as an attempt to divert attention from the looming famine and Israel’s consistent blocking of assistance to the enclave. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that the United Kingdom would be participating in the project, but said it would “take time to build”. While welcoming the development, he nevertheless urged Israel to open its own port of Ashdod in the meantime. “We need to make a difference right now,” he said. Meanwhile, a maritime corridor delivering aid from Cyprus to the besieged enclave – a collaboration of a number of partners, including European countries, the US, and the UAE – could be established as soon as this weekend, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Adblock test (Why?)
Environmental worries after ship hit in Red Sea sinks
NewsFeed Environmental concerns are growing after the Rubymar, a UK-owned vessel, sunk in the Red Sea. It was hit last month by anti-ship missiles launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen. It had been leaking oil and fertiliser from its cargo. Published On 8 Mar 20248 Mar 2024 Adblock test (Why?)