Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
King Abdullah of Jordan inspected cargo on Arab and French planes before they flew aid into Gaza this week from a base near Amman. In social media videos, he appeared on board one of the aircraft as parcels are dropped into the enclave.
Meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron’s X account showed a photo of French airmen preparing one of the crates during the air delivery.
Almost five months into the war between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hamas, the flow of aerial aid from Jordan – few in number at first – has increased, although it still provides only a fraction of the humanitarian needs.
The drops do help governments in Paris and the Middle East to respond to growing public anger over humanitarian conditions in the enclave, observers said.
Countries, with support from Washington, are also sending a united message to Israel against continuing restrictions on the flow of aid, they said.
Veteran Jordanian political analyst Hazem Ayyad said the aid drops have the “green light” from Washington, and that they could rob Israel of its "starvation card" if more countries become involved.
“The rejection of Israel’s starvation policies is widespread,” Mr Ayyad said, describing the almost total blockade of the strip, which has only a fraction of the food and and medical supplies it needs.
Israel is also benefitting by allowing the planes to deliver the aid, partly to undermine allegations that it is pursuing genocide in Gaza, he said. Aid aircraft have to co-ordinate with the Israeli military, which controls the airspace over Gaza and conducts non-stop bombing missions.
“The air drops show how complex this war is," Mr Ayyad said.
A report from Amnesty International this week said Israeli authorities "have failed to ensure sufficient life-saving goods and services are reaching a population at risk of genocide and on the brink of famine".
Israel has also "failed to lift restrictions on the entry of life-saving goods, open additional aid access points and crossings or put in place an effective system to protect humanitarians from attack", the organisation said.
According to the Israeli military, several of its departments were involved in the drops, which reached 17 sites in southern Gaza in the past two days.
Jordan began very limited drops to two hospitals in Gaza in November. Over the past several weeks, its air force was jointed by other US allies to drop dozens of tonnes of food, medicine and fuel at unspecified sites on the Gaza shoreline.
About 1,000 tonnes of aid a week is needed to feed 500,000 people in Gaza, or one fifth of its population, according to the UN World Food Programme.
The acceleration of aid from Jordan this week occurred as Samantha Power, head of the UN Agency for International Development, announced additional US aid to Gaza.
Without referring to Israel, she said in a social media video that "bureaucratic bottle necks and inspection delays have to get resolved".
Aid workers in Gaza, “have to be protected" to do their jobs "without being shot at and killed", she said. Israel has been accused of a cumbersome, exhaustive inspection process to examine the contents of every lorry of aid queuing to cross into Gaza from Rafah on the Egyptian border, which has slowed aid flows to a trickle.
In Paris, popular anger at Mr Macron's perceived pro-Israeli bias has been growing, particularly among French Muslims, while in many countries a boycott of French goods, linked to the Gaza war, persists.
“The people of Gaza need massive humanitarian aid. All the crossing points must be opened without delay,” Mr Macron said this week.
Mr Macron's ties with the French Muslim minority are already strained over cultural and other issues.
A European diplomat said that the popular backlash in France and abroad has prompted Mr Macron to order more French involvement in the operations from Jordan.
The President had received “a twist in his ear” to change course from political figures in France and from French executives seeing decreased Middle East business, the diplomat said.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
Company%20profile
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The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014%20PLUS
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Aldar Properties Abu Dhabi T10
*November 15 to November 24
*Venue: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
*Tickets: Start at Dh10, from ttensports.com
*TV: Ten Sports
*Streaming: Jio Live
*2017 winners: Kerala Kings
*2018 winners: Northern Warriors
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, six-cylinder
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 395bhp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: from Dh321,200
On sale: now
SPECS
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THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Real Madrid (2) v Bayern Munich (1)
Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
When: 10.45pm, Tuesday
Watch Live: beIN Sports HD
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
THE SPECS
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE
Engine: 1.8 litre combined with 16-volt electric motors
Transmission: Automatic with manual shifting mode
Power: 121hp
Torque: 142Nm
Price: Dh95,900