00:00 On our programme last weekend, we brought you news of a convoy of ships heading from Cyprus to Gaza with humanitarian aid delivered by the World Central Kitchen charity.
00:11 What happened next has been the focus of widespread condemnation all this week, with the spotlight on how Israel carries out its war in Gaza.
00:19 Seven of the international team delivering aid that had just been up and unloaded at a port in Gaza were killed in the early evening on Monday.
00:26 A drone strike hitting all three cars in a convoy. World Central Kitchen paused operations.
00:31 One of the ships with 200 tonnes of food returned to Cyprus.
00:35 In response, two Israeli officers have been sacked over "grave misidentification errors".
00:41 The Israelis today say they've opened two border crossings into Gaza in the face of US pressure.
00:47 Let's get the latest from Emerald Maxwell.
00:52 The Erez crossing was still quiet on Friday morning after months of closure.
00:57 But now Israel has allowed the reopening of the main border crossing to hard-hit northern Gaza, the pressure is on to increase aid deliveries into the enclave.
01:06 Netanyahu's office also announced the Israeli port of Ashdod would be used to transfer supplies.
01:12 And that more aid from Jordan will be allowed into the Strip through the Kerim Shalom crossing.
01:18 The US Secretary of State cautiously welcomed the news.
01:22 These are positive developments but the real test is results and that's what we're looking to see in the coming days and in the coming weeks.
01:31 Is the aid effectively reaching people who need it?
01:36 Israel's obligation, its responsibility to maximise protection for civilians, to make that a priority, that too is a critical test.
01:47 The announcement came not long after the Israeli Prime Minister spoke to Joe Biden for the first time in weeks,
01:54 after an Israeli strike in Gaza killed seven international aid workers, causing outrage.
02:00 The White House is also concerned about Netanyahu's determination to go forward with a planned ground invasion in the southern city of Rafa.
02:08 What we want to see are some real changes on the Israeli side and if we don't see changes from their side, there will have to be changes from our side.
02:19 But despite the hardening rhetoric, for now, US policy remains unchanged.
02:24 The Washington Post reported that on the very same day of the deadly strike on the world's central kitchen workers,
02:30 the Biden administration approved the transfer of thousands more bombs to Israel.
02:35 Israel has denied intentionally attacking the convoy, but it has dismissed two officers after an Israeli inquiry found "serious errors and breaches of procedure".
02:48 Let's cross to Gaza and bring in Tess Ingram, spokesperson for the children's charity UNICEF.
02:54 Tess, good to talk to you. We've spoken many times in the past six months, this weekend, since the conflict began,
03:01 and every time it seems to get more desperate. You've heard the response so far, the initial findings that there was a grave error and that two senior military staff sacked.
03:12 What are your thoughts tonight on the Israeli response and, of course, the death of those seven charity workers?
03:21 Look, Gavin, it's been heartbreaking this week to be here as that news washes through the humanitarian aid worker community.
03:30 In the Gaza Strip, we lost seven brave colleagues who were selflessly giving up time with their families and their safety to try and help the people of Gaza.
03:42 And they were killed in doing that work, which is unacceptable. It's incredibly frustrating that the systems in place are not protecting us.
03:54 And this is not the first time. So to the response, I think, you know, my my feeling is let's see it in action.
04:02 If this was a mistake, then this should never happen again. Not 200 more times.
04:07 I know you've raised this before. This is in terms of staff being killed, humanitarian staff.
04:12 Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, saying today almost 200 now killed UN staff wanting answers.
04:19 Why from Israel today? The strongest I've heard in yet on that.
04:22 Tell us about your operations since then, because I know UNICEF had to sit down and work out how we carry on the same with Save the Children, same with Islamic Relief.
04:31 They decided to continue. Tell us about your decision and how it's affected your operations.
04:37 So we took a pause on night missions only for 48 hours, which was a move made because obviously operating at night time is more dangerous.
04:45 So that was a precaution that we took. That 48 hours is over now.
04:48 So we're back to full operations. And, you know, as the UN, we are a stay and deliver organisation.
04:56 This is what we were set up to do. And so we're not going anywhere. We recognise the risks.
05:01 This is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a humanitarian worker.
05:06 But it is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. And so that's why we're here.
05:11 We're focusing on the job. But of course, we're saying that this can never happen again.
05:15 And we're asking for assurances at the highest level that it won't.
05:19 And at the heart of this, this team, like you, working in what's called de-conflicted zones,
05:25 areas where you essentially let the Israelis know you are working, that they are said to be safe, clearly breached, clearly they weren't.
05:33 I mean, emotionally, how is it working in a de-conflicted zone right now, trying to carry out your work and that sense that maybe we're not safe?
05:45 Yeah, Monday was a sharp reminder of that, Gavin, that no matter these assurances we get,
05:51 even if you do the right thing, then we are still at risk. But again, it's not the first time that it's happened.
05:58 This has happened almost 200 times over the last six months, 200 brave colleagues.
06:03 And so we need this system to be fixed. It's clearly not functioning properly.
06:08 We can't believe the safety assurances at the moment.
06:11 And so we really need to put them to the test now and make sure that they work.
06:15 I'm going on a coordinated mission tomorrow. And of course, it's going to be at the back of my mind.
06:20 Are we really safe? But I certainly hope that we will be.
06:24 The importance of what you do, Tess, is even more acute, I think,
06:28 given that international journalists cannot enter the territory in terms of what you witness, what you see.
06:32 Can you tell us about where you are now and the kind of work you're doing and in terms of food people are getting, how desperate the situation is?
06:40 Yeah, it's honestly, it's a real shame that international journalists can't get in here because, you know, we all see the images on the news.
06:49 But when you see it firsthand, it's a completely different reality.
06:53 It is just striking how visceral it is. You can see, hear, smell the war. It's everywhere. It's inescapable.
07:02 I'm currently in Rafa and this is, of course, the place where, you know, 1.2 million people, maybe more,
07:10 are now living after have been told to flee from the rest of the Gaza Strip.
07:14 It's so crowded. There's tents everywhere. And compared to the last time that I was here in January,
07:20 it's very obviously becoming more run down every single day.
07:25 Power poles are down, there's dirt, there's so much waste and people look exhausted and hungry.
07:32 And then the further up you go, of course, the worse it gets because it gets harder for us to take aid further north.
07:37 So I was in the middle area yesterday where I was at a hospital that's treating malnourished people.
07:43 I spoke to the head of paediatrics there. He said 90% of the kids that he's admitting, 90% have malnutrition.
07:50 And that is just outrageous, particularly when we have the aid that these kids need just a few kilometres away,
07:57 but we're just not getting it through the border fast enough.
08:01 When you look at what the Israelis are saying now, you know, we've had a situation where we've had these massive maritime missions
08:07 going from Cyprus to Gaza, this makeshift jetty so far, one of them having to come back after the deaths of the World Central Kitchen workers.
08:15 And then suddenly the Ashdod port, the container port opening just 20 miles or so, half an hour drive north of Gaza.
08:22 The same with the Erez crossing as well, which was the main crossing into Gaza from Israel before that.
08:27 How much of a difference do you think that will make?
08:31 Look, we've got to be hopeful. And so when I heard the news today, I was happy because we've been asking for this for some time.
08:38 We've been saying throw open the crossings, like we need to get as much aid in as we can.
08:43 And at the moment, just two crossings in the south is not doing the job.
08:46 They're not operating adequately. We need to increase the capacity there and open all other avenues that make sense.
08:53 Now, Erez is one of those. It makes complete sense to go directly into the north,
08:57 not just so that we can get aid in quickly to those children dying of malnutrition,
09:02 but also so that we as aid workers don't have to drive through the whole conflict from south to north.
09:07 However, it's an announcement today and we really need to see this become reality soon and at scale
09:15 and then for it to be sustained in order to make a difference.
09:18 Just one final question for you for now, Tess, because it is great every time you come on the programme to get a sense of what it's like there.
09:24 Just those calls you have with your family back home, your colleagues have with their families,
09:29 that every time that you come and go must be increasingly difficult,
09:33 given what we're hearing in the news and the lack of safety for you and colleagues.
09:40 Yeah, look, Gavin, it is. And I got back in here on Monday, the day that our colleagues at World Central Kitchen were killed.
09:49 And my first thought was, oh, my gosh, my poor mum. How is she going to feel?
09:55 And, you know, this is the reality here.
09:58 But it's so important for us to remember that this is the reality for everybody who has their feet on the ground in Gaza,
10:05 including the children who are being killed by these similar airstrikes every single night.
10:11 This happens every night. I woke up at 4.30 hearing it.
10:14 So that's so important for us to remember as well.
10:17 Tess, great to hear from you. I wish you well.
10:20 Stay safe, you and all your colleagues and talk to you soon.
10:24 Tess Ingram from UNICEF charity in Rafa.
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