UN Security Council urges Israel to lift Gaza aid blockade amid famine warnings

The United Nations Security Council has called on Israel to lift its blockade on Gaza, where food supplies are dwindling and the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate.

Addressing an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Gaza's worsening humanitarian crisis on Tuesday, Tom Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said the humanitarian situation in Gaza is deteriorating rapidly amid an Israeli blockade that has prevented the entry of food, medicine, water and shelter materials for more than 10 weeks.

"We have life-saving supplies ready, now, at the borders. We can save hundreds of thousands of survivors. We have rigorous mechanisms to ensure our aid gets to civilians, and not to Hamas. But Israel denies us access, placing the objective of depopulating Gaza before the lives of civilians," he told the security council.

According to Fletcher, some 70 percent of Gaza's territory is either under displacement orders or within Israeli-militarized zones, leaving hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in shrinking areas without basic necessities.

Every single one of the 2.1 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip face the risk of famine. One in five face starvation, Fletcher said, quoting a report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Israel blocked the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza on March 2, following the end of the first phase of a January ceasefire deal with Hamas. It resumed attacks on Gaza on March 18, with at least 2,720 Palestinians killed since then.

Fletcher described an Israeli plan for aid distribution in the Gaza Strip as a "a fig leaf for further violence and the displacement" of Palestinians in the enclave.

"The Israeli-designed distribution modality is not the answer. It practically excludes many, including people with disabilities, women, children, the elderly, the wounded. It forces further displacement. It exposes thousands of people to harm. It sets an unacceptable precedent for aid delivery, not just in the OPT (the Occupied Palestinian Territory), but around the world. It restricts aid to only one part of Gaza while leaving other dire needs unmet. It makes aid conditional on political and military aims. It makes starvation a bargaining chip," he said.

UN Security Council urges Israel to lift Gaza aid blockade amid famine warnings

UN Security Council urges Israel to lift Gaza aid blockade amid famine warnings

UN Security Council urges Israel to lift Gaza aid blockade amid famine warnings

UN Security Council urges Israel to lift Gaza aid blockade amid famine warnings

China and the European Union (EU) have agreed that it is necessary to provide general guidance on price undertakings for Chinese exporters of passenger battery electric vehicles to the EU, China's commerce ministry said on Monday.

The move aims to address relevant concerns in a more practical, targeted, and consistent manner with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, according to the Ministry of Commerce in a statement.

Accordingly, the European Commission will issue a Guidance Document on Submission of Price Undertaking Offers. In the document, the EU confirms that it will assess each undertaking application under the same legal criteria, in accordance with the principle of non-discrimination and relevant WTO rules, in an objective and fair manner.

The progress fully reflects the spirit of dialogue and the outcomes of consultations between China and the EU. It shows that both China and the EU have the ability and willingness to properly resolve differences through dialogue and consultation within the framework of WTO rules, thereby maintaining the stability of automotive industrial and supply chains in China, the EU, and the whole world. This is conducive not only to ensuring the healthy development of China-EU economic and trade relations, but also to safeguarding the rules-based international trade order, the statement said.

On the same day, the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME) also issued a statement welcoming the positive outcome of the consultations.

The CCCME noted that eligible Chinese EV makers may now submit price undertaking applications in accordance with the EU's guidance, and the European Commission has pledged to review all applications objectively, fairly, and under uniform standards.

The proper settlement of this case meets the shared expectations of industries along the EV supply chain in both China and Europe. It will help ensure the security and stability of related industrial and supply chains and safeguard the broader China-EU economic and trade relationship, the CCCME said.

The chamber expressed appreciation for the substantial efforts made by China's Ministry of Commerce in defending the interests of the domestic industry. It also pledged to encourage and support relevant Chinese enterprises in making full use of the consultation outcomes to protect their interests in exporting to the EU and promote healthy cooperation between the industries of both sides.

China, EU agree on price undertaking guidance for Chinese electric vehicle exporters: commerce ministry