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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaIsrael says it will open new aid routes into GazaPublished2 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Children in Gaza wait with empty pots at a food distribution pointBy Will Vernon & Fiona NimoniBBC NewsIsrael says it has approved the opening of two humanitarian routes into Gaza, to allow more aid into the territory.The Erez Gate in northern Gaza will be temporarily re-opened for the first time since the start of the war and Ashdod Port will also be opened for humanitarian deliveries.More aid from Jordan will be allowed to enter via the Kerem Shalom Crossing.It comes hours after Joe Biden spoke with Israel’s PM for the first time since seven aid workers were killed.According to a readout of a phone call between the US president and Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Biden warned that Israel must take steps to prevent civilian harm and humanitarian suffering if it wanted to maintain US support.It is understood that the re-opening of the corridors was specifically requested by Mr Biden in the phone call.Mr Biden essentially gave the Israeli government an ultimatum – take concrete steps to prevent civilian harm and ensure safety for aid workers or US policy in respect of Gaza would change. This was a significant shift in US policy – the first time that Washington has attempted to leverage American aid in order to influence the conduct of the war in Gaza.Seven people working for the food aid charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza on Monday.The WCK convoy they were travelling in was hit by an Israeli air strike as it travelled south along the Israeli-designated coastal aid route, just after they had unloaded more than 100 tonnes of food from a barge at a warehouse in Deir al-Balah.The vehicles were around 2.5km (1.5 miles) apart and all three were hit during the attack.The US National Security Council said it welcomed the steps announced by Israel, which it said “must now be fully and rapidly implemented”.US policy, it added, would be determined by the steps Israel took to protect “innocent civilians and the safety of aid workers”. On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there would be a change of US policy if it did not see changes from Israel.The move to open Israel’s northern border crossing with Gaza in Erez is particularly significant, after Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Israeli media in November that there would be “no more contact between Israel and Gaza”.In another development, former US president Donald Trump said Israel should get its war in Gaza “over with” in order to achieve peace and “stop killing people”. Mr Trump – a staunch ally of Israel – made the comments in a radio interview. He said that Israel was “absolutely losing the PR war” and should stop broadcasting video footage of its air strikes in Gaza. But he added that Israel had to finish what it had started. Mr Trump, who is expected to be the Republican party’s candidate in November’s presidential election, has previously criticised Joe Biden for being insufficiently supportive of Israel.BBC VERIFY: What do we know so far?VICTIM’S PARENTS: Charity worker’s death was a crimeJEREMY BOWEN: The war is at a crossroadsWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: Facing danger to feed millions’HEARTBROKEN’: Charity founder pays tribute to workersPROFILES: Who were the seven aid workers killed in Gaza?Mr Netanyahu has faced rising international and domestic anger at Israel’s conduct in Gaza, A long line of lorries filled with aid has been backing up on the Egyptian side of the border with Rafah for months as they can only enter Gaza after a complex and bureaucratic series of Israeli checks.The absence of adequate humanitarian supplies has forced Jordan, the US and UK to drop aid from the air – the least effective way to deliver humanitarian supplies.Air drops have also proved dangerous – Palestinians have been crushed when parachutes fail and have drowned as they try to swim to pallets that have landed in the sea.A recent UN-backed report offered evidence that the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza was turning into a man-made famine.And the UN’s most senior human rights official, Volker Türk, recently told the BBC that there was a “plausible” case that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza.More than 196 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since October, according to the US-funded Aid Worker Security Database, which records major incidents of violence against aid personnel. Not all were killed while delivering aid.On Thursday GPS was blocked across swathes of Israel in order to disrupt missiles and drones, as tensions rose with Iran.Reservists have been called up to bolster air defence units and the Israel Defense Forces also announced it was halting all leave for soldiers serving with combat units.Iran has vowed to respond after a strike it believes Israel carried out on its consulate building in Syria on Monday killed 13 people, including a senior general.Much of the Gaza Strip has been devastated during the Israeli military operations that began after Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages.More than 33,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry says.Related TopicsIsrael-Gaza warIsraelGazaJoe BidenMore on this storyBiden tells Israel it must prevent civilian harm to keep US supportPublished6 hours agoTop StoriesIsrael says it will open new aid routes into GazaPublished2 minutes agoGaza charity worker’s death was a crime, say parentsPublished5 hours agoTory tells paper he shared MP numbers with dating app contactPublished2 hours agoFeatures’The walls were crumbling’ – escaping Taiwan’s earthquakeThe Papers: MPs’ honeytrap and Biden’s ‘strongest rebuke yet’Detective’s promise to murdered PC’s husbandWeekly quiz: Which of Marilyn’s belongings went under the hammer?Train strikes: How will you be affected?Two brothers, one club and a 40-year waitAttributionSportHow much will the 2p National Insurance cut save me?No Labels won’t challenge Trump and BidenWhen is the solar eclipse and how can I watch it?Elsewhere on the BBCWhat’s next for these young officers in Belfast?The team face a whole new set of challenges as rival gangs fight for controlAttributioniPlayerWho was the man behind the music?Join Greg and his guests for a special live episode all about the renowned composer MozartAttributionSoundsWhere can women live their best lives?Listen along as Scaachi and Sophia uncover what it is like to be a woman across the worldAttributionSoundsThe invention that saves one million lives per yearMeet the man behind the invention of the three point seat beltAttributionSoundsMost Read1McDonald’s to buy back all its Israeli restaurants2Tory admits giving MP numbers to dating app contact – report3MPs’ honeytrap and Biden’s ‘strongest rebuke yet’4New cause of asthma damage revealed5Israel says it will open new aid routes into Gaza6Arsenal star would fight in Ukraine if called up7National insurance cut to kick in but more pay tax8Gaza charity worker’s death was a crime, say parents9Chelsea stun Man Utd with latest ever Premier League turnaroundAttributionSport10Artistic fantasy world gets listed status
[ad_1] The move comes after Joe Biden talks to Israel’s PM for the first time since the Gaza aid convoy attack.
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaWar-weary Ukrainians endure as Russia’s invasion drags onPublished26 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsWar in UkraineImage source, ReutersImage caption, Lviv’s cemeteries are now filled with the graves of those killed in Russia’s full-scale invasionBy Fergal KeaneBBC News, LvivNearly two years since the Russian invasion of Ukraine Fergal Keane returns to Lviv station where in February and March 2022 he witnessed the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two. In the stories of two individuals he examines how the war – now dragging into its third year – has affected the people of Ukraine.We heard the screams from far away. They came floating across the rows of the dead, over other graves still waiting to be filled, and over the rows of flags to commemorate the fallen, that flapped in the icy wind. The military cemetery of the Field of Mars in Lviv is usually a place of whispered prayers and stifled sobs. But on this winter morning the sound was a full-throated rage.He was about 100 yards away, a middle-aged man in military camouflage, walking between the lines of graves. He stopped and raised his hands to the sky and shouted out: “Death to the enemy.” He walked on and after a few steps began to scream again. No words. Just an agonised howl that gradually faded as he moved away. Nearby, a mother and daughter were settling flowers around the grave of a young man, a son, a brother. They had heard the commotion but continued with their work as if, two years and thousands of deaths into the war, it was all part of the normal order of things.There are war funerals most days in Lviv. The coffins are brought first to Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church where I witnessed the first funerals of the Russian invasion back in February 2022. Then, the war felt dramatically like a fight for national survival.The city of Lviv was the setting for the greatest refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two. Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Millions of Ukrainians fled west after Russia launched its invasion in February 2022More than ten million Ukrainians had been uprooted from their homes and Lviv station teemed with refugees fleeing west. Stories of atrocities from places like Bucha and Mariupol arrived with every refugee train.The drama captured the attention of the world. People fought to get on trains. The elderly and the sick were carried in wheelchairs up the crowded steps to the platforms. There was the constant noise of children crying, voices on the station tannoy, the whistles of trains arriving and departing, and always the air raid sirens to remind people that death could come at any time.To return is to find a station that has accustomed itself to war. On platform five the refugee crowds are long gone. So too the army of volunteer medics and stewards, cooks and musicians, whose kindness helped ease the terror felt by so many.Now there are young men and women waiting in the cold and shadows for trains to take them east to fight. And there are families returning from abroad for brief visits to loved ones still living in Ukraine. Two years on, the war has settled on Lviv station, a stubborn season that will not move. There is weariness. And everywhere, stories of what’s been lost.Take the story of Natasha Ambarova. She was a doctor who ran an emergency clinic at the station.Image caption, Natasha – originally a Russian citizen – now wants to sign up to fight for UkraineWe met at the height of the refugee crisis, when she was directing a team of doctors, nurses and volunteers, constantly on the move down the long, crowded corridors to wherever help was needed. Through all of this she was dealing with a family crisis: Natasha is of Russian origin and her siblings in Moscow supported Putin’s war. Natasha has lost all contact with her Russian family.”These people are lost for me. They will never say no and will remain silent like slaves.”Natasha is teaching medicine at Lviv University, aware that her students might be drafted to fight. Several staff from the university have been killed. Her own feelings towards Russia have hardened. She describes the air raids on the city, and how her children were woken by a door being blown off its hinges by an explosion. Now this doctor, this mother of a 10-year-old son and three-year-old daughter, wants to fight. The healer of bodies would like to be a sniper.”I love shooting from different weapons. I would be a good sniper,” she says.When I ask how someone whose mission it is to heal felt about being prepared to kill, she replies: “It’s my war… I will kill anyone so my children will be safe. This is a matter of survival. I am fighting for my land.”The war is impacting the psyche of Ukrainians in many different ways. After so much suffering, trauma is everywhere and expresses itself in different ways. But it has not erased the spirit of kindness that was so evident two years ago.In a carriage heading towards Kyiv, I meet a short, stocky man with an engaging smile. Volodymyr Moisei is one-armed, the consequence of a car accident several years ago, and so his military role is that of a chaplain. But he is also a bringer of gifts, delivering presents and treats to children living in front-line areas. Image caption, Volodymyr is now a chaplain, who brings presents to children near Ukraine’s front linesSince before Russia’s full-scale invasion, he and his wife have fostered troubled children – those from broken families, and now those displaced by the war.When the war began, one of his former foster children, Andriy, wanted to go back to his home village to care for his mother, an alcoholic with whom he’d had a troubled relationship. Volodymyr shows me a black-and-white photograph taken by Andriy at a family dinner before the war. Chechen forces under the command of top Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov had taken over the village.”[Although an alcoholic] she was still his mother. And he went and created a small militia in this village in order to stop the Chechens, Kadyrov’s people who began entering there. And unfortunately they found out after some time. They shot him and they threw him dead in a field,” he says.Image source, AndriyImage caption, Andriy was killed by Russians at the age of just 25On this journey Volodymyr is heading 816km south to Kryvyi Rih, and from there another three hours by road with his friend Oleksandr to Kherson, a city re-taken from the Russians in November 2022. Together they will distribute gifts in front-line villages.Accompanied by a BBC cameraman, they stop at a windswept bus stop in the countryside, where a group of around 20 mothers and children has gathered. There is danger from Russian shelling. The war can come crashing down at any time. Yet people cling to their homes. If you leave, when do you return? Do you ever return? One of the mothers, Larysa Shkliar, organises the meetings with Volodymyr and Oleksandr. She adamantly refuses to leave or to send her children away.”Someone made a law, that we must evacuate the children, as our village is in red zone,” Larysa says. “But when I ask them, ‘Are you going to be responsible for my children, if I do it?’ They say no.”I did not evacuate mine. I am their mother, and responsible for them. When Oleksandr and Volodymyr come it’s like a celebration for us and the kids.”A girl of around 10 years of age, Lera Verizon, comes forward. Volodymyr hands her a parcel. She starts to explain what happened when the Russians attacked her school. “There were three air strikes at us. We didn’t know what to do. I was scared. The window was blown out in the room where my sister was.” As she says the last words Lera begins to cry. She turns into the embrace of her mother Ola who strokes her head. “There bunny, there. It will be OK,” she says.Volodymyr must leave. There are other villages to reach before nightfall and much work still to do.”You know, I have stopped trying to understand this war long ago. It takes away the whole life and even takes away the purpose of it, so it takes away the most important time that a child can experience,” Volodymyr says. As the war lurches into its third year this gentle chaplain tries to create some normality for children, a place “where they can dream again.”Our World – Return to Platform 5: Families at war is available now on BBC iPlayerRelated TopicsWar in UkraineRussiaUkraineMore on this storyInside Ukraine’s struggle to find new men to fightPublished2 days agoThe Ukrainians ‘disappearing’ in Russia’s prisonsPublished4 days agoRos Atkins on… How the Ukraine war has stagnatedPublished4 days agoTop StoriesCrackers and cake drive food price fall but overall inflation stays at 4%Published58 minutes agoUkraine claims sinking of Russian ship off CrimeaPublished1 hour agoFull cemeteries and empty homes: Ukrainians struggle two years after invasionPublished26 minutes agoFeaturesSteve Wright: Radio giant and feel-good friend to millions’Like a friend’ – listeners’ tributes to Steve WrightFull cemeteries and empty homes: Ukrainians struggle two years after invasionTorvill, Dean and the death of romanceAttributionSport’Parties can get more people to visit church’Resignations of leading women give Hungary’s Orban his biggest crisis’He said he was a UN surgeon and that lured me in’ – the world of romance scamsWatch: What the maps miss about this huge Asian nation. 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