Israel’s top court halts Netanyahu’s dismissal of the country’s internal security chief

GENEVA: One of the largest providers of food aid in Gaza warned on Friday it only has enough flour to distribute for the next six days.

“We can stretch that by giving people less, but we are talking days not weeks,” Sam Rose from the United Nations’ Palestinian relief agency UNRWA told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Central Gaza.

The situation in Gaza is gravely concerning with massive reductions in distribution of aid supplies, UNRWA said.

“Six of 25 bakeries that the World Food Programme were supporting had to close down. There are larger crowds on streets outside bakeries,” Rose added.

“This is the longest period since the start of conflict in October 2023 that no supplies whatsoever have entered Gaza. The progress we made as an aid system over the last six weeks of the ceasefire is being reversed,” Rose added.

Israel in early March blocked the entry of goods into the territory in a standoff over a truce that has halted fighting for the past seven weeks. The move has led to a hike in prices of essential foods as well as of fuel, forcing many to ration their meals.

TUNIS: Tunisian President Kais Saied sacked Prime Minister Kamel Maddouri less than a year after his appointment, and named Sara Zaafarani as his replacement, amid a faltering economy and a worsening flood of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa countries.
Zaafarani, who is an engineer and served as minister of Equipment and Housing since 2021, is the third prime minister in less than two years.
In recent months, Saied has sharply criticized the performance of ministers, saying many they have not met the required standards and that the expectations of the Tunisian people are high. Last, month he sacked Finance Minister Sihem Boughdiri.
Economic growth has not exceeded 1.4 percent in the past year, and the North African country’s public finances face a severe crisis that has led to shortages of key commodities including sugar, rice and coffee.
“We will continue the liberation battle until justice prevails for all citizens ... We will continue to thwart all conspiracies,” Saied said in a speech at a National Security Council meeting on Friday.
The country also is facing widespread criticism over an unprecedented migrant crisis, as thousands of sub-Saharan African migrants are flocking to Tunisia seeking to reach the Italian coast.
Thousands of them are living in tents in forests in Amra and Jbeniana after authorities prevented them from reaching Europe by sea.
While the migrants frequently clash with local residents who want them deported from their area, local human rights groups accuse the authorities of racist rhetoric and incitement against migrants.
Saied seized extra powers in 2021 when he shut down the elected parliament and moved to rule by decree before assuming authority over the judiciary.
The opposition described the move as a coup.