The war in the Middle East

US announces aid distribution to Gaza without Israel. Media: Trump 'lost patience' with Netanyahu

The US no longer asks Riyadh for normalisation of relations with Israel

9 May 2025

La palestinese Maha Elayan piange mentre abbraccia il corpo del figlio, ucciso in un attacco aereo israeliano notturno su una scuola delle Nazioni Unite utilizzata come rifugio, prima della sua sepoltura all’ospedale Al-Aqsa di Deir al-Balah, nella Striscia di Gaza centrale, mercoledì 7 maggio 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Associated Press/LaPresse

5' min read

US President Donald Trump 'lost patience' with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and decided to proceed with his own initiatives in the Middle East 'without Natanyahu'. This is what the daily Israel Hayom writes, citing two sources in Trump's circle, just days before the start of the US president's trip to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

According to the sources, Trump wants to 'make decisions that he believes will promote American interests, particularly with regard to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States'. In the newspaper's reconstruction, 'Israel should have participated in some of these initiatives', but 'according to Trump, Netanyahu is delaying taking the necessary decisions'. In this situation, Israel Hayom added, the US president 'would have decided to proceed without Israel's participation'. On Thursday, the Reuters news agency reported that Washington would no longer make the normalisation of Saudi Arabia's relations with Israel a condition for civil nuclear cooperation with Riyadh.

U.S. announces aid distribution to Gaza without Israel

The US has announced that Israel will not participate in the plan to distribute food aid to the Gaza Strip, where food has been in short supply since Israel decided to halt all deliveries more than two months ago. "The Israelis will be involved in providing the necessary military security, because this is a war zone, but they will not be involved in distributing the food or transporting it to Gaza," said US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee at a press conference.

Security at the distribution points will be provided 'by private contractors', while the Israeli army will provide 'remote' security to protect them from the ongoing fighting, Huckabee explained. Israel did not comment on the announcements. Claiming that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Israel says the blockade, imposed on 2 March, is aimed at forcing Hamas to release hostages still held there since the Palestinian Islamist movement's 7 October 2023 attack. For weeks, UN and NGO officials have been sounding the alarm over the shortage of food, medicine and fuel in the Palestinian territory, where aid is vital for the 2.4 million people left in the Strip after more than 19 months of war.

Italian Supreme Defence Council: 'Unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza'

"In the Middle East, the breakdown of the cease-fire in Gaza causes great concern. Hamas's ferocious terrorist attacks against defenceless Israeli citizens on 7 October 2023 triggered a spiral of unprecedented violence causing thousands of casualties and an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza, setting the entire area ablaze, in a conflict that has spread far beyond Palestinian territory and destabilises the entire wider Mediterranean area. Italy considers full respect for international humanitarian law and international legality, the immediate and lasting cessation of the fighting, the release of hostages still cruelly in the hands of Hamas, and the urgent restoration by Israel of the conditions that allow humanitarian assistance to the civilian population of Gaza to be provided" to be indispensable. This is what is stated in the final communiqué of the Supreme Defence Council (SCA) released by the Quirinal Palace at the end of a meeting held on Thursday.

Tajani: 'For Gaza we support Egyptian plan'

Asked by SkyNews24 about the Israeli plan to occupy the Gaza Strip, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that 'Italy recognises the Egyptian plan accepted by all Arab countries, which envisages two peoples two states'.

Asked about Europe's silence towards Israel in the face of what is happening in the Gaza Strip, the minister replied that 'it is not a question of raising our voices, but of getting results', i.e. 'in the meantime, reaching a ceasefire, freeing the hostages, and allowing the population to get all the aid it needs'.

Two Israeli soldiers killed

Meanwhile, two Israeli soldiers were killed and at least six wounded in fighting in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip. This was reported by the Israeli army.

Idf: over 60 targets hit in the Strip

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced that they struck over 60 targets in the Gaza Strip during the day, including terrorist cells, buildings used by terrorist groups, weapons depots, and other infrastructure.

In addition, dozens of attacks were carried out overnight by the Israeli Air Force against Hamas targets in the Morag Corridor area in southern Gaza in a joint operation with the 36th Division, the army said.

In another area of Gaza, a drone attack yesterday killed a militiaman coming out of a tunnel near where ground forces were operating, the army said, and another attack hit a building from which troops were shot.

Olmert, 'Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and must be part of the future Palestinian state'

Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and must be part of the future Palestinian state. This was stated by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaking at the People's Peace Summit, a left-wing organisation, at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, together with former Palestinian National Authority Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidwa. Olmert and Al-Kidwa attend the conference to discuss their peace plan, which was first presented last year and which they are promoting together. The plan aims to achieve a two-state solution based on Israel's pre-1967 borders with its neighbours.

Iran-US: media, Witkoff to attend talks in Oman

White House envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Oman on Sunday to participate in the fourth round of talks between Iran and the US. This was reported by Afp, citing an anonymous source close to the dossier.

Al Sisi and Putin: stability in the Strip

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on the sidelines of the Victory Parade, agreeing on the need "to restore stability in the Middle East, particularly in the Gaza Strip, and to intensify efforts to avoid regional escalation". This was reported in a note released by the Egyptian president's office.

Unrwa, very difficult to distribute aid to Gaza without UN

It is "very difficult" to imagine distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza without the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), a spokesman for the organisation said on Friday.

"It is impossible to replace Unrwa in a place like Gaza. We are the largest humanitarian organisation," said spokeswoman Juliette Touma at a press conference in Amman.

Since 2 March, no humanitarian aid has been allowed into the Palestinian territory, where 2.4 million people live. Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March.

Israeli authorities say the blockade aims to force Hamas to release hostages still held in Gaza after the Islamist movement's unprecedented attack on 7 October 2023. Israel, which accuses Hamas of hijacking aid, has also suggested distributing it to military-controlled centres, a proposal widely criticised by the UN and humanitarian organisations.

"We will not participate in any aid operation that does not respect our humanitarian principles of independence, humanity and impartiality," Rolando Gomez, UN spokesman in Geneva, said on Friday.