Category World News

Palestinians in Gaza are raising the alarm over Israel’s pending ban on dozens of international organizations that support the devasted region’s vital services and aid.

There is “no alternative” to the aid organizations helping besieged Palestinians in Gaza, according to Siraj al-Masri, a Palestinian in Khan Younis on Wednesday.

What should we do next? We don’t have any money, according to Al-Masri.

“A few medical points are still unfilled. This makes things very difficult, and it will cause both the injured and the hurt to be horrified. Even the most common people who come to see a doctor will experience severe hardship.

In response to unproven allegations of links to Hamas, Israel is attempting to demonize 37 international NGOs, including Doctors Without Borders (known by its French initials MSF).

According to Israel, the ban, which starts on Thursday and includes organizations like the Norwegian Refugee Council, CARE International, and the International Rescue Committee, is a result of recent laws that require aid organizations to disclose information about their staff and activities.

The situation is already tragic, according to Gaza resident Ramzi Abu al-Neel, who spoke to Al Jazeera.

God “knows what will happen” if their support and presence are removed. Many families will be devastated by this decision, as well as many children who will pass away and lives who will be lost.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of 10 nations, including Canada, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom, demanded that Israel make it clear that international NGOs “are able to operate in Gaza in a sustained and predictable way.”

It is inadmissible to try to stop them from operating. Without them, it will be impossible to meet all urgent needs on the necessary scale,” it said.

Israel has continued to kill Palestinians in Gaza despite the ceasefire and imposes restrictions on access to basic supplies, including temporary housing, for the area.

More than one million people have been living in makeshift tents in the harsh winter weather as the majority of Gaza has turned into rubble. Additionally, Gaza’s population is still heavily dependent on international aid despite the destruction’ absence of any economic activity.

According to Abdullah al-Hawajri, a displaced Palestinian in Khan Younis, “most people rely entirely on international organizations for assistance.”

Israel’s action is “further compromising the humanitarian operation” in Gaza, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

The Israeli decision, according to UNRWA’s Philippe Lazzarini, creates a “dangerous precedent.”

The fundamental human rights that underpin aid work worldwide will be further undermined by failing to counteract attempts to control the work of aid organizations, Lazzarini said in a statement.

Israel approved a number of measures in 2025 to end UNRWA, a key source of aid and essential services in Gaza, and stifle its work.

According to Lazzarini, the most recent ruling against aid organizations “is a troubling pattern of disregard for international humanitarian law and growing obstacles to aid operations.”

Israel imposed a suffocating blockade on the enclave, causing a deadly famine, during its two-year genocidal war, according to the Gaza Government Media Office, which resulted in the killing of about 500 aid workers and volunteers.

The Israeli ban appears to violate both the “20-point peace plan” of US President Donald Trump and the ceasefire agreement.

According to Trump’s plan, “distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will be conducted without the interference of the two parties through the United Nations, its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international organizations not affiliated with either party in any way.”

Many of the organizations that are subject to the ban are members of the well-established, UN-backed aid distribution system.

The White House claims that the administration is considering plans to revoke citizenship for those found guilty of fraud, adding that this time, US President Donald Trump has launched yet another attack on Somali Americans.

The Trump administration suspended $ 85 million in federal subsidies for low-income children a day after making the statements on Wednesday in response to allegations of fraud at daycares run by Somali Americans in Minneapolis, the state’s largest city.

Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that “a large portion of Minnesota fraud, up to 90%, is brought on by people who entered our country from Somalia illegally.”

Ilhan Omar, a member of the Somali American Congress, was repeatedly attacked by him as one of the “many scammers.”

According to Trump, “Send them back from where they came, Somalia, which is undoubtedly the worst and most corrupt country on earth.”

Meanwhile, White House spokesman Karoline Leavitt claimed in an interview with Fox News that the administration was “looking at” possibly robbing Somali Americans of their citizenship after being found guilty of fraud.

Denaturalization remained “a tool at the president’s and secretary of state’s disposal,” she claimed.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly threatened to revoke citizenship for a wide range of naturalized citizens, including those who were born outside the US but who obtained citizenship through the immigration process.

Legal experts have noted that foreign-born citizens can be denied citizenship, but this practice frequently requires significant burden of proof when demonstrating that a person was naturalized under false pretenses.

increased scrutiny

Throughout his political career, Trump has frequently demonized immigrants.

His first successful presidential campaign in 2016 was marred by that rhetoric. He made the claim that Mexico was inciting outrage by bringing “rapists” and criminals into the US while campaigning in 2015.

Later, he made contradictory accusations against Haitians who lived in Illinois, including that they killed and kept pets during his presidential campaign in 2024.

Trump has criticized the legal pathways that allowed them into the country and compared them to “garbage” in recent weeks. He added that they were “destroying America.”

Trump’s statements were decried as being blatantly racist by politicians, community leaders, and political figures.

Trump has, however, engaged in action in addition to his rhetoric. His administration has increased immigration enforcement agents to Minnesota over the past month, conducted a comprehensive audit of legal Somali immigrants, and prioritized state-related fraud claims.

His actions have sparked a scandal that has recently shook the state’s midwestern region.

Criminals have allegedly defrauded the state of nearly $ 9 billion in COVID funding and $ 300 million in improper social assistance funding, according to the prosecution.

In connection with its extensive fraud investigation, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Monday that the Justice Department had charged 98 people in Minnesota with “Somali descent.” 85 of those charged were also of “Somali descent.”

Many of those accusations date before Trump’s second term, though.

Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz rebuffed the governor’s claim that local and state authorities have spent years preventing fraud in the state.

Walz claimed in a post on the social media platform X on Wednesday that Trump is “using an issue he doesn’t give a damn about as an justification for harming working Minnesotans.”

Following a viral video posted by conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley, who claimed Minneapolis-based Somali American-run daycare centers had committed up to $100 million in fraud, the Trump administration has taken some of its actions.

Officials from the administration, including Bondi, have repeatedly cited Shirley’s claims, with 127 million views of his video.

For instance, FBI Director Kash Patel stated in a social media post on Tuesday that his organization was aware of recent reports from Minnesota.

He continued, noting that the bureau “surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to stop large-scale fraud schemes that use federal programs.”

However, questions have remained regarding Shirley’s video’s accuracy.

According to a CBS News investigation this week, “all but two” of the daycares featured in the video had active licenses and “were visited by state regulators within the last six months.”

In order to give its shareholders digital tokens, the Trump Media and Technology Group in the United States has partnered with a cryptocurrency exchange.

As of 11am US East Coast time (16:00 GMT), the company’s shares were up 5% on Wednesday, matching the announcement.

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, who has been a vocal supporter of cryptocurrency during his second term, owns the majority of Trump Media’s shares.

The company stated in a press release that it would collaborate with Crypto.com in Singapore to offer shareholders one digital token for every entire share they own.

The plan was unachievable, but Trump Media stated that the tokens would be made available “in the near future.”

Additionally, it stated that “various awards” would be “made available to token holders annually throughout the year,” with benefits and discounts relating to Trump’s affiliated streaming platform Truth+ and his social media platform Truth Social.

In the press release, Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes stated that “we look forward to utilizing Crypto.com’s blockchain technology and improving regulatory clarity to implement this first-of-its-kind token distribution.”

establishing a “crypto capital”

Trump Media’s first partnership with Crypto.com is not his first foray into the cryptocurrency space, and neither is his first foray into the cryptocurrency space.

Trump has, in fact, referred to himself as a “crypto president” during his second term.

His recent goals have included ending investigations and reversing regulations that he believes have hampered cryptocurrency development.

Trump has repeatedly pledged to make the United States the “crypto capital of the world,” in line with other right-wing leaders like Nayib Bukele and Javier Milei in El Salvador.

One of the businesses that have benefited from that push is Crypto.com.

After the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegedly gave Crypto.com a “Wells notice,” which indicated the likelihood of upcoming regulatory action, it was announced in October 2024 that it had filed a lawsuit against the federal government.

However, after Trump’s second term officially began in January, the government’s investigations into Crypto.com and other digital currency platforms were quickly dropped.

Trump, a Republican, accused his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, of unfairly focusing on the crypto industry and called the investigations and prosecutions an attack on innovation.

Trump addressed a roundtable of cryptocurrency leaders in March, who he praised as “high-IQ people,” and stated that “my administration is also working to end the federal bureaucracy’s war on crypto, which was really going on pretty wildly during Biden.

The Trump administration also announced a “strategic reserve” at the US Treasury, which included a stockpile of digital assets as well as a stockpile of Bitcoin.

The administration has also promoted the use of cryptocurrency in retirement accounts in addition to other initiatives to make it more popular.

Trump argued that such actions would result in a burdensome patchwork of regulations by issuing an executive order this month to discourage states from enforcing their own restrictions on cryptocurrency.

However, critics warn that investments could be volatile due to the lack of regulation surrounding cryptocurrency and the industry’s reliance on loans. Consumers could become vulnerable to cratering losses as a result.

The digital currency sector, however, has supported Trump by supporting his Republican opponent, with millions of dollars going to his 2025 inauguration fund.

One of the companies that donated to the inauguration was Crypto.com, as well as super PACs (political action committees) connected to the president.

Separately, Trump Media and Crypto.com have developed a more enduring relationship.

For instance, the two businesses announced in August that Trump Media would act as the company’s Treasury for Cronos, one of Crypto.com’s assets.

Then, in October, Trump Media and Crypto.com announced a partnership to develop a Truth Predict market prediction platform.

Because they let users place money on the outcome of global events, including political elections, they are sometimes called “betting markets.”

Trump still stands to gain from any profits the business makes, even though he has invested a large portion of his stock in a revocable trust run by his son Eric.

Business leaders have been accused of trying to influence the president by backing his family’s financial interests and corporate ventures by critics.

Trump Media has struggled to find its footing since its 2021 launch.

With a comparatively small 6 million reportedly monthly users, its flagship product, Truth Social, continues to be in line with its competitors.