trade talks in Geneva

“For reasons of operational security, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not release information about future removal flights or schedules in advance. However, the removal of illegal aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States is a core responsibility of ICE and is regularly carried out by ICE Air Operations,” a spokesperson for ICE told Al Jazeera.Several lawmakers, including Senator Alex Padilla of California and Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, have voiced concerns over these flights.

“Given the Trump Administration’s mission to indiscriminately deport our nation’s immigrants – without due process, in violation of the Constitution and federal immigration law, and, in some cases, in defiance of court orders – it is deeply disturbing that Avelo has determined that its partnership with ICE is ‘too valuable not to pursue,’” Padilla’s office said in a news release.Flight attendants have also raised safety concerns, saying there is no safe plan in the event of an emergency and it is only a matter of time before a tragic incident occurs.As first reported by ProPublica, ICE Air detainees have soiled themselves because they did not have access to bathrooms while being transported to prisons without due process.

ICE has denied allegations that detainees lacked access to bathrooms during flights.Are financiers concerned?

Avelo’s largest investor is Morgan Stanley Tactical Value, whose managing director, Tom Cahill, sits on Avelo’s board. Morgan Stanley’s fund invested an undisclosed amount in the airline’s Series A funding round, the first major investment stage for a company.

That round raised $125m in January 2020, weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a US and global emergency. A subsequent Series B round in 2022 brought in an additional $42m, $30m of which came from Morgan Stanley.“The clock is ticking towards famine, so [the] humanitarian [system] must be allowed to do its life-saving work now,” Lazzarini said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later acknowledged a “loss of control momentarily” at the distribution centre, but a senior military official said the distribution was nonetheless “a success”.Israel has facilitated the GHF’s efforts and said the model keeps supplies out of Hamas’s hands.

The GHF has faced accusations of helping Israel fulfil its military objectives, while excluding Palestinians, bypassing the UN system and failing to adhere to humanitarian principles.The GHF said it had distributed about 8,000 food boxes, equivalent to 462,000 meals, since Israel eased an 11-week blockade of the war-shattered Palestinian enclave last week.