Israeli fire again kills Gaza aid-seekers as US envoy meets with hostages' families
The violence came a day after US officials visited a GHF site and the US ambassador called the troubled system 'an incredible feat.'
Another 19 people were shot dead as they crowded near the Zikim crossing from Israel in the hope of obtaining aid, said Fares Awad, head of the Gaza health ministry's ambulance and emergency service.
Nearly a week has passed since Israel, under international pressure amid growing scenes of starving children, announced limited humanitarian pauses and airdrops meant to get more food to Gaza's over 2 million people. They now largely rely on aid after almost 22 months of war.
But the United Nations, partners and Palestinians say far too little aid is coming in, with months of supplies piled up outside Gaza waiting for Israeli approval. Trucks that enter are mostly stripped of supplies by desperate people and criminal groups before reaching warehouses for distribution.
Experts this week said a 'worst-case scenario of famine' was occurring. On Saturday, Gaza's health ministry said seven Palestinians had died of malnutrition-related causes over the past 24 hours, including a child.
Aid is 'far from sufficient,' Germany's government said via spokesman Stefan Kornelius. The UN has said 500 to 600 trucks of aid are needed daily.
Families of the 50 hostages still in Gaza fear they are going hungry too, and blame Hamas, after the militants released images of an emaciated hostage, Evyatar David.
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First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Six more die of starvation in Gaza as UN fuel trucks arrive, says Israel
As the death toll rises to 175, Israel says UN fuel deliveries have resumed to support critical infrastructure, though aid access remains limited and chaotic. read more Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip. File image/ Reuters Six more people died of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza in the last 24 hours, the health ministry reported on Sunday, as Israel announced it permitted fuel to be sent to the enclave, which is in the grip of a humanitarian disaster after almost two years of conflict. The fresh fatalities bring the total number of people killed by what international humanitarian organisations believe to be an emerging famine to 175, including 93 children, since the war began, according to the ministry. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Egypt's state-run Al Qahera News TV said that two trucks carrying 107 tonnes of diesel were about to enter Gaza, months after Israel severely limited aid access to the territory before relaxing it somewhat as starvation began to spread. COGAT, the Israeli military organisation that handles relief, announced later in the day that four tankers of UN fuel had arrived to assist hospitals, bakeries, public kitchens, and other essential amenities. There was no immediate indication that the two diesel fuel trucks had reached Gaza via Egypt. According to Gaza's health ministry, fuel shortages have significantly hampered hospital services, requiring physicians to treat only the most seriously ill or injured patients. Fuel shipments have been scarce since March, when Israel stopped the flow of aid into the enclave in order to put pressure on Hamas terrorists to release the remaining hostages kidnapped during their October 2023 attack on Israel. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza but, in response to a rising international uproar, it announced steps last week to let more aid reach the population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, approving air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. UN agencies say airdrops are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and open up access to the territory to prevent starvation among its 2.2 million people, most of whom are displaced amidst vast swathes of rubble. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD COGAT said that during the past week over 23,000 tons of humanitarian aid in 1,200 trucks had entered Gaza but that hundreds of the trucks had yet to be driven to aid distribution hubs by UN and other international organisations. Meanwhile, Belgium's air force dropped the first in a series of its aid packages into Gaza on Sunday in a joint operation with Jordan, the Belgian defence ministry said. France on Friday started to air-drop 40 tons of humanitarian aid. LOOTED AID TRUCKS The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said on Sunday that nearly 1,600 aid trucks had arrived since Israel eased restrictions late in July. However, witnesses and Hamas sources said many of those trucks have been looted by desperate displaced people and armed gangs. More than 700 trucks of fuel entered the Gaza Strip in January and February during a ceasefire before Israel broke it in March in a dispute over terms for extending it and resumed its major offensive. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Palestinian local health authorities said at least 40 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes across the coastal enclave on Sunday. Deaths included persons trying to make their way to aid distribution points in southern and central areas of Gaza, Palestinian medics said. Among those killed was a staff member of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which said an Israeli strike at their headquarters in Khan Younis in southern Gaza ignited a fire on the first floor of the building. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in a cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's air and ground war in densely populated Gaza has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to enclave health officials. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Israeli forces kill over 20 people seeking food in Gaza, say witnesses, health officials
Israeli forces killed at least 23 Palestinians seeking food on Sunday (August 3, 2025) in the Gaza Strip, according to hospital officials and witnesses, who described facing gunfire as hungry crowds surged around aid sites as the malnutrition-related death toll surged. Desperation has gripped the Palestinian territory of more than 2 million, which experts have warned is at risk of famine because of Israel's blockade and nearly two-year offensive. Yousef Abed, among the crowds en route to a distribution point, described coming under what he called indiscriminate fire, looking around and seeing at least three people bleeding on the ground. 'I couldn't stop and help them because of the bullets,' he said. Southern Gaza's Nasser Hospital said they had received bodies from near multiple distribution sites, including eight from Teina, about three km away from a distribution site in Khan Younis, which is operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private U.S. and Israeli-backed contractor that took over aid distribution more than two months ago. The hospital also received one body from Shakoush, an area hundreds of metres north of a different GHF site in Rafah. Another nine were also killed by troops near the Morag corridor, who were awaiting trucks entering Gaza through an Israeli border crossing, it said. Three Palestinian eyewitnesses, seeking food in Teina and Morag, told The Associated Press the shootings occurred on the route to the distribution points, which are in military zones secured by Israeli forces. They said they saw soldiers open fire on hungry crowds advancing toward the troops. Also Read: Is Israel committing genocide in Gaza? Further north in central Gaza, hospital officials described a similar episode, with Israeli troops opening fire Sunday (August 3, 2025) morning toward crowds of Palestinians trying to reach GHF's fourth and northernmost distribution point. 'Troops were trying to prevent people from advancing. They opened fire and we fled. Some people were shot,' said Hamza Matter, one of the aid seekers. At least five people were killed and 27 wounded at GHF's site near Netzarim corridor, Awda Hospital said. Eyewitnesses seeking food in the strip have reported similar gunfire attacks in recent days near aid distribution sites, leaving dozens of Palestinians dead. The United Nations reported 859 people have been killed near GHF sites from May 27 to July 31 and that hundreds more have been slain along the routes of U.N.-led food convoys. The GHF launched in May as Israel sought an alternative to the U.N.-run system, which had safely delivered aid for much of the war but was accused by Israel of allowing Hamas, which guarded convoys early in the war, to siphon supplies. Israel has not offered evidence of widespread theft. The U.N. has denied it. GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding. Israel's military has said it only fires warning shots as well. Both claimed the death tolls have been exaggerated. Neither Israel's military nor GHF immediately responded to questions about Sunday's (August 3, 2025) reported fatalities. Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry also said six more Palestinian adults died of malnutrition-related causes in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours. This brings the death toll among Palestinian adults to 82 in the past five weeks since the ministry started counting deaths among adults in late June, it said. Ninety-three children have also died of causes related to malnutrition since the war in Gaza started in 2023, the ministry said. The war began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, and abducted another 251. They are still holding 50 captives, around 20 believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed more than 60,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, is staffed by medical professionals. The United Nations and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties. Israel has disputed its figures but hasn't provided its own account of casualties.
Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
Six more Palestinians die of starvation or malnutrition in past 24 hours, raising toll to 175, Gaza health ministry says
Six more people died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza over the past 24 hours, its health ministry said, underlining the enclave's humanitarian emergency as Egyptian state TV said two trucks were set to make a rare delivery of fuel on Sunday. The new deaths raised the toll of those dying from what international humanitarian agencies say may be an unfolding famine to 175, including 93 children, since the war began, the ministry said. Egypt's state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said two trucks carrying 107 tons of diesel were set to enter Gaza, months after Israel severely restricted aid access to the enclave before easing it somewhat as starvation began to spread. Gaza's health ministry has said fuel shortages have severely impaired hospital services, forcing doctors to focus on treating only critically ill or injured patients. There was no immediate confirmation whether the fuel trucks had indeed entered Gaza. Fuel shipments have been rare since March, when Israel restricted the flow of aid and goods into the enclave in what it said was pressure on Hamas militants to free the remaining hostages they took in their October 2023 attack on Israel. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza but, in response to a rising international outcry, it announced steps last week to let more aid reach the population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, approving air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. United Nations agencies have said that airdrops of food are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and open up access to the war-devastated territory where starvation has been spreading. COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, said 35 trucks have entered Gaza since June, nearly all of them in July. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said on Sunday that nearly 1,600 aid trucks had arrived since Israel eased restrictions late in July. However, witnesses and Hamas sources said many of those trucks have been looted by desperate displaced people and armed gangs. More than 700 trucks of fuel entered the Gaza Strip in January and February during a ceasefire before Israel broke it in March in a dispute over terms for extending it and resumed its major offensive. Palestinian local health authorities said at least 40 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes across the coastal enclave on Sunday. Deaths included persons trying to make their way to aid distribution points in southern and central areas of Gaza, Palestinian medics said. Among those killed was a staff member of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which said an Israeli strike at their headquarters in Khan Younis in southern Gaza ignited a fire on the first floor of the building. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in a cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's air and ground war in densely populated Gaza has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to enclave health officials. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
