Red Cross says fifth ICRC colleague killed in Gaza
GENEVA: The International Committee of the Red Cross announced Tuesday that one of its workers had been killed in the Gaza Strip -- the fifth since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
'Mahmoud Barakeh, who worked supporting logistics at the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah, was killed on Sunday,' the ICRC said in a statement, adding that he was killed on his way home.
'Mahmoud leaves behind his wife, three sons, and two daughters. His killing is a profound personal loss and a painful moment for our teams.
In offering condolences to his family, friends and colleagues, the ICRC added: 'This heartbreaking loss is yet another stark reminder of the immense challenges our colleagues, and the people of Gaza, face each day.'
The 60-bed Red Cross Field Hospital opened in May 2024 to provide medical services to civilians affected by the conflict.
The ICRC has previously stressed that international humanitarian law affords special protection to humanitarian relief and medical personnel, medical facilities, and objects used for humanitarian relief operations.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Malay Mail
WHO delivers first medical aid to Gaza in nearly four months, warns it's ‘a drop in the ocean'
GENEVA, June 27 — The World Health Organisation said Thursday that it had delivered its first medical shipment into Gaza since March 2, adding though that the nine truckloads were 'a drop in the ocean'. Wednesday's shipment of supplies, plasma and blood will be distributed among hospitals in the Palestinian territory in the coming days, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X. Israel imposed a total blockade on the Gaza Strip on March 2. More than two months later, it began allowing some food in, but no other aid items until now. Tedros said nine trucks carrying essential medical supplies, 2,000 units of blood and 1,500 units of plasma were delivered via the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, 'without any looting incident, despite the high-risk conditions along the route'. 'These supplies will be distributed to priority hospitals in the coming days,' Tedros said. 'The blood and plasma were delivered to Nasser Medical Complex's cold storage facility for onward distribution to hospitals facing critical shortages, amid a growing influx of injuries, many linked to incidents at food distribution sites.' Last week the WHO said only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals were minimally to partially functional, with the rest unable to function at all. Tedros said four WHO trucks were still at Kerem Shalom and more were on their way towards Gaza. 'However, these medical supplies are only a drop in the ocean. Aid at scale is essential to save lives,' he said. 'WHO calls for the immediate, unimpeded and sustained delivery of health aid into Gaza through all possible routes.' Israel began allowing supplies to trickle in at the end of May following its more than two-month total blockade, but distribution has been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a new US- and Israel-backed food distribution system, began handing out food in Gaza on May 26. But the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF — an officially private effort with opaque funding — over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. Israel is pressing its bombardment of the territory in a military offensive it says is aimed at defeating the group Hamas, whose unprecedented October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war. — AFP
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Spain PM calls Gaza situation ‘genocide' as death toll rises
GAZA CITY: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has described the ongoing conflict in Gaza as a 'genocide,' marking the strongest condemnation yet by a European leader. The statement comes as rescuers report 65 people killed by Israeli forces in the territory on Thursday. Sanchez urged the European Union to suspend its cooperation agreement with Israel, citing a recent EU report indicating potential breaches of human rights obligations. 'Gaza is in a catastrophic situation of genocide,' he said ahead of an EU summit in Brussels. Israel swiftly rejected the accusation, with its Madrid embassy accusing Sanchez of 'demonising' the country and stating Spain was 'on the wrong side of history.' The Spanish government deemed the embassy's response 'unacceptable' and summoned its charge d'affaires. The conflict, now in its 20th month, has left Gaza's two million residents facing severe shortages of food and medical supplies. Despite Israel easing its blockade in late May, aid distribution remains chaotic, with frequent reports of Israeli forces firing on civilians awaiting rations. Mohammad Al-Mughair, Gaza's civil defence agency medical supplies director, confirmed 65 deaths on Thursday. The Israeli military stated its troops fired 'warning shots' near the Netzarim corridor to deter approaching suspects. Since October 2023, Israel's military campaign has claimed at least 56,259 lives, mostly civilians, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. The UN considers these figures reliable. Residents describe dire conditions. 'My children have nothing to eat. I haven't had flour for nearly two months,' said Imad al-Attar from Khan Yunis. Another resident, Khaled Rashwan, lamented, 'We are dying, and no one is paying attention to us.' The US has approved $30 million in funding for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial aid group operating in the territory. The UN has criticised the 'weaponisation of food' in Gaza, while the WHO delivered its first medical shipment since March, calling it 'a drop in the ocean.' Efforts for a ceasefire continue, with Qatar announcing renewed mediation attempts. US President Donald Trump hinted at progress, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces mounting pressure to end the war.
Malay Mail
4 days ago
- Malay Mail
Israel shifts focus back to Gaza as 46 more killed at aid sites, UN slams ‘abomination' of US-backed system
GAZA CITY, June 25 — Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed another 46 people waiting for aid in the Palestinian territory on Tuesday as rights groups and UN agencies slammed the US-backed food distribution system. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 21 people were killed and around 150 wounded by Israeli fire near an aid point in central Gaza early Tuesday, and that another 25 were killed in a separate incident in south Gaza. 'Every day we face this scenario: martyrs, injuries, in unbearable numbers,' paramedic Ziad Farhat told AFP at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza. 'Hospitals cannot accommodate the number of casualties arriving,' he said. Israel's opposition leader and the families of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to widen a ceasefire with Iran to include the Palestinian territory. But the country's military chief later warned that Israel would now refocus on its campaign to crush the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the territory. 'Now the focus shifts back to Gaza — to bring the hostages home and to dismantle the Hamas regime,' chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in a statement shared by the army. Aid distribution tensions Pressure grew Tuesday on the US- and Israeli-backed privately run aid group Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which was brought into the Palestinian territory at the end of May to replace United Nations agencies. The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) called the system an 'abomination' while a spokesman for the UN human rights office, Thameen Al-Kheetan, condemned the 'weaponisation of food' in Gaza. According to figures issued on Tuesday by the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, at least 516 people have been killed and nearly 3,800 wounded by Israeli fire while seeking rations since late May. The territory of more than two million people is suffering from famine-like conditions after Israel blocked all supplies from early March to the end of May and continues to impose restrictions, according to rights groups. Writing in the Guardian newspaper, spokesman for the UN children's agency UNICEF James Elder said 400 aid distribution points had dwindled to four under GHF while supplies in 'jampacked' warehouses outside Gaza could not be brought in. 'Tank shells' Gaza civil defence spokesman Bassal reported a first deadly shooting Tuesday 'with bullets and tank shells' near the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza where thousands of Palestinians gather each night for rations near a GHF site. The Israeli military said that a crowd had been identified in an area 'adjacent' to its troops. Witness Ribhi Al-Qassas told AFP that troops had 'opened fire randomly' at a crowd he estimated at 50,000 people. The second incident took place in south Gaza about two kilometres from another GHF centre in Rafah governorate, Bassal said. 'Israeli forces targeted civilian gatherings near Al-Alam and Al-Shakoush areas with bullets and tank shells', he told AFP. Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and witnesses. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. GHF has denied responsibility for deaths near its aid points. On Monday, more than a dozen human rights organisations called on the organisation to cease its operations, warning of possible complicity in war crimes. Ceasefire calls After Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday after a 12-day war, Netanyahu faced renewed calls to agree a ceasefire with Hamas after more than 20 months of war in Gaza. 'It's time to finish it there too. Bring back the hostages, end the war,' opposition leader Yair Lapid of the centre-right Yesh Atid party wrote on X. Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel's war against Iran was 'contributing to the successes in Gaza, but it will still take a bit more time'. The October 2023 attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas that sparked the Gaza war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Of the 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants in October 2023, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 56,077 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The United Nations considers its figures reliable. — AFP
