logo
Israeli undercover force detains senior Gaza health official

Israeli undercover force detains senior Gaza health official

Israel has raided and attacked hospitals across the Gaza Strip, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes. (EPA Images pic)
CAIRO : An Israeli undercover force detained Marwan Al-Hams, a senior Gaza health ministry official, outside the field hospital of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday, the health ministry said.
Hams, in charge of field hospitals in the enclave, was on his way to visit the ICRC field hospital in northern Rafah when an Israeli force 'abducted' him after opening fire, killing one person and wounding another civilian nearby, according to the ministry.
Medics said the person killed was a local journalist who was filming an interview with Hams when the incident happened.
The Israeli military and the Red Cross did not immediately respond following separate requests by Reuters for comment.
Israel has raided and attacked hospitals across the Gaza Strip during the 21-month war in Gaza, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes, an accusation the group denies. But sending undercover forces to carry out arrests has been rare.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

As Gaza hunger crisis deepens, where do truce talks stand?
As Gaza hunger crisis deepens, where do truce talks stand?

New Straits Times

time4 hours ago

  • New Straits Times

As Gaza hunger crisis deepens, where do truce talks stand?

DOHA: Mediators have been shuttling between Israeli and Hamas negotiators since July 6 as they scramble to end nearly two years of war in Gaza where fears of mass starvation are growing. Through 21 months of fighting both sides have clung to long-held positions preventing two short-lived truces being converted into a lasting ceasefire. The stakes are higher now with growing numbers of malnutrition deaths in the Palestinian territory casting a spotlight Israel's refusal to allow in more aid. With pressure for a breakthrough mounting, Washington said top envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Europe this week for talks on a Gaza ceasefire and aid corridor. US officials said he might head on to the Middle East. As the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorates drastically, are the two sides closer to reaching an agreement? After more than two weeks of back and forth, efforts by mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States are at a standstill. The proposal on the table involves a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 living hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Hamas insists any agreement must include guarantees for a lasting end to the war. Israel rejects any such guarantees, insisting that Hamas must give up its capacity to fight or govern as a prerequisite for peace. "The cold hard truth is that for domestic political considerations neither (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu nor Hamas leaders in Gaza have an interest in seeing a swift outcome and a comprehensive ceasefire," said Karim Bitar, a lecturer in Middle Eastern studies at Paris's Sciences Po university. "Both would have to answer serious questions from their own constituencies," he added. While Israeli officials have said they are open to compromise, troops have expanded their operations this week into areas of Gaza that had largely been spared any ground offensives since the war began in October 2023. Israeli media have reported that Hamas negotiators in Doha have been unable to communicate directly with the military leadership in Gaza to approve Israeli pullback maps. Logistical issues compound existing rifts within the militant group. There are "technical aspects which are quite difficult to overcome because there is a growing disconnect between Hamas leadership in Gaza and the negotiators in Doha," Bitar said. For Andreas Krieg, a Middle East analyst at King's College London, "the talks are technically progressing, but in practical terms, they are approaching a stalemate." "What is on the table now is effectively just another prisoner swap deal, not a real ceasefire deal," he said. Hamas faces a dilemma: it is under pressure to secure some Israeli concessions but "on the other hand, it faces an increasingly desperate humanitarian situation." "The leadership may be debating how far it can compromise without appearing to surrender politically," he said. More than two million people in Gaza are facing severe food shortages, with more than 100 NGOs warning of "mass starvation." On Tuesday, the head of Gaza's largest hospital said 21 children died of malnutrition and starvation in three days. "Humanitarian pressure is mounting fast," Krieg said, with Hamas facing "rising desperation among the population, which could force it to accept an interim deal to alleviate suffering." But even if Hamas makes concessions, Israel has the upper hand and there can be no lasting ceasefire unless it wants one. "Unless the United States and Qatar... increase significantly their pressure on Israel, I am afraid that this round of negotiations will fail like the previous rounds," Bitar said.

More than 100 NGOs warn 'mass starvation' spreading across Gaza
More than 100 NGOs warn 'mass starvation' spreading across Gaza

New Straits Times

time12 hours ago

  • New Straits Times

More than 100 NGOs warn 'mass starvation' spreading across Gaza

JERUSALEM: More than 100 aid organisations warned on Wednesday that "mass starvation" was spreading across the Gaza Strip and that their own colleagues were suffering acutely from the shortages. Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where more than two million people have endured 21 months of devastating conflict. Even after Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade in late May, Gaza's population is still suffering extreme scarcities of food and other essentials, with residents frequently killed as they try to collect aid at a handful of distribution points. In a statement, the 111 signatories — including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam — warned that "our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away." "As the Israeli government's siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families," the statement read. The groups called for an immediate negotiated ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of aid through UN-led mechanisms. The UN yesterday said Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid since the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operations in late May — effectively sidelining the existing UN-led system. Israel says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid. In their statement, the humanitarian organisations said that warehouses with tonnes of supplies were sitting untouched just outside the territory, and even inside, as they were blocked from accessing or delivering the goods. "Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions," the signatories said. "It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage," they added. "The humanitarian system cannot run on false promises. Humanitarians cannot operate on shifting timelines or wait for political commitments that fail to deliver access." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said yesterday that the "horror" facing Palestinians in Gaza under Israeli military attack is unprecedented in recent years. More than two dozen Western countries recently urged an immediate end to the war, saying suffering in Gaza had "reached new depths." The aid organisations urged decisive action from governments, saying that "piecemeal arrangements and symbolic gestures... serve as a smokescreen for inaction." Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,106 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas's Oct 7, 2023 attack, which sparked the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The head of Gaza's largest hospital on Tuesday said 21 children had died due to malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory in the past three days. — AFP

Columbia University sanctions 80 students over Gaza protests
Columbia University sanctions 80 students over Gaza protests

The Sun

time12 hours ago

  • The Sun

Columbia University sanctions 80 students over Gaza protests

NEW YORK: Columbia University has imposed disciplinary actions, including expulsions and degree revocations, on nearly 80 students involved in anti-Israel protests on campus. The sanctions follow months of tension as the university negotiates with the Trump administration to restore $400 million in federal funding cuts. The university stated that the punishments stem from a library sit-in in May and an encampment during alumni weekend in spring 2024. Disciplinary measures include probation, suspensions ranging from one to three years, degree revocations, and expulsions. Columbia, a focal point of nationwide campus protests against Israel's war in Gaza, has faced pressure from the Trump administration over alleged anti-Semitism. The university has agreed to policy reforms to regain federal funding, a move that has angered many students. The student group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which advocates for cutting financial ties with Israel, condemned the sanctions as excessive. 'We will not be deterred. We are committed to the struggle for Palestinian liberation,' the group said. Harvard University, another Ivy League institution, is also contesting federal funding cuts in court. Columbia's latest sanctions mark the conclusion of disciplinary actions from the 2024 protests. - AFP

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store