Gazans Confront a Stark Choice: Risk Death to Get Food, or Starve
Mahmoud al-Tarifi's 22-year-old son, Osama, set out for a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation center near the Netzarim corridor, an Israeli-patrolled zone that bisects Gaza. His family hadn't eaten a filling meal in weeks, Tarifi said, and Osama wanted to get rice, dried beans or other supplies.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Gaza aid site offered a 'women only' day. It didn't stop the killing
The food distribution was announced in advance, like many before it, in a post on social media carrying an illustration of smiling Palestinians receiving boxes of aid. This time, however, the invitation shared by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was different, featuring illustrations of only women. "Tomorrow at our morning distribution at our location in the Saudi district, only women are welcome to come and receive a food box," the GHF post said. "Men should avoid the site during this distribution." Mary Sheikh al-Eid wanted to feed her seven children. Her husband had been killed earlier in the war and the family had been surviving on lentil soup for three weeks, said Mary's sister Khawla, but the last week had been a struggle. "Her children and mine told us not to go," Khawla told the BBC. "Mary told me she wanted to because it was a day for women and the numbers wouldn't be big." GHF's food aid distribution system has been marred by near-daily scenes of chaos and killing since it was implemented in May with Israeli and US support. Huge crowds are forced to walk long distances into Israeli military zones, entering fenced sites that are surrounded by private security contractors and Israeli troops. Palestinian men mostly take on the risk, jostling to secure a box of food for their family. For Gaza's two million people, there are just four GHF distribution sites but typically no more than two open on any given day. On Thursday, the sisters Mary and Khawla set off early for the aid point in the southern Rafah area. By the time they arrived, the scene was already chaos. "There was a huge crowd of women and the place seemed out of control, they couldn't offload and distribute the aid," Khawla said. "They started spraying the women with pepper spray, then they brought stun grenades and started throwing them on the women to force them backwards." The sisters got split up in the mayhem. Khawla's clothes were full of pepper spray and so she called her sister, agreeing to meet at their brother's house. Shortly after she called again, feeling something wasn't right. "This time a stranger picked up, he told me the owner of the phone was shot and was being taken to the Red Cross [field hospital]," said Khawla. "I called again and this time I was told she was shot in the head. I ran like crazy and called again, but this time I was told the owner of this phone had been killed." Since the GHF aid system was established in late May, the UN says over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to get aid mostly near GHF distribution sites, as well as near UN and other aid convoys. On Friday, one former US soldier who worked with the GHF said he had witnessed Israeli troops and security contractors firing on crowds. Anthony Aguilar told the BBC he had never seen such a level of "brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against a civilian population, an unarmed, starving population". Israel has previously said that its troops have fired "warning shots", and that it was implementing "lessons learned". It accuses Hamas of instigating chaos near the aid points and disputes the number of deaths reported. Medics at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis said After Mary Sheikh al-Eid died from a bullet injury to the neck. She is one of two women known to have been killed on Thursday's "women's day". The BBC also spoke to the family of the second woman who was killed, Khadija Abu Anza. One sister, Samah, who was with her said that they were travelling to a GHF aid site when an Israeli tank and troops arrived. From a distance of just metres, the troops first fired warning shots as they told them to move back, Samah said on Friday. "We started walking back and then she was hit by the bullet," Samah said. "They shot her in the neck and she died immediately." "I tried to carry her and her blood fell on me, a man helped me carry her to Nasser hospital. The aid point was opened right after they shot her and they let people go in." In response to the BBC, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had "identified suspects who approached them, posing a threat to the troops" and "fired warning shots" early on Thursday, but added that it was unaware of casualties. It said the shots were fired 'hundreds of meters away' from the distribution site, before its opening hours. Until May, UN agencies, other international organisations and charities provided most of the aid to Gaza's population at 400 distribution sites throughout the territory. The introduction of the GHF has been criticised by many in the aid community as an attempt to undermine the previous humanitarian system and increase Israeli control over the distribution of food in Gaza, forcing people into dangerous military locations. The UN refuses to cooperate with the GHF system calling it unethical. In recent days, Israel's control over food deliveries to Gaza has been widely condemned by many European governments and the aid groups. Israel says that it introduced the GHF system because Hamas was previously diverting and profiting from aid under the United Nations-led system, though it hasn't provided evidence to show this happening on a systematic basis. Daily reports of death from malnutrition are gathering pace in Gaza. Humanitarian officials say that the territory must be flooded with aid in order to avert a total collapse. Under international law, Israel as the military power occupying Gaza has an obligation to protect civilian life - ensuring people can find food to survive. However Israel has blamed Hamas and aid agencies for the current shortages, while continuing to support the GHF distribution model. "I pray to God they get shut down, they are death traps," says Mary's sister Khawla. "She went to get food for her children but she returned by people carrying her body." Additional reporting by the BBC's freelance Gaza team and BBC Verify's Mohamed Shalaby
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Washington Post
The latest child to starve to death in Gaza weighed less than when she was born
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — A mother pressed a final kiss to what remained of her five-month-old daughter and wept. Esraa Abu Halib's baby now weighed less than when she was born. On a sunny street in shattered Gaza , the bundle containing Zainab Abu Halib represented the latest death from starvation after 21 months of war and Israeli restrictions on aid.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Older Adults Are Sharing The Things That Have Changed For The Better In The Past Two Decades, And Some Of These Never Crossed My Mind
A lot can change in a decade or two, and for many things, it's for the better. Recently, Redditor u/angelbeetle asked older adults of the Reddit community to share what they honestly think have changed for the better within the last two decades, and it's super insightful: 1."Minor surgeries. Many are laparoscopic with smaller incisions and faster recovery times. My kid and I compared our appendectomy scars. Mine isn't really visible anymore, but it was a cut the length of my appendix, complete with stitches. His scar is essentially a dot." —TheRealEkimsnomlas 2."Food transport and availability. Thanks to globalization, I can afford to eat fresh Norwegian salmon and Peruvian blueberries in Bangkok for less than they'd cost in the US." —Own-Animator-7526 3."The percentage of people who smoke cigarettes has decreased." —Imaginary_Shelter_37 4."Online banking is straightforward and convenient (I was a late adopter). Also, attitudes toward sex and gender are generally much better." —Intelligent_Put_3606 5."GPS. I started driving when you had to use a map or ask someone else for directions. MapQuest was a revelation but still required a bit of attention. Now, I can get anywhere in America with turn-by-turn directions from my phone." —professorfunkenpunk 6."Air and water quality almost everywhere has improved." —Turbulent-Name-8349 7."In my My family first got a VCR when I was 7. I have some vague memories from before then, like only having three channels on the TV. But then renting happened after VCR, and the concept of a video store was 'renting a movie is the same cost as a single movie ticket, but now you can bring the family and pause it.' It was pricey, but still held tremendous value. I was 21 when TiVo came out, when you could suddenly record basically any show. When Netflix started streaming, I was 30." "Another subsequent side effect is the rise of prestige TV. Twenty-five years ago, we had The Sopranos, and that was basically it. Now, there's a goddamn arms race on every streaming platform for intense, compelling television. Like, I remember loving Knight Rider as a kid, but trying to rewatch an episode was rough. TV just wasn't designed for people to watch EVERY episode of something, but streaming makes it easy." —supergooduser 8."Availability of random products with the internet. You can buy nearly anything online." —prpslydistracted 9."Car durability. Everyone says, 'They don't build 'em like they used to,' but cars today routinely last 10–15 years. Back in the day, cars were shot after a couple of years and 50,000 miles." —Eastern-Finish-1251 10."Internet speed." —Wizzmer 11."Acceptance of formerly 'nerdy' hobbies like video games, comic books, collecting, being a big fan of a particular piece of media, etc." —AshleyWilliams78 12."Battery-powered tools." —KomplexStatic "IMHO, it's the best current use of lithium. EVs aren't there yet. I think they need fuel cells." —mthockeydad 13."Dentistry. Specifically, pain management." —NansDrivel 14."Engine horsepower and gas mileage have improved." —HuckleCatt1 15."Cancer survival rates." —sbsb27 "For multiple reasons, too: better detection, greater awareness, better medications to combat the cancer and the side effects of the chemo, new classes of drugs with a greater selection within each class, and improved radiation therapy delivery." —TheSlideBoy666 16."General public safety. Despite what the politicians like to scream about, serious crime has been on a decline for many years. I remember what it was like in '60s and '70s. We give up some freedoms for greater safety. It's a trade: camera monitoring, facial identification, DNA, etc. But these trades conceptually give up freedoms, but have a demonstrable effects on safety." —Just_Keep_Asking_Why 17."Mental health. It's still vastly underfunded, and we still don't understand much, but we have made incredible strides in the last 25 years. There are better medications, and there's genetic testing that can quickly make it easier for a psychiatrist to choose the right meds for a patient rather than just trying one, after one, after one. There's a better understanding of the role of abuse and trauma in the personality disorder cluster, and more willingness to consider new and old treatments that actually work for drug-resistant issues." —Late_Resource_1653 "I taught high school until a couple of years ago. Teenagers are far more accepting of differences than they were when I was a teen. There is still unkindness because there are assholes in any population, but still. I was both surprised and gratified at the level of acceptance of cultures, lifestyles, and differences. I sincerely hope this trend continues." —sharoncherylike As someone who remembers having to print out directions from MapQuest, I'm SO glad for GPS and CarPlay. What do you think has genuinely changed for the better within the last two decades? Let us know in the comments, or you can anonymously submit your thoughts using the form below! Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity. Solve the daily Crossword
