At least 36 killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid in Gaza, hospital says
GAZA - At least 36 people were killed by Israeli fire while they were on their way to an aid distribution site in Gaza at dawn on Saturday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots at suspects who approached its troops after they did not heed calls to stop, about a kilometre away from an aid distribution site that was not active at the time.
Gaza resident Mohammed al-Khalidi said he was in the group approaching the site and heard no warnings before the firing began.
"We thought they came out to organise us so we can get aid, suddenly (I) saw the jeeps coming from one side, and the tanks from the other and started shooting at us," he said.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed group which runs the aid site, said there were no incidents or fatalities there on Saturday and that it has repeatedly warned people not to travel to its distribution points in the dark.
"The reported IDF (Israel Defence Forces) activity resulting in fatalities occurred hours before our sites opened and our understanding is most of the casualties occurred several kilometres away from the nearest GHF site," it said.
The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Mindef, SAF units among those dealing with attack on S'pore's critical information infrastructure
Asia How China's growing cyber-hacking capabilities have raised alarm around the world
Asia At least 34 killed as tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam's Halong Bay
Singapore 1 dead, 1 injured after dispute between neighbours at Yishun HDB block
Singapore Vessels from Navy, SCDF and MPA to debut at Marina Bay in NDP maritime display
Asia Autogate glitch at Malaysia's major checkpoints causes chaos for S'porean and foreign travellers
Asia SIA, Scoot, Cathay Pacific cancel flights as typhoon nears Hong Kong
Singapore A deadly cocktail: Easy access, lax attitudes driving Kpod scourge in S'pore
"NO MORE TIME"
GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a U.N.-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the accusation.
The U.N. has called the GHF's model unsafe and a breach of humanitarian impartiality standards, which GHF denies.
On Tuesday, the U.N. rights office in Geneva said it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks in the vicinity of aid sites and food convoys in Gaza - the majority of them close to GHF distribution points.
Most of those deaths were caused by gunfire that locals have blamed on the Israeli military. The military has acknowledged that civilians were harmed, saying that Israeli forces had been issued new instructions with "lessons learned".
At least 50 more people were killed in other Israeli attacks across Gaza on Saturday, health officials said, including one strike that killed the head of the Hamas-run police force in Nuseirat in central Gaza and 11 of his family members.
The Israeli military said that it had struck militants' weapon depots and sniping posts in a few locations in the enclave.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.
The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed around 58,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis, leaving much of the territory in ruins.
Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect talks in Doha aimed at reaching a U.S.-proposed 60-day ceasefire and a hostage deal mediated by Egypt and Qatar, though there has been no sign of any imminent breakthrough.
At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are believed to still be alive. Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan was kidnapped from his kibbutz home and is held by Hamas, urged Israel's leaders to make a deal with the militant group.
"An entire people wants to bring all 50 hostages home and end the war," Zangauker said in a statement outside Israel's defence headquarters in Tel Aviv.
"My Matan is alone in the tunnels," she said, "He has no more time." REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Russian TV shows teenagers at 'world's biggest drone factory' making arms to hit Ukraine
FILE PHOTO: An armoured truck transports Russia's Geran unmanned comabt aerial vehicles before a military parade on Victory Day, marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2025. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/File Photo MOSCOW - A Russian factory, described by its director as the world's biggest maker of strike drones, has been shown on the Russian army's TV channel with teenagers helping make kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine. The footage, in a documentary film broadcast by the Zvezda channel on Sunday, showed hundreds of large black completed Geran-2 suicide drones in rows inside the secretive facility, which has been targeted by Ukrainian long-range drones. Ukraine says Russia has used the Geran drones to terrorise and kill civilians in locations including the capital Kyiv, where residents often shelter in metro stations during attacks. Russia says its drone and missile strikes target only military or military-related targets and denies deliberately targeting civilians, more than 13,000 of whom have been killed in Ukraine since the war began in 2022, the United Nations says. Zvezda said the Alabuga factory, in Russia's Tatarstan region, invited school pupils to study at a college the factory runs nearby once they had completed ninth grade (aged 14-15) so that they could study drone manufacturing there and then work at the factory when they had finished college. Young workers, including teenagers, were shown with their faces blurred out, studying computer screens or making and testing individual components, or assembling drones. Timur Shagivaleyev, the factory's general director, did not disclose detailed production figures. But he told Zvezda the initial plan had been to produce "several thousand Geran-2 drones" and that the factory was now producing nine times more than that. He did not say what period the figures referred to. A Russian think tank close to the government last month suggested Russia's drone production had jumped by 16.9% in May compared to the previous month after President Vladimir Putin called for output to be stepped up. Putin said in April that more than 1.5 million drones of various types had been produced last year, but that Russian troops fighting on the front line in Ukraine needed more. HUGE-SCALE USE OF DRONES Both sides have deployed drones on a huge scale, using them to spot and hit targets not only on the battlefield but way beyond the front lines. Zvezda said the Alabuga factory had its own drone testing ground and showed rows of parked U.S. RAM pickup trucks carrying Geran-2 drones. It also showed one of them launching a drone. In May, Russia paraded combat drones that its forces use in the war in Ukraine on Moscow's Red Square in what state TV said was a first. The design of the Geran-2, which has a known range of at least 1,500 km (932 miles), originated in Iran where an earlier version was made. They have been used to target Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Zvezda set the documentary to upbeat music, part of its mission to keep Russians interested in and supportive of the war. The factory is part of the so-called Alabuga Special Economic Zone, which is near the town of Yelabuga, which is over 1,000 km from the border with Ukraine. REUTERS
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Kenya rights activist freed on bail, charged with unlawful possession of ammunition
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Kenyan human rights activist Boniface Mwangi stands inside a steel caged dock after he was charged with unlawful possession of ammunition over his alleged role in deadly anti-government protests in June, at the Kahawa Law Courts in Kiambu County, Kenya July 21, 2025. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi NAIROBI - Kenyan human rights activist Boniface Mwangi, who has played a prominent role in anti-government protests, was freed on bail on Monday after being charged with possession of teargas canisters and a single rifle round found in his home. Kenyan activists have been on edge over the arrests of government critics since a political blogger died in custody in June, triggering weeks of violent demonstrations in which around 50 people were killed. Police had arrested Mwangi, 42, on Saturday and said they had recovered unused teargas canisters, a "7.62mm blank round", two mobile phones, a laptop and notebooks. Mwangi was "found in possession of noxious substances to wit three teargas canisters without lawful authority," according to a charge sheet seen by Reuters. He was also accused of illegal possession of a single round of blank ammunition. The courtroom was packed with hundreds of activists, some wearing Kenyan flags. "They have no evidence," Mwangi told reporters, describing his prosecution as "a big shame". His lawyer told Reuters he was grateful to the court for agreeing to release Mwangi on bail. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia At least 19 killed as Bangladesh air force plane crashes into college campus Singapore Subsidies and grants for some 20,000 people miscalculated due to processing issue: MOH Singapore 2 workers stranded on gondola dangling outside Raffles City Tower rescued by SCDF Business Why Singapore and its businesses stand to lose with US tariffs on the region Singapore New research institute will grow S'pore's talent in nuclear energy, safety Singapore NTU introduces compulsory cadaver dissection classes for medical students from 2026 Singapore Fine, driving ban for bus driver who hit lorry, causing fractures to passenger and injuring 16 others Singapore Jail for man who conspired with another to bribe MOH agency employee with $18k Paris trip Mwangi, who once ran for parliament on an anti-corruption platform, has earned a reputation for speaking out against human rights violations in Kenya and abroad. He was expelled from neighbouring Tanzania in May, where he had travelled to observe a hearing in a treason case against an opposition figure. Last month hundreds of Kenyans took to the streets to protest against the death in police custody of political blogger Albert Ojwang. Police initially implied that Ojwang had died by suicide but later apologised after an autopsy found that his injuries pointed to assault as the cause of death. The demonstrations over Ojwang's death reignited protests that had erupted last year over the cost of living and alleged police brutality and corruption. REUTERS
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
France welcomes release of Franco-American national held in Venezuela
Find out what's new on ST website and app. PARIS - France on Monday welcomed the release of Lucas Hunter, a Franco-American national, who has been detained in Venezuela since January, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday. "France applauds the efforts of the U.S State Department to secure his release," it said. Hunter, 37, was among 10 Americans detained in Venezuela, whose release was announced by U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday. The release was part of a coordinated prisoner exchange, with El Salvador's government sending detained Venezuelans home in exchange for the return to the U.S. of 10 Americans held in Venezuela. REUTERS
