Israeli fire kills at least 23 Palestinians seeking food, Gaza health officials say
forces killed at least 23
Palestinians
seeking food on Sunday in the
Gaza
Strip, according to hospital officials.
Witnesses 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 two 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.
READ MORE
'I couldn't stop and help them because of the bullets,' he said.
Southern Gaza's Nasser Hospital said it had received bodies from near multiple distribution sites, including eight from Teina, about 2.8km from a distribution site in Khan Younis run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – a private US and Israeli-backed contractor that took over aid distribution more than two months ago.
The hospital also received one body from Shakoush, near a different GHF site in Rafah. Another nine were 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, said 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 towards the troops.
Abeer and Fadi Sobh with their children at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Gaza City. Photograph: Jehad Alshrafi/AP
The Gaza health ministry has said 93 children have died of causes related to malnutrition since the war in Gaza started in 2023. Photograph: Jehad Alshrafi/AP
Further north in central Gaza, hospital officials described a similar episode, with Israeli troops opening fire on Sunday morning towards crowds of Palestinians trying to get to GHF's fourth and northernmost distribution point.
'Troops were trying to prevent people from advancing,' one witness said. 'They opened fire and we fled. Some people were shot.'
At least five people were killed and 27 were injured at GHF's site near the Netzarim corridor, Awda Hospital said.
Eyewitnesses seeking food in Gaza have reported similar gunfire attacks in recent days near aid distribution sites, leaving dozens of Palestinians dead.
The
United Nations
reported 859 people were killed near GHF sites from May 27th to July 31st, and hundreds more have been killed along the routes of UN-led food convoys.
The GHF launched in May as Israel sought an alternative to the UN-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 UN has denied it.
[
Palestinian children detained by Israeli forces: 'They put on music and colourful lights and started dancing over us ... They had their feet on our backs'
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]
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 reported fatalities.
Meanwhile, the Gaza ministry of health 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. – AP
Famine unfolding in Gaza: 'Children are eating grass and weeds at the side of the road'
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Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Israeli forces kill at least 27 at food site while minister's al-Aqsa visit causes outrage
At least 27 people were killed by Israeli forces while trying to get food and six others died from starvation or malnutrition in Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian officials said, amid a regional outcry over an Israeli minister's visit to Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site. Witnesses said Israeli forces fired on hungry crowds who were attempting to get food aid from a distribution site run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the south of the territory, with some describing the fire as indiscriminate. 'I couldn't stop and help because of the bullets,' Yousef Abed told the Associated Press after seeing at least three people bleeding on the ground as Israeli forces opened fire. Sunday's killings were the latest in a string of deadly shootings targeting hungry people. At least 1,400 people have been killed while seeking aid since May 27th, most of whom were killed near GHF sites, while others were killed along the routes of aid convoys, the UN said on Friday. The GHF says it only uses pepper spray or fires warning shots to control crowds. READ MORE In total, 119 people were killed in Gaza by Israeli shootings and strikes over the last 24 hours, including those seeking aid, the Gaza health ministry said. The Palestinian Red Crescent said the Israeli military targeted its headquarters in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on Sunday, killing one staffer and wounding three more. Video taken by an employee showed the headquarters in flames after the strike, which had destroyed much of the building. A separate Israeli strike hit a school in Khan Younis that displaced people had been using for shelter, killing at least two people. Gaza's population is growing increasingly desperate as the territory sinks further into famine, which experts say is a product of Israel's continued blockade of aid. Israel has vehemently denied there is a starvation crisis in Gaza and announced expanded aid measures last week, but humanitarians say Israel is still severely restricting the entry of aid. Six people have died of starvation or malnutrition in the past 24 hours, health officials said, bringing the total number who have died from hunger to 175, 93 of whom were children. The pace of starvation deaths surged in July, with more people dying from hunger than in the previous 20 months combined. Humanitarians say a far greater amount of aid needs to enter Gaza to help stabilise the starvation emergency. 'We need the sustainable entry of humanitarian aid to flood Gaza with aid for a relatively long period of time. Patients and hospitals need more food than usual to contribute to their recovery,' said Hisham Mhanna, a spokesperson for the ICRC in Gaza. He said the emergency compounded Gaza's existing crises, which include a devastated healthcare system and the spread of disease. Faced with starvation and a lack of humanitarian supplies, aid groups are struggling to help the population of Gaza. In total, at least 60,839 people have been killed in Gaza during Israel's current military operations, launched after the Hamas-led attack in Israel on October 7th, 2023 which killed about 1,200 people. While Israeli strikes continued in Gaza, Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, led prayers at al-Aqsa mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, provoking outrage among regional powers. Ben-Gvir was among a group of about 1,250 people who prayed at the compound on Sunday under the protection of the Israeli military. The compound, which Jews call the Temple Mount, is a highly revered site – the holiest in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam. The site is under Jordanian custodianship; under a decades-old agreement, Jews are allowed to visit but not pray there. Jordan condemned the visit, which it described as 'an unacceptable provocation'. 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Rights groups have documented widespread torture of Palestinians by Israeli prison guards and soldiers, including sexual abuse, food deprivation and physical abuse. - Guardian
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Israeli fire kills at least 23 Palestinians seeking food, Gaza health officials say
Israeli forces killed at least 23 Palestinians seeking food on Sunday in the Gaza Strip, according to hospital officials. Witnesses 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 two 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. READ MORE 'I couldn't stop and help them because of the bullets,' he said. Southern Gaza's Nasser Hospital said it had received bodies from near multiple distribution sites, including eight from Teina, about 2.8km from a distribution site in Khan Younis run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – a private US and Israeli-backed contractor that took over aid distribution more than two months ago. The hospital also received one body from Shakoush, near a different GHF site in Rafah. Another nine were 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, said 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 towards the troops. Abeer and Fadi Sobh with their children at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Gaza City. Photograph: Jehad Alshrafi/AP The Gaza health ministry has said 93 children have died of causes related to malnutrition since the war in Gaza started in 2023. Photograph: Jehad Alshrafi/AP Further north in central Gaza, hospital officials described a similar episode, with Israeli troops opening fire on Sunday morning towards crowds of Palestinians trying to get to GHF's fourth and northernmost distribution point. 'Troops were trying to prevent people from advancing,' one witness said. 'They opened fire and we fled. Some people were shot.' At least five people were killed and 27 were injured at GHF's site near the Netzarim corridor, Awda Hospital said. Eyewitnesses seeking food in Gaza have reported similar gunfire attacks in recent days near aid distribution sites, leaving dozens of Palestinians dead. The United Nations reported 859 people were killed near GHF sites from May 27th to July 31st, and hundreds more have been killed along the routes of UN-led food convoys. The GHF launched in May as Israel sought an alternative to the UN-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 UN has denied it. [ Palestinian children detained by Israeli forces: 'They put on music and colourful lights and started dancing over us ... They had their feet on our backs' Opens in new window ] 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 reported fatalities. Meanwhile, the Gaza ministry of health 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. – AP Famine unfolding in Gaza: 'Children are eating grass and weeds at the side of the road' Listen | 23:23
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
At least 23 people seeking food killed by Israeli gunfire, health officials say
Israeli forces killed at least 23 Palestinians seeking food on Sunday in the Gaza Strip, according to hospital officials. Witnesses 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 two 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. Abeer and Fadi Sobh with their children at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Gaza City (Jehad Alshrafi/AP) Southern Gaza's Nasser Hospital said it had received bodies from near multiple distribution sites, including eight from Teina, about 1.8 miles from a distribution site in Khan Younis run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – a private US and Israeli-backed contractor that took over aid distribution more than two months ago. The hospital also received one body from Shakoush, near a different GHF site in Rafah. Another nine were 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, said 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 towards the troops. Further north in central Gaza, hospital officials described a similar episode, with Israeli troops opening fire on Sunday morning towards crowds of Palestinians trying to get to GHF's fourth and northern-most distribution point. 'Troops were trying to prevent people from advancing,' one witness said. 'They opened fire and we fled. Some people were shot.' At least five people were killed and 27 were injured at GHF's site near the Netzarim corridor, Awda Hospital said. The Gaza health ministry has said 93 children have died of causes related to malnutrition since the war in Gaza started in 2023 (Jehad Alshrafi/AP) Eyewitnesses seeking food in Gaza have reported similar gunfire attacks in recent days near aid distribution sites, leaving dozens of Palestinians dead. The United Nations reported 859 people were killed near GHF sites from May 27 to July 31, and hundreds more have been killed along the routes of UN-led food convoys. The GHF launched in May as Israel sought an alternative to the UN-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 UN 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 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.
