Pope condemns ‘barbarity' of Gaza war as 85 more people are killed queueing for food

Irish Independent

2 days ago

At least 85 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach food at locations across Gaza, the Health Ministry said, on the deadliest day yet for aid-seekers in 21 months of war.
'I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,' Pope Leo XIV said during an address at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome.
'I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law, as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations.'
Meanwhile, there was new alarm among Palestinians as Israel's military issued immediate evacuation orders for parts of central Gaza, one of the few areas it has rarely operated with ground troops and where many international organisations trying to distribute aid are located.
The largest death toll in yesterday's attacks on aid queues was in devastated northern Gaza, where living conditions are especially dire. At least 79 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel, said Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Health Ministry's records department. The UN World Food Programme said 25 trucks with aid had entered for 'starving communities' when it encountered massive crowds.
A UN official said Israeli forces opened fire toward crowds who tried to take food from the convoy. Footage taken by the UN showed Palestinian men running as automatic gunfire was heard.
'Suddenly, tanks surrounded us and trapped us as gunshots and strikes rained down. We were trapped for around two hours,' said Ehab Al-Zei, who had been waiting for flour and said he hadn't eaten bread in 15 days. He spoke over the din of people carrying the dead and wounded. 'I will never go back again. Let us die of hunger, it's better.'
Nafiz Al-Najjar, who was injured, said tanks and drones targeted people 'randomly' and he saw his cousin and others shot dead.
Israel's military said soldiers shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat, and it was aware of some casualties. But it said the numbers reported by officials in Gaza were far higher than its initial investigation found. It accused Hamas militants of creating chaos.
More than 150 people were wounded, some in critical condition, hospitals said.
Mr Al-Waheidi said another six Palestinians were killed in the Shakoush area, hundreds of metres north of a hub of the recently created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US- and Israel-backed group, in the southern city of Rafah. Witnesses and health workers say several hundred people have been killed by Israeli fire while trying to access the group's aid-distribution sites.
Separately, seven Palestinians were killed while sheltering in tents in Khan Younis in the south, including a five-year-old boy, according to the Kuwait Specialised Field Hospital, which received the casualties.
The new evacuation orders cut access between the central city of Deir al-Balah and Rafah and Khan Younis in the narrow territory. The military also reiterated evacuation orders for northern Gaza.
Palestinians were startled to see the orders for parts of Deir al-Balah, a relative haven. 'All of Rafah is under evacuation, and now you have decided that half of Deir al-Balah is under evacuation. Where will we move to?' asked resident Hassan Abu Azab, as others piled everything from bedding to live ducks onto carts and other vehicles. Smoke rose in the distance, with blasts and the sound of a siren.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee called for people to head to Muwasi, a desolate tent camp with little infrastructure on Gaza's southern coast that Tel Aviv has designated a humanitarian zone.
The announcement came as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that expanding Israel's military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas in negotiations.
Earlier this month, Israel's military said it controlled more than 65pc of Gaza.
Gaza's population of more than two million Palestinians is in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, now relying largely on the limited aid allowed into the territory. Many people have been displaced multiple times.
Ambulances in front of three major hospitals in Gaza sounded their alarms simultaneously yesterday in an urgent appeal as hunger grows. The Health Ministry posted pictures on social media of doctors holding signs about malnourished children and the lack of medication.