logo
Israel fire kills dozens more aid seekers in Gaza, medics say, as hunger worsens

Israel fire kills dozens more aid seekers in Gaza, medics say, as hunger worsens

Reuters5 days ago
CAIRO, July 20 (Reuters) - At least 67 people were killed by Israeli fire while they waited for U.N. aid trucks in northern Gaza on Sunday, the territory's health ministry said, as Israel issued new evacuation orders for areas packed with displaced Gazans, some of whom began to leave.
The ministry said dozens of people were also wounded in the incident in northern Gaza, in one of the highest reported tolls among repeated recent cases in which aid seekers have been killed, including 36 on Saturday. Six other people were killed near another aid site in the south, it said.
The Israeli military said its troops had fired warning shots towards a crowd of thousands in northern Gaza on Sunday to remove what it said was "an immediate threat".
It said initial findings suggested reported casualty figures were inflated, and it "certainly does not intentionally target humanitarian aid trucks".
It did not immediately comment on the incident in the south.
In total, health authorities said 88 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes across Gaza on Sunday.
After Israel's military dropped leaflets urging people to evacuate from neighbourhoods in central Gaza's Deir al-Balah, residents said Israeli planes struck three houses in the area.
Dozens of families began leaving their homes, carrying some of their belongings. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans have been sheltering in the Deir al-Balah area.
Israel's military said it had not entered the districts subject to the evacuation order during the current conflict and that it was continuing "to operate with great force to destroy the enemy's capabilities and terrorist infrastructure in the area".
Israeli sources have said the reason the army has so far stayed out is because they suspect Hamas might be holding hostages there. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in captivity in Gaza are believed to still be alive.
Hostage families demanded an explanation from the army.
"Can anyone (promise) to us that this decision will not come at the cost of losing our loved ones?" the families said in a statement.
Much of Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland during more than 21 months of war and there are fears of accelerating starvation.
Palestinian health officials said hundreds of people could soon die as hospitals were inundated with patients suffering from dizziness and exhaustion due to the scarcity of food and a collapse in aid deliveries.
"We warn that hundreds of people whose bodies have wasted away are at risk of imminent death due to hunger," the health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said.
The United Nations also said on Sunday that civilians were starving and needed an urgent influx of aid.
Residents said it was becoming impossible to find essential food such as flour. The Gaza health ministry said at least 71 children had died of malnutrition during the war, and 60,000 others were suffering from symptoms of malnutrition.
Later on Sunday, it said 18 people have died of hunger in the past 24 hours.
Food prices have increased well beyond what most of the population of more than two million can afford.
Several people who spoke to Reuters via chat apps said they either had one meal or no meal in the past 24 hours.
"As a father, I wake up in the early morning to look for food, for even a loaf of bread for my five children, but all in vain," said Ziad, a nurse.
"People who didn't die of bombs will die of hunger. We want an end to this war now, a truce, even for two months," he told Reuters.
Others said they felt dizzy walking in the streets and that many fainted as they walked. Fathers leave tents to avoid questions by their children about what to eat.
UNRWA, the U.N. refugee agency dedicated to Palestinians, demanded Israel allow more aid trucks into Gaza, saying it had enough food for the entire population for over three months which was not allowed in.
Israel's military said that it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip as a matter of utmost importance, and works to enable and facilitate its entry in coordination with the international community".
Some Palestinians suggested the move on Deir al-Balah might be an attempt to put pressure on Hamas to make more concessions in long-running ceasefire negotiations.
Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect talks in Doha aimed at reaching a 60-day truce and hostage deal, although there has been no sign of breakthrough.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.
The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 58,000 Palestinians according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Thousands flee as fighting between Thailand and Cambodia continues
Thousands flee as fighting between Thailand and Cambodia continues

Leader Live

time25 minutes ago

  • Leader Live

Thousands flee as fighting between Thailand and Cambodia continues

The UN Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis later on Friday in New York, while Malaysia, which chairs a regional bloc that includes both countries, called for an end to hostilities and offered to mediate. The Health Ministry on Friday said more than 58,000 have fled from villages to temporary shelters in four affected Thai border provinces, while Cambodian authorities said more than 4,000 people have evacuated from areas near the border. The fighting has killed at least 14 people in Thailand, while Cambodia confirmed its first fatality on Friday. Tensions over a disputed border area erupted into fighting after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers on Wednesday. The Thai military reported clashes early on Friday in multiple areas, including along the border at Chong Bok and Phu Makhuea in Thailand's Ubon Ratchathani province; at Phanom Dong Rak in Surin province; and near the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple. Associated Press reporters near the border could hear the sounds of artillery from early morning hours. The Thai army said Cambodian forces had used heavy artillery and Russian-made BM-21 rocket launchers, prompting what Thai officials described as 'appropriate supporting fire' in return. Thailand said one soldier and 13 civilians were killed, including children, while 15 soldiers and 30 civilians were wounded. Cambodia's chief official in Oddar Meanchey province, General Khov Ly, said a man died instantly on Thursday after a Thai rocket hit a Buddhist pagoda where he was hiding. At least four civilians were also wounded in Thursday's fighting there. As the fighting intensified, villagers on both sides have been caught in the crossfire, leading many to flee. About 600 people took shelter at a gymnasium in a university in Surin, Thailand, about 50 miles from the border. Evacuees sat in groups, on mats and blankets, and queued for food and drinks. Across the border in Cambodia, villages on the outskirts of Oddar Meanchey province were largely deserted. Homes stood locked, while chickens and dogs roamed outside. Some villagers earlier dug holes to create makeshift underground bunkers, covering them with wood, tarpaulin and zinc sheets to shield themselves from shelling. Families with children were seen packing their belongings on home-made tractors to evacuate, though a few men refused to leave.

Thousands flee as fighting between Thailand and Cambodia continues
Thousands flee as fighting between Thailand and Cambodia continues

Glasgow Times

time25 minutes ago

  • Glasgow Times

Thousands flee as fighting between Thailand and Cambodia continues

The UN Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis later on Friday in New York, while Malaysia, which chairs a regional bloc that includes both countries, called for an end to hostilities and offered to mediate. The Health Ministry on Friday said more than 58,000 have fled from villages to temporary shelters in four affected Thai border provinces, while Cambodian authorities said more than 4,000 people have evacuated from areas near the border. The fighting has killed at least 14 people in Thailand, while Cambodia confirmed its first fatality on Friday. A woman fleeing the fighting holds her cat as she shelters at an evacuation centre in Surin province, Thailand (Sakchai Lalit/AP) Tensions over a disputed border area erupted into fighting after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers on Wednesday. The Thai military reported clashes early on Friday in multiple areas, including along the border at Chong Bok and Phu Makhuea in Thailand's Ubon Ratchathani province; at Phanom Dong Rak in Surin province; and near the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple. Associated Press reporters near the border could hear the sounds of artillery from early morning hours. The Thai army said Cambodian forces had used heavy artillery and Russian-made BM-21 rocket launchers, prompting what Thai officials described as 'appropriate supporting fire' in return. Thailand said one soldier and 13 civilians were killed, including children, while 15 soldiers and 30 civilians were wounded. Cambodia's chief official in Oddar Meanchey province, General Khov Ly, said a man died instantly on Thursday after a Thai rocket hit a Buddhist pagoda where he was hiding. At least four civilians were also wounded in Thursday's fighting there. As the fighting intensified, villagers on both sides have been caught in the crossfire, leading many to flee. About 600 people took shelter at a gymnasium in a university in Surin, Thailand, about 50 miles from the border. Evacuees sat in groups, on mats and blankets, and queued for food and drinks. Across the border in Cambodia, villages on the outskirts of Oddar Meanchey province were largely deserted. Homes stood locked, while chickens and dogs roamed outside. Some villagers earlier dug holes to create makeshift underground bunkers, covering them with wood, tarpaulin and zinc sheets to shield themselves from shelling. Families with children were seen packing their belongings on home-made tractors to evacuate, though a few men refused to leave.

Nations who fail to curb fossil fuels could be ordered to pay reparations, top UN court rules
Nations who fail to curb fossil fuels could be ordered to pay reparations, top UN court rules

The Guardian

time31 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Nations who fail to curb fossil fuels could be ordered to pay reparations, top UN court rules

States must tackle fossil fuels, the world's top court has ruled, and failing to prevent harm to the climate could result in them being ordered to pay reparations. In a landmark advisory opinion published on Wednesday, the international court of justice (ICJ) said countries must prevent harm to the climate system and that failing to do so could result in their having to pay compensation and make other forms of restitution. Presenting the 133-page document to a packed court at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the ICJ president, Yūji Iwasawa, said climate breakdown had severe and far-reaching consequences which affected natural ecosystems and people. 'These consequences underscore an urgent existential threat,' he said. The unanimous opinion covers a wide range of matters under international law. It says states are liable for all kinds of activities that harm the climate, but it takes explicit aim at fossil fuels. It says that a state's failure to take appropriate action to protect the climate system from greenhouse gas emissions, including through the production and consumption of fossil fuels, the granting of fossil fuel exploration licences or the provision of fossil fuel subsidies, 'may constitute an international wrongful act which is attributable to that state'. Climate campaigners and representatives of vulnerable countries were delighted with the outcome. Speaking outside the court, Vanuatu's minister for climate change, Ralph Regenvanu, said it was a milestone moment for climate justice. 'It has confirmed what vulnerable nations have been saying and have known for so long,' he said. 'That states do have legal obligations to act on climate change.' He said the document would be a vital tool in upcoming climate negotiations and was likely to inspire new lawsuits. Advisory opinions are technically non-binding but are considered authoritative because they summarise existing law rather than create laws. Harj Narulla, a barrister specialising in climate litigation and counsel for Solomon Islands in the case, said the ICJ laid out the possibility of big emitters being successfully sued. 'These reparations involve restitution – such as rebuilding destroyed infrastructure and restoring ecosystems – and also monetary compensation,' he said. Coal, oil and gas are the main cause of anthropogenic climate breakdown, but there was no mention of fossil fuels in the main text of the Paris agreement in 2015. It was not until 2023 that countries said they would 'transition away' from them, and even that weaker pledge was downgraded by some governments to optional. The court also said states were legally liable for the actions of the private sector and must regulate corporate activities that contributed to the climate crisis. The UN instructed the ICJ to produce this document in 2023 after years of campaigning by a group of Pacific island law students and diplomacy led by the Pacific island state of Vanuatu. Vishal Prasad, one of the law students that lobbied the government of Vanuatu to bring the case to the ICJ, said: 'This advisory opinion is a tool for climate justice. And boy, has the ICJ given us a strong tool to carry on the fight for climate justice.' UN secretary-general António Guterres hailed the opinion and said it affirms that the Paris climate agreement goal needs to be the basis of all climate policies. 'This is a victory for our planet, for climate justice, and for the power of young people to make a difference,' he said. 'The world must respond.' It was the largest case the court has ever heard. During a two-week hearing in The Hague in December, representatives of vulnerable states told a panel of 15 judges that a handful of countries should be held legally responsible for the ongoing impacts of the climate crisis. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion The world's top greenhouse gas emitters denied they had any obligations beyond the UN framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC) and the 2015 Paris agreement. The court resoundingly rejected that argument, saying a range of other treaties applied, including the UN convention on the law of the sea, the Vienna convention for the protection of the ozone layer, the Montreal protocol, the convention on biological diversity and the UN convention to combat desertification. Customary international law also applied, it said, including principles of sustainable development, common but differentiated responsibilities, equity, intergenerational equity and the precautionary principle. States also had a duty to work together to protect the climate, the court said, because uncoordinated action 'may not lead to a meaningful result'. The court said a clean, healthy and sustainable environment was a precondition for exercising many human rights, such as the right to life, the right to health and the right to an adequate standard of living, including access to water, food and housing. The ICJ took aim at countries that are not part of climate change treaties, saying they still had to show that their climate policies and practices were consistent with other parts of international law. Donald Trump signed an order earlier this year to withdraw the US from the Paris agreement for the second time, and other rightwing leaders have threatened to do so as well. 'As always, President Trump and the entire administration is committed to putting America first and prioritising the interests of everyday Americans,' White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told Reuters in response to the opinion. The fact that the climate crisis was a global problem did not absolve individual states of responsibility, the court said, and those that have been harmed could theoretically bring climate-related legal claims against those that caused it. It may be more difficult to make a causal link than in the case of local pollution, but the court said it was not impossible and would be strengthened by existing science. Courts could order reparations, the ICJ said, including the restoration of infrastructure and ecosystems. In cases where the damage is irreparable, compensation may be due. The ICJ is the third of four top courts to publish such a document on the climate crisis. The inter-American court of human rights (IACHR) concluded earlier this month that there was a human right to a healthy climate, and the IACHR and the international tribunal for the law of the sea said states had a legal responsibility to control greenhouse gases. The African court on human and people's rights has only just begun the process. Of all these, the ICJ has the widest jurisdiction and the role of harmonising and integrating international law. Vanuatu now intends to take the document to the UN general assembly to seek a resolution affirming its findings.

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