Gaza: 85 Palestinians seeking aid allegedly killed by Israeli forces
The largest toll was reported from the northern part of the besieged Palestinian enclave, where at least 79 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel, Zaher al-Waheidi, an official from Gaza's health ministry told the news agency.
The United Nations' World Food Programme said that 25 trucks with aid for 'starving communities' had entered through the crossing when it encountered massive crowds. 'As the convoy approached, the surrounding crowd came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire,' it said on X.
An unidentified United Nations official also told AP that Israeli forces opened fire towards crowds who tried to take food from the convoy.
The World Food Programme said that it was concerned and saddened by the killings.
'These people were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation,' it added. 'This terrible incident underscores the increasingly dangerous conditions under which humanitarian operations are forced to be conducted in Gaza.'
The killing also came despite assurances from Israeli authorities that humanitarian operational conditions would improve, including that armed forces will not be present nor engage at any stage along humanitarian convoy routes, the organisation said.
On its part, the Israeli military said its soldiers shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat and added that it was aware of some casualties, AP reported.
However, it claimed that the toll reported by the officials in Gaza was far higher than what its initial investigation found. The military also accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of creating chaos.
Apart from northern Gaza, Al-Waheidi also said that Israeli gunfire killed another six Palestinians in the Shakoush area, the news agency reported. This was hundreds of meters north of a hub of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a United States and Israel-backed group, in Rafah, he added.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation claimed that it was not aware of any such incident near its site.
Additionally, seven Palestinians, including a five-year-old boy, were killed while sheltering in tents in Khan Younis, AP quoted the Kuwait Specialized Field Hospital as saying.
Israel's military offensive in Gaza began in October 2023 after Hamas killed 1,200 persons during its incursion into southern Israel and took hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza since then, leaving more than 57,000 persons dead.
Tel Aviv has also enforced a severe blockade on humanitarian aid, which United Nations officials say has brought the population to the verge of famine.
On Sunday, the World Food Programme reiterated that Gaza's hunger crisis had reached 'new levels of desperation', adding that residents of the enclave were dying due to a lack of humanitarian assistance.
It added that malnutrition was surging, with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment.
'Nearly one person in three is not eating for days,' the organisation said. 'Only a massive scale-up in food aid distributions can stabilise this spiralling situation, calm anxieties and rebuild the trust within communities that more food is coming.'
The developments also come amid evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military for parts of central Gaza, AP reported. This is one of the few areas where it has rarely operated with ground troops and where many international organisations trying to distribute aid are located.
Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar. Earlier, efforts to reinstate a brief ceasefire that took effect in January had stalled due to major disagreements between Hamas and Israel.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Did Bradford Gille, Traverse City Walmart stabbing suspect, tweet about Hitler and Israel-Palestine in 2023?
Bradford James Gille was identified as the suspect who injured at least 11 people at the Traverse City, Michigan Walmart on Saturday. The Afton local, 42, is expected to face terrorism and multiple assault charges, authorities said Sunday. Now, his alleged social media posts about Hitler and the Israel-Palestine conflict have surfaced on X. Bradford Gille was identified as the Michigan Walmart stabbing suspect(X) We found an X account named Bradford James Gille (@BradfordGille) with tweets about Palestine and Hitler dating back to 2022-2023. However, at this time, Hindustan Times cannot verify if the account is linked to the Michigan stabbing suspect. Read More: Traverse City Walmart stabbing suspect confronted by shoppers; dramatic video of takedown emerges 'If Israel became a country by killing Palestinians and stealing their land when did that happen because hasn't that land always been God's dwelling place?' the latest tweet on the account reads. The user posted about Hitler in 2022. Along with the German dictator's photo, they wrote: 'There were 10 dreams and 1 possible flashback I had about me being in WW2. This photograph shows Hitler greeting one of his soldiers who looks like me from what I can still tell being in the shade and if he is I pray that I was one of the soldiers who helped the Jews escape.' The 42-year-old was identified during a Grand Traverse County press conference on Sunday. Officials revealed that Gille was detained by several shoppers at the Walmart's parking lot before officers arrested him. Sheriff Michael Shea said a motive behind the attack remains unclear. Gille had 'prior assaultive incidents as well as controlled substance violations'. Read More: Walmart stabbing suspect slashed shopper 'in the eye,' witnesses recount horrifying scene in Michigan 'I cannot commend everyone that was involved enough. When you stop and look from the time of call to the time of actual custody, the individual was detained within one minute,' Shea said at a press conference. 'That is remarkable. When you look at it in that mitigated Lord knows how many additional victims.' Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg told reporters that the terrorism charge will be brought. 'It's something that is done not to individual people, not to those individual victims — obviously they are most affected — but it is we believe in some and some ways done to affect the entire community, to put fear in the entire community and to change how maybe we operate on a daily basis,' Moeggenberg said. "So that is why we are looking at that terrorism charge." Shea said the 11 victims were both men and women and they ranged in age from 29 to 84 and included one Walmart employee. All the victims are expected to survive. (With AP inputs)
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Israel will have to make decision, says Trump as Gaza crisis worsens
Amid the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza and the breakdown of delicate negotiations, US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that Israel would have to make a critical decision regarding the ongoing war in Gaza. Speaking to reporters in Scotland, Trump acknowledged the collapse of the ceasefire and hostage-release talks with Hamas had complicated the path ahead."They don't want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision," Trump said of the hostages held by Palestinian militants. However, he declined to reveal his personal view on Israel's next also accused Hamas of stealing food supplies meant for Gaza and selling them, contradicting an internal US government report. According to news agency Reuters, US officials found no proof of theft of humanitarian aid by Hamas. Despite tensions, Trump pledged increased humanitarian aid to Gaza, but also called on other countries, particularly in Europe, to share the responsibility. "We're giving a lot of money, a lot of food, a lot of everything," Trump said. "If we weren't there, I think people would have starved, frankly. They would have starved."Trump seemed frustrated over what he called a lack of gratitude from European nations. "No other country gave anything," he said. "It makes you feel a little bad when you do that, and, you know, you have other countries not giving anything Nobody gave but us. And nobody said, Gee, thank you very much."The president also mentioned discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the CONSIDERS ALTERNATIVE MEASURESThe deadlock over ceasefire and hostage negotiations has hardened positions. Netanyahu said that Israel is considering "alternative" measures to bring home hostages and dismantle Hamas's control of backed Netanyahu, saying, "Hamas really didn't want to make a deal. I think they want to die And it got to be to a point where you're going to have to finish the job." He predicted that Hamas leaders would be "hunted down" following the collapse of CRISIS WORSENS AMID BLOODSHEDThe humanitarian situation in Gaza has deteriorated sharply in the past few months. Gaza's health ministry reported that more than 130 people, including 87 children, have died from malnutrition and hunger since the start of Israel's assault. Over the past 24 hours alone, six new deaths related to starvation have been of starvation and suffering have sparked alarm. Former President Barack Obama condemned the blockade on aid supplies, writing on X, "There is no justification for keeping food and water away from civilian families,' and calling for urgent action 'to prevent the travesty of innocent people dying of preventable starvation."advertisementOver 20 Democratic US senators also sent a letter to the Trump administration urging it to end funding for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation -- a new private aid group -- and to restore support for the UN's aid distribution. The United Nations claims Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people near GHF's food distribution current bloodshed traces back to October 2023, when Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking approximately 250 hostages, according to Israeli response, Israel's military assault on Gaza has resulted in nearly 60,000 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza's health ministry. The assault has displaced the almost entire population of Gaza, devastated infrastructure, and led to a severe hunger crisis.- EndsWith inputs from AgenciesTune InMust Watch
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Trump on Gaza talks collapse and Hamas hostage standoff: ‘I know what I'd do... but Israel is going to make a decision'
US President Donald Trump on Sunday said Israel is now facing a critical moment as ceasefire negotiations with Hamas have broken down. He emphasised that the Israeli government will soon have to 'make a decision' on how to proceed in Gaza. 'They [Hamas] don't want to give [the hostages] back,' Trump told reporters in Scotland. 'And so Israel is going to have to make a decision.' Trump added: 'I know what I'd do, but I don't think it's appropriate that I say. But Israel is going to make a decision.' The President also highlighted ongoing US aid efforts to Gaza, lamenting the lack of international recognition. 'We gave $60 million two weeks ago for food, for Gaza,' Trump said. 'And nobody acknowledged it, nobody talks about it. It makes you feel a little bad when you do that, and you have other countries not giving anything.' Trump said some of his own supporters criticised him for providing aid to Palestinians, but he defended the move. 'There is a humanitarian reason for doing it,' he said. 'Will I do more aid? Yeah. The US is going to do more aid for Gaza but we would like to have other countries participate.' Trump claimed that without American assistance, conditions in Gaza would have deteriorated further. 'If we weren't there, I think people would have starved, frankly,' he said. 'They would have starved and it's not like they're eating well.' Trump called on other nations to contribute to humanitarian efforts in Gaza and expressed frustration at the lack of acknowledgment from the international community. 'It would be nice to at least have a 'thank you,'' he said. Trump's comments come as Israel faces growing criticism over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Over the weekend, Israel approved humanitarian airdrops and announced plans to establish corridors for United Nations convoys to distribute supplies. Earlier ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas collapsed last week, leaving the future of hostages and regional stability uncertain.
