More than 60,000 people killed in Gaza war, local health officials say
first-come,
first-served food distributed at points located inside Israeli military zones.
Gaza as it was before the war — a tiny but bustling territory with high-rises, universities, and seaside cafes — no longer exists. Entire cities have been reduced to rubble. The highways have been excoriated, exposing the sand beneath. Most of the population has been pushed into the 12 percent of the enclave that Israel has not ordered evacuated, and diseases such as polio and meningitis have emerged.
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'The scale of human suffering and the stripping of human dignity have long exceeded every acceptable standard — both legal and moral,' Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said in a statement Friday. 'Every political hesitation, every attempt at justification of the horrors being committed under international watch will forever be judged as a collective failure to preserve humanity in war.'
In a statement Tuesday, the ministry said 60,034
people had been killed and another 145,870
injured since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 others back to Gaza as hostages.
Since then, the Gaza Health Ministry has provided near-daily updates on casualties from the conflict and released multiple spreadsheets listing the names, ages, and identification numbers of the majority of the dead. Some remains have yet to be identified, health officials say, and an estimate of the number of bodies still under the rubble stands at roughly 10,000, according to Health Ministry and UN figures.
The Israeli military does not provide regular updates for its own assessment of how many Palestinians have been killed. In January, outgoing chief of staff Herzi Halevi said that the Israel Defense Forces had 'eliminated close to 20,000 Hamas operatives.' On Monday, the IDF spokesperson's unit said that 20,000 was the most recent number the military has 'addressed on the record.' The military did not say how it reached that figure.
On its latest spreadsheet released in June, the Gaza Health Ministry recorded at least 1,860 deaths of children under the age of 2 since the start of the war. In more than 2,600 families, all of the immediate family members have been killed, according to Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the ministry's records department.
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Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire in January, described by the US officials who helped negotiate it as a stepping stone to a lasting peace. Over the next two months, the fighting stopped, relief flowed to Gaza, and both Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners were released in choreographed exchanges.
But when the time came to negotiate the second phase of the agreement, which Hamas hoped would see a full withdrawal of Israeli forces, Israel refused to participate and imposed a blockade of all food, aid and fuel to Gaza. About two weeks later, it resumed military operations there.
Talks between Israel and Hamas broke down again last week. President Trump said Friday that Hamas 'didn't want to make' a deal; Hamas said that its latest response through Egyptian and Qatari mediators was close to a US-proposed agreement on how to end the war. Hamas continues to hold about 50 hostages, according to Israeli authorities, roughly 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
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Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
U.S. envoy visits distribution site in Gaza as humanitarian crisis worsens
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff visited southern Gaza on Friday amid international outrage over starvation, shortages and deadly chaos near aid distribution sites. With food scarce and parcels being airdropped, Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee toured one of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's distribution sites in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city. Chapin Fay, the group's spokesperson, said the visit reflected Trump's understanding of the stakes and that 'feeding civilians, not Hamas, must be the priority.' All four of the group's sites are in zones controlled by the Israeli military and have become flashpoints of desperation during their months of operation, with starving people scrambling for scarce aid. Hundreds have been killed by either gunfire or trampling. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and the foundation says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding. Witkoff's visit comes a week after U.S. officials walked away from ceasefire talks in Qatar, blaming Hamas and pledging to seek other ways to rescue Israeli hostages and make Gaza safe. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Witkoff was sent to craft a plan to boost food and aid deliveries, while Trump wrote on social media that the fastest way to end the crisis would be for Hamas to surrender and release hostages. Officials at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza said they have received the bodies of 25 people, including 13 who were killed while trying to get aid, including near the site that U.S. officials visited. GHF denied anyone was killed at their sites on Friday and said most recent incidents had taken place near United Nations aid convoys. The remaining 12 were killed in airstrikes, the officials said. Israel's military did not immediately comment. International organizations have said Gaza has been on the brink of famine for the past two years. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the leading international authority on food crises, said recent developments, including a complete blockade on aid for 2 1/2 months, mean the 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.' Though the flow of aid has resumed, including via airdrops, the amount getting into Gaza remains far lower than what aid organizations say is needed. A security breakdown in the territory has made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving Palestinians, much of the limited aid entering is hoarded and later sold at exorbitant prices. At a Friday press conference in Gaza City, representatives of the territory's influential tribes accused Israel of empowering factions that loot aid sites and implored Witkoff to stay several hours in Gaza to witness life firsthand. 'We want the American envoy to come and live among us in these tents where there is no water, no food and no light,' they said. 'Our children are hungry in the streets.' In a report issued Friday, Human Rights Watch called the current setup 'a flawed, militarized aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.' 'It would be near impossible for Palestinians to follow the instructions issued by GHF, stay safe, and receive aid, particularly in the context of ongoing military operations, Israeli military sanctioned curfews, and frequent GHF messages saying that people should not travel to the sites before the distribution window opens,' the report said. It cited doctors, aid seekers and at least one security contractor. Since the group's operations began in late May, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in shootings by Israeli soldiers while on roads heading to the sites, according to witnesses and health officials. The Israeli military has said its troops have only fired warning shots to control crowds. Responding to the report, Israel's military blamed Hamas for sabotaging the aid distribution system but said it was working to make the routes under its control safer for those traveling to aid sites. GHF did not immediately respond to questions about the report. The group has never allowed journalists to visit their sites and Israel's military has barred reporters from independently entering Gaza throughout the war. International condemnations have mounted as such reports trickle out of Gaza, including from aid organizations that previously oversaw distribution. A July 30 video published Thursday by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs showed an aid convoy driving past a border crossing as gunfire ricocheted off the ground near where crowds congregated. 'We were met on the road by tens of thousands of hungry and desperate people who directly offloaded everything from the backs of our trucks,' said Olga Cherevko, an OCHA staff member. Some of Israel's traditional allies have moved toward recognizing Palestinian statehood hoping to revive prospects of a two-state solution. Germany has thus far refrained from doing so. On a tour in the occupied West Bank, the country's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Germany's foreign minister called on Israel to be open to making peace and said Hamas militants should lay down their weapons and release the hostages. Speaking in the Christian-majority village of Taybeh, Wadephul called Israeli settlements in the West Bank a key obstacle to a two-state solution. He condemned settler violence and destruction, and criticized the Israeli military for failing to do more to prevent the attacks. The frequency of settler attacks in the West Bank have increased since the war between Israel and Hamas began, according to the United Nations. The conflict erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. Shurafa, Metz and Frankel write for the Associated Press. Metz reported from Jerusalem and Frankel from Tel Aviv.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
France to begin air-dropping 40 tonnes of food aid into Gaza
France will begin air-dropping 40 tonnes of food supplies into the Gaza Strip from Jordan on Friday. The territory has been under a full blockade imposed by Israel for several months. 'There will be several flights – four in total – each carrying 10 tonnes of humanitarian cargo,' French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told FranceInfo. 'This is emergency aid, but of course it is not sufficient,' he said, describing the situation as 'revolting'. Barrot added that 'in the first half of July alone, no fewer than 5,000 children under the age of five were admitted for treatment due to acute malnutrition'. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global hunger monitoring body, said this week that a famine scenario was unfolding in the Gaza Strip, and that urgent action was needed to prevent mass deaths. More than 110 aid and human rights groups denounce Gaza 'mass starvation' Barrot on Thursday said the US and Israel-backed aid distribution system had caused a 'bloodbath' and must stop. 'I want to call for the cessation of the activities of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the militarised distribution of humanitarian aid that has generated a bloodbath in distribution lines in Gaza, which is a scandal, which is shameful, and has to stop,' Barrot told reporters after meeting his Cypriot counterpart in Nicosia. Health authorities in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, have reported a growing number of deaths linked to hunger. The Israeli government denies it is pursuing a policy of starvation – an act that could constitute a war crime and a crime against humanity under international law. (with newswires) Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
8 hours ago
- USA Today
I'm a father in Gaza. My children wake in the middle of the night crying for food.
I write these words with the desperation of a father watching his children whimper from hunger as they try to sleep, and the urgency of a nutritionist watching his people grow emaciated and die. I am a father of three young children and a nutritionist from northern Gaza. Where once I advised others on the dangers of malnutrition, I now find myself and my family suffering from starvation and malnutrition imposed by Israel. I have lost 55 pounds since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which a growing number of human rights groups and other experts have concluded is a genocide. I feel exhausted and dizzy all the time. But I have a household to provide for and three children who are equally fatigued from hunger. They are lethargic, unable to concentrate and sleep much of the day. I can barely find flour for my family. With the help of my wife, we divide the bread we bake among the five of us, in small quantities that are not nearly enough to stave off the intense pangs of hunger. I tell the children that this is all we have for today. Meat and fruit are completely unavailable, and we can't afford the $40 that a 2-pound bag of tomatoes costs. We usually eat the bread by itself or sometimes, if we're lucky, with some basic legumes, once or twice a day. In the evening, my children go to sleep hungry. They wake up in the middle of the night with gnawing pain in their stomachs, asking for food. Sometimes they dream that they're eating their favorite dishes. Our 8-year-old, Ayla, dreams about okra stew with rice and sometimes shawarma. The pain often awakens 6-year-old Seela in the middle of the night, crying. I save some of my bread ration in order to have something to offer her, but she refuses. 'Save it for morning, Baba,' she tells me, 'So that my brother Karim can eat it with me. He's hungry, too.' Malnutrition is rampant in Gaza. Those who don't starve will have generational wounds. As a parent, it's heartbreaking to see my children suffer like this, and knowing it will likely have long-lasting consequences for their health and development. And as a nutritionist, I know that my family's experience is a microcosm of the catastrophic level of starvation being experienced throughout Gaza. Extreme malnutrition is now rampant. In addition to blocking almost all food, water and other humanitarian aid from entering since March, the Israeli military has also systematically damaged, destroyed or otherwise rendered unusable the majority of Gaza's food and agricultural infrastructure. Share your opinion: Are you concerned about starvation in Gaza? Should US do more to help? | Opinion Forum More than 150 people have died from malnutrition since the fall of 2023, meeting the criteria for Level 5 famine. About 90 of those who have died of malnutrition are children. If Israel continues to block the entry and distribution of food, thousands more will die or experience irreversible damage to their organs. Those who face the highest risk are the most vulnerable among us: children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with chronic diseases. Opinion: I run a soup kitchen in Gaza. The horrors of starvation here are indescribable. Before the war, I had a private clinic for therapeutic nutrition and weight treatment north of Gaza City, in Beit Lahia, which the Israeli military destroyed in December 2023. When the war started, we were displaced to Rafah in the south, then again several times to other places. In January, during the ceasefire, we returned to Beit Lahia, before being displaced again four months later to Gaza City. We now live here, in a tent close to the beach. I was injured by an Israeli missile while trying to feed my family. All we ask is to live. A few weeks later, I was badly injured when I was hit by shrapnel from an Israeli missile while I was out searching for food for my family. I am still unable to walk due to the complex nature of the injury and nerve damage, which is untreatable due to Israel's destruction of Gaza's health sector. Recently, I was accepted to study for a master's degree in public health at the University of Washington and received a full scholarship. However, I am unable to leave the Gaza Strip to complete my studies in the United States. I now work as part of a team with an American nongovernmental organization providing nutritional support to displaced people. As I make my way back to my tent at the end of each day in my wheelchair, I pass by traumatized, skeletal children. Some beg in the streets. Others search piles of garbage to scavenge what scraps of food they can. Due to decades of Israeli military occupation and blockade, Gaza had a very high rate of poverty and unemployment even before Israel's brutal war began, yet I have never witnessed anything close to this level of desperation. Images that make it to television or newspapers can't even begin to convey our grim reality. Opinion: People are starving in Gaza. Why are we so comfortable just letting that happen? Israel's actions in Gaza have violated all humanitarian norms and agreements, making a mockery of international law and the very notion of a rules-based order. Though the official death toll just surpassed 60,000 people, studies done by The Lancet medical journal and others put the actual death toll at 40% higher, not accounting for those buried under the rubble, or who have died from hunger, disease and lack of access to medical care. Despite the growing horror and outrage globally over Israel's starvation campaign and genocide, the international community, particularly the U.S. government and Israel's other Western backers, continue to refuse to do anything meaningful to pressure Israel to open the land crossings and allow unrestricted entry of food and other aid, issuing occasional statements of condemnation while maintaining the flow of weapons to Israel and diplomatic shielding. I write these words with the desperation of a father watching his children whimper from hunger as they try to sleep. I write them with the urgency of a nutritionist watching his people grow ever more emaciated and die. Every person with humanity – every government with a conscience – must do all in their power to break Israel's cruel and illegal siege. Let Gaza eat. Let our children live. Mohamed Hammoudeh is a nutritionist and father of three sheltering in Gaza City.
