Netanyahu denies report alleging Israeli troops ordered to shoot Gaza aid-seekers
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz emphatically rejected a report in the left-leaning Israeli daily Haaretz on Friday, which claimed Israeli soldiers were ordered to shoot at Palestinians approaching aid sites inside Gaza. They called the report's findings 'malicious falsehoods designed to defame' the military.More than 500 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more wounded while seeking food since the newly formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began distributing aid in the territory about a month ago, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.advertisementPalestinian witnesses say Israeli troops have opened fire at crowds on the roads heading toward the sites. Reacting to the Haaretz piece, Israel's military confirmed that it was investigating incidents in which civilians had been harmed while approaching the sites. It rejected the article's allegations 'of deliberate fire toward civilians'.
The foundation, which is backed by an American private contractor, has been distributing food boxes at four locations, mainly in the far south of Gaza, for the past month.'GHF is not aware of these incidents, but these allegations are too grave to ignore, and we therefore call on Israel to investigate them and transparently publish the results in a timely manner,' the group said in a social media post.Palestinians trying to find food have frequently encountered chaos and violence on their way to and on arrival at the aid sites. Tens of thousands are desperate for food after Israel imposed a 2 1/2-month siege on Gaza, blocking all food, water and medicine from entering the territory pending the setup of the GHF sites.advertisementThe bodies of eight people who died on Friday had come to Shifa Hospital from a GHF site in Netzarim, although it was not immediately clear how they died, Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmyiha, the hospital's director, told The Associated Press. A GHF spokesperson challenged the report, saying they did not know of any incidents at or near their sites Friday.Twenty other bodies his hospital received Friday came from airstrikes across northern Gaza, he said.Thousands of Palestinians walk for hours to reach the hubs, moving through Israeli military zones where witnesses say Israeli troops regularly open fire with heavy barrages to control the crowds. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots.Mohammad Fawzi, a displaced man from Rafah, told the AP that he was only able to get empty boxes, not food, from the aid site in the Shakoush area in Rafah when he trekked there early Thursday morning.'We were shot at from 6 am up until 10 am just to get aid and only some people were able to receive it. There are martyrs and injured people. The situation is difficult,' he said.The group Doctors Without Borders on Friday condemned the distribution system as 'a slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid' and called for it to be immediately shut down.advertisementMore than 6,000 people have been killed and more than 20,000 injured in Gaza since the ceasefire collapsed on March 18. Since the war began, more than 56,000 people have been killed and 132,000 injured, according to the health ministry.The Gaza Health Ministry doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants, but has said that women and children make up more than half the 56,000 dead. Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing the militants of hiding amongst civilians, because they operate in populated areas.The Israel-Hamas war started following the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, when some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostages. About 50 of them still remain in captivity in Gaza.The latest deaths include six people killed and 10 wounded in Israeli strikes on a group of citizens near the Martyrs Roundabout in the Bureij Camp in the central Gaza Strip, officials at Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said Friday.The United Nations chief meanwhile urged leaders to show 'political courage' and agree to a ceasefire like the one forged between Israel and Iran.advertisementSecretary-General Antnio Guterres also urged a return to the UN's long-tested distribution system for aid in Gaza, where he said Israeli military operations have created 'a humanitarian crisis of horrific proportions.''The search for food must never be a death sentence,' Guterres stressed to UN reporters Friday.- EndsTune InMust Watch
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[Video] getfittoday Undo ALSO READ: No holding, no swiping: California's tough no touch phone law for drivers, simplified Women Sent to Former Livestock Facility Following the strike, Iranian guards began transferring prisoners from the damaged facility, as per the report. Women were handcuffed and sent to Qarchak, a former livestock facility located 40 miles south of Tehran, according to The Telegraph report. The prison is already under US sanctions for its record of human rights violations, including torture and extrajudicial killings, as reported by The Telegraph. Live Events ALSO READ: Trump claims he spared Khamenei from an ugly death — now wants a thank you from Iran Prisoner Speaks Out From Inside Qarchak One of the women who was moved, Sayeh Seydal, is serving a three-year sentence for social media posts, which were considered unacceptable to the Iranian regime, and had been imprisoned at Evin since October 2024, managed to record a message, smuggled out of the country, describing the terrifying and dire conditions of Qarchak, according to the report. She said, 'The American and Israeli bombing didn't kill us, but the Islamic Republic has brought us to a place where it's practically killing us,' adding, 'They've brought us to a place where humans don't live. It's a gradual death,' as quoted by The Telegraph. Seydal said that she and other women were crammed into a quarantine ward with no privacy or sanitation, calling it "a real hellhole,' according to the report. She shared that, 'The toilets are like outdoor latrines. The showers? Like outdoor showers. The stench of filth has taken over everywhere. Even the water – the water you splash on your face – is salty. The food? It absolutely cannot be eaten. A terrible situation," as quoted in the report. Seydal pointed out that 'The Islamic Republic has brought us to a place where it seems they want to get revenge for Israel and America and just kill us off easily,' quoted The Telegraph. No Windows, No Clean Water, No Dignity Human rights groups have also highlighted the horrible condition of Qarchak, as it does not follow the prison standards, like there is no proper sewage system or access to clean water, as per the report. There are also no windows, and when the iron gates to outdoor areas close at 5pm, inmates stare at walls with only two small holes, 'the size of lentils,' for glimpses of the sky, as reported by The Telegraph. Medical Care is Almost Nonexistent Activists have also revealed that the detention centre is infested with cockroaches, rats, salamanders, lizards, water bugs and venomous tarantulas, according to the report. Qarchak's medical care is also very limited, as just five prisoners per ward are allowed daily medical visits, and while prison authorities claim budget constraints prevent the provision of essential medications, they freely distribute sleeping pills and tranquillisers to keep prisoners sedated, as reported by the Telegraph. FAQs Why were the women moved from Evin prison? After an Israeli airstrike hit Evin, authorities transferred prisoners for safety reasons, but women were sent to Qarchak, a far worse facility. What is Qarchak prison like? It used to be a livestock farm. Now, it's overcrowded, unsanitary, and infested with insects and rodents. Many say it's unfit for humans, as per the report.
