Israel kills more than 80 people in Gaza, including dozens of aid seekers
Israeli forces and drones have killed more than 80 Palestinians since dawn, including at least 51 near aid distribution centres, in the latest attacks on desperate people seeking aid in the besieged Gaza Strip, according to medical sources in hospitals.
In Rafah alone, in the south of the enclave, 27 aid seekers were gunned down by the Israeli military on Tuesday.
The overall death toll from Israel's war has risen to 56,077 killed and 131,848 injuries since October 7, 2023.
The killings are the latest in a wave of daily carnage near aid distribution points established late last month by the controversial Israeli and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which the head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNWRA) has labelled a 'death trap'.
Medical sources reported that at least 25 people were killed in an incident on Salah al-Din Street south of Wadi Gaza in central Gaza, according to The Associated Press news agency. More than 140 other people were injured, 62 of them critically.
Footage posted on social media site Instagram, and verified by Al Jazeera's Sanad agency, showed bodies being brought to al-Awda Hospital in the nearby Nuseirat refugee camp.
Similar scenes were reported from the Nasser Medical Complex to the south in Khan Younis, following unverified reports that the Israeli army had targeted people waiting for aid on al-Tina Street.
People approaching an aid point in Gaza City were also killed, Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud reported from the city in the north of the territory, as well as Rafah in the south.
'Casualties were brought to various health facilities, including al-Shifa Hospital [in Gaza City],' he said. 'The emergency ward there turned into a bloodbath, and many died waiting for medical care.'
Witnesses told the AP that Israeli forces had opened fire as people were approaching the aid trucks.
'It was a massacre,' said Ahmed Halawa, reporting that tanks and drones had fired 'even as we were fleeing'.
The Israeli military said it was reviewing reports of casualties from fire by its troops after a group of people approached soldiers in an area near the militarised Netzarim Corridor.
Israel has said that previous shootings near GHF aid sites have been provoked by the approach of 'suspects' towards soldiers.
Witnesses and humanitarian groups have said that many of the shootings took place without warning.The killing of aid seekers has become an almost daily occurrence since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) took over the distribution of food and other vital supplies.
The foundation launched its aid distribution programme in late May after Israel had completely cut off supplies into Gaza for more than two months, prompting warnings of mass famine.
The United Nations has refused to work with the GHF, citing concerns that it prioritises Israeli military objectives over humanitarian needs, and condemned it for its 'weaponisation' of aid.
The GHF distribution sites have been plagued by scenes of chaos and carnage. More than 400 people have been killed and 1,000 wounded by Israeli soldiers since the GHF aid rollout began.
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said on Tuesday that the system for aid distribution in Gaza was 'an abomination'.
'The newly created so-called aid mechanism is an abomination that humiliates and degrades desperate people,' said at a news conference in Berlin. 'It is a death trap costing more lives than it saves.'
In a letter published on Monday, the International Commission of Jurists — a human rights NGO of prominent lawyers and judges — joined 14 other groups in condemning the GHF and calling for 'an end to private militarized humanitarian aid operations in Gaza'.
Philip Grant, executive director of Geneva-based NGO TRIAL International, said GHF's model of militarised and privatised aid delivery 'violates core humanitarian principles'.
He added that those who enabled or profited from the GHF's work faced a 'real risk of prosecution for complicity in war crimes, including the forcible transfer of civilians and the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
39 minutes ago
- Washington Post
At least 34 people killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza as ceasefire prospects inch closer
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — At least 34 people were killed across Gaza by Israeli strikes, health staff say, as Palestinians face a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and ceasefire prospects inch closer. The strikes began late Friday and continued into Saturday morning, among others killing 12 people at the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, which was sheltering displaced people, and eight more living in apartments, according to staff at Shifa hospital where the bodies were brought. Six others were killed in southern Gaza when a strike hit their tent in Muwasi, according to the hospital.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
CVS Health Corporation (CVS) Outpaces Broader Market with Strong 2025 Rally
CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) is one of the Best Dividend Stocks of 2025. A row of shelves in a retail pharmacy, demonstrating the variety of drugs and over-the-counter products. Following a challenging year in 2024, CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) appears to be making progress toward a recovery. The company remains committed to becoming the most trusted healthcare provider in the United States by delivering improved care, value, and service through its integrated and industry-leading operations. The stock has surged by over 50% since the start of 2025. With a strong focus on customer needs, CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) reported positive results across its Health Care Benefits, Health Services, and Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness segments. The company continues working toward its goal of building a healthier future for the 185 million individuals it serves. CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) also updated its full-year 2025 guidance for GAAP diluted earnings per share, adjusted earnings per share, and operating cash flow to reflect strong performance across all business areas. However, the company is maintaining a cautious outlook for the rest of the year due to ongoing elevated cost trends and potential broader economic challenges. CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) has paid regular dividends to shareholders since 1997. The company's quarterly dividend comes in at $0.665 per share for a dividend yield of 3.90%, as of June 26. While we acknowledge the potential of CVS as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: and . Disclosure. None. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Netanyahu denounces report that Israeli soldiers have orders to shoot at Palestinians seeking aid
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense 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. Palestinian 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 any 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. The bodies of eight people who died 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 north 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've been shot at since 6 a.m. up until 10 a.m. 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. More 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 among civilians, because they operate in populated areas. The Israel-Hamas war started following the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage. 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 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. Secretary-General António Guterres also urged a return to the U.N.'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 U.N. reporters Friday. ___ Shurafa reported from Gaza and Khaled from Cairo. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer contributed from the United Nations. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
