WHO asks more countries to accept Gaza patients
'Today, WHO led the medical evacuation of 35 patients, mostly children, from Gaza to Jordan, accompanied by 72 family members,' the UN health agency's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
'We are grateful to the government of Jordan for its continued support and for providing specialised care to critically ill patients.
'More than 10,000 people in Gaza still need medical evacuation. We urge more countries to step forward to accept patients for medical evacuations -- lives depend on it. There are many more waiting.'
The agency has long called for expanded medical corridors, including the full resumption of the pre-war traditional referral pathway to hospitals in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
It has also said that at current rates, it would take years to evacuate all Gaza patients needing treatment.
The WHO says that in Gaza, airstrikes and a lack of medical supplies, food, water and fuel have 'virtually depleted' the under-resourced health system, with many hospitals out of operation and others barely functioning.
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed 58,573 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
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CTV News
6 hours ago
- CTV News
Israel begins a limited pause in fighting in 3 Gaza areas as concerns over hunger mount
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The Israeli military on Sunday began a limited pause in fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day, part of a series of steps launched as concerns over surging hunger in the territory mount and as Israel faces a wave of international criticism over its conduct in the 21-month war. The military said it would begin a 'tactical pause' in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi, three areas of the territory with large populations, to 'increase the scale of humanitarian aid' entering the territory. The pause begins every day at 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time until further notice, starting Sunday. The military also said that it would put in place secure routes for aid delivery and that it carried out aid airdrops into Gaza, which included packages of aid with flour, sugar and canned food. Food experts have warned for months of the risk of famine in Gaza, where Israel has restricted aid because it says Hamas siphons off goods to help bolster its rule, without providing evidence for that claim. Images emerging from Gaza in recent days of emaciated children have fanned global criticism of Israel, including by close allies, who have called for an end to the war and the humanitarian catastrophe it has spawned. The United Nations' food agency welcomed the steps to ease aid restrictions, but said a broader ceasefire was needed to ensure goods reached everyone in need in Gaza. Israel said the new measures were taking place while it continues its offensive against Hamas in other areas. Ahead of the pause, health officials in Gaza said at least 27 Palestinians were killed in separate strikes. 'This (humanitarian) truce will mean nothing if it doesn't turn into a real opportunity to save lives,' said Dr. Muneer al-Boursh, director general of Gaza's Health Ministry, who called for a flood of medical supplies and other goods to help treat child malnutrition. 'Every delay is measured by another funeral.' Israel has restricted aid to Gaza throughout the war The local pause in fighting came days after ceasefire efforts between Israel and Hamas appeared to be in doubt. On Friday, Israel and the U.S. recalled their negotiating teams, blaming Hamas, and Israel said it was considering 'alternative options' to ceasefire talks with the militant group. Israel says it is prepared to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, something the group has refused to agree to. Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawi said that Israel's change of tack on the humanitarian crisis amounted to an acknowledgement that there were starving Palestinians in Gaza and that the move was meant to improve its international standing and not save lives. He said that Israel 'will not escape punishment and will inevitably pay the price for these criminal practices.' After ending the latest ceasefire in March, Israel cut off the entry of food, medicine, fuel and other supplies completely to Gaza for 2 1/2 months, saying it aimed to pressure Hamas to release hostages. Under international pressure, Israel slightly eased the blockade in May. Since then, it has allowed in around 4,500 trucks for the UN and other aid groups to distribute. The average of 69 trucks a day, however, is far below the 500 to 600 trucks a day the UN says are needed for Gaza. The UN says it has been unable to distribute much of the aid because hungry crowds and gangs take most of it from its arriving trucks. As a way to divert aid delivery away from the UN's control, Israel has backed the U.S.-registered Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which in May opened four centers distributing boxes of food supplies. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food, mostly near those new aid sites, the UN human rights office says. Israel has railed against the UN throughout the war, saying that its system allowed Hamas to steal aid. The UN denies that claim and says its delivery mechanism was the best way to bring aid to Palestinians. The military said the new steps were made in coordination with the UN and other humanitarian groups. Much of Gaza's population, squeezed by fighting into ever tinier patches of land, now relies on aid. The World Food Program said in a statement that a third of Gaza's population of around two million were not eating for days and nearly half a million were enduring famine-like conditions. It said it had enough food in or on its way to the region to feed all of Gaza for nearly three months. At least 27 Palestinians killed in latest strikes, health officials say The Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said Israeli forces killed at least 11 people and wounded 101 as they were headed toward a GHF aid distribution site in central Gaza. GHF, which denies involvement in any of the violence near its sites, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The military said it was looking into the report. Elsewhere, a strike hit a tent sheltering a displaced family in the Asdaa area, northwest of the southern city of Khan Younis, killing at least nine people, according to Nasser Hospital. The dead included a father and his two children, and another father and his son, the hospital said. In Gaza City, a strike hit an apartment late Saturday in the city's western side, killing four people, including two women, said the Health Ministry's ambulance and emergency service. In Deir-al-Balah early Sunday, a strike on a tent near a desalination plant killed a couple and another woman, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes. However, it usually blames Hamas for civilian casualties, saying the Palestinian militant group operates in populated areas. The military announced Sunday that another two soldiers were killed in Gaza, bringing the total number of soldiers killed since Oct. 7, 2023, to 898. The war began with Hamas' October 2023 attack on southern Israel, when militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages. Hamas still holds 50 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Magdy from Cairo. Wafaa Shurafa, Tia Goldenberg And Samy Magdy, The Associated Press
CBC
6 hours ago
- CBC
Israel begins limited pause in fighting as criticism mounts over hunger in Gaza
Social Sharing The Israeli military on Sunday began a limited pause in fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day, part of a series of steps launched as concerns over surging hunger in the territory mount and as Israel faces a wave of international criticism over its conduct in the 21-month war. The military said it would begin a "tactical pause" in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi, three areas of the territory with large populations, to "increase the scale of humanitarian aid" entering the territory. The pause begins every day at 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time until further notice. The military also said that it would put in place secure routes for aid delivery and that it carried out aid airdrops into Gaza, which included packages of aid with flour, sugar and canned food. WATCH | Relief worker speaks about Gaza food crisis: International Network for Aid Relief and Assistance founder Awara Damon on the food crisis in Gaza 11 hours ago Get the latest on the CBC News App, and CBC News Network for breaking news and analysis Food experts have warned for months of the risk of famine in Gaza, where Israel has restricted aid because it says Hamas siphons off goods to help bolster its rule, without providing evidence for that claim. Images emerging from Gaza in recent days of emaciated children have fanned global criticism of Israel, including by close allies, who have called for an end to the war and the humanitarian catastrophe it has spawned. Israel said the new measures were taking place while it continues its offensive against Hamas in other areas. Ahead of the pause, health officials in Gaza said at least 16 Palestinians were killed in separate strikes. "This [humanitarian] truce will mean nothing if it doesn't turn into a real opportunity to save lives," said Dr. Muneer al-Boursh, director general of Gaza's Health Ministry, who called for a flood of medical supplies and other goods to help treat child malnutrition. "Every delay is measured by another funeral." The local pause in fighting came days after ceasefire efforts between Israel and Hamas appeared to be in doubt. On Friday, Israel and the U.S. recalled their negotiating teams, blaming Hamas, and Israel said it was considering "alternative options" to ceasefire talks with the militant group. Under international pressure, Israel slightly eased the blockade in May. Since then, it has allowed in around 4,500 trucks for the U.N. and other aid groups to distribute. The average of 69 trucks a day, however, is far below the 500 to 600 trucks a day the U.N. says are needed for Gaza. The UN says it has been unable to distribute much of the aid because hungry crowds and gangs take most of it from its arriving trucks. As a way to divert aid delivery away from the UN's control, Israel has backed the U.S.-registered Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which in May opened four centres distributing boxes of food supplies. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food, mostly near those new aid sites, the UN human rights office says. Israel has railed against the UN throughout the war, saying that its system allowed Hamas to steal aid. The UN denies that claim and says its delivery mechanism was the best way to bring aid to Palestinians. The military said the new steps were made in coordination with the UN and other humanitarian groups. There was no immediate comment from the UN. Much of Gaza's population, squeezed by fighting into ever tinier patches of land, now relies on aid. The latest war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in October 2023, when militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages. Hamas still holds 50 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children.
CTV News
18 hours ago
- CTV News
Israel's military says airdrops of aid will begin in Gaza as hunger grows
Palestinians pray over the bodies of their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza Strip, during their funeral outside the morgue of Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel's military announced that airdrops of aid would begin Saturday night in Gaza, and humanitarian corridors will be established for United Nations convoys, after increasing accounts of starvation-related deaths. The statement late Saturday followed months of experts' warnings of famine amid Israeli restrictions on aid. International criticism, including by close allies, has grown as several hundred Palestinians have been killed in recent weeks while trying to reach food distribution sites. The military statement did not say where the airdrops or humanitarian corridors would be. It also said the military is prepared to implement humanitarian pauses in densely populated areas. Israel's foreign ministry said late Saturday the humanitarian pauses would start Sunday in 'civilian centers' along with humanitarian corridors. The military 'emphasizes that combat operations have not ceased' in Gaza against Hamas, and it asserted there is 'no starvation' in the territory, where most of the population of over 2 million has been displaced into a shrinking area with little infrastructure. The majority of people rely on aid. Witness accounts from Gaza have been grim. Some health workers are so weakened by hunger that they put themselves on IV drips to keep treating the badly malnourished. Parents have shown their limp and emaciated children. Wounded men have described desperate dashes for aid under gunfire. The military statement said airdrops would be conducted in coordination with international aid organizations. It was not clear where they would be carried out. And it wasn't clear what role the recently created and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation -- meant as an alternate to the UN aid system -- might play. GHF chair Johnnie Moore in a statement said the group stood ready to assist. At least 53 killed Israeli airstrikes and gunshots killed at least 53 people in Gaza overnight and into Saturday, most of them shot dead while seeking aid, according to Palestinian health officials and the local ambulance service. Deadly Israeli gunfire was reported twice close to the Zikim crossing with Israel in the north. In the first incident, at least a dozen people waiting for aid trucks were killed, said staff at Shifa hospital, where bodies were taken. Israel's military said it fired warning shots to distance a crowd 'in response to an immediate threat.' A witness, Sherif Abu Aisha, said people started running when they saw a light that they thought was from aid trucks, but as they got close, they realized it was Israel's tanks. That's when the army started firing, he told The Associated Press. He said his uncle was among those killed. 'We went because there is no food ... and nothing was distributed,' he said. On Saturday evening, Israeli forces killed at least 11 people and wounded 120 others when they fired toward crowds who tried to get food from an entering UN convoy, Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of Shifa hospital, told the AP. 'We are expecting the numbers to surge in the next few hours,' he said. There was no immediate military comment. AP video showed a group of weary Palestinian men carrying a body along with sacks of flour. They said he was hit by a truck but had no details. 'You die to fetch some food for your children,' said one man, Fayez Abu Riyala, thin and sweating. In the southern city of Khan Younis, Israeli forces shot dead at least nine people trying to get aid entering through the Morag corridor, according to the hospital's morgue records. There was no immediate military comment. Elsewhere, those killed in strikes included four people in an apartment building in Gaza City and at least eight, including four children, in the crowded tent camp of Muwasi in Khan Younis, hospitals said. Turning to airdrops, with a warning The airdrops were requested by neighboring Jordan, and a Jordanian official said they mainly will drop food and milk formula. The United Arab Emirates said airdrops would start 'immediately.' Britain said it plans to work with partners to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance. But the head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, warned that airdrops are 'expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians' and won't reverse the increasing starvation or prevent aid diversion. While Israel's army has said it allows aid into the enclave with no limit on the trucks that can enter, the UN says it is hampered by military restrictions on its movements and criminal looting. The Hamas-run police had provided security for aid delivery, but it has been unable to operate after being targeted by airstrikes. Israel on Saturday said over 250 trucks carrying aid from the UN and other organizations entered Gaza this week. About 600 trucks entered per day during the latest ceasefire that Israel ended in March. Israel faces growing international pressure. More than two dozen Western-aligned countries and over 100 charity and human rights groups have called for an end to the war, harshly criticizing Israel's blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food, mostly near the new aid sites run by the GHF, an American contractor, the UN human rights office says. The charities and rights groups said their own staff struggled to get enough food. Inside Gaza, children with no preexisting conditions have begun to starve to death. 'We only want enough food to end our hunger,' said Wael Shaaban at a charity kitchen in Gaza City as he tried to feed his family of six. Meanwhile, an activist boat trying to reach Gaza with aid, the Handala, livestreamed video showing Israeli forces boarding around midnight. There was no immediate Israeli comment. Stalled ceasefire talks Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas were at a standstill after the U.S. and Israel recalled negotiating teams on Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday his government was considering 'alternative options' to talks. A Hamas official, however, said negotiations were expected to resume next week and called the delegations' recall a pressure tactic. Egypt and Qatar, which mediate alongside the United States, said talks would resume but did not say when. 'Our loved ones do not have time for another round of negotiations, and they will not survive another partial deal,' said Zahiro Shahar Mor, nephew of hostage Avraham Munder, one of 50 still in Gaza from Hamas' attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war. Mor spoke at a weekly rally in Tel Aviv. More than 59,700 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. Wafaa Shurafa And Samy Magdy, The Associated Press Magdy reported from Cairo.
