Israeli strikes kill 15 in Gaza, while shootings kill 20 people waiting for aid
At least 15 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, including eight women and one child. Another 20 were shot while waiting for aid, according to Nasser Hospital, including two who were killed near distribution sites in Rafah and 18 who were waiting for trucks to deliver supplies elsewhere in southern Gaza.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time Magazine
2 hours ago
- Time Magazine
What to Know About Deaths at Gaza Aid Sites
The United Nations says that at least 613 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza while collecting aid since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) started operating in the strip on May 27, 509 of whom were at centers set up by GHF. GHF is a controversial U.S. company backed by Israel to be the major distributor of aid in Gaza. The new aid distribution plan has been heavily criticized by the U.N. for its inaccessibility. Three of GHF's distribution points are in southern Gaza, making it a long and difficult journey through militarized zones for many Palestinians. 'From where I am, you have to walk 20 kilometers there and back, carrying food. Just the strongest and fastest can get there,' Oday Basheer, who lives in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, told TIME in June. 'The weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime,' spokesperson for the U.N. Human Rights Office Thameen Al Keetan said in June. One main controversy surrounding the organization is its use of private security personnel, as well as private logistics companies to facilitate aid entering Gaza and its distribution. Gunfire towards Palestinians in search of aid has repeatedly been reported, with witnesses claiming shots fired by Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldiers. The IDF has previously said on multiple occasions that it has fired warning shots in the direction of suspects approaching troops, and that it has been examining further reports of civilian casualties at aid sites. Since GHF aid centers began operations, there have been at least 18 incidents of violence in which Palestinians have been killed at the aid centers, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, its Civil Defense Agency, and health workers in Gaza. On Thursday, the Associated Press (AP) reported that two anonymous U.S. contractors working with GHF said that guards at aid sites were using stun grenades, pepper spray, and live minution as Palestinians collected aid. Video provided by one the contractors, published by the AP, also shows tightly-packed crowds of people jostling for aid with the sounds of gunfire and stun grenades nearby that appear to panic the crowds. In Brussels this week, prior to the AP's report, GHF chairman Johnnie Moore said: 'We have not had a single violent incident in our distribution sites…[or] in close proximity to our distribution sites.' 'There is an unbelievable effort around the world to try to shut down our operation. We will not be shut down,' he added. GHF said in a statement on Thursday July 3 that the reporting from The Associated Press is 'categorically false' and that 'at no point were civilians under fire at a GHF distribution site. The gunfire heard in the video was confirmed to have originated from the IDF.' TIME has reached out to the IDF for comment. As of Tuesday, GHF said that it has distributed over 56.5 million meals to Palestinians in Gaza since the start of its operations. TIME has reached out to GHF regarding the videos and testimony from contractors. This comes as over 170 charities and organizations, including Oxfam and Save The Children, have called for GHF to be shut down. Their joint statement issued June 30 says action must be taken to 'revert to the existing U.N.-led coordination mechanisms, and lift the Israeli government's blockade on aid and commercial supplies.' The GHF distribution program came into place on May 27 after Israel initially let small amounts of U.N. aid into Gaza following an 11-week blockade of the strip. The new aid scheme was established after Israel accused Hamas of stealing aid entering the strip, which the United Nations said it found no credible evidence for. 'Under the Israeli government's new scheme, starved and weakened civilians are being forced to trek for hours through dangerous terrain and active conflict zones,' the organizations' statement says. These concerns were echoed by Commissioner-General of The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, Philippe Lazzarini, on July 1. Lazzarini said that GHF 'provides nothing but starvation and gunfire to the people of Gaza. Under this new abomination, Gaza has gone from 400 aid distribution points to only four militarized distribution sites.' Most of Gaza is now under Israeli controls after the resumption of military operations in the strip in May.
Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Dozens of Palestinians killed by airstrikes or shootings while waiting for aid
DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli airstrikes killed 15 Palestinians in Gaza early on Friday, while a hospital said an additional 20 people died in shootings while waiting for aid. Meanwhile, the U.N. human rights office says it has recorded 613 killings within the span of a month in Gaza near humanitarian convoys and as Palestinians try to reach aid at distribution points run by an Israeli-backed American organization since it first began operations in late May. Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the rights office was not able to attribute responsibility for the killings. But she said 'it is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points' operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Shamdasani said that of the total tallied, 509 killings were 'GHF-related,' meaning at or near its distribution sites. 'Information keeps coming in,' she added. 'This is ongoing and it is unacceptable.' The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has denied any serious injuries or deaths on its sites and says shootings outside their immediate vicinity are under the purview of Israel's military. The Israeli military also issued new evacuation orders Friday in northeast Khan Yunis and urged Palestinians to move west ahead of planned military operations against Hamas in the area. The new evacuation zones pushed Palestinians into increasingly smaller spaces by the coast. More deaths reported near aid distribution sites occurred overnight Friday, according to officials in Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. At least three Palestinians were killed near aid sites in Rafah, which is close to two operated by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. An additional 17 were killed waiting for trucks to pass by in eastern Khan Yunis in the Tahliya area. Of the 15 Palestinians killed in Friday's strikes, eight were women and one was a child, the hospital said. The strikes hit the Muwasi area, where many displaced Palestinians are sheltering in tents. Israel's military said it was looking into Friday's reported strikes. The military, whose forces are deployed on the roads leading to the aid distribution sites, has previously said it fires warning shots to control crowds or at Palestinians who approach its troops. Shamdasani originally told a U.N. briefing the recent spate of killings were recorded both at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites and near humanitarian convoys. She later clarified that the killings in the vicinity of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution points were 'at or near their distribution sites.' The count from the rights office, which used a strict methodology to verify such figures, was based in part on information from hospitals that receive dead bodies, she said. Also Friday, Israel's military said a soldier was killed in combat in the north of Gaza and it was investigating. More than 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the war began, including more than 400 during the fighting in Gaza. The recent killings took place as efforts to halt the 21-month war appeared to be moving forward. 'We'll see what happens. We're going to know over the next 24 hours,' President Trump told reporters on Air Force One late Thursday when asked if Hamas had agreed to the latest framework for a ceasefire. Hamas said Friday that it was holding discussions with leaders of other Palestinian factions to discuss a ceasefire proposal presented to it by Egyptian and Qatari mediators. Hamas said it will give its final response to mediators after the discussions have concluded. Trump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. Shurafa and Kullab write for the Associated Press. Kullab reported from Jerusalem. Jamey Keaten reported from Geneva. Julia Frankel contributed to this report.
CNN
7 hours ago
- CNN
Hear from Palestinians after more than 80 people killed in Gaza in one day
More than 80 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Thursday, according to health officials, as Israel intensified its strikes, hitting a school-turned-displacement facility. CNN's Paula Hancocks looks at the damage and humanitarian toll.
