Latest news with #DoctorsWithoutBorders
Al-Ahram Weekly
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Yemen's Houthi rebels fire missile at Israel in first attack since Iran-Israel war - Region
Yemen's Houthi rebels said they launched a ballistic missile towards Israel on Saturday, marking their first attack since the 24 June ceasefire between Israel and Iran, which followed a 12-day war. Warning sirens sounded in several areas across Israel before the military said the missile was 'most likely successfully intercepted.' In a statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had targeted 'a sensitive Israeli enemy site in the occupied area of Beersheba' using a Dhu al-Fiqar ballistic missile. He said the strike was carried out in retaliation for what they described as the 'crimes of the criminal Zionist enemy' against civilians in the Gaza Strip. Israel has faced mounting international condemnation for its attacks on civilians, particularly near aid distribution centres. Gaza's health ministry says more than 500 people have been killed near aid points since late May, many shot while trying to access food. Humanitarian organisations, including Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), have described the aid mechanism, backed by Israel and the US, as 'slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid.' The Houthis, backed by Iran, began launching missiles and drones at Israel after it began its devastating war on Gaza in October 2023. The International Court of Justice has found a plausible risk of genocide, while aid and rights groups have explicitly described Israel's campaign as genocidal. The group has said it will halt attacks once a truce is reached and Israel ends its military onslaught against the besieged population. It paused strikes during a two-month ceasefire earlier this year but resumed them after Israel escalated its war on Gaza in March, unleashing fresh attacks on residential areas and aid distribution sites. According to Gaza's health ministry, Israeli forces have killed 56,331 Palestinians and injured 132,632 others since the war began. That includes 6,008 killed and 20,591 wounded since Israel resumed large-scale bombardment on 18 March. Israel, the US, and the UK have carried out a series of airstrikes on Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen, including ports and the airport in the rebel-held capital, Sanaa. Saree said Houthi operations would continue 'until the aggression against Gaza stops and the siege is lifted.' *This story was edited by Ahram Online. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Doctors' aid group slams US-backed Gaza relief scheme over deadly roll-out
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Friday branded a controversial Israel- and US-backed food distribution effort in Gaza as "slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid", calling for it to be ended. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which began operating last month and has largely replaced established humanitarian organisations, "is degrading Palestinians by design, forcing them to choose between starvation or risking their lives for minimal supplies", MSF said in a statement. Starting in March, Israel blocked deliveries of food and other crucial supplies into Gaza for more than two months, leading to warnings of famine across a territory widely flattened by Israeli bombing since the massive October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas. Israel began allowing food supplies to trickle in at the end of May, using GHF -- backed by armed US contractors, with Israeli troops on the perimeter -- to run operations. The UN and major aid groups have refused to work with it, saying it serves Israeli military goals and violates basic humanitarian principles. Washington meanwhile announced this week that it would provide $30 million in direct funding to the GHF, even as it has slashed practically all of its traditional foreign aid support. - Over 500 killed - The organisation has been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on people desperate to get food. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters Friday that in the past two weeks 500 people have been killed "at non-UN militarised food-distribution sites". MSF said that "with over 500 people killed and nearly 4,000 wounded while seeking food, this scheme is slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid and must be immediately dismantled". GHF has denied that fatal shootings have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points. And Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday rejected an Israeli media report that military commanders have ordered soldiers to fire at Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza. But MSF insisted its teams in Gaza were seeing patients daily "who have been killed or wounded trying to get food" at one of GHF's four distribution sites, pointing to "a stark increase in the number of patients with gunshot wounds". Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, MSF's emergency coordinator in Gaza, said the four sites were all under the full control of Israeli forces, surrounded by watch points and barbed wire. "If people arrive early and approach the checkpoints, they get shot. If they arrive on time but there is an overflow and they jump over the mounds and the wires, they get shot," he said in the statement. "If they arrive late, they shouldn't be there because it is an 'evacuated zone' -- they get shot." - 'Hunger stalks everyone' - MSF also warned that the way GHF distributes food aid supplies "forces thousands of Palestinians, who have been starved by an over 100 day-long Israeli siege, to walk long distances to reach the four distribution sites and fight for scraps of food supplies". "These sites hinder women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities from accessing aid, and people are killed and wounded in the chaotic process," it said. MSF urged "the Israeli authorities and their allies to lift the siege on food, fuel, medical and humanitarian supplies and to revert to the pre-existing principled humanitarian system coordinated by the UN". The United Nations this week condemned what it said appeared to be Israel's "weaponisation of food" in Gaza -- a war crime. nl/rjm/gv
UAE Moments
a day ago
- Health
- UAE Moments
In Past 24 Hours, Israel Kills 72 Palestinians in Gaza
The Gaza Ministry of Health revealed on Friday, June 27, that at least 72 bodies and 174 injured people have arrived at the hospital in the enclave over the past 24 hours. Since Israel broke the ceasefire in March, its forces have killed at least 6,008 Palestinians and injured over 20,591 Palestinians. The total death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, 2023, has risen to 56,331, with 132,632 wounded. Since the recent ceasefire between Iran and Israel, there has been pressure to implement a ceasefire in Gaza. In recent weeks, Israel has carried out attacks at aid centers in the enclave operated by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), killing many people suffering from starvation because of the aid blockade. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has called for this aid scheme to be stopped, saying it is 'slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid'. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has pressed Israel to lift its aid blockade on Gaza because the agency "remains the lifeline to people in Gaza'.
News24
a day ago
- Health
- News24
Doctors without borders slams Gaza relief effort as ‘slaughter masquerading as aid'
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called on Friday for a controversial Israel- and US-backed relief effort in Gaza to be halted, branding it "slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid". The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which began operating last month, "is degrading Palestinians by design, forcing them to choose between starvation or risking their lives for minimal supplies", MSF said in a statement. It said more than 500 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip while seeking food in recent weeks. Starting in March, Israel blocked deliveries of food and other crucial supplies into Gaza for more than two months, leading to warnings of that the entire population of the occupied Palestinian territory is at risk of famine. The United Nations says Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza is illegal under international law. READ | 'Dramatic escalation in violence': MSF slams Israel over military action on West Bank healthcare The densely populated Gaza Strip has been largely flattened by Israeli bombing since the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas. Israel began allowing food supplies to trickle in at the end of May, using GHF - backed by armed US contractors, with Israeli troops on the perimeter - to run operations. The latter have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on people desperate to get food. There are also concerns about the neutrality of GHF, officially a private group with opaque funding. The UN and major aid groups have refused to work with it, citing concerns it serves Israeli military goals and that it violates basic humanitarian principles. READ | More than 20 000 wounded people still in Gaza after initial evacuations, says MSF The Gaza health ministry says that since late May, nearly 550 people have been killed near aid centres while seeking scarce food supplies. "With over 500 people killed and nearly 4 000 wounded while seeking food, this scheme is slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid and must be immediately dismantled," MSF said. Surge in gunshot wounds GHF has denied that fatal shootings have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points. On Tuesday, the UN condemned what it said was Israel's "weaponisation of food" in Gaza and called it a war crime. MSF said the way GHF distributes food aid supplies "forces thousands of Palestinians, who have been starved by an over 100 day-long Israeli siege, to walk long distances to reach the four distribution sites and fight for scraps of food supplies". Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images "These sites hinder women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities from accessing aid, and people are killed and wounded in the chaotic process," it said. Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, MSF's emergency coordinator in Gaza, said the four sites were all under the full control of Israeli forces, surrounded by watch points and barbed wire. "If people arrive early and approach the checkpoints, they get shot. If they arrive on time but there is an overflow and they jump over the mounds and the wires, they get shot," he said in the statement. "If they arrive late, they shouldn't be there because it is an 'evacuated zone' - they get shot." MSF said that its teams in Gaza were seeing patients every day who had been killed or wounded trying to get food at one of the sites. It pointed to "a stark increase in the number of patients with gunshot wounds". MSF urged "the Israeli authorities and their allies to lift the siege on food, fuel, medical and humanitarian supplies and to revert to the pre-existing principled humanitarian system coordinated by the UN".
News.com.au
a day ago
- Health
- News.com.au
Gaza rescuers say 62 killed by Israeli forces
Gaza's civil defence agency said that Israeli forces killed at least 62 people on Friday, including 10 who were waiting for aid in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. The reported killing of people seeking aid marks the latest in a string of deadly incidents near aid sites in Gaza, where a US- and Israeli-backed foundation has largely replaced established humanitarian organisations. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 62 Palestinians had been killed Friday by Israeli strikes or fire across the Palestinian territory. When asked by AFP for comment, the Israeli military said it was looking into the incidents, and denied its troops fired in one of the locations in central Gaza where rescuers said one aid seeker was killed. Bassal told AFP that six people were killed in southern Gaza near one of the distribution sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), and one more in a separate incident in the centre of the territory, where the army denied shooting "at all". Another three people were killed by a strike while waiting for aid southwest of Gaza City, Bassal said. The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory says that since late May, more than 500 people have been killed near aid centres while seeking scarce supplies. GHF has denied that fatal shootings have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points. - 'Slaughter' - Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Friday slammed the GHF relief effort, calling it "slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid". It noted that in the week of June 8, shortly after GHF opened a distribution site in central Gaza's Netzarim corridor, the MSF field hospital in nearby Deir el-Balah saw a 190 percent increase in bullet wound cases compared to the previous week. Aitor Zabalgogeaskoa, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza, said in a statement that under the way in which the distribution centres currently operate: "If people arrive early and approach the checkpoints, they get shot." "If they arrive on time, but there is an overflow and they jump over the mounds and the wires, they get shot". "If they arrive late, they shouldn't be there because it is an 'evacuated zone', they get shot," he added. Meanwhile, Bassal said that ten people were killed in five separate Israeli strikes near the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, east of which he said "continuous Israeli artillery shelling" was reported Friday. Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said they shelled an Israeli vehicle east of Khan Yunis Friday. The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas-ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said they had attacked a group of Israeli soldiers north of Khan Yunis in coordination with the Al-Qassam Brigades. Bassal added that thirty people were killed in six separate strikes in northern Gaza on Friday, including a fisherman who was targeted "by Israeli warships". He specified that eight of them were killed "after an Israeli air strike hit Osama Bin Zaid School, which was housing displaced persons" in northern Gaza. In central Gaza's al-Bureij refugee camp, 12 people were killed in two separate Israeli strikes, Bassal said. Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and witnesses. Israel's military said it was continuing its operations in Gaza on Friday, after army chief Eyal Zamir announced earlier in the week that the focus would again shift to the territory after a 12-day war with Iran. Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 56,331 people, also mostly civilians, according to Gaza's health ministry. The United Nations considers its figures reliable.
