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Eyewitness News
an hour ago
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Trump hopeful for Gaza ceasefire, possibly 'next week'
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump voiced optimism Friday about a new ceasefire in Gaza, as criticism grew over mounting civilian deaths at Israeli-backed food distribution centres in the territory. Asked by reporters how close a ceasefire was between Israel and Hamas, Trump said: "We think within the next week, we're going to get a ceasefire." The United States brokered a ceasefire in the devastating conflict in the waning days of former president Joe Biden's administration, with support from Trump's incoming team. Israel broke the ceasefire in March, launching new devastating attacks on Hamas, which attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel also stopped all food and other supplies from entering Gaza for more than two months, drawing warnings of famine. Israel has since allowed a resumption of food through the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which involves US security contractors with Israeli troops at the periphery. United Nations officials on Friday said the GHF system was leading to mass killings of people seeking aid, drawing accusations from Israel that the UN was "aligning itself with Hamas." Eyewitnesses and local officials have reported repeated killings of Palestinians at distribution centres over recent weeks in the war-stricken territory, where Israeli forces are battling Hamas militants. The Israeli military has denied targeting people, and GHF has denied any deadly incidents were linked to its sites. But following weeks of reports, UN officials and other aid providers on Friday denounced what they said was a wave of killings of hungry people seeking aid. "The new aid distribution system has become a killing field," with people "shot at while trying to access food for themselves and their families," said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian affairs (UNWRA). "This abomination must end through a return to humanitarian deliveries from the UN, including @UNRWA," he wrote on X. The health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory says that since late May, more than 500 people have been killed near aid centres while seeking scarce supplies. The country's civil defence agency has also repeatedly reported people being killed while seeking aid. "People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "The search for food must never be a death sentence." Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) branded the GHF relief effort "slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid." ISRAEL DENIES TARGETING CIVILIANS That drew an angry response from Israel, which said GHF had provided 46 million meals in Gaza. "The UN is doing everything it can to oppose this effort. In doing so, the UN is aligning itself with Hamas, which is also trying to sabotage the GHF's humanitarian operations," the foreign ministry said. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a report in left-leaning daily Haaretz that military commanders had ordered troops to shoot at crowds near aid distribution sites to disperse them even when they posed no threat. Haaretz said the military advocate general, the army's top legal authority, had instructed the military to investigate "suspected war crimes" at aid sites. The Israeli military declined to comment to AFP on the claim. Netanyahu said in a joint statement with Defence Minister Israel Katz that their country "absolutely rejects the contemptible blood libels" and "malicious falsehoods" in the Haaretz article. CIVIL DEFENCE SAYS 80 KILLED Gaza's civil defence agency told AFP 80 Palestinians had been killed on Friday by Israeli strikes or fire across the Palestinian territory, including 10 who were waiting for aid. The Israeli military told AFP 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. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP six people were killed in southern Gaza near one of the distribution sites operated by 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. Elsewhere, eight people were killed "after an Israeli air strike hit Osama Bin Zaid School, which was housing displaced persons" in northern Gaza. MILITANTS ATTACK ISRAELI FORCES Meanwhile, Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said they shelled an Israeli vehicle east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza on Friday. The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas-ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said they attacked Israeli soldiers in at least two other locations near Khan Yunis in coordination with the Al-Qassam Brigades. 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.
Business Recorder
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Trump hopeful for Gaza ceasefire, possibly ‘next week'
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump voiced optimism Friday about a new ceasefire in Gaza, as criticism grew over mounting civilian deaths at Israeli-backed food distribution centers in the territory. Asked by reporters how close a ceasefire was between Israel and Hamas, Trump said: 'We think within the next week, we're going to get a ceasefire.' The United States brokered a ceasefire in the devastating conflict in the waning days of former president Joe Biden's administration, with support from Trump's incoming team. Israel also stopped all food and other supplies from entering Gaza for more than two months, drawing warnings of famine. Israel has since allowed a resumption of food through the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which involves US security contractors with Israeli troops at the periphery. United Nations officials on Friday said the GHF system was leading to mass killings of people seeking aid, drawing accusations from Israel that the UN was 'aligning itself with Hamas.' Eyewitnesses and local officials have reported repeated killings of Palestinians at distribution centers over recent weeks in the war-stricken territory, where Israeli forces are battling Hamas. Gaza rescuers say 62 killed by Israeli forces The Israeli military has denied targeting people and GHF has denied any deadly incidents were linked to its sites. But following weeks of reports, UN officials and other aid providers on Friday denounced what they said was a wave of killings of hungry people seeking aid. 'The new aid distribution system has become a killing field,' with people 'shot at while trying to access food for themselves and their families,' said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian affairs (UNWRA). 'This abomination must end through a return to humanitarian deliveries from the UN including @UNRWA,' he wrote on X. The health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory says that since late May, more than 500 people have been killed near aid centers while seeking scarce supplies. The country's civil defense agency has also repeatedly reported people being killed while seeking aid. 'People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families,' said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Israel halts aid into Gaza, accuses Hamas of stealing it 'The search for food must never be a death sentence.' Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) branded the GHF relief effort 'slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid.' Israel denies targeting civilians That drew an angry response from Israel, which said GHF had provided 46 million meals in Gaza. 'The UN is doing everything it can to oppose this effort. In doing so, the UN is aligning itself with Hamas, which is also trying to sabotage the GHF's humanitarian operations,' the foreign ministry said. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a report in left-leaning daily Haaretz that military commanders had ordered troops to shoot at crowds near aid distribution sites to disperse them even when they posed no threat. Haaretz said the military advocate general, the army's top legal authority, had instructed the military to investigate 'suspected war crimes' at aid sites. The Israeli military declined to comment to AFP on the claim. Netanyahu said in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz that their country 'absolutely rejects the contemptible blood libels' and 'malicious falsehoods' in the Haaretz article. Civil defense says 80 killed Gaza's civil defense agency told AFP 80 Palestinians had been killed on Friday by Israeli strikes or fire across the Palestinian territory, including 10 who were waiting for aid. The Israeli military told AFP 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. Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP six people were killed in southern Gaza near one of the distribution sites operated by GHF, and one more in a separate incident in the center 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. Elsewhere, eight people were killed 'after an Israeli air strike hit Osama Bin Zaid School, which was housing displaced persons' in northern Gaza.
Hindustan Times
12 hours ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
UN officials say aid distribution system in Gaza leading to mass killings
United Nations officials on Friday said a US- and Israeli-backed distribution system in Gaza was leading to mass killings of people seeking humanitarian aid, drawing accusations from Israel that the UN was "aligning itself with Hamas". The health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory says that since late May, more than 500 people have been killed near aid centres.(Reuters) Eyewitnesses and local officials have reported repeated killings of Palestinians seeking aid at distribution centres over recent weeks in the war-stricken territory, where Israeli forces are battling Hamas militants. The Israeli military has denied targeting people seeking aid and the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has denied any deadly incidents were linked to its sites. But following weeks of reports, UN officials and other aid providers on Friday denounced what they said was a wave of killings of hungry people seeking aid. "The new aid distribution system has become a killing field," with people "shot at while trying to access food for themselves and their families," said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian affairs (UNWRA). "This abomination must end through a return to humanitarian deliveries from the UN including @UNRWA," he wrote on X. The health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory says that since late May, more than 500 people have been killed near aid centres while seeking scarce supplies. The country's civil defence agency has also repeatedly reported people being killed while seeking aid. "People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "The search for food must never be a death sentence." Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) branded the GHF relief effort "slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid". Israel denies targeting civilians That drew an angry response from Israel, which said GHF had provided 46 million meals in Gaza. "The UN is doing everything it can to oppose this effort. In doing so, the UN is aligning itself with Hamas, which is also trying to sabotage the GHF's humanitarian operations," the foreign ministry said. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a newspaper report that the country's military commanders ordered soldiers to fire at Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza. Left-leaning daily Haaretz had earlier quoted unnamed soldiers as saying commanders ordered troops to shoot at crowds near aid distribution centres to disperse them even when they posed no threat. Haaretz said the military advocate general, the army's top legal authority, had instructed the military to investigate "suspected war crimes" at aid sites. The Israeli military declined to comment to AFP on the claim. Netanyahu said in a joint statement with Defence Minister Israel Katz that their country "absolutely rejects the contemptible blood libels" and "malicious falsehoods" in the Haaretz article. The military said in a separate statement it "did not instruct the forces to deliberately shoot at civilians, including those approaching the distribution centres". It added that Israeli military 'directives prohibit deliberate attacks on civilians.' Israel blocked deliveries of food and other crucial supplies into Gaza from March for more than two months. It began allowing supplies to trickle in at the end of May, with GHF centres secured by armed US contractors and Israeli troops on the perimeter. Guterres said that from the UN, just a "handful" of medical deliveries had crossed into Gaza this week. Civil defence says 80 killed Gaza's civil defence agency told AFP 80 Palestinians had been killed on Friday by Israeli strikes or fire across the Palestinian territory, including 10 who were waiting for aid. The Israeli military told AFP 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. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP six people were killed in southern Gaza near one of the distribution sites operated by 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. Elsewhere, eight people were killed "after an Israeli air strike hit Osama Bin Zaid School, which was housing displaced persons" in northern Gaza. MSF said 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. Militants attack Israeli forces Meanwhile, Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said they shelled an Israeli vehicle east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza on Friday. The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas-ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said they attacked Israeli soldiers in at least two other locations near Khan Yunis in coordination with the Al-Qassam Brigades. 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.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Netanyahu coalition partner 'doesn't understand' more Gaza fighting
A high-ranking representative of Benjamin Netanyahu's Israeli government has voiced unusually strong criticism of the conduct of the Gaza war. Moshe Gafni, leader of one of the ultra-Orthodox parties in the governing coalition, said in a parliamentary committee meeting in Jerusalem on Wednesday that he does not understand what Israel is fighting for in the Gaza Strip: "I don't understand the purpose." Gafni is the leader of the Degel HaTorah (Banner of the Torah) party, which is part of the United Torah Judaism alliance. Gafni commented on the ceasefire between Israel and Iran at the beginning of the meeting and thanked US President Donald Trump for his mediation efforts. He then spoke about the seven Israeli soldiers who were killed in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. "What are we supposed to do there when soldiers are being killed all the time? I don't understand it. We need a Trump here who says, 'We're bringing the hostages back, ending all this and returning to normality.'" The Israeli military said on Wednesday that the seven soldiers died "during combat in the southern Gaza Strip," while another was injured. The military released the names of six of the soldiers killed, all men aged between 19 and 21 serving with the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion. Citing an initial probe by the military, local media reported that the soldiers were killed in Khan Younis after an explosive device planted by a Palestinian operative on the armoured vehicle they were travelling in went off. The Gaza war was triggered by the attack on Israel by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7, 2023. Around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage and abducted to the Gaza Strip. Since then, the Israeli military has been fighting Hamas. The Gaza war has caused devastating destruction there. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, around 56,000 people have been killed so far. More than 800 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting.
Qatar Tribune
17-06-2025
- Health
- Qatar Tribune
Dozens of Palestinians reported killed near aid distribution centre in Gaza
dpa Tel Aviv The Israeli military has again killed people waiting near a distribution centre for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas authorities there. The Hamas-controlled health authority said there had been more than 50 fatalities and around 200 injured in the south of the sealed-off coastal area. It did not give any details. Eyewitnesses told DPA that some people were on foot and others in vehicles on their way to a distribution centre when the Israeli army shelled them in an area between the cities of Rafah and Khan Younis. The Israeli army stated that a humanitarian aid truck had become stuck near Khan Younis. A crowd had gathered in the area, where Israeli forces were operating, and approached the soldiers. The army acknowledged reports of injuries caused by Israeli fire. 'The details of the incident are currently being investigated,' it said in a statement. The Israeli military expressed regret for any harm caused to individuals not involved in the incident and stated that it strives to minimize injury to civilians. At the same time, it emphasized the need to ensure the safety of Israeli troops. The claims from both the Israeli military and Palestinians could not be independently verified. Palestinian media carried a video showing bloodied victims in a clinic, but the authenticity of the footage has not been confirmed. A doctor working in Gaza City for the World Health Organization (WHO) cited reports of at least 50 victims, including more than 20 fatalities. According to the WHO, incidents also occurred on Sunday and Monday when dozens of patients with gunshot wounds arrived at hospitals. Many did not survive and those that did said they were attacked near distribution centres. The centres are operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is supported by Israel and the United States. It began its mission in the Gaza Strip last month following an almost three-month-long Israeli blockade of aid supplies. The distribution is intended as an alternative to the distribution of aid by the United Nations and international aid organizations. Both these groups have criticized the GHF. Israel and the US say the distribution by the GHF prevents Hamas from appropriating humanitarian aid supplies. On several occasions people have been reported killed near the distribution centres. Israel on previous occasions said they had fired at people who were not following prescribed routes. The GHF has previously said that the deaths have occurred outside their own security zone. According to the WHO, 17 of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip that still offer minimal services are on the verge of collapse. The main issue is a lack of fuel, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X. Israel is blocking fuel imports and, according to Tedros, is not allowing the WHO to access remaining reserves stored in areas of the Gaza Strip designated as evacuation zones by Israel. These zones cover 80% of the territory, according to the UN. Without fuel, operating theatres, dialysis machines, and incubators cannot function, medicines cannot be refrigerated, and water cannot be boiled. 'Ceasefire. NOW,' Tedros said.
