Latest news with #Israeli-approved
Canada News.Net
19 hours ago
- Health
- Canada News.Net
Gazans have to burn plastic waste to cook in makeshift shelters: UN
OCHA said Israeli authorities continue to restrict the delivery of fuel into and throughout Gaza Strip. The rapid depletion of remaining fuel stocks jeopardizes efforts to maintain Gaza's lifelines. UNITED NATIONS, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Alongside hunger, gunfire and bombardment, civilians in Gaza now face another deadly hazard: burning plastic waste just for cooking, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday. "Shelling and bombing across the (Gaza) Strip continue to have a devastating impact on civilians, reportedly killing and injuring scores of people, many of whom were seeking aid," said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). "Partners report that in the absence of fuel, cooking gas and electricity, people are burning plastic waste." OCHA said that when such fires occur in makeshift shelters or tents, poor ventilation poses tremendous safety and health risks to vulnerable family members, including children and older individuals. The office said Israeli authorities continue to restrict the delivery of fuel into and throughout the strip, effectively choking off life-saving services for deprived and starving individuals. The rapid depletion of remaining fuel stocks jeopardizes efforts to maintain Gaza's lifelines. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported that on Tuesday, the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah received a mass casualty influx of 149 cases. "All responsive patients reporting they were wounded while on their way to an aid distribution site," the ICRC said. "Sixteen people were declared dead on arrival, and three more died of their wounds shortly after. The vast majority of patients reportedly suffered gunshot injuries." The casualties among food-seeking Gazans usually occur at distribution centers of the non-UN, U.S.-operated and Israeli-approved militarized Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The ICRC said it has had to activate its mass casualty procedures 20 times since May 27, adding, "The scale and frequency of these incidents is an alarming testament to the intolerable dangers civilians face as they attempt to access assistance." The UN Population Fund reported that 80 percent of critical care units, including those used for childbirth, risk shutting down when there is a daily average of 130 births in Gaza. Fuel for Gaza is a matter of life and death. The humanitarian office said that community kitchens were able to prepare more than 200,000 meals every day this week. However, compared with the over 1 million meals distributed daily at the end of April, it represents a reduction of about 80 percent, a trickle offered to people on the brink of famine. OCHA said that to address the massive deprivation in Gaza meaningfully, the Israeli authorities must allow higher volumes of supplies and more varied types of food, as well as cooking gas, fuel and shelter items, into the strip. "To facilitate the orderly distribution of aid, supplies must be channeled daily through multiple crossings and land routes simultaneously, thereby ensuring people that the flow of essential support is steady, sufficient and reliable," the office said. OCHA said the world body and its partners attempted to coordinate 15 humanitarian movements inside Gaza on Tuesday, but only four were fully facilitated by the Israeli authorities. Seven other attempts were denied outright, preventing teams from trucking water, retrieving broken trucks or repairing roads. The office said that another three missions were initially approved but then impeded on the ground,although one was ultimately accomplished on Wednesday. Another mission had to be canceled by the organizers. OCHA said tens of thousands of students were unable to sit for this year's general secondary examination this week due to insecurity, displacement orders and internet connectivity challenges across Gaza. Last year, about 39,000 high school students in Gaza were reportedly unable to sit for the exam.
Barnama
4 days ago
- Health
- Barnama
UN Says Israel's Militarised Aid In Gaza Contributes To 'Catastrophic Humanitarian Situation'
Mourners wheel a body on a medical bed, during the funeral of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire yesterday, while they sought aid in northern Gaza, according to Gaza's health ministry, outside Al-Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, June 19, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa GENEVA, June 24 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Israel's militarised approach to humanitarian aid in Gaza is exacerbating the suffering of civilians and contributing to a "catastrophic humanitarian situation," the UN human rights office said on Tuesday, warning the practice may amount to war crimes. "Israel's militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution. It endangers civilians and contributes to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza," spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told a briefing in Geneva. According to Anadolu Ajansi (AA) Al-Kheetan said Palestinians in Gaza face an "inhumane choice" between starving to death or risking being killed while trying to access food. bootstrap slideshow Since the Israeli-approved Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operating on May 27, "the Israeli military has shelled and shot Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points, leading to many fatalities." Reportedly, over 410 Palestinians have been killed as a result. At least 93 others are also said to have been killed by the Israeli army while attempting to approach the very few aid convoys of the UN and other humanitarian organisations, he said. According to the spokesperson, at least 3,000 others have been injured in such incidents. "These killings must be promptly and impartially investigated," he added. "The killing and wounding of civilians resulting from the unlawful use of firearms constitute a grave breach of international law, and a war crime." The UN human rights office also criticised Israel's "unlawful restrictions" on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid, saying it had allowed in only a few trucks since March 2. "The weaponisation of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law," Al-Kheetan said. "The Israeli military must stop shooting at people trying to get food."
Focus Malaysia
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Focus Malaysia
Gaza food desperation: Chaos and violence in food distribution centres
For months, aid agencies have warned that Israel is weaponizing famine in Gaza. Now, controversy is growing around food distribution hubs established by the US-backed, Israeli-approved Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Palestinians have described scenes of lawlessness, gunfire, and despair at sites meant to provide lifesaving supplies. Main image: Al Jazeera
United News of India
05-06-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
U.S. vetoes UN Security Council draft resolution demanding immediate Gaza ceasefire
United Nations, June 5 (UNI) The United States on Wednesday vetoed a Security Council draft resolution that would have demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian aid. The draft resolution, tabled by the 10 elected members of the Security Council, won the support of 14 out of the 15 members of the council. The United States, which holds veto power, voted against it. The draft resolution would have demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, and the immediate and unconditional lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and its safe and unhindered distribution at scale. The U.S. veto drew criticism from Security Council members. Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said China is deeply disappointed at the result of Wednesday's vote. The draft resolution contains the most pressing demands of the people in Gaza and reflects the overwhelming voice of the international community, he said. "The United States has once again abused its veto power, extinguishing the glimmer of hope for the people in Gaza and ruthlessly continuing to leave over 2 million people in darkness. It must face the questioning from the international community," he said. Wednesday's vote result once again exposes that the root cause of the Security Council's inability to quell the conflict in Gaza is the repeated obstruction by the United States, which has vetoed the council's request for a ceasefire multiple times. And because of its shielding of Israel, several resolutions adopted by the council have not been effectively implemented, said Fu in an explanation of the vote. "A veto by a single permanent member cannot stop the march toward peace. We urge the United States to face up to its responsibilities as a permanent member of the Security Council, abandon its political calculations, and adopt a just and responsible attitude in supporting the council to take all necessary actions," he said. British UN ambassador Barbara Woodward said her country voted in favor of the draft resolution because the intolerable situation in Gaza needs to end. The Israeli government's decisions to expand its military operation in Gaza and severely restrict aid into the strip are "unjustifiable, disproportionate, and counter-productive" and the British government completely opposes them, she said. "The Israeli government says it has opened up aid access with this new system. But Palestinians desperate to feed their families have been killed as they try to reach the very few aid sites that have been permitted by Israel. This is inhumane," said Woodward, referring to the U.S.-run, Israeli-approved Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid scheme that has led to scores of deaths and injuries among Palestinians seeking aid. Britain supports the UN call for immediate and independent investigations into these incidents and for perpetrators to be held accountable, she said, adding that Israel needs to end its restrictions on aid and let the world body carry out its humanitarian operations in Gaza. Algerian UN ambassador Amar Bendjama said the draft resolution was not the voice of the few, but the collective will of the entire world. "It was a message to the people of Palestine: you are not alone. And it was a message to the Israeli occupier: the world watched you. The shield of impunity, of immunity must fall," he said. "This (draft) humanitarian resolution, even in its obstruction by a veto, is a mirror -- a mirror that reflects the agony of multilateralism, and an urgent need to revive it," he said. Pakistani UN ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said his country deeply regretted the failure of the Security Council to adopt the resolution. "It's a sad day, another low in the history of this august body that is entrusted with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security," he said. The veto cast by the United States sends a dangerous message that the lives of over 2 million Palestinians, besieged, starved and relentlessly bombarded, are dispensable, he said. "This will remain not only a moral stain on the conscience of this council, but a fateful moment of political abdication that will reverberate for generations." While the Security Council deliberated and delayed, Gaza has been decimated, said the ambassador. "This is no longer a humanitarian crisis. It is a collapse of humanity, and of international law and of all that this council is supposed to stand for." "Let us be clear: this failure will not go down in records as a mere procedural footnote. It will be remembered as complicity; a green light for continued annihilation; a moment where the entire world was expecting action, but yet again, this council was blocked and prevented by one member from carrying out its responsibility," said Ahmad. UNI XINHUA ARN
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Hamas responds to ceasefire proposal, reiterates demands
Hamas said it has submitted a response to the latest ceasefire proposal by U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff to mediators on Saturday, reiterating its key demands. Hamas' key demands are "to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the continuous flow of humanitarian aid," according to the group. The group's demands remain the same as in previous ceasefire negotiations. Hamas said its hostage exchange proposal would involve the release of 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 dead hostages, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces have killed at least 60 Palestinians and injured another 284 across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health said Saturday. At least 54,381 people in Gaza have been killed and 124,054 have been wounded, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, since the war began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking hundreds hostage. At least 20 hostages remain in Hamas captivity. The White House said Thursday that it had submitted an Israeli-approved ceasefire proposal to Hamas. "I can confirm that Special Envoy Witkoff and the president submitted a cease fire proposal to Hamas that Israel backed and supported. Israel signed off on this proposal before it was sent to Hamas," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. Israel's defense minister warned Hamas to take the deal or be destroyed. "The Hamas murderers will now be forced to choose: to accept the terms of the "Witkoff Deal" for the release of the hostages - or to be destroyed," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Friday. Katz added, "The IDF continues its activity in Gaza with full force, striking and dismantling Hamas outposts, while evacuating the local population from every combat zone and attacking the area from the air, land and sea on an unprecedented scale for maximum protection of our soldiers in preparation for the entry of the forces maneuvering in each area and during the maneuver." This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Hamas responds to ceasefire proposal, reiterates demands originally appeared on
