Latest news with #Israeli-backed
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Health
- Express Tribune
62 killed in Gaza
Injured Palestinian girls attend the funeral of their father, who was killed in an Israeli air strike, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Photo: REUTERS 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. Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Friday slammed the GHF relief effort, calling it "slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid".
Hindustan Times
4 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.
NDTV
7 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
"Killing Field": UN Says New Gaza Aid System Leads To Mass Killings
United Nations: United Nations officials on Friday said a US- and Israeli-backed distribution system in Gaza was leading to mass killings of people seeking aid and urged Israel to let UN humanitarian supplies to the war-stricken territory resume. Eyewitnesses and local officials have reported repeated killings of Palestinians seeking aid at distribution centres over recent weeks in the 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 - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday rejected a newspaper report that the country's military commanders ordered their 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 that 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 that 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 cross into Gaza this week. - Civil defence says 65 killed - Gaza's civil defence agency told AFP that 65 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 that 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. 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," he added. "If they arrive late, they shouldn't be there because it is an 'evacuated zone', they get shot." - Militants attack Israeli forces - 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.
Al-Ahram Weekly
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Haaretz reveals Israeli orders to fire on Gazans waiting for humanitarian aid, Netanyahu dismisses report - War on Gaza
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday rejected a report that the country's military commanders ordered their soldiers to fire at Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza. In an article titled "It's a killing field': IDF soldiers ordered to shoot deliberately at unarmed Gaza's waiting for humanitarian aid", left-leaning daily Haaretz 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. The allegations followed repeated reports by eyewitnesses and local authorities over recent weeks of deadly incidents around aid distribution centres in the territory, where Israeli forces are battling Hamas militants. Haaretz said the military advocate general, the force's top legal authority, had instructed the force to investigate "suspected war crimes" at aid sites. When asked by AFP, the Israeli military declined to comment on that particular claim. Netanyahu said in a joint statement with Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel "absolutely rejects the contemptible blood libels" and "malicious falsehoods" in the Haaretz article. The military said in a separate statement that 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." After more than 20 months of devastating conflict, rights groups say Gaza's population of more than two million faces famine-like conditions. The health ministry in Gaza says more than 500 people have been killed near aid centres since late May, when a new US- and Israeli-backed foundation began distributing aid. On Friday, 62 civilians were killed from Israeli airstrikes and gunfire across Gaza The privately run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation denies that deadly incidents have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points. Netanyahu and Katz added in their statement: "The soldiers of the (Israeli military) receive clear orders to avoid harming innocents -- and operate accordingly." Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Express Tribune
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Netanyahu denies military ordered troops to fire on Gaza aid seekers
Netanyahu rejects report claiming Israeli commanders ordered troops to fire at Palestinians seeking aid in Listen to article Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday rejected a report that the country's military commanders ordered their soldiers to fire at Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza. Left-leaning daily Haaretz 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. The allegations followed repeated reports by eyewitnesses and local authorities over recent weeks of deadly incidents around aid distribution centres in the territory, where Israeli forces are battling Hamas. Haaretz said the military advocate general, the force's top legal authority, had instructed the force to investigate 'suspected war crimes' at aid sites. When asked by AFP, the Israeli military declined to comment on that particular claim Netanyahu said in a joint statement with Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel 'absolutely rejects the contemptible blood libels' and 'malicious falsehoods' in the Haaretz article. The military said in a separate statement that 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.' After more than 20 months of devastating conflict, rights groups say Gaza's population of more than two million faces famine-like conditions. The health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza says more than 500 people have been killed near aid centres since late May, when a new US- and Israeli-backed foundation began distributing aid. The privately run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation denies that deadly incidents have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points. Netanyahu and Katz added in their statement: 'The soldiers of the (Israeli military) receive clear orders to avoid harming innocents – and operate accordingly.'
