Latest news with #KhalilMazenAbuNada
Gulf Today
30-06-2025
- Health
- Gulf Today
Gazans accuse Israel of sending food mixed with deadly narcotic oxycodone to starving population
In a development intensifying the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Palestinian authorities have accused aid centers backed by the United States and Israel of distributing flour contaminated with oxycodone—a powerful and highly addictive opioid. According to the Gaza government's media office, the pills were reportedly found hidden inside flour bags distributed by what it described as 'American-Israeli' aid centers. Medical professionals in Gaza, including Dr. Khalil Mazen Abu Nada and Pharmacist Omar Hamad, confirmed the presence of oxycodone either concealed within aid packages or mixed into the flour itself. 'We have documented four separate testimonies from citizens who discovered these pills in the flour bags,' the media office said in a statement, warning that the narcotic may have been crushed or dissolved directly into the flour. Officials fear a potential deliberate attempt to induce addiction and undermine public health. Oxycodone is typically prescribed for severe or chronic pain, such as in cancer patients, and is known for its high potential for addiction. Side effects can include respiratory distress, hallucinations, and even death. A man shows Oxycodone tablets while sorting flour in Gaza. Labeling the incident a "heinous crime," Gaza officials accused Israeli authorities of turning humanitarian aid into a tool of harm. They alleged that the blockade is being used as a means to weaponize basic necessities, calling the aid centers 'death traps' designed to destabilize Palestinian society. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)—a US-Israeli joint aid initiative—has come under particular scrutiny. Human rights organizations have criticized its lack of transparency and oversight, demanding its operations be suspended immediately. A coalition of 15 legal and human rights groups warned that involvement in such aid distribution could amount to complicity in international crimes, including war crimes and genocide. The controversy comes amid other serious accusations against Israel. Israeli newspaper Haaretz recently reported that some Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers admitted to shooting unarmed Palestinians at food distribution points. Gaza's Health Ministry claims that more than 500 Palestinians have been killed near aid collection centers since late May. These developments follow the issuance of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, over alleged war crimes in Gaza. Separately, Israel is also defending itself against a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). As conditions worsen and starvation spreads, the reports of drug-laced aid have sparked global outrage and intensified calls for independent oversight of humanitarian operations in Gaza.
Express Tribune
29-06-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Gaza accuses Israel of smuggling oxycodone in aid flour bags
Narcotic pills have been found inside US-dispatched flour bags in the Israeli-besieged enclave, Palestinian authorities said. In a statement, Gaza's government media office said prescription painkiller Oxycodone was found by Palestinians inside flour bags they received from US-run aid distribution points in Gaza. 'It is possible that these pills were deliberately ground or dissolved inside the flour itself, which constitutes a direct assault on public health,' it warned. The media office held Israel fully responsible for this "heinous crime" aimed at spreading addiction and destroying the Palestinian social fabric from within. 'This is a part of the ongoing Israeli genocide against the Palestinians,' it said, calling Israel's use of drugs a "soft weapon in a dirty war against civilians.' Read: Israeli strikes kill 37 in Gaza within 24-hours Gaza's Anti-Drug Committee has urged residents to inspect food aid and report any foreign substances, warning that some items from what it described as 'death traps called US-Israeli aid centres' may be contaminated. Israel had crafted a plan to establish four aid distribution points in southern and central Gaza, which Israeli media say aims to evacuate Palestinians from northern Gaza into the south. The Israeli mechanism was opposed by the international community and the UN, which came as an alternative attempt by Israel to bypass the aid distribution through UN channels. Dr Khalil Mazen Abu Nada and pharmacist Omar Hamad elaborated on the findings, raising concerns over the potential misuse of the drug. The most despicable form of genocide has recently come to light with the spread of a drug called Oxycodone among the population. Israel has reportedly been smuggling it in through bags of flour provided as aid. As a pharmacist, let me explain what this drug is: it belongs to the… — Omar Hamad | عُـمَـرْ 𓂆 (@OmarHamadD) June 26, 2025 What is Oxycodone? Oxycodone is typically prescribed for managing severe pain in cancer patients or post-surgical recovery. It is highly addictive and poses serious health risks if misused or consumed unknowingly. 'Weaponisation of food' Meanwhile, the United Nations this week condemned Israel for what it called the 'weaponisation of food' in Gaza, labelling the practice a war crime. It also called on Israeli forces to 'stop shooting at people trying to get food'. According to UN figures, over 410 Palestinians have been killed and at least 3,000 wounded while attempting to access or collect humanitarian aid since the beginning of the Israeli siege. 'Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food,' the UN human rights office said in briefing notes on Tuesday. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed body, began distributing food in Gaza on 26 May after Israel halted all official aid entry for over two months. The UN warned in May that '100 percent of the population' in Gaza is 'at risk of famine'.
Middle East Eye
27-06-2025
- Health
- Middle East Eye
Opioid pills discovered in US-backed food aid, Gaza authorities say
The Gaza government media office on Friday condemned the discovery of oxycodone pills reportedly discovered in flour bags distributed by 'American-Israeli' aid centres. 'We have so far documented four testimonies from citizens who found these pills inside the flour bags,' it said in a statement, warning of the 'possibility that some of these narcotic substances were deliberately ground or dissolved in the flour itself'. Oxycodone is an opioid meant to treat severe and long-term pain, often prescribed to cancer patients. The drug is highly addictive and can have life-threatening effects, including breathing complications and hallucinations. The media office's statement comes after several social media posts shared images of pills purportedly discovered in flour bags in Gaza. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Palestinian pharmacist Omar Hamad described the discovery of the pills as 'the most despicable form of genocide'. Khalil Mazen Abu Nada, a Palestinian doctor in Gaza, also posted about the drug on Facebook, describing it as a 'means to obliterate our societal awareness'. The Gaza government media office said it held Israel 'fully responsible for this heinous crime of spreading addiction and destroying the Palestinian social fabric from within'. Israel kills 25 Palestinians seeking aid as hospitals warn of infant mortalities Read More » The office also decried the Israeli military's 'exploitation of the blockade to smuggle these substances as 'aid and assistance'', describing the Israeli and American-operated aid centres as 'death traps'. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the controversial US-Israeli organisation operating aid points in Gaza, has been widely condemned by human rights organisations for its lack of transparency and accountability. On Wednesday, 15 human rights and legal groups called for the suspension of GHF for its role in undermining international humanitarian organisations and fostering the 'forced displacement' of Palestinians in Gaza, amounting to what could be complicity in 'crimes under international law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide'. Gaza's health authorities have reported that at least 516 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces near aid sites in the past month of GHF's operations. On Friday, Haaretz reported Israeli soldiers admitting to directly shooting and killing unarmed Palestinians at GHF-operated aid collection sites. Middle East Eye has asked the GHF for comment.
