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The Guardian
5 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on annihilation in Gaza: the deaths mount, but the pressure has ebbed
'We cannot be asking civilians to go into a combat zone so that then they can be killed with the justification that they are in a combat zone.' It defies belief that the Unicef spokesperson, James Elder, should have needed to spell that out this week. And yet each day Palestinians continue to be killed while attempting to collect aid for their families from food hubs in Gaza, forced to make a lethal choice between risking being shot and letting their families slowly starve. More than 500 have died around the centres since the system was introduced – yet, with attention fixed on Israel's attacks on Iran, there has been little to spare for recent deaths. The Israeli military has given shifting accounts of events. But soldiers told the newspaper Haaretz that commanders ordered troops to shoot at crowds that posed no threat. The Israeli prime minister and defence minister attacked the allegations as 'blood libels'. Médecins Sans Frontières has accurately described the system as 'slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid'. Meanwhile, Israel has closed crossings into the north. Overall, Gaza's health ministry says that 56,331 people have died in Israeli attacks since war began. Researchers who assess war casualties suggested this week that, far from being exaggerated, this undercounts the toll. They estimated that violent deaths had reached 75,000 by this January, with another 8,500 excess deaths due to the war. The toll of hunger has yet to be reckoned. The ceasefire with Iran has prompted talk that Benjamin Netanyahu may be contemplating an early election, hoping to ride to victory on the glory. That would be tough without the release of hostages and at least the impression of an end to the war in Gaza. Yet it remains unclear whether there is actual movement towards a deal with Hamas. Donald Trump's hazy vision of a grand deal for the Middle East is built upon a fantasy of Arab state acquiescence without any concrete offer for Palestinians. Without a proper agreement, the threat of strikes resuming would loom large, there would be no promise that proper aid would follow, and recovery would be impossible. The far-right coalition partners upon whom Mr Netanyahu depends want the 'day after' to bring not a resurgence of life but the disappearance of Palestinians from Gaza – and beyond. The surging violence and mass displacements in the occupied West Bank, which have seen 943 Palestinians killed by settlers or security forces since 7 October 2023, have been described as 'Gazafication'. Meanwhile, Israel entrenches its control politically. As Israel's allies stand by – or, like Mr Trump, spur on horrors such as the food scheme – the necessary destination of a two-state solution is becoming a mirage. Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, has suggested openly that the US no longer sees an independent Palestinian state as a goal. European nations, including the UK, which had edged towards recognising one, have backed off since Israel attacked Iran. A review by the diplomatic service of the EU – Israel's biggest trading partner – found that the country was probably breaching human rights duties under their trade deal, yet the bloc has not acted accordingly. The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, rightly urged the EU to suspend the accord. While the arms and trade still flow, Israel's allies are complicit in the destruction of lives in Gaza. They must instead make themselves central to building a future for Palestinians in a state of their own. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Shafaq News
9 hours ago
- Health
- Shafaq News
Hamas accuses Israel of lacing aid flour with narcotics
Shafaq News – Middle East On Friday, Hamas's authorities in Gaza announced that narcotic pills were found hidden in flour distributed by the US-Israeli funded Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Describing the incident as a 'heinous crime' targeting civilians and social stability, the Media Office in Gaza revealed in a statement that several Oxycodone pills — a powerful opioid — were discovered inside flour bags provided by what it called the 'so-called American-Israeli aid centers.' The statement expressed deep concern and condemnation over the situation, warning that some of the pills may have been intentionally ground or dissolved into the flour. 'Four testimonies have so far been documented from citizens who allegedly found the pills in their food aid packages,' the statement clarified, holding Israel 'fully responsible' for what it described as a deliberate attempt to promote drug addiction and undermine Palestinian society as 'a part of a broader campaign of social destruction and genocide.' The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has not yet responded to the allegations. Earlier, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) organization called for the immediate dismantling of the Foundation, warning that the system has caused over 500 deaths and thousands of injuries in the past month. MSF accused Israeli authorities and their partners of 'turning humanitarian aid into a tool of degradation and violence,' forcing starving Palestinians to risk their lives for minimal supplies.
Morocco World
10 hours ago
- Health
- Morocco World
Gaza Authorities Accuse Israel, US of Hiding Drugs in Humanitarian Aid
Rabat – Gaza's Government Media Office has raised serious concerns after discovering narcotic pills hidden inside flour bags that were distributed through US- and Israeli-backed aid centers in the war-torn enclave. In a statement published on Telegram, the office called the discovery a dangerous attack on public health. According to the statement, at least four people have reported finding pills called 'Oxycodone' in bags of flour they received. Oxycodone is a powerful painkiller that can cause addiction. The media office warned that some of the flour may have even been mixed with the drug, which would make the situation even more dangerous. 'We hold the Israeli occupation fully responsible for this heinous crime of spreading addiction and destroying the Palestinian social fabric from within, as part of a systematic policy that constitutes an extension of the genocide it is waging against our Palestinian people,' it added. Officials in Gaza said this act is part of a 'dirty war' against civilians and a way to use drugs as a weapon. They described it as a war crime and a clear violation of international humanitarian law. Aid points turn deadly The Government Media Office also accused Israeli occupation forces of killing and injuring Palestinians near aid centers. It said that in the past four weeks, Israel has killed at least 549 Palestinians and injured over 4,000 others while trying to get humanitarian aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an initiative backed by the US and Israel. The office referred to a recent investigation by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which published what it called 'shocking confessions' from Israeli soldiers. According to the article, soldiers received orders to shoot starving Palestinians near the aid distribution points, even when they posed no threat. 'The Israeli occupation army is pursuing a systematic policy of genocide under the false guise of 'relief',' Gaza's media office said. The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) also spoke out against the aid scheme. In a strong statement, MSF said the operation should be stopped immediately, calling it 'slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid.' MSF, along with human rights groups and local authorities, say the so-called relief efforts are putting people in danger, rather than helping them survive.
Express Tribune
12 hours ago
- Health
- Express Tribune
Israeli strikes kill at least 62 in Gaza, says civil defence
A woman mourns during the funeral of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier in the day, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, June 26, REUTERS Listen to article 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". 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.
Shafaq News
12 hours ago
- Health
- Shafaq News
MSF: Gaza aid scheme turns into death trap
Shafaq News - Gaza On Friday, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) called for the immediate dismantling of the Gaza food distribution program Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), warning that the system has caused over 500 deaths and thousands of injuries in the past month. The GHF is a proxy mechanism backed by Israel and the US has been operating four distribution sites under full Israeli control. Each location is fenced, monitored by military watchposts, and guarded with barbed wire and earth mounds. MSF accused Israeli authorities and their partners of turning humanitarian aid into a tool of degradation and violence, forcing starving Palestinians to risk their lives for minimal supplies. 'People are shot whether they arrive early, on time, or late,' said Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, MSF's emergency coordinator in Gaza. Medical teams have seen a sharp rise in gunshot injuries at these sites. The MSF field hospital in Deir al-Balah reported a 190% increase in gunshot patients during the week of June 8. Since June 7, the clinic in Al-Mawasi—normally unequipped for trauma care—has treated over 420 wounded people, averaging more than 10 new patients a day. MSF reiterated that humanitarian aid must never be controlled by warring parties or used to further military aims, urging the Israeli authorities to lift the siege and restore a principled, impartial aid system coordinated by the UN. The Israeli-US food distribution scheme in Gaza is slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid. In one month, 500+ have been killed for seeking Israeli authorities must revert to a principled humanitarian system, coordinated by the UN. — MSF International (@MSF) June 27, 2025
