Latest news with #OmarHamad
Indian Express
5 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
Where humanity ends in Palestine, a writer offers his library in exchange for food
Asentence is not a loaf of bread, releasing steam as it is torn apart and dipped into fresh olive oil and zaatar. A beautiful metaphor offers little where the fragrance of a fresh meal is in danger of becoming a memory, and even the coldest can of beans does more for a hungry stomach than any word in any language can. And so, Omar Hamad — pharmacist, tailor, writer and eyewitness to the death and starvation in Gaza — shares an appeal on social media, offering his library in exchange for a sack of flour. Because what place do books have in a land where access to food is now wielded like a weapon? 'I once plucked roses from language,' Hamad recalls in a short essay on LitHub. But even for a writer, books can qualify as a necessity only when the sharp edge of hunger is sheathed — not when there are mouths to feed, wounds to salve, bodies to count. Twenty-one months of conflict have made Gaza, as United Nations officials have reported, 'the hungriest place on Earth'. From rice to lentils to baby formula, even the most staple of foods have been made scarce by Israeli blockades and reports emerge every day of desperate, hungry people being crushed to death by others who are just as famished and just as desperate, begging for relief at aid hubs. This is the double tragedy of Gaza where, for millennia, olive trees and poetry grew in equal profusion. Literature may be immortal, but for an entire population that faces starvation, books, too, have been reduced to mere possessions, emergency currency to be exchanged for food. The cultural devastation of Gaza since October 2023 is heartbreaking, with libraries, museums and ancient cultural sites destroyed by bombing. But as hunger stalks through the Strip, there will come a time when the world must reckon with a greater, incalculable loss.
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'.
Arab Times
28-06-2025
- Health
- Arab Times
Gaza officials say 'narcotics' found in US-Israeli aid flour
GAZA STRIP, June 28: The Government Media Office in Gaza has denounced the presence of narcotic pills found inside flour bags distributed through aid centers run by the United States and Israel. The discovery, revealed on Friday, involves testimonies from four citizens who reported finding oxycodone pills concealed within the flour sacks. These aid hubs have been labeled as 'death traps' by Palestinian authorities. Describing the incident as a 'heinous crime,' Palestinian officials accused the Israeli military of attempting to undermine public health and disrupt the social fabric of Palestinian society. Citizens were urged to inspect food aid carefully and report any anomalies. Since May 27, the U.S. and Israel have coordinated an independent aid distribution program named the 'Gaza Humanitarian Foundation' (GHF), operating outside the jurisdiction of the UN and traditional humanitarian bodies. Critics say the initiative places desperate civilians in an impossible situation —choosing between starvation or risking death at the aid sites. Reports from Haaretz included testimonies from Israeli soldiers confirming that unarmed Palestinians were being fired upon under direct orders as they approached the aid centers. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, at least 549 civilians have been killed and more than 4,000 injured near these distribution points since the start of the program. UNRWA's Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini condemned the GHF as 'abhorrent,' attributing ongoing casualties to its operations. The United Nations has criticized the scheme as an 'Israeli military humanitarian aid operation' that breaches accepted humanitarian norms. Alarming reports have also surfaced regarding the smuggling of oxycodone — an opioid painkiller linked to the U.S. opioid crisis—into Gaza via flour bags. Pharmacist Omar Hamad cited Gaza's Anti-Drug Committee, saying the drug was being hidden within and even mixed into the flour. Hamad stated that numerous citizens had found the pills themselves and noted that Dr. Khalil Abu Nada had authored a detailed report on the situation. Dr. Abu Nada suggested the presence of the drug may explain recent looting of flour trucks in southern Gaza and highlighted the drug's addictive potential and severe health risks, including respiratory failure. Journalist Abdullah Attar confirmed similar findings of oxycodone inside aid flour, further fueling concerns. The presence of such substances raises serious questions amid already dire conditions caused by Israel's blockade on humanitarian assistance, which has pushed parts of Gaza into famine. The GHF aid model has also been linked to increasing violence and casualties at distribution sites, with Israeli forces targeting Palestinians awaiting food deliveries. Since the program's inception, over 500 people have reportedly been killed in such incidents.
Al Arabiya
28-06-2025
- Health
- Al Arabiya
Israeli-, US-backed aid distribution centers accused of mixing Oxycodone in flour bags
Gaza's Government Media Office on Friday accused Israeli- and US-backed aid distribution centers in Gaza of deliberately mixing narcotic pills in flour bags being distributed to the population severely affected by war and at risk of famine. Lacing the flour with highly addictive substances marks a horrific new crime targeting civilians' health and societal fabric in Gaza, the statement said. 'We hold the Israeli occupation fully responsible for this crime, which aims to spread addiction and destroy Palestinian society from within,' it added. Omar Hamad, a pharmacist and writer from the besieged enclave, said that Israel has reportedly been smuggling Oxycodone into Gaza through flour bags provided as aid. 'It has also been revealed that the drug is not only hidden inside flour bags, but the flour itself appears to be mixed with it,' he said Thursday in a post on X. The Anti-Drug Committee in Gaza urged citizens to exercise caution, inspect food items coming from 'the death traps called US-Israeli aid centers,' and immediately report any foreign substances. This week, the United Nations condemned Israel's 'weaponization of food' in Gaza, a war crime, and urged Israel's military to 'stop shooting at people trying to get food.' According to UN figures, over 410 Palestinians have been killed and at least 3,000 injured because of Israeli military shooting Palestinians trying to reach the aid distribution points or those collecting humanitarian aid. '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 had said in written notes provided before a briefing on Tuesday. The US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began food distribution operations in Gaza on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into the occupied Palestinian territory for more than two months, sparking warnings of mass famine. The UN said in May that '100 percent of the population' in Gaza were 'at risk of famine.'
