Latest news with #ProjectHope
Irish Independent
5 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Independent
Ten children queuing for food among 16 killed in Israeli strike in Gaza
Olivia le Poidevin ©Reuters Sixteen Palestinians, including ten children and six adults, were killed in an Israeli airstrike while queuing for nutritional supplements in front of a clinic in central Gaza, a hospital says. Verified video footage from the strike in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip showed the bodies of women and children lying in pools of blood amid dust and screaming. The strike happened just outside the Altayara health clinic run by US-based Project Hope.
The National
21 hours ago
- Health
- The National
One-year-old boy who had just uttered first words among dozens killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza
A one-year-old boy who was killed by an Israeli strike near a medical centre in Gaza had uttered his first words 'just hours earlier', said his grieving mother. At least 15 Palestinians, including nine children, were killed while queuing for nutritional supplies outside a clinic in Deir Al Balah, according to Unicef. Among the victims was Mohammed, one, who spoke his first words to his mother, Donia, just hours earlier. The mother was critically injured in the strike, and lies in a hospital bed 'clutching Mohammed's tiny shoe', the UN agency said. 'The killing of families trying to access life-saving aid is unconscionable,' Unicef chief Catherine Russell said in a statement issued after the attack on Thursday. 'No parent should have to face such tragedy.' The Israeli strike occurred as patients gathered to receive treatment for malnutrition, infections and chronic illnesses from a medical centre operated by a Unicef partner organisation, Project Hope. The clinics are a 'place of refuge in Gaza where people bring their small children, women access pregnancy and post-partum care, people receive treatment for malnutrition, and more,' Project Hope's president, Rabih Torbay, said in a statement. 'Yet, this morning, innocent families were mercilessly attacked as they stood in line waiting for the doors to open. 'Horrified and heart-broken cannot properly communicate how we feel any more,' he said. The Israeli military said the incident was under review, claiming it had targeted a Hamas militant who took part in the October 7 attacks. At least 66 people were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza on Thursday, according to the enclave's civil defence agency. The killing of families trying to access life-saving aid is unconscionable Unicef chief Catherine Russell Three were killed by Israeli gunfire while waiting for aid in north-western Gaza city, adding to the high death toll from attacks near aid sites since the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating in late may. At least 798 people have been killed while trying to receive food aid in Gaza since May 27, of whom 615 were killed near GHF sites, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday. UN chief Antonio Guterres has condemned the food delivery system as ' a death sentence ', saying 'people are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families'. Journalist Ahmed Abu Aisha was killed in a strike west of Nuseirat in central Gaza on Thursday, according to medical sources, and at least five people were killed in Israeli bombing of tents sheltering displaced families in Al Qarara village in the city, official news agency Wafa reported. On Friday morning, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed at least six people in the north of the strip, including five at a school-turned-shelter. The strikes come amid negotiations for a truce between Israel and Hamas that are being held in Doha, Qatar. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he is hopeful a Gaza ceasefire will be realised in the 'near future'.
Daily Tribune
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Tribune
Hamas says Israeli troops stickingpoint in truce asGaza pounded
Hamas yesterday said it opposes any ceasefire deal that includes a large Israeli military presence in Gaza, after offering to release some hostages and as the civil defence agency reported scores killed across the Palestinian territory. The group said late Wednesday that it had agreed to release 10 people seized in its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war. Both sides have been holding indirect talks in Qatar since Sunday to agree a temporary truce and the United States says it is hopeful that a 60-day halt can be secured in the coming days. But Hamas said disagreements over the free flow of aid into Gaza and Israel's military withdrawal were sticking points, as were its demands for 'real guarantees' for a lasting peace. Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim told AFP on Thursday: 'We cannot accept the perpetuation of the occupation of our land and the surrender of our people to isolated enclaves under the control of the occupation army (Israel). 'This is what the negotiating delegation is presenting to the occupation so far in the current round of negotiations in Doha.' Hamas was particularly opposed to Israeli control over Rafah, on the border with Egypt, and the so-called Morag Corridor between the southern city and Khan Yunis, he added. Israel announced earlier this year that the army was seizing large areas in Gaza and incorporating them into buffer zones cleared of their inhabitants. Naim also said the group wanted an end to the current delivery of aid by a US- and Israel-backed group, a system which has seen scores killed while seeking handouts. On Thursday, eight children were among 17 killed in an Israeli strike outside a medical clinic in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, the civil defence agency said. Rabih Torbay, the head of US medical charity Project Hope,which runs the facility, called it 'ablatant violation of humanitarianlaw, and a stark reminder that noone and no place is safe in Gaza,even as ceasefire talks continue'. Hamas called it 'an atrociouscrime'. Israel's military said it hadstruck a Hamas man in the citywho had infiltrated Israel during the 2023 attack and that it'regrets any harm to uninvolvedindividuals'. UN brings fuel into Gaza for first time in 130 days: spokesman The United Nations managedto bring 75,000 liters of fuel intoGaza, the first in 130 days, thesecretary-general's spokesmansaid yesterday, noting it wasstill far from enough to alleviate shortages in the war-tornterritory. 'We and our humanitarianpartners need hundreds of thousands of liters of fuel each dayto keep essential life-saving andlife-sustaining operations going,meaning that the amount enteredyesterday isn't sufficient to covereven one day of energy requirement,' said Stephane Dujarric,warning that crucial services willshut down if more fuel does notenter Gaza immediately.
UPI
a day ago
- Health
- UPI
Israeli strike on U.S. non-profit clinic kills at least 15 in Gaza
July 11 (UPI) -- At least 15 Palestinians were killed, including 10 children and two women, in an Israeli airstrike as they waited in line outside the clinic of a U.S.-health non-profit in central Gaza. The attack on Thursday came as families gathered awaiting the opening of the facility in Deir Al Balah to access treatment for malnutrition, infections, chronic illnesses and other conditions, Project HOPE said in a post on X. "Project HOPE's health clinics are a place of refuge in Gaza where people bring their small children, women access pregnancy and postpartum care, people receive treatment for malnutrition, and more. Yet, innocent families were mercilessly attacked as they stood in line waiting for the doors to open," said Project HOPE President and CEO Rabih Torbay. "This is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and a stark reminder that no one and no place is safe in Gaza, even as cease-fire talks continue. This cannot continue." No Project Hope staff were on site, but the group said it had suspended the operation of its Altayara clinic until further notice as a precautionary measure. The facility, which was closed at the time, sustained damage to the front of the building and the entrance Footage circulating online, which the BBC said had checked out as genuine, shows several adults and small children on the ground outside, some apparently dead and others with severe injuries. The nearby al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital confirmed 10 children had died, but gave the total number killed as 17. Al Aqsa director Eyad Amawi said the hospital had received at least 30 injured people, but that there were more who had been taken to field hospitals. The Israel Defense Forces said it had been targeting an unnamed Hamas fighter who had participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel but had launched a review of the incident following reports that a number of people had been injured. "The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible," it added. The Washington Post said that it had seen CCTV footage that appeared to show the strike comprised a single missile aimed at two men who were walking near the people gathered outside the clinic, who were also caught in the blast. "They used a munition with high fragmentation, optimized to kill squad-sized elements of troops in the open, and not ideal for targeting in a crowded street with civilians, including women and children, adjacent," former U.S. Air Force Special Operations targeting expert and former Pentagon chief of civilian harm assessments told the paper. At least 51 other people died in Israeli strikes Thursday, including five killed when tents in the southern al-Mawasi area of the strip were hit by a drone, the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said. The deadly attacks came as three days of talks in Washington between Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, the Trump administration and leaders on Capitol Hill on a cease-fire in Gaza wrapped up without a breakthrough and Netanyahu flew back to Israel. However, Netanyahu did not close the door on a possible deal coming out of indirect negotiations with Hamas in Qatar that began Sunday, telling Newsmax that he was hopeful of getting a 60-day cease-fire agreement that would see 10 living hostages released within days.
NDTV
a day ago
- Health
- NDTV
8 Children Among 66 Killed In Israeli Strike Outside Gaza Clinic
Gaza's civil defence agency said eight children -- killed as they queued for nutritional supplements outside a health clinic -- were among 66 people who died in Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory Thursday. The agency said the children were among 17 victims in a strike on Deir el-Balah. According to the UN children's agency, the dead included a one-year-old boy whose mother said he had spoken his first words just hours earlier. The mother was critically injured, UNICEF added. "No parent should have to face such tragedy," UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said in a statement. "The killing of families trying to access life-saving aid is unconscionable," she added. US-based charity Project Hope, which runs the facility, said the victims were waiting for the clinic to open to receive treatment for malnutrition, infections and illness. The charity gave a toll of 15 dead, including 10 children and two women. Its president and chief executive Rabih Torbay called the strike "a blatant violation of international humanitarian law." Yousef Al-Aydi, 30, was among dozens of people—most of them women and children -- in the queue. "Suddenly, we heard the sound of a drone approaching, and then the explosion happened," he told AFP by phone. "The ground shook beneath our feet, and everything around us turned into blood and deafening screams." Israel has expanded its military operations in Gaza, where the war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the population of more than two million people. The Israeli military told AFP that it targetted a Hamas terroist in Deir el-Balah who had infiltrated Israel during the group's October 7, 2023 attack. It said it "regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimise harm as much as possible", adding the incident was under review. 'Killed instantly' Mohammed Abu Ouda, 35, was also in the queue at Project Hope. "What was our fault? What was the fault of the children?" he asked. "I saw a mother hugging her child on the ground, both motionless -- they were killed instantly." AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details due to media restrictions in Gaza. Four people were killed and several injured in a separate pre-dawn air strike on a home in Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza, civil defence agency official Mohammed al-Mughair added. AFP footage from Al-Bureij showed a family including three young children sitting among rubble outside their tattered tent after an air strike hit a house next door. Elsewhere, three people, including a woman, were killed by Israeli gunfire on civilians near an aid centre in the southern city of Rafah, the civil defence agency said. More than 600 people have been killed around aid distributions and convoys in Gaza since late May, when Israel began allowing a trickle of supplies, the United Nations said in early July. The European Union on Thursday said it had struck a deal with Israel to open more crossings for aid, as well as to repair infrastructure and protect aid workers. "We count on Israel to implement every measure agreed," EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X. The war began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, leading to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures. Israel's retaliatory strikes have killed at least 57,762 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations deems the figures reliable.
