Latest news with #US-and
Middle East Eye
a day ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Eight people killed by Israeli soldiers while seeking aid
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that eight people were killed near aid distribution sites in central and southern Gaza on Tuesday, the latest in a series of daily deadly attacks on those seeking food since the specially created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) took over food distribution on 27 May. One person was killed and 50 wounded when tanks and drones opened fire as crowds were waiting to collect aid near the Wadi Gaza Bridge in the centre of the Gaza Strip, Bassal said. The civil defence said another six people were killed nearby while trying to reach the same aid centre. Asked for comment, the Israeli military told AFP its forces "fired warning shots to distance suspects who approached the troops", adding it was not aware of any injuries but would review the incident. At least one more person was killed near another aid centre in Rafah, the civil defence said. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers. A group of 169 aid organisations called on Monday for an end to Gaza's "deadly" new US-and Israeli-backed aid distribution scheme, which they said forced starving civilians to "trek for hours through dangerous terrain and active conflict zones, only to face a violent, chaotic race" for food. They urged a return to the UN-led aid mechanism that existed before Israel imposed a full blockade on humanitarian assistance entering Gaza on 2 March. Israeli soldiers and army officials told Haaretz newspaper that they had targeted Palestinian civilians who had come seeking aid from GHF.
Qatar Tribune
3 days ago
- Health
- Qatar Tribune
Israeli air strikes kill dozens in Gaza
Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip have killed dozens of Palestinians, including people seeking food at aid distribution hubs, as the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave deteriorates by the day. Medical sources on Sunday said that at least 47 people were killed in Israeli strikes targeting multiple locations across Gaza, including 29 in Gaza City and the north of the territory. Among them were at least five Palestinian aid seekers killed near food distribution centres run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) north of Rafah, according to local emergency workers. Since the US-and Israel-backed GHF took over limited aid deliveries in Gaza in late May, Israeli soldiers have regularly shot at Palestinians near distribution centres. (Agencies) page 5
Mint
5 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Israel-Hamas war: UN alleges Gaza aid system is leading to civilian deaths; Tel Aviv refutes ‘trying to sabotage…'
On Friday, the United Nations (UN) officials, including Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a US-and Israeli-backed distribution system in Gaza was resulting in mass deaths of those in need of humanitarian aid. The Israeli military denied the allegations, with the foreign ministry asserting that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) does not harm civilians and the UN is 'trying to sabotage humanitarian operations'. According to local officials and eyewitnesses, Palestianians have been killed many times at distribution centres in the last few days in the war-stricken territory, where Israeli forces are confronting Hamas militants, AFP reported. The US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has dismissed any deadly cases were connected to its places. 'Blaming Israel for the UN's failures and for Hamas's deeds is a deliberate tactic. The GHF has so far provided more than 46 million meals directly to Palestinian civilians, not to Hamas. Yet 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 Israeli Foreign Ministry stated in a post on X. 'The IDF never targets civilians, and anyone claiming otherwise is blatantly lying. It is Hamas that is deliberately targeting and murdering GHF (Gaza Humanitarian Fund) aid workers -- a crime the UN has never condemned -- and is also targeting civilians who are trying to collect aid from the GHF,' it further said. The ministry added, "The UN must now decide: Does it prefer to preserve its monopoly and a system that benefits Hamas -- thereby prolonging the war -- or is it interested in delivering humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza?" Head of the UN agency for Palestinian affairs (UNWRA), Philippe Lazzarini, said, "The new aid distribution system has become a killing field," with those 'shot at while trying to access food for themselves and their families'. This abomination must end through a return to humanitarian deliveries from the UN including @UNRWA." Over 500 people have been killed surrounding aid centres while looking for limited supplies since late May, the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory said. The UN Secretary-General Guterres once again urged an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, stating that the humanitarian crisis has escalated to 'horrific proportions.' He mentioned, "People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence." 'A trickle of aid is not enough, what is needed now is a surge. The trickle must become an ocean. We need concrete action so that aid can reach all,' Antonio had said on assistance to Gaza. In a join statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz on Friday stressed that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers have explicit directives not to hurt innocents. 'The State of Israel absolutely rejects the contemptible blood libels that have been published in the Ha'aretz newspaper, according to which 'IDF Soldiers Ordered to Shoot Deliberately at Unarmed Gazans Waiting for Humanitarian Aid,' Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserted. Nearly 1,200 people lost lives and 251 were held captive in a conflict that began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas carried out an attack on Israel. Israel promised to annihilate the group as a retaliation to the Hamas' action. Israel's military campaign has killed approximately 56,331 people, mainly civilians, the Gaza's health ministry said. (With inputs from AFP and ANI)
NDTV
24-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
UN Condemns Israel's "Weaponisation Of Food" In Gaza, Calls It A War Crime
The United Nations on Tuesday condemned Israel's apparent "weaponisation of food" in Gaza, a war crime, and urged Israel's military to "stop shooting at people trying to get food". "Israel's militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution," the UN human rights office said in written notes provided before a briefing. "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 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" of the besieged territory were "at risk of famine". The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF -- an officially private effort with opaque funding -- over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan warned in the briefing notes of "scenes of chaos around the food distribution points" of the GHF. Since the organisation began operating, "the Israeli military has shelled and shot Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points, leading to many fatalities", he said. He pointed to reports that "over 410 Palestinians have been killed as a result, (while) at least 93 others have also been reportedly killed by the Israeli army while attempting to approach the very few aid convoys of the UN and other humanitarian organisations". "At least 3,000 Palestinians have been injured in these incidents," he said. "Each of these killings must be promptly and impartially investigated, and those responsible must be held to account." Kheetan cautioned that the system "endangers civilians and contributes to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza". "The weaponisation of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime, and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law," he warned. The UN rights office demanded immediate action to rectify the situation. "The Israeli military must stop shooting at people trying to get food," Kheetan said, also demanding that Israel "allow the entry of food and other humanitarian assistance needed to sustain the lives of Palestinians in Gaza". "It must immediately lift its unlawful restrictions on the work of UN and other humanitarian actors," he said. And he called on other countries to "take concrete steps to ensure that Israel -- the occupying power in Gaza -- complies with its duty to ensure that sufficient food and lifesaving necessities are provided to the population."
Observer
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Observer
Israeli fire kills 22 as Gazans face deep hunger
GAZA: Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed 22 people across the Palestinian territory on Thursday, including 16 who were waiting to collect aid. The distribution of food and basic supplies in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip has become increasingly fraught and perilous, exacerbating the territory's deep hunger crisis. Civil defence official Mohammed al Mughayyir said that the Al Awda Hospital received 10 dead and around 200 wounded, including women and children, "after Israeli drones dropped multiple bombs on gatherings of civilians near an aid distribution point around the Netzarim checkpoint in central Gaza". He said that Gaza City's Al Shifa Hospital received six dead following Israeli attacks on aid queues near Netzarim and in the Al Sudaniya area in northwestern Gaza. The Israeli army said it was looking into the reports when asked for comment. Restrictions imposed on media in the Gaza Strip and the difficulties of access on the ground mean AFP is not able to independently verify the death tolls announced by the civil defence agency. Mughayyir said another six people were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza. The US-and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) accused Palestinian group Hamas of attacking aid workers en route to a distribution centre on Wednesday, saying at least five people were killed. GHF said a bus carrying its staff to a distribution site near the southern city of Khan Yunis was "brutally attacked by Hamas" around 10:00 pm. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach GHF distribution points since they began operating in late May, according to Gaza's civil defence agency. Israel's refusal to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and its targeting of aid distribution points is causing civilians to starve which constitutes a war crime, Sweden's foreign minister said on Thursday. In early June, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said deadly attacks on civilians around aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip constituted "a war crime", while several rights groups including Amnesty International have accused Israel of genocide. Israel has vehemently rejected that term. "To use starvation of civilians as a method of war is a war crime. Life-saving humanitarian help must never be politicised or militarised," Maria Malmer Stenergard said at a press conference. "There are strong indications right now that Israel is not living up to its commitments under international humanitarian law," she said. "It is crucial that food, water and medicine swiftly reach the civilian population, many of whom are women and children living under wholly inhumane conditions," she said. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority said internet and fixed-line communication services were down in Gaza on Thursday following an attack on the territory's last fibre optic cable it blamed on Israel. "All internet and fixed-line communication services in the Gaza Strip have been cut following the targeting of the last remaining main fibre optic line in Gaza," the PA's telecommunications ministry said in a statement, accusing Israel of attempting to cut Gaza off from the world. "The southern and central Gaza Strip have now joined Gaza City and the northern part of the Strip in experiencing complete isolation for the second consecutive day," the ministry said in a statement. It added that its maintenance and repair teams had been unable to safely access the sites where damage occurred to the fibre optic cable. "The Israeli occupation continues to prevent technical teams from repairing the cables that were cut yesterday", it said, adding that Israeli authorities had prevented repairs to other telecommunication lines in Gaza "for weeks and months". The Palestinian Red Crescent said the communication lines were "directly targeted by occupation fores". It said the internet outage was hindering its emergency services by impeding communication with first responder teams in the field. "The emergency operations room is also struggling to coordinate with other organisations to respond to humanitarian cases." Maysa Monayer, spokeswoman for the Palestinian communication ministry, said that "mobile calls are still available with very limited capacity" in Gaza for the time being. Now in its 21st month, the war in Gaza has caused massive damage to infrastructure across the Palestinian territory, including water mains, power lines and roads. — AFP
