Latest news with #civildefense
Arab News
20 hours ago
- Health
- Arab News
62 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, say Gaza rescuers
GAZA CITY: Gaza's civil defense 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 organizations. Civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said that 62 Palestinians had been killed on Friday by Israeli strikes or fire across the Palestinian territory. When asked 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. People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence. Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general Bassal said that six people were killed in southern Gaza near one of the distribution sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and one more in a separate incident in the center 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 territory says that since late May, more than 500 people have been killed near aid centers 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, or 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 Al-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 how the distribution centers 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. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the US-backed aid operation in Gaza is 'inherently unsafe,' giving a blunt assessment: 'It is killing people.' He also said UN-led humanitarian efforts are being 'strangled,' aid workers themselves are starving and Israel — as the occupying power — is required to agree to and facilitate aid deliveries into and throughout the Palestinian enclave. 'People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence,' Guterres said. Meanwhile, Bassal said that 10 people were killed in five separate Israeli strikes near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, east of which he said 'continuous Israeli artillery shelling' was reported on Friday. Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said they shelled an Israeli vehicle east of Khan Younis on Friday. The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said they had attacked a group of Israeli soldiers north of Khan Younis in coordination with the Al-Qassam Brigades. Bassal added that 30 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 airstrike hit Osama Bin Zaid School, which was housing displaced people' in northern Gaza. In central Gaza's Al-Bureij refugee camp, 12 people were killed in two separate Israeli strikes, Bassal said. The 50th medic from the Palestine Red Crescent has been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, the PRCS said on Friday in a statement. Haitham Bassam Abu Issa, a nurse at the PRCS clinic in Deir Al-Balah in the center of the Gaza strip, was killed while off duty on Thursday, the PRCS said. 'This brings the total number of PRCS staff and volunteers killed during the conflict to 50 – a deeply shocking figure,' the PRCS 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. The Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 56,331 people, mostly civilians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The UN considers its figures reliable.
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Climate
- Al Arabiya
Storms in France Leave 2 Dead, 17 Injured and Cause Parliament to Spring a Leak
Two people were killed and 17 injured during torrential storms in France that toppled trees, flooded Paris streets, and caused parliament's roof to spring a leak as the prime minister was speaking. 'Have you noticed that it was raining?' Prime Minister François Bayrou pointed out, looking up at the National Assembly's leaking domed ceiling after delivering a speech on the Middle East as a deluge fell outside, quickly inundating Paris boulevards on Wednesday evening. The assembly vice president, Roland Lescure, suspended the debate so fire officers could check out the problem. When he restarted the session about 15 minutes later, Lescure told lawmakers that absorbent mats were used to patch up the leak. The French civil defense agency said one person was critically injured in the storm, which broadly swept France after a heat wave. The agency said power was also cut to 110,000 homes. A falling tree killed a 12-year-old child in southwest France, and a man died when his quad-bike hit a toppled tree in the northwest, French media reported.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Storms in France leave 2 dead, 17 injured and cause parliament to spring a leak
A woman shelters with an umbrella against the rain as the Eiffel Tower stands illuminated in the background Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) PARIS — Two people were killed and 17 injured during torrential storms in France that toppled trees, flooded Paris streets and caused parliament's roof to spring a leak as the prime minister was speaking. 'Have you noticed that it was raining?' Prime Minister François Bayrou pointed out, looking up at the National Assembly's leaking domed ceiling after delivering a speech on the Middle East as a deluge fell outside, quickly inundating Paris boulevards on Wednesday evening. The assembly vice president, Roland Lescure, suspended the debate so fire officers could check out the problem. When he restarted the session about 15 minutes later, Lescure told lawmakers that absorbent mats were used to patch up the leak. The French civil defense agency said one person was critically injured in the storm, which broadly swept France after a heat wave. The agency said power was also cut to 110,000 homes. A falling tree killed a 12-year-old child in southwest France and a man died when his quad-bike hit a toppled tree in the northwest, French media reported. The Associated Press
The Independent
2 days ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Deadly storms hit France as Paris streets flood and parliament springs a leak
Two people have been killed and 17 injured during torrential storms in France that toppled trees and flooded Paris streets. The French civil defence agency said one person was critically injured in the storm, which broadly swept France after a heatwave. The agency said power was also cut to 110,000 homes. A falling tree killed a 12-year-old child in south-west France and a man died when his quad bike hit a toppled tree in the north west, French media reported. The rain also caused parliament's roof to spring a leak as the prime minister was speaking. "Have you noticed that it was raining?" Prime Minister Francois Bayrou pointed out, looking up at the National Assembly's leaking domed ceiling after delivering a speech on the Middle East as a deluge fell outside, quickly inundating Paris boulevards on Wednesday evening. The assembly vice president Roland Lescure suspended the debate so fire officers could check out the problem. When he restarted the session about 15 minutes later, Mr Lescure told legislators that absorbent mats were used to patch up the leak. In the UK Thunderstorms could hit parts of the UK on Thursday as hot and humid weather looks set to continue, forecasters said. It follows heavy showers and thunderstorms in some areas on Wednesday, with the worst of the stormy weather predicted in south-east England. Significant rain could fall in the north and west of the country, the Met Office said. Warm, humid air is set to linger in the south and east, with maximum temperatures of 27C in eastern England. But temperatures are unlikely to feel 'quite as muggy', Met Office presenter and meteorologist Honor Criswick said. 'For the first part of the day, it is set to be unsettled (with) outbreaks of quite heavy rain at times, particularly across Scotland,' he said. 'But it's fairly fast moving, so by the time we reach the afternoon, particularly from the west, we're going to see the return of those bright and sunny spells. 'And behind this area of rain, a much fresher feel to the air as well.' On Friday, forecasters said the unsettled conditions look set to continue. According to the Met Office, rain could be heavy in the west, while the east of England could remain dry, escaping with some sunny intervals. Parts of the south and east may also remain very warm, with highs potentially reaching 28C as the muggy air returns. Mr Criswick said: 'For the rest of the week, we do have a ridge of high pressure building to the south, so once again pushing in a return of that warmer air. 'So, that fresher feeling day as we head into Thursday, it's going to be quite a brief interlude. 'And low pressure is never too far behind, so still some rain on the cards to finish off the week and as we head into the weekend.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
5 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
At Least 15 Killed in Suicide Bombing at Damascus Church
At least 15 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Syria's capital Damascus on Sunday, security sources said. Syria's interior ministry said the suicide bomber was an ISIS member. He entered the church, opened fire and then detonated his explosive vest, the ministry added in a statement. A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two men were involved in the attack, including the one who blew himself up. Syria's state news agency cited the health ministry as putting the preliminary casualty toll at nine dead and 13 injured. Some local media reported that children were among the casualties. A livestream from the site by Syria's civil defense, the White Helmets, showed scenes of destruction from within the church, including a bloodied floor and shattered church pews and masonry. Syrian Information Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the attack, calling it a terrorist attack. 'This cowardly act goes against the civic values that brings us together,' he said in a post on X. 'We will not back down from our commitment to equal citizenship ... and we also affirm the state's pledge to exert all its efforts to combat criminal organizations and to protect society from all attacks threatening its safety.'
