Gaza rescuers say 33 killed by Israel fire
Gaza's civil defence agency said 33 people were killed by Israeli fire in the Palestinian territory on Wednesday, including 11 who were seeking aid.
The war sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel has ravaged the Gaza Strip and resulted in severe shortages of food, fuel and clean water.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 11 people were killed and more than 100 wounded "after the occupation forces opened fire and launched several shells... at thousands of citizens" who had gathered to queue for food in central Gaza.
The military told AFP that its forces operating in central Gaza identified "a group of suspicious individuals" approaching "in a manner that posed a potential threat to the forces."
It said its troops then fired "warning shots", but that it was "unaware of injuries".
In early March, Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza, amid a deadlock in truce negotiations, only partially easing restrictions in late May.
- Soldier killed -
Since then, chaotic scenes and a string of deadly shootings have occurred near areas where Palestinians have gathered in hopes of receiving aid.
The civil defence agency said another 19 people were killed in three Israeli strikes on Wednesday, which it said targeted houses and a tent for displaced people.
The Israeli military told AFP regarding one of those attacks that its troops were "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities".
Later Wednesday, the Israeli army said a soldier -- staff sergeant Stav Halfon -- had been killed during an operation in the southern Gaza Strip.
In another incident, three more people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a neighbourhood northeast of Gaza City on Wednesday, 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 the civil defence agency.
The agency reported that at least 53 people were killed on Tuesday, as they gathered near an aid centre in the southern city of Khan Yunis hoping to receive flour.
After Israel eased its blockade, the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began distributing aid in late May, but its operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and dozens of deaths.
- 'Acute food insecurity' -
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
However, the UN humanitarian office OCHA pointed out Tuesday that incidents "are also increasingly occurring along routes used by the UN to deliver humanitarian supplies", not just GHF.
It added that its humanitarian partners, including the World Food Programme (WFP), have reported that fuel in Gaza was reaching "critically low levels".
"Without immediate resupply, essential services -- including the provision of clean water -- will grind to a halt very soon," the statement added.
OCHA said on Monday that its partners "continue to warn of the risk of famine in Gaza, amid catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity".
The Hamas attack which triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to Israeli official figures.
The Gaza health ministry said on Wednesday that 5,334 people have been killed since Israel resumed major operations in the territory on March 18, ending a two-month truce.
The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out has reached 55,637 people, according to the health ministry.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Iran's hidden uranium plant ‘only the US can destroy'
A uranium enrichment plant crucial to Iran's nuclear ambitions has found itself at the centre of an unspeakably tense military standoff. Tucked deep beneath a mountain ridge south of Tehran lies the Fordo plant. It is currently out of reach for Israel's highly sophisticated missile systems, which have now claimed air superiority over most of Iran. Fordo sits approximately 96 km south of the capital of Tehran. It was originally a series of tunnels used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but Iran publicly disclosed its use as a nuclear facility in 2009 following Western pressure. The site consists of two large tunnels that power uranium-enrichment centrifuges, connected by smaller passages. Its depth poses a major challenge for Israel. The IDF reportedly has armaments capable of penetrating up to 10m of underground, but Fordo lies roughly 80–90m beneath the surface. Only the United States is believed to possess a weapon capable of inflicting serious damage on the facility — the 13,000kg GBUâ€'57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), or 'bunker buster'. Experts warn that deploying such a bomb could dramatically expand the Middle Eastern conflict, which is already sitting on a knife's edge after seven full days of traded blows. The US GBUâ€'57 comes in at a whopping 13 tonnes, giving it the ability to bury through around 18m of concrete or 61m of earth with relative ease. It will be high on Israel's list of requests should Donald Trump make the highly controversial call to intervene. But analysts caution that even a 13-tonne bunker buster may not be enough, and an attempt to destroy Fordo would likely rupture regional stability. But leaving it standing leaves a vital Iranian nuclear asset unscathed. Decisions made now — and whether a warhead flies from American skies — will define this chapter of Middle East security. Though the US has already helped intercept Iranian missiles en route to Israel, it has not launched any direct strikes on Iran. President Trump has remained vague, which has sent a ripple through the MAGA ranks, many of whom are opposed to the idea of US interventionism. 'I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do,' and added that his patience with Tehran 'had already run out.' Iran battered but not broken In less than a week, the Israeli army has taken out Iranian military commanders and damaged numerous surface installations, raising more questions than answers. 'The regime's missile stockpiles, launchers, military bases, production facilities, nuclear scientists, military command and control has taken a very severe beating,' said Behnam Ben Taleblu, director of the Iran program at the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a conservative-leaning group. 'But there are still outsized questions as to how efficacious of a strike Israel had against the beating hearts of Iran's nuclear program,' Taleblu said. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported no damage at Fordo, a uranium enrichment plant south of Tehran. Unlike the Natanz and Isfahan sites in central Iran, Fordo is buried deep underground, beyond the reach of Israeli bombs. 'All eyes will be on Fordo, which is buried under about 300 feet of rock in central Iran,' Taleblu said.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Iranian missiles strike hospital and apartment building
Overnight Iran has launched a wave of retaliatory airstrikes on Israel which hit several sites including a high-rise apartment building and a hospital. Sharren Haskel is the Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel, and she speaks to David Speers from Tel Aviv.
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
The world is ‘not safe' until the Iranian regime is defeated
President of the Centre of the American Experiment John Hinderaker says regime change in Iran 'needs to be the goal' for the Trump administration's policy in the Middle East. Fox News has released data showing that 73 per cent of registered voters think Iran poses a real threat to the United States – an increase of 13 per cent compared to just six years ago. This comes as United States President Donald Trump weighs up the potential for involvement in the conflict. 'If the mullahs stay in power, they will reconstitute Hamas and Hezbollah, which have been devastated,' Mr Hinderaker told Sky News host Rita Panahi. 'The world is not safe until Iran starts to become a normal, modern country which is what I think the large majority of Iranians want.'
