GHF says all aid distributions sites in Gaza closed
UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma discusses how US- and Israeli-backed group handing out aid in Gaza have said that all its distribution sites were closed until further notice, urging residents to stay away from these venues "for their safety" after a series of deadly shootings.
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Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Israel says its military has retrieved body of Thai hostage from Gaza
Israel says it has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage kidnapped and taken into Gazaon October 7, 2023. The country's prime minister's office said on Saturday that the body of Thai citizen Nattapong Pinta was returned to Israel in a special military operation. The announcement comes as Israel continues its military offensive across the strip, killing at least 22 people overnight, according to health officials. Mr Pinta was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in captivity near the start of the war, said the Israeli government. This comes two days after the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages were retrieved. Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza, of whom Israel says more than half are dead. Israel's defence minister said on Saturday that Mr Pinta's body was retrieved from the Rafah area. He had come to Israel from Thailand to work in agriculture. A statement from the hostage forum, which supports the hostages, said it stands with Mr Pinta's family and shares in their grief. It called on the country's decision makers to bring home the remaining hostages and give those who have died a proper burial. Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive by Hamas militants. Many of the Thai agricultural workers lived in compounds on the outskirts of southern Israeli kibbutzim and towns, and Hamas militants overran those places first. A total of 46 Thais have been killed during the conflict, according to Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The retrieval of Mr Pinta's body comes as Israel continues its military campaign across Gaza. Hospital officials said they received the bodies of nearly two dozen people on Saturday. One strike hit a flat killing seven people, including a mother and five children. Their bodies were taken to Shifa hospital. Israel said on Saturday that it is responding to Hamas's 'barbaric attacks' and is dismantling its capabilities. It said it follows international law and takes all feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Body of Thai hostage recovered from Gaza, Israel says
The Israeli military has retrieved the body of Thai hostage, Nattapong Pinta, who had been held in Gaza since Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, Defence Minister Israel Katz has said. Mr Pinta's body was held by a Palestinian militant group called the Mujahedeen Brigades, and was retrieved from the area of Rafah in southern Gaza, Mr Katz said. Mr Pinta, an agricultural worker, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small community near the border, where one in four people was killed or taken hostage during the Hamas-led 2023 attack. The Israeli military alleges Mr Pinta had been abducted alive and killed by his captors, who had also killed and taken to Gaza the bodies of two more Israeli-American hostages that were retrieved this week. The military statement said Mr Pinta's family and Thai officials had been notified of the operation to recover his body. According to the Nir Oz community, 117 residents were killed and more than 60% of its houses destroyed during the attack. It comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel is supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes the militant group Hamas, following comments by a former minister that Israel had transferred weapons to it. Israeli and Palestinian media have reported that the group Israel has been working with is part of a local Bedouin tribe led by Yasser Abu Shabab. The European Council on Foreign Relations (EFCR) think tank describes Abu Shabab as the leader of a "criminal gang operating in the Rafah area that is widely accused of looting aid trucks". Knesset member and ex-defence minister Avigdor Lieberman had told the Kan public broadcaster that the government, at Mr Netanyahu's direction, was "giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons". "What did Lieberman leak? ... That on the advice of security officials, we activated clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas. What is bad about that?" Mr Netanyahu said in a video posted to social media on Thursday. "It is only good, it is saving lives of Israeli soldiers." Michael Milshtein, an expert on Palestinian affairs at the Moshe Dayan Center in Tel Aviv, said that the Abu Shabab clan was part of a Bedouin tribe that spans across the border between Gaza and Egypt's Sinai peninsula. Some of the tribe's members, he said, were involved in "all kinds of criminal activities, drug smuggling, and things like that". Israeli army spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin confirmed the military supported arming local militias in Gaza but remained tight-lipped on the details. "I can say that we are operating in various ways against Hamas governance," Mr Defrin said during a televised press conference when questioned on the subject, without elaborating further.
The Journal
5 hours ago
- The Journal
A new organisation has taken over Gaza food distribution with disastrous results - who's behind it?
WHILE THE ENTIRE population of the Gaza Strip in Palestine remains on the brink of famine, and Israel refuses to allow in thousands of truckloads of humanitarian aid, an organisation called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has taken over food distribution, with already disastrous results. The introduction of this new US and Israeli-backed entity into the besieged Palestinian territory has been part of Israel's plan to circumvent UN agencies and NGOs that already work in Gaza and have done so for decades. Those UN agencies and officials repeatedly condemned the establishment of the organisation, warning that it would allow Israel to weaponise the provision of food. NGOs said it would only serve to allow Israel to carry out a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump, and endorsed by Israeli government officials, which is to remove the Palestinian population from the area. At Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, people mourn those killed while gathering near a GHF centre on 3 June Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Trump's proposal to 'clean out' Gaza has been widely condemned as a plan for ethnic cleansing. The man who was initially heading up the organisation, US military veteran Jake Wood, resigned the day before it began operating in Gaza, citing similar concerns to those expressed by the UN. Israel has said the GHF is a means of preventing food and other supplies from falling into the hands of Hamas. In mid-May, Tom Fletcher of the UN's humanitarian affairs office called the Israeli-US plan to take over aid distribution 'a cynical sideshow'. 'Please stay away' Israeli forces have on a number of occasions now opened fire on crowds of hungry people who were making their way to distribution points operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The term Orwellian may be overused in modern discourse but, in this case, it seems to be the most appropriate description for an ostensibly humanitarian organisation whose distribution centre almost immediately became the site of massacres. One witness to the latest Israeli attack told AFP: 'It's a trap.' Since Wednesday, the GHF has suspended all aid distribution until further notice after Israel declared roads leading to its hubs 'combat zones'. 'Please stay away from distribution sites for your safety,' the GHF said in a Facebook post on Friday. All of the Israeli attacks have taken place at a centre in the Tal al-Sultan area outside Rafah City in the far south of the territory. Advertisement Palestinians carry boxes and bags containing food and humanitarian aid packages delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The first deadly incident happened on the morning of Sunday, 25 May, when 31 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire , according to the Gaza Civil Defence agency. The following morning, Israeli forces shot dead three people, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). And last Tuesday, 27 people were killed by Israeli fire near the site, according to health officials. Israel has denied firing on civilians, saying it fired 'warning shots ' and calling early reports 'false' while the GHF initially did likewise. The Israeli military did admit firing at 'suspects' who they said had moved in their soldiers' direction on Tuesday. Who funds and runs the GHF? The short answer to the question of who funds the GHF is, we don't know. The organisation is registered in the United States and while it has a website , all it says is: 'Delivering critical aid and support to the people of Gaza. More information coming soon'. The New York Times reported that the idea for an organisation like the GHF first came from Israel and opposition politician Yair Lapid has suggested it is funded by the Israeli government. People carry away supplies from a GHF centre in Gaza Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The GHF said last month that a Western European country had donated more than $100 million but did not name the country. As for who runs the GHF, a little more is known. A former USAID contractor, John Acree, took over as John Wood's interim replacement and an evangelical preacher and former Trump campaign advisor named Reverend Johnnie Moore was named the new chairman on Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, US consulting firm Boston Consulting Group, whose participation had not previously been disclosed, terminated its contract with the GHF. With reporting from AFP Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... Our Explainer articles bring context and explanations in plain language to help make sense of complex issues. We're asking readers like you to support us so we can continue to provide helpful context to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. Learn More Support The Journal
