Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 27 Palestinians
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight into Monday killed at least 27 Palestinians, according to local health officials. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Israel has carried out daily strikes on Gaza since ending its ceasefire with Hamas last month. It has cut off the territory's 2 million Palestinians from all imports, including food and medicine, since the beginning of March in what it says is an attempt to pressure the militant group to release hostages.
The daily bombardment and widespread hunger is taking a heavy toll on Gaza's most vulnerable residents, including pregnant women and children. The United Nations' highest court began holding hearings on Monday into Israel's obligation to facilitate humanitarian aid to the territories it occupies.
Israel says the International Court of Justice is biased against it. It says enough aid entered during the ceasefire to sustain the population and accuses Hamas of siphoning it off.
Humanitarian workers say supplies are running desperately low, with most people eating one meal or less a day. They say the U.N. closely monitors aid distribution and deny any significant diversion.
Strikes hit three homes
An airstrike hit a home in Beit Lahiya, killing 10 people, including a Palestinian prisoner, Abdel-Fattah Abu Mahadi, who had been released as part of the ceasefire. His wife, two of their children and a grandchild were also killed, according to the Indonesian Hospital, which received the bodies.
Another strike hit a home in Gaza City, killing seven people, including two women, according to the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service. Two other people were wounded.
Late Sunday, a strike hit a home in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing at least 10 people, including five siblings as young as 4 years old, according to the Health Ministry. Two other children were killed along with their parents, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.
Israel says it makes every effort to avoid harming civilians and blames Hamas for their deaths because the militants operate in densely populated areas. Palestinians say nowhere in blockaded Gaza is safe.
No end in sight to the 18-month-old war
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is still holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians. Israel's bombardment and ground operations have destroyed vast areas of Gaza and left most of its population homeless.
The Health Ministry says 2,151 people, including 732 children, have been killed since Israel shattered the truce on March 18.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is either destroyed or agrees to disarm and leave the territory. He says Israel will then implement U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to resettle much of Gaza's population in other countries through what the Israeli leader refers to as 'voluntary emigration.'
Palestinians say the plan would amount to forcible expulsion from their homeland after Israel's offensive left much of Gaza uninhabitable. Human rights experts say it would likely violate international law.
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as called for in the ceasefire that Israel ended.
___
Magdy reported from Cairo.
___
Follow AP's war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 20 as war rages on after the opening of a new front with Iran
DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — At least 20 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight and into Saturday, according to local health officials. The 20-month war with Hamas has raged on even as Israel has opened a new front with heavy strikes on Iran that sparked retaliatory drone and missile attacks. Another 11 Palestinians were killed overnight near food distribution points run by an Israeli- and U.S.-supported humanitarian group in the latest of almost daily shootings near the sites since they opened last month. Palestinian witnesses say Israeli forces have fired on the crowds, while the military says it has only fired warning shots near people it describes as suspects who approached its forces. The sites are in military zones that are off limits to independent media. Israel's military said it fired warning shots overnight to distance a group of people near troops operating in the Netzarim corridor, and an aircraft struck a person who kept advancing. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private contractor that operates the sites, said they were closed Saturday. But witnesses said thousands had gathered near the sites anyway, desperate for food as Israel's blockade and military campaign have driven the territory to the brink of famine. Al Awda Hospital said it received eight bodies and at least 125 wounded people from a shooting near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation site in central Gaza. Mohamed Abu Hussein, a resident of the built-up Bureij refugee camp nearby, said Israeli forces opened fire toward the crowd about a half-mile from the food distribution point. He said he saw several people fall to the ground as thousands ran away. In the southern city of Khan Yunis, Nasser Hospital said it received 16 dead, including five women, from multiple Israeli strikes late Friday and early Saturday. It said three more men were killed near two Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid sites in the southernmost city of Rafah, now a mostly uninhabited military zone. Israel's military said it was unaware of any gunfire there during that time overnight. An Israeli strike in Deir al Balah, central Gaza, killed four people, Al Aqsa Hospital said. Meanwhile, Israel's military said two projectiles came from Gaza and fell in open areas, with no injuries. Israel and the United States say the new aid system is intended to replace a U.N.-run network that has distributed aid across Gaza through 20 months of war. They accuse Hamas of siphoning off the aid and reselling it to fund its militant activities. U.N. officials deny Hamas has diverted significant amounts of aid and say the new system is unable to meet mounting needs. They say the new system has militarized aid by allowing Israel to decide who has access and by forcing Palestinians to travel long distances or relocate again after waves of displacement. They say the U.N. has struggled to deliver aid even after Israel eased its blockade last month because of military restrictions and rising lawlessness. Hamas, which is allied with Iran, sparked the war when its fighters led a rampage into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They still hold 53 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead but does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in count. The offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced 90% of the population of some 2 million Palestinians, leaving them almost entirely reliant on international aid. The war has drawn in Iran and its other allies across the region, igniting a chain of events that led to Israel's major strikes on Iran's nuclear and military facilities Friday. Shurafa and Magdy write for the Associated Press. Magdy reported from Cairo.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Israel kills at least 58 people in Gaza, many at US-backed aid site: Medics
Israeli fire and air strikes have killed at least 58 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, most of them near an aid distribution site operated by the United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to local health authorities, the latest deaths of people desperately seeking food for their hungry families. Medics at al-Awda and Al-Aqsa hospitals in central Gaza, where most of the casualties were moved to, said at least 15 people were killed on Saturday as they tried to approach the GHF aid distribution site near the so-called Netzarim Corridor. The rest were killed in separate attacks across the besieged and bombarded enclave, they added. Since the GHF started operations last month, at least 274 people have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded near aid distribution sites, according to a statement by the Gaza Ministry of Health. The GHF said they were closed on Saturday. But witnesses said thousands of people had gathered near the sites anyway, desperate for food as Israel's punishing 15-week blockade and military campaign have driven the territory to the brink of famine. Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said Palestinians are starting to see GHF distribution hubs as 'execution sites,' considering the repeated attacks there. But people in Gaza 'have run out of options, and they are forced to travel to these dangerous humanitarian spaces to get aid'. Israel imposed a full humanitarian blockade on Gaza on March 2 for 11 weeks, cutting off food, medical supplies and other aid. It began allowing small amounts of aid into the enclave in late May following international pressure, but humanitarian organisations say it is only a tiny fraction of the aid that is needed. There has been no immediate comment by the Israeli military or the GHF on Saturday's incidents. The GHF – a United States and Israel-backed organisation led by Johnnie Moore, an evangelical Christian who advised US President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign – began distributing food packages in Gaza on May 27, overseeing a new model of aid distribution which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral. Israel and the United States say the new system is intended to replace the UN-run network. They have accused Hamas, without providing evidence, of siphoning off the UN-provided aid and reselling it to fund its military activities. Israel has also admitted to backing armed gangs in Gaza, known for criminal activities, to undermine Hamas. These groups have been blamed for looting aid. UN officials deny Hamas has diverted significant amounts of aid and say the new system is unable to meet mounting needs. They say it has militarised aid by allowing Israel to decide who has access and by forcing Palestinians to travel long distances or relocate again after waves of displacement. Later on Saturday, the Israeli military ordered residents of Khan Younis and the nearby towns of Abasan and Bani Suheila in the southern Gaza Strip to leave their homes and head west towards the so-called humanitarian zone area, saying it would forcefully work against 'terror organizations' in the area. More than 80 percent of the Gaza Strip is now within the Israeli-militarised zone, under forced displacement orders, or where these overlap, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The UN estimates that nearly 665,000 people have been displaced yet again since Israel broke the ceasefire in February. Israel's war on Gaza and its population has killed more than 55,290 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the densely populated Strip, which is home to more than two million people. Most of the population is displaced and malnutrition is widespread. Despite efforts by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to restore a ceasefire in Gaza, neither Israel nor Hamas has shown willingness to back down on core demands, including that Israel implement a permanent ceasefire and not restart the war.
The Hill
4 hours ago
- The Hill
‘Gas station heroin' is technically illegal and widely available. Here are the facts
WASHINGTON (AP) — Health officials want you to think twice before buying one of those brightly colored little bottles often sold at gas stations, convenience stores and smoke shops. Sometimes called 'gas station heroin,' the products are usually marketed as energy shots or cognitive supplements but actually contain tianeptine, an unapproved drug that can be addictive and carries risks of serious side effects. U.S. poison control centers have reported a steady rise in calls linked to the drug for more than a decade. And last month the Food and Drug Administration sent a warning to health professionals about 'the magnitude of the underlying danger or these products.' Here's what to know about gas station heroin. Tianeptine is approved in a number foreign countries as an antidepressant, usually as a low-dose pill taken three times a day. But it has never been approved by the FDA for any medical condition in the U.S. Additionally, the drug cannot legally be added to foods and beverages or sold as a dietary supplement — something the FDA has repeatedly warned U.S. companies about. Still, under-the-radar firms sell tianeptine in various formulas, often with brand names like Zaza, Tianaa, Pegasus and TD Red. Although that is technically illegal, the FDA does not preapprove ingredients added to supplements and beverages. 'It's kind of this grey area of consumer products, or supplements, where the contents are not regulated or tested the way they would be with a medication,' said Dr. Diane Calello of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System. Last year, Calello and her colleagues published a study documenting a cluster of emergency calls in New Jersey tied to a flavored elixir called Neptune's Fix. People experienced distress, rapid heartbeat, low blood pressure and seizures after drinking it. More than a dozen of the 20 patients had to be admitted for intensive care. Many tianeptine products claim— without evidence or FDA approval— to help users treat medical conditions, including addiction, pain and depression. In 2018, the FDA issued a warning letter to the maker of a product called Tianna, which claimed to provide 'an unparalleled solution to cravings for opiates.' While tianeptine is not an opioid, the drug binds to some of the same receptors in the brain, which can temporarily produce effects akin to oxycodone and other opioids. Tianeptine also carries some of the same physiological risks of opioids, including the potential to dangerously depress breathing. 'That's what tends to get people into trouble,' said Dr. Hannah Hays of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. 'They use it for opioid-like effects or to self-treat opioid withdrawal and that can lead to slow breathing and problems like that.' People dealing with opioid addiction, pain, depression, anxiety and other conditions should see a health professional to get a prescription for FDA-approved treatments, Hays said. Experts aren't sure but national figures show a big rise in emergency calls involving the drug. Calls to poison control centers increased 525% between 2018 and 2023, according to a data analysis published earlier this year. In about 40% of cases, the person had to seek medical care, with more than half of them needing critical care. One explanation for the rise in calls is simply that more Americans are using the products. But experts also say that the products are triggering more emergencies as they become more potent and dangerous. And the researchers in New Jersey who analyzed Neptune's Fix found that the liquid also contained synthetic cannabis and other drugs. 'You never quite know what's in that bottle,' Calello said. 'It's important for people to know that even if they have used a product before, they could get a bottle that contains something very different from what they're looking for.' Tianeptine is not included in the federal Controlled Substances Act, which bans or restricts drugs that have no medical use or have a high potential for abuse, such as heroin, LSD and PCP. But about a dozen states have passed laws prohibiting or restricting tianeptine, including Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Tennessee. In some cases, those laws have led to more cases of withdrawal among users of tianeptine, which can be chemically addictive. But state data also shows some success in reducing harm tied to the drug. Until recently, Alabama had the highest rate of tianeptine-related calls in the southern U.S., which increased more than 1,400% between 2018 to 2021. But after the state restricted tianeptine in 2021 calls began modestly decreasing while calls across other southern states continued to climb. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
