Thousands of Palestinians loot UN warehouse in central Gaza: AFP journalist
Thousands of Palestinians looted a UN warehouse in Gaza's Deir el-Balah on Wednesday, AFP footage showed and the UN's World Food Programme said two people may have died when its warehouse there was broken into.
AFP film showed crowds of Palestinians breaking into a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse and taking bags and cartons of food supplies as gunshots rang out.
"Hordes of hungry people broke into WFP's Al-Ghafari warehouse in Deir Al-Balah, Central Gaza, in search of food supplies that were pre-positioned for distribution," WFP said in a statement on X.
"Initial reports indicate two people died and several were injured in the tragic incident," it said, adding: "WFP is still confirming details."
The issue of aid has come sharply into focus amid a hunger crisis after Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza for over two months, before allowing supplies in at a trickle last week.
"Humanitarian needs have spiralled out of control after 80 days of complete blockade of all food assistance and other aid into Gaza," the WFP statement said.
Intense criticism has been levelled at the the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US-backed group that has bypassed the longstanding UN-led system in the territory.
The UN on Wednesday condemned the US-backed aid system in Gaza after 47 people were injured during a chaotic food distribution the day before when thousands of Palestinians desperate for food rushed into a GHF aid distribution site.
A Palestinian medical source said at least one had died.
The Israeli military on Wednesday said soldiers did not fire at civilians.
"WFP urgently calls for safe, unimpeded humanitarian access to enable orderly food distributions across Gaza immediately," its statement said.
Israel stepped up its military offensive in Gaza, ignited by an attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023, earlier this month, while mediators push for a ceasefire that remains elusive.
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News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
France opens 'complicity in genocide' probes over blocked Gaza aid
French anti-terror prosecutors have opened probes into "complicity in genocide" and "incitement to genocide" after French-Israelis allegedly blocked aid intended for war-torn Gaza last year, they said on Friday. The two investigations, opened after legal complaints, were also to look into possible "complicity in crimes against humanity" between January and May 2024, the anti-terror prosecutor's office (PNAT) said. They are the first known probes in France to be looking into alleged violations of international law in Gaza, several sources with knowledge of the cases told AFP. In a separate case made public on the same day, the grandmother of two children with French nationality who were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza has filed a legal complaint in Paris, accusing Israel of "genocide" and "murder", her lawyer said. The French judiciary has jurisdiction when French citizens are involved in such cases. Rights groups, lawyers and some Israeli historians have described the Gaza war as "genocide". Israel, created in the aftermath of the Nazi Holocaust of Jews during World War II, vehemently rejects the accusation. The French probes were opened after two separate legal complaints. In the first, the Jewish French Union for Peace (UFJP) and a French-Palestinian victim filed a complaint in November targeting alleged French members of hardline pro-Israel groups "Israel is forever" and "Tzav-9". It accused them of "physically" preventing the passage of trucks at border checkpoints controlled by the Israeli army. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, Damia Taharraoui and Marion Lafouge, told AFP they were happy a probe had been launched into the events in January 2024 -- "a time when no-one wanted to hear anything about genocide". A source close to the case said prosecutors last month urged the investigation in relation to events at the Nitzana crossing point between Egypt and Israel, and the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into Gaza. Around that time, hardline Israeli protesters -- including friends and relatives of hostages held in Gaza -- blocked aid lorries from entering the occupied Palestinian territory and forced them to turn back at Kerem Shalom. A second complaint from a group called the Lawyers for Justice in the Middle East (CAPJO) accused members of "Israel is forever" of having blocked aid trucks. It used photos, videos and public statements to back up its complaint. - 'Genocide' complaint - No court has so far concluded that the ongoing conflict is a genocide. But in rulings in January, March and May 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations' highest judicial organ, told Israel to do everything possible to "prevent" acts of genocide during its military operations in Gaza, including through allowing in urgently needed aid. In the separate case, Jacqueline Rivault, the grandmother of six- and nine-year-old children killed in an Israeli strike, filed her complaint accusing Israel of "genocide" and "murder" with the crimes against humanity section of the Court of Paris, lawyer Arie Alimi said. Though formally against unnamed parties, the complaint explicitly targets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli government and the military. The complaint states that an Israeli missile strike killed Janna, six, and Abderrahim Abudaher, nine, in northern Gaza on October 24, 2023. "We believe these children are dead as part of a deliberate organised policy targeting the whole of Gaza's population with a possible genocidal intent," Alimi said. The children's brother Omar, now five, was severely wounded but still lives in Gaza with their mother, identified as Yasmine Z., the complaint said. A French court in 2019 convicted Yasmine Z. in absentia of having funded a "terrorist" group over giving money in Gaza to members of Palestinian militant groups Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. - Famine warnings - Israel said last month it was easing the complete blockade of Gaza it imposed on March 2 but on May 30 the United Nations said the territory's entire population of more than two million people remained at risk of famine. A US-backed aid group last week began distributions but reports that the Israeli military shot dead dozens of Palestinians trying to collect food has sparked widespread condemnation. The UN and major aid organisations have refused to cooperate with the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund, citing concerns that it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. Hamas fighters launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. A total of 1,218 people died, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. The militants abducted 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory war on Hamas-run Gaza has killed 54,677 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry there, figures the United Nations deems reliable. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. It also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif over similar allegations linked to the October 7 attack but the case against him was dropped in February after confirmation Israel had killed him.
ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
Desree Pether says Australian engineer Robert Pether 'unrecognisable' after release from Iraqi prison
Australian man Robert Pether is "unrecognisable" after his late-night release from an Iraqi jail, according to his wife and family who have spoken to him since he entered a safe house in a secret location in Baghdad. The 50-year-old engineer had been languishing behind bars for four years before Iraqi authorities decided to release him on bail on Thursday night local time, along with his colleague Khalid Zaghoul Radwan. His family has held grave concerns for him, repeatedly calling for his release on humanitarian grounds as his physical and mental health deteriorated. "He's barely able to walk, he's very weak," his wife Desree told ABC News from the family home in Ireland. "He's unrecognisable to look at him — if you looked at him and looked at his passport photo, you would think it was two different men. He looks like a 70-year-old." Mrs Pether said her husband was able to speak to his children soon after his release. "They're just so numb at this point, there's been so many blows and I think until we actually get him home and we can physically hug him and he's here in front of us, it'll still be a bit surreal for them." Mr Pether and Mr Radwan were jailed on what their families and lawyers have long argued were trumped-up fraud charges, relating to their work as contractors on the construction of the new Central Bank of Iraq headquarters in Baghdad. Both men maintain their innocence, and Mr Pether insists he was forced to sign a confession written for him in Arabic — a language he does not speak. A UN inquiry found there was evidence the men had been tortured prior to their convictions. Despite being freed from jail, the two men remain subject to travel bans as part of their bail restrictions. The specific details of those restrictions are unclear, and are unlikely to be revealed until next week, after the Eid al-Adha holidays in Iraq. It is feared the travel ban may coincide with further investigations into the men's conduct, with fresh money-laundering charges being considered by Iraqi authorities — allegations the Pether family have roundly rejected. "All we know is that he is out of the prison, and I guess in a state of limbo," Mrs Pether said. "But at least he can communicate with us a lot more, and hopefully we can keep his spirits up and he can get some counselling as well. "It's a small step in the right direction, but we're very, very worried about his health." Last month, Mrs Pether said the family were worried he had developed lung cancer whilst in jail. The family is also in a perilous financial situation, having been forced to try to sell their home in Ireland to pay for Mr Pether's legal fees and now the cost of his accommodation. "We really just need to get him out of there and back to Ireland or Australia where he can get the appropriate medical care that he needs so desperately," Mrs Pether said. Despite Mr Pether being an Australian citizen, the family has previously reached out to the Irish government for assistance in lobbying for his release, concerned Australian officials were not pushing his case hard enough. Ireland's Tánaiste, or deputy prime minister, Simon Harris, released a statement saying he had spoken directly with Mr Pether. "We will not rest until we get him back home to Roscommon and to his family," he posted on X. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also welcomed his release. "I know the personal toll Mr Pether's detention has taken on him and his family and hope this news brings a measure of relief after years of distress," she said in a statement. "While Mr Pether remains subject to legal proceedings in Iraq, this is a positive development and follows persistent Australian government advocacy over many years."
SBS Australia
6 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Australian held prisoner in Iraq freed after 4 years
Australian held prisoner in Iraq freed after 4 years Published 6 June 2025, 8:22 am An Australian engineer who spent the past four years in an Iraqi prison, is tonight free on bail. Robert Pether was jailed on fraud charges in 2021 after a contract dispute between his employer and the Iraqi authorities. In recent weeks, his family had warned that his health was at risk if he remained in prison.
