logo
Death toll from Israeli fire on Gaza aid seekers rises to 27

Death toll from Israeli fire on Gaza aid seekers rises to 27

Middle East Eye2 days ago

Earlier, we reported that Israeli forces shot and killed 24 Palestinians near an aid distribution point in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Gaza's Health Ministry has now confirmed the death toll has climbed to at least 27 and many more wounded.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Israel opposition leader says Netanyahu arming 'equivalent of Isis' gangs in Gaza
Israel opposition leader says Netanyahu arming 'equivalent of Isis' gangs in Gaza

Middle East Eye

timean hour ago

  • Middle East Eye

Israel opposition leader says Netanyahu arming 'equivalent of Isis' gangs in Gaza

Opposition leader Avigdor Lieberman has accused Israeli forces, under the approval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of arming 'crime families' in Gaza. The accusations add weight to the claim that Israel has used Palestinian gangs to disrupt the distribution of aid in the besieged enclave. Lieberman, the head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, is a former finance minister and deputy prime minister. "Israel has provided assault rifles and light weapons to crime families in Gaza, on Netanyahu's orders," Lieberman told Israeli public broadcaster Kan on Thursday. "The weapons are being transferred to criminals and offenders and are being directed at Israel. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'In my opinion, it did not pass cabinet approval. The head of the Shin Bet knows, I'm not sure the chief of staff knows. We're talking about the equivalent of Isis in Gaza,' he added, referencing the Islamic State group. He added that 'no one can guarantee that these weapons will not be directed at Israel. We have no way of monitoring or tracking them.' In response, Netanyahu's office said: 'Israel is working to defeat Hamas in various ways, on the recommendation of all heads of the security establishment.' There have been several reports in recent months of Israel allegedly backing, or turning a blind eye to, armed gangs looting aid and food warehouses in Gaza. Rocks, looting, protests: How Israelis are blocking Gaza-bound aid trucks Read More » Al Jazeera Arabic's Anas al-Sharif reported in early May that Israeli forces attacked shopowners and local Gaza security teams who were attempting to protect shops from looting and chaos. Asaad al-Kafarna, a police officer in Gaza, was killed by Israeli forces near a restaurant on 2 May after pursuing armed looters accused of collaborating with Israel's military. In response to such looting by gangs, a number of influential families in Gaza published statements denouncing the scenes. 'These gangs act in alignment with the goals of the occupation,' the Madhoun family wrote at the time. In November, an internal UN memo obtained by the Washington Post revealed that gangs 'may be benefiting from a passive if not active benevolence' or 'protection' from Israeli troops. One such gang leader, according to the memo, established a 'military-like compound' in an area 'restricted, controlled and patrolled' by Israel's military. Commentators have suggested that by backing criminal gangs and targeting members of Gaza's civil administration, Israel was attempting to create a power vacuum and lawlessness. Massacres of aid seekers A CNN investigation published on Thursday concluded that the Israeli military was behind a deadly shooting of civilians seeking aid near Rafah in southern Gaza over the weekend, which killed more than 30 people. More than a dozen eyewitnesses, including those wounded in the attack, said Israeli troops shot at crowds in volleys of gunfire that occurred sporadically through the early hours of Sunday morning, the investigation said. Trump administration on the defensive after Gaza aid plan spirals into chaos Read More » Multiple videos geolocated by CNN placed the gunfire near a roundabout where hundreds of Palestinians had gathered about half a mile (800 metres) away from the militarised aid site. The Israeli military has denied its troops fired on civilians in or around the centre, and both it and the aid centre's administrator accused Hamas of sowing false rumours. The controversial US-backed initiative to distribute aid, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), said on Thursday it would not hand out any food to starving Palestinians for a second day, saying operations will only restart when maintenance and repair work at its distribution sites are complete. The suspension of the GHF's aid distribution system comes after more than 100 Palestinians were gunned down near its sites in less than a week. Earlier this week, eyewitnesses and local officials told Middle East Eye that Israeli troops opened fire directly on civilians, with many of the fatalities receiving gunshot wounds to their head or chest.

Israeli strike on Al Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City kills four journalists
Israeli strike on Al Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City kills four journalists

Middle East Eye

timean hour ago

  • Middle East Eye

Israeli strike on Al Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City kills four journalists

At least four Palestinian journalists were killed in Israeli strikes targeting a group of media workers in Gaza City's Al Ahli Arab hospital's courtyard, local reporters told Middle East Eye. According to local sources, the attack on Thursday morning came with no prior warning of the bombing. The Israeli assault has so far claimed the lives of correspondent Suleiman Hajjaj and photographer Ismail Badah, who both worked for Palestine Today TV, alongside photographers Samir al-Rifai, who worked for the Shams News Agency, and Ahmed Qaljah, who worked for Al-Arabiya TV. Journalist Imad Daloul, who works for Palestine Today TV, was also critically injured in the Israeli attack and has been rushed to the intensive care unit. Footage online shows bodies scattered across the courtyards of the Al Ahli Hospital, otherwise known as the Baptist Hospital, as Palestinians attempt to aid one another. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Reporters told MEE that Israeli warplanes targeted the hospital's courtyards as journalists were covering the events on the ground. Hamas released a statement condemning a "new war crime" by Israel. "This is part of a systematic Zionist policy targeting Palestinian journalists to silence their voices, deter them from covering the occupation's crimes in Gaza, and obliterate its just narrative of the enemy's horrific crimes against our Palestinian people," the group said. "This crime constitutes a complex war crime, as it assassinated journalists protected under the Geneva Conventions and all international conventions, and bombed a civilian hospital protected under international law. "This reflects the insistence of the criminal government of Benjamin Netanyahu to expand the scope of its crimes of genocide against the Palestinian people and its blatant disregard for the international community and its legal and humanitarian system." 'Worst-ever conflict' for journalists Thursday's killing of journalists is the latest in a wave of deadly Israeli attacks on Palestinian media workers. The Israeli war on Gaza has been described by monitoring groups as the "worst-ever conflict" for journalists, due to the record number of media workers killed - at least 225 in 2o months. Israel's war on Gaza 'worst ever conflict' for journalists: Report Read More » According to a report published last month by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Israel's war on Gaza since October 2023 has "killed more journalists than the US Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War (including the conflicts in Cambodia and Laos), the wars in Yugoslavia in the 1990s and 2000s, and the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan, combined". "In 2023, a journalist or media worker was, on average, killed or murdered every four days. In 2024, it was once every three days," said the report. "Most reporters harmed or killed, as is the case in Gaza, are local journalists." The Israeli military has frequently justified its attacks on civilian sites in Gaza, including hospitals, by alleging that Hamas uses them for military operations. The latest Israeli assault brings the number of journalists killed since 7 October 2023 to 225, Arab48 reported. Overall, Israeli forces have killed more than 54,607 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war and wounded 125,341 others.

Gaza: US-backed aid group suspends food distribution for a second day
Gaza: US-backed aid group suspends food distribution for a second day

Middle East Eye

time3 hours ago

  • Middle East Eye

Gaza: US-backed aid group suspends food distribution for a second day

The controversial US-backed initiative to distribute aid in Gaza, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), has said it will not hand out any food to starving Palestinians for a second day, saying operations will only restart when maintenance and repair work at its distribution sites are complete. In a statement posted on its Facebook page late on Wednesday, the GHF said its "distribution sites will not open as early as" Thursday morning and that it would "share information on opening times as soon as work is complete." The GHF also strongly urged aid seekers travelling to its locations to "follow the routes" set by the Israeli military to "ensure safe passage." On Wednesday, Israeli forces warned Palestinians against approaching GHF sites whilst "reorganisation work" was under way, saying access to roads near those locations would be "considered combat zones." The Israeli military did not appear to have issued any new directives on early on Thursday, suggesting areas near the sites were still "considered combat zones." New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The suspension of the GHF's aid distribution system comes after more than 100 Palestinians were gunned down near its sites in less than a week. Earlier this week, eyewitnesses and local officials told Middle East Eye that Israeli troops opened fire directly on civilians, with many of the fatalities receiving gunshot wounds to their head or chest. A spokesperson for the GHF lamented the killings, telling the Associated Press on Wednesday that the group "was saddened to learn that a number of civilians were injured and killed after moving beyond the designated safe corridor." The UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, has slammed the "deadly attacks" and suggested they were a war crime. "Deadly attacks on distraught civilians trying to access the paltry amounts of food aid in Gaza are unconscionable," Turk said. "Attacks directed against civilians constitute a grave breach of international law and a war crime." Since launching operations last Tuesday, the GHF has claimed - without providing any evidence - to have handed out more than 87,000 food boxes to needy Palestinians - a fraction of what aid agencies say is needed to address the mass starvation unfolding in the strip. Gaza's Government Media Office has also slammed the aid distribution system and on Wednesday said the sites "situated in exposed and perilous red zones controlled by the occupying forces, have become bloodbaths." "Starving civilians are lured there due to the crippling famine and tight siege," the media office said in a statement. "They are then deliberately and coldly shot, a scene that exposes the true malice of the operation and its real objectives." War on Gaza: How Israel is replicating Nazi starvation tactics Read More » The office described these actions as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, calling for immediate global action and an investigation into the latest Israeli assaults. "The continuation of these crimes, amid shameful international silence, is a stain on humanity and proves that the occupation continues to perpetrate the most heinous forms of genocide under the world's gaze, without deterrence or accountability," the statement added. Earlier this week, the GHF appointed evangelical leader Johnnie Moore, a former adviser to US President Donald Trump, as its new chief. Moore, a former member of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, has dismissed reports of mass killings at the GHF aid sites as "fictional massacres." He was appointed after the initiative's former head, Jake Wood, resigned hours before its launch. Moore has emerged as a vocal advocate for the scandal-plagued initiative, claiming that reports of the killings were "lies… spread by terrorists," contradicting eyewitness accounts, footage, and reports by hospital directors and medical staff.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store