Israeli fire kills 17 and wounds dozen near Gaza aid distribution site
Nidal al-Mugrabi
©Reuters
Israeli gunfire killed at least 17 Palestinians and wounded dozens as thousands of displaced people approached an aid distribution site run by a US-backed humanitarian group in central Gaza yesterday, local health authorities said.
Medics said the casualties were rushed to two hospitals, the Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, and the Al-Quds in Gaza city, in the north.
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RTÉ News
5 hours ago
- RTÉ News
60 killed in Gaza attacks, many near aid site
Israeli gunfire and airstrikes have killed at least 60 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them near an aid site in the centre of the enclave, according to health officials. The facility is operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the United States and Israel. Medical officials at Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals said at least 25 people were killed and dozens wounded as they approached a food distribution centre near the former Jewish settlement of Netzarim. Israel's military, which has been at war with Hamas militants since October 2023, said that its forces fired warning shots towards a group of suspects as they posed a threat to troops in the area of the Netzarim Corridor. "This is despite warnings that the area is an active combat zone. The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) is aware of reports regarding individuals injured; the details are under review," it added. Later, health officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza said that at least 14 people had died in Israeli gunfire as they approached another GHF site in Rafah. The foundation accused Hamas of killing at least five people in an attack on a bus carrying two dozen Palestinians working with the organisation to one of its distribution sites. "We will continue our mission to provide critical aid to the people of Gaza," it said in a statement. The foundation earlier said that it was unaware of the incidents involving civilians, but added that it was working closely with Israeli authorities to ensure safe passage routes are maintained and that it was essential for Palestinians to closely follow instructions. "Ultimately, the solution is more aid, which will create more certainty and less urgency among the population," it added in a statement. "There is not yet enough food to feed everyone in need in Gaza. Our current focus is to feed as many people as is safely possible within the constraints of a highly volatile environment." GHF said that it distributed 2.5 million meals yesterday, the largest single-day delivery since it began operations, bringing to more than 16 million the number of meals provided since its operations started late last month. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said that, since then, 163 Palestinians had been killed and over 1,000 wounded trying to obtain food boxes. The United Nations condemned the killings and refused to supply aid via the foundation, which uses private contractors with Israeli military backup in what it said is a breach of humanitarian standards. Elsewhere in Gaza, the health ministry said at least 11 people were killed by separate Israeli gunfire and strikes across the territory. The war erupted 20 months ago after Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, on 7 October 2023, Israel's single deadliest day. Nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have died in Israel's military campaign, according to health authorities in Gaza. The operation has flattened much of the densely populated enclave, which is home to more than two million people. Most of the population is displaced and malnutrition is widespread. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that there had been "significant progress" in efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, but that it was "too soon" to raise hopes that a deal would be reached. Two Hamas sources said they did not know about any breakthrough in negotiations. UN to vote on demand for immediate Gaza ceasefire The United Nations General Assembly will vote today on a draft resolution that demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza after the US vetoed a similar effort in the Security Council last week. The 193-member assembly is likely to adopt the text with overwhelming support, diplomats say, despite Israel lobbying countries this week against taking part in what it called a "politically-motivated, counter-productive charade". General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry weight as a reflection of the global view on the war. Previous demands by the body for an end to the war have been ignored. Unlike the Security Council, no country has a veto in the assembly. The vote comes ahead of a UN conference next week that aims to reinvigorate an international push for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians. The US has urged countries not to attend. Washington warned that "countries that take anti-Israel actions on the heels of the conference will be viewed as acting in opposition to US foreign policy interests and could face diplomatic consequences." The United States last week vetoed a draft Security Council resolution that also demanded an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" and unhindered aid access in Gaza, arguing it would undermine US-led efforts to broker a ceasefire. The other 14 countries on the council voted in favour of the draft. The draft resolution before the General Assembly demands the release of hostages held by Hamas, the return of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. It demands unhindered aid access and "strongly condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and the unlawful denial of humanitarian access and depriving civilians ... of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supply and access." "This is both false and defamatory," Israel's Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon wrote in a letter to member states. He described the General Assembly draft resolution as an "immensely flawed and harmful text," urging countries not to take part in what he said was a "farce" that undermines hostage negotiations and fails to condemn Hamas. In October 2023, the assembly called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza with 120 votes in favour. In December 2023, 153 countries voted to demand an immediate humanitarian truce.
Irish Independent
10 hours ago
- Irish Independent
‘Highly volatile environment' – up to 60 killed in airstrikes and shootings near food aid site in Gaza
Israeli gunfire and airstrikes killed up to 60 Palestinians in Gaza yesterday, most of them near an aid site operated by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the centre of the enclave, local health officials said. Medical officials at Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals said at least 25 people were killed and dozens wounded as they approached a food distribution centre near the former Jewish settlement of Netzarim before dawn.
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Irish Examiner
More than 55,000 Palestinians killed in Israel-Hamas war, health officials say
The Palestinian death toll from the 20-month Israel-Hamas war has climbed past 55,000, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Wednesday. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but has said that women and children make up more than half the dead. It is a grim milestone in the war that began with Hamas' attack into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and shows no sign of ending. Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing the militants of hiding among civilians, because they operate in populated areas. Israeli army vehicles inside the southern Gaza Strip (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP) The ministry says 55,104 people have been killed since the start of the war and 127,394 wounded. Many more are believed to be buried under the rubble or in areas that are inaccessible to local medics. Israeli forces have destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced about 90% of its population and in recent weeks have transformed more than half of the coastal territory into a military buffer zone that includes the now mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah. A two-and-a-half-month blockade imposed by Israel when it ended a ceasefire with Hamas raised fears of famine and was slightly eased in May. The launch of a new Israeli and US-backed aid system has been marred by chaos and violence, and the UN says it has struggled to bring in food because of Israeli restrictions, a breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting. Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid, but the UN and aid groups deny there is any systematic diversion of aid to militants. Hamas has suffered major setbacks militarily, and Israel says it has killed more than 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. The militants still hold 55 hostages — less than half of them believed to be alive — and control areas outside of military zones despite facing rare protests earlier this year. The war began when Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. More than half the captives have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight and recovered the remains of dozens more. Israel's military campaign, one of the deadliest and most destructive since the Second World War, has transformed large parts of cities into mounds of rubble. Hundreds of thousands of people are living in squalid tent camps and unused schools, and the health system has been gutted, even as it copes with waves of wounded from Israeli strikes.
