Gaza rescuers say Israeli fire kills 10 near aid site
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Gaza rescuers said Israeli gunfire killed at least 10 Palestinians near a US-backed aid distribution site on Sunday, shortly after Washington rejected a Hamas ceasefire proposal as 'totally unacceptable'.
'At least 10 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 others... were wounded due to gunfire from Israeli vehicles towards thousands of citizens' approaching the US aid site west of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
The casualties were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, he said.
Israel has faced mounting international criticism over the humanitarian crisis in war-ravaged Gaza, where the United Nations has warned the entire population faces famine.
Nearly 20 months into the war, negotiations remain deadlocked. A brief truce collapsed in March, and Israel has since intensified operations to destroy Hamas.
In the Gaza Strip, aid is only trickling in after Israel partially lifted a more than two-month total blockade, and the United Nations reported looting of its trucks and warehouses last month.
- 'Death traps, not aid points' -
The UN's World Food Programme has called on Israel 'to get far greater volumes of food assistance into Gaza faster', saying desperation was 'contributing to rising insecurity'.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is administered by contracted US security with support from Israeli troops, began distributing food in the Gaza Strip on May 26.
The United Nations and other major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the organisation, saying it violated basic humanitarian principles, and appeared crafted to cater to Israeli military objectives.
Officially a private effort, GHF said it had distributed 2.1 million meals as of Friday.
In a statement on Sunday, Hamas accused Israeli forces operating in Rafah of committing 'a new massacre against hungry civilians who had gathered at the so-called 'humanitarian aid' distribution sites', calling them 'mass death traps, not humanitarian relief points'.
- Truce talks -
The Palestinian militant group said Saturday that it had responded positively to a US-backed ceasefire proposal, but Washington's main negotiator criticised Hamas's reply as 'totally unacceptable'.
Hamas said it had emphasised the need for a permanent ceasefire -- long a sticking point for Israel.
And a source within the Palestinian group's political bureau added that it had also pushed for a 'full Israeli withdrawal' from the Gaza Strip.
On Friday, Israel had warned Hamas to either accept the deal and free the hostages held in Gaza 'or be annihilated'.
US envoy Steve Witkoff called Hamas's response to its truce offer on Saturday 'totally unacceptable', and urged it to 'accept the framework proposal we put forward'.
'That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days in which half of the living hostages and half of those who are deceased will come home to their families and in which we can have... substantive negotiations in good-faith to try to reach a permanent ceasefire,' he added in a post on X.
Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Saturday that at least 4,117 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,381, mostly civilians.
Hamas's attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Keeping illness off our plates
Safety first: A food service worker wearing a cap, mask, and gloves at a restaurant in Petaling Jaya. — ART CHEN/The Star PETALING JAYA: With an average of 1.6 million people worldwide falling ill every day due to foodborne diseases, the need to focus on food safety has grown more important this World Food Safety Day. According to the World Health Organisation's World Food Safety Day report, at least 600 million people also fall ill annually from consuming contaminated food, with the cost to treat victims estimated at US$15bil (RM63.4bil). ParkCity Medical Centre Dietetics and Food Services unit head Ng Kar Foo said that weather and humidity play a role. 'Managing factors that allow germs to grow are key to food safety,' he said, adding that to prevent contamination, food also needs to be covered properly. He also backed Singapore's guidelines on food safety where cooked food should not be kept at room temperature for more than four hours. 'Those foods should be discarded after four hours. The four hours start from the time that the food is ready from the stove,' he added. Amid growing concerns, Malaysian eateries are also stepping up efforts to prioritise hygiene and food safety ahead of Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM 2026). Petaling Jaya Coffeeshop Association president Keu Kok Meng said its association members adhere to a check list of hygiene practices that prioritise food safety. This includes ensuring all their workers get the mandatory typhoid vaccination once every three years along with taking a food handling course. 'All stalls are also regulated to ensure cooked and uncooked food is stored separately at all times with the containers fully labelled so we know when a batch is cooked or prepped. 'We also mandate that all our members have pest control services visit eateries monthly to check for any rat or cockroach infestation. 'Despite our efforts, rodent infestation is still a frequent problem due to all the uncovered drains near eateries, and I hope the local councils can help to cover them,' he said, adding that staff are also instructed to clean their eatery toilets every few hours each day. He said that they were also hoping to encourage their members to reintroduce mandatory face masks for workers to further reduce chances of contamination of food. Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) president Datuk Jawahar Ali Taib Khan said all restaurants under the association similarly adhere to strict hygiene protocols to ensure customers' health. 'Cleanliness is not only about hygiene – it's also about upholding trust. Our patrons, whether locals or tourists, must feel confident that the food they consume is safe and prepared under the highest standards,' he said. Jawahar said some of the hygiene protocols include the use of separate ladles and utensils for each dish to avoid cross-contamination, especially between vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. 'We also ensure that all restaurants have a weekly deep cleaning of kitchen equipment, exhaust hoods, storage areas and drains. 'Staff must wash their hands frequently and use gloves or utensils when handling ready-to-eat food,' he said. He added that Presma was looking to enhance its hygiene efforts ahead of VM2026, such as introducing the adoption of a voluntary hygiene grading system and eco-friendly and sanitary kitchen practices. 'This will be a crucial time to showcase Malaysia's hospitality and food plays a central role in that experience, so ensuring our restaurants are clean, safe and welcoming will enhance tourists' confidence and encourage repeat visits. 'Our aim is to position Malaysian eateries as models of cleanliness and quality as we prepare to welcome the world in 2026,' he added.
New Straits Times
14 hours ago
- New Straits Times
No intervention means Gaza genocide continues
RIGHTS groups, lawyers and some governments are describing the Gaza war as "genocide" and calling for a ceasefire but Israel, created in the aftermath of the Nazi Holocaust of Jews, vehemently rejects the explosive term. Israel's military offensive on Gaza since October 2023 has killed 54,677 people, mostly civilians, according to the Health Ministry in the occupied Palestinian territory. The United Nations has said the territory's entire population of more than two million people is at risk of famine, even if Israel said last month it was partially easing the complete blockade on aid it imposed on Gaza on March 2. Despite international calls for an end to the war, a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas remains elusive. In December 2023, South Africa brought a case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations' highest judicial organ, alleging that Israel's Gaza offensive breached the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. In rulings in January, March and May 2024, the ICJ told Israel to do everything possible to "prevent" acts of genocide during its military operations in Gaza, including by providing urgently needed humanitarian aid to prevent famine. Amnesty International has accused Israel of carrying out a "live-streamed genocide" in Gaza, while Human Rights Watch has alleged it is responsible for "acts of genocide". A UN committee in November found Israel's warfare in Gaza was "consistent with the characteristics of genocide". And a UN investigation concluded in March that Israel carried out "genocidal acts" in Gaza through the destruction of the strip's main IVF (in vitro fertilisation) clinic and other reproductive healthcare facilities. Omer Bartov, an Israeli scholar of the Holocaust, wrote in August last year that "Israel was engaged in systematic war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocidal actions". Fellow Israeli historians Amos Goldberg and Daniel Blatman in January co-wrote an article in which they said: "Israel is indeed committing genocide in Gaza." France's President Emmanuel Macron has said it is not up to a "political leader to use the term but up to historians to do so when the time comes". But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used it and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has accused Israel of "premeditated genocide". The International Criminal Court (ICC) in November issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Israel's war in Gaza — including starvation as a method of warfare. In the case of Rwanda, in which the UN said extremist Hutus killed some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 1994, it took a decade for the International Criminal Tribunal to conclude genocide had happened. It was not until 2007 that the ICJ recognised as genocide the murder by Bosnian Serb forces of almost 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995 during the Bosnian war. French-Israeli lawyer Omer Shatz said "there is no doubt that war crimes, crimes against humanity are being committed" in Gaza. But the international law expert agreed intent was more difficult to prove. That is why, after the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu and Gallant, Shatz filed a report with the court in December arguing they were among eight Israeli officials responsible for "incitement to genocide in Gaza". "If incitement is established, that establishes intent," he said. His 170-page report lists such alleged incitements, including Gallant at the start of the war saying Israel was fighting "human animals" in Gaza and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urging "total extermination" in the Palestinian territory. Mathilde Philip-Gay, an international law expert, warned: "International law cannot stop a war. The judiciary will intervene after the war. "The qualification (of genocide) is very important for victims but it will come later." The 1948 Genocide Convention says signatories can call on UN organs "to take such action... for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide".
The Sun
15 hours ago
- The Sun
GHF suspends Gaza aid sites after shootings, Israeli shelling kills 10 in Jabalia
JERUSALEM: Ten Palestinians were killed by Israeli tank fire in Gaza on Friday, local health authorities said, as a U.S.- and Israeli-backed group handing out aid in the enclave said all its distribution sites were closed until further notice. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the report of the 10 deaths in Jabalia in the north of the war-shattered Gaza Strip. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) meanwhile urged residents to stay away from aid distribution venues 'for their safety' after a series of deadly shootings. GHF, which last week started handing out meals to hungry Palestinians inside Gaza, said that a reopening date would be announced later. The GHF opened two sites in southern Gaza on Thursday after closing all of its centres the previous day in the wake of shootings in the vicinity of its operations. It has so far operated four distribution centres. The organisation bypasses traditional relief agencies and has been criticised by humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations, for alleged lack of neutrality, which it denies. GHF halted distributions on Wednesday and said it was pressing Israeli forces to improve civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its operations after dozens of Palestinians were shot dead near the Rafah site over three consecutive days. The Israeli military said on Sunday and Monday that its soldiers had fired warning shots. On Tuesday, it said, forces also fired warning shots before firing towards Palestinians that it said were advancing towards troops. GHF has said that aid was safely handed out from its sites without any incident. Israel has re-intensified an offensive against Gaza's dominant Hamas militant group since breaking a two-month-old ceasefire in March in a war triggered by Hamas' cross-border attack on October 7, 2023.
