81 people killed in past 24 hours: Gaza's health ministry
The agency, which is controlled by the Palestinian group Hamas, said a further 422 Palestinians were injured in the fresh attacks.
The latest figures bring the death toll since the start of the war to 56,412. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants and its figures cannot be independently verified.
They are based on the number of dead brought by relatives to hospitals, which are now operating under severe restrictions. (DPA)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Israel kills over 300 in Gaza as focus intensifies on GHF
Agencies Gaza More than 300 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the last 48 hours, according to the Gaza Government Media Office, which says Israel has 'committed 26 bloody massacres' in that period. At least 118 Palestinians were killed and 581 others injured in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the enclave's Health Ministry said on Thursday. At least 73 of those were killed since dawn, including 33 aid seekers at the controversial Israeli and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid sites. Thirteen people were killed when Israeli forces attacked a tent in al-Mawasi in the south, while 16 were killed and many wounded in an attack on Mustafa Hafez School, sheltering displaced people west of Gaza City, medical sources told Al Jazeera. Ahmed Mansour, a displaced Palestinian taking shelter in the school building, said, 'We woke up to fierce [Israeli] air strikes. It felt like an earthquake. People say it was a drone attack, but the sound was horrifying, relentless shelling. Missiles were so destructive that they set everything on fire. Victims were left burning for hours without help. There is no one here to save us.' The Government Media Office statement on Thursday said the attacks over the last 48 hours had targeted civilians in shelters and displacement centres overcrowded with tens of thousands of displaced people, public rest areas, Palestinian families inside their homes, popular markets and vital civilian facilities, and starving civilians searching for food. US contractors ostensibly guarding aid distribution sites in Gaza have been using live ammunition and stun grenades as hungry Palestinians scramble for food, according to accounts and videos obtained by The Associated Press news agency. Two US contractors, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity, said they were speaking out because they were disturbed by what they considered dangerous practices. They said the security staff hired were often unqualified, unvetted, heavily armed and seemed to have an open licence to do whatever they wished. Later Thursday, GHF released a statement of denial. 'GHF launched an immediate investigation when the Associated Press first brought these allegations to our attention. Based on time-stamped video footage and sworn witness statements, we have concluded that the claims in the AP's story are categorically false.' 'At no point were civilians under fire at a GHF distribution site. The gunfire heard in the video was confirmed to have originated from the [Israeli military], who was outside the immediate vicinity of the GHF distribution site. It was not directed at individuals, and no one was shot or injured,' it claimed without providing evidence. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has called for investigations into the killings and wounding of Palestinians trying to access food through GHF. UNRWA notes that while it operated about 400 sites across the besieged enclave, GFH has set up only four 'mega-sites', three in the south and one in central Gaza – none in the north, where conditions are most severe. In a post on X, UNRWA called for the UN to 'do the work' in distributing aid. More than 130 humanitarian organisations, including Oxfam, Save the Children and Amnesty International, on Tuesday demanded the immediate closure of the GHF, accusing it of facilitating attacks on starving Palestinians. The NGOs said Israeli forces and armed groups 'routinely' open fire on civilians attempting to access food. Since the GHF began operations in late May, more than 650 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid, and nearly 4,000 have been wounded.
Qatar Tribune
5 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
85 Palestinians killed across Gaza amid new ceasefire push
Agencies Gaza Israeli forces have bombarded multiple areas across the besieged Gaza Strip, killing at least 85 Palestinians, including aid seekers and families sheltering in schools, and wounding many more in attacks that have also targeted a crowded hospital. In the relentless attacks on Monday, 62 of the victims were in Gaza City and the north of the territory. The Israeli navy struck a port in Gaza City, where the military has stepped up its heavy strikes, killing at least 21 and wounding 30, many of them women and children. Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said the attack was in the heart of a displacement centre near the Gaza seaport. 'This area serves as a refuge for many traumatised and displaced people, offering some relief from the oppressive heat of the tents,' he said. Also on Monday, Israeli forces targeted the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza's Deir el-Balah, where thousands of families had sought shelter. Videos circulating online and verified by Al Jazeera showed chaos at the hospital, with people fleeing for safety as tents sheltering displaced families appeared damaged by the attack. Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from the scene of the hospital attack, said the army did not issue 'any warnings' before the 'huge explosion'. 'The site of the attack is about 10 metres [33ft] from our broadcast point. This is not the first time the hospital's courtyard has been attacked. At least 10 times, this facility has been squarely targeted by Israeli forces,' Abu Azzoum said. 'It's a staggering concentration of attacks on medical facilities, adding further burden on barely functioning hospitals.' In a statement, Gaza's Government Media Office decried the attack by Israel, calling it a 'systematic crime' against the Palestinian enclave's health system. 'Its warplanes bombed a tent for the displaced inside the walls of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, resulting in injuries at the site of the bombing, material damage, and directly threatening the lives of dozens of patients,' it said. Israel has repeatedly targeted dozens of hospitals during its 22-month war on Gaza. Human rights groups and United Nations-backed experts have accused Israel of systematically destroying the enclave's healthcare system. Also in the south, at least 15 aid seekers looking for food at aid distribution hubs run by the controversial United States- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) were killed by an Israeli air strike in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, according to sources at Nasser Medical Complex. Fifty people were also wounded in the attack. They are the latest victims in a wave of daily carnage at these sites that have killed nearly 600 Palestinians since GHF took over limited aid deliveries in Gaza in late May amid a crippling Israeli blockade. Israeli forces are also carrying out home demolitions in Khan Younis, raising fears of a new ground invasion. The Israeli military, meanwhile, has issued more forced evacuation threats to Palestinians in large districts in the northern Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces had operated before and left behind wide-scale destruction, forcing a new wave of displacement. 'Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes,' said Salah, 60, a father of five children, from Gaza City. 'In the news, we hear a ceasefire is near. On the ground, we see death and we hear explosions.' Israeli tanks pushed into the eastern areas of Zeitoun suburb in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft bombed at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave, residents said. Gaza's health authorities said at least 10 people were killed in attacks on Zeitoun and at least 13 were killed southwest of Gaza City. More than 80 percent of Gaza is now an Israeli-militarised zone or under forced displacement orders, according to the United Nations. The attacks come as Israeli officials, including Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, were due in Washington, DC for a new ceasefire push by the administration of US President Donald Trump. Key mediator Qatar has confirmed that there are serious US intentions to push for a return to negotiations, but there are complications, according to a Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman. The spokesman said that it has become difficult to accept the continued human losses in the Gaza Strip, warning that the continued link between the humanitarian and military aspects in Gaza cannot be accepted. The talks in the White House are also expected to cover Iran, and possibly wider regional diplomatic deals. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet was expected to convene to discuss the next steps in Gaza.
Qatar Tribune
5 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
WHO sounds alarm bells: Loneliness makes many people sick
One in six people worldwide is affected by loneliness, which, along with social isolation, can lead to physical illness, contributing to 871,000 deaths worldwide annually, a World Health Organization (WHO) commission has said. Loneliness increases the risk of strokes, heart attacks, diabetes, depression, anxiety and suicide, the WHO said. Lonely teenagers are 22% more likely to achieve lower grades than their peers, while lonely adults face greater challenges in finding or keeping a job. The impact is not only individual but also societal, with billions in costs to healthcare systems and losses in employment. The role of mobile phones and living alone The commission's co-chair, Vivek Murthy, defines loneliness as 'a painful, subjective feeling that many of us experience when the relationships that we need do not match the relationships that we have. And social isolation, by contrast, is an objective state of having few relationships or interactions.' One in three older people and one in four adolescents are estimated to be socially isolated, according to the report. Causes include illness, poor education, low income, a lack of opportunities for social interaction, living alone and the use of digital technologies. Murthy noted that humans have communicated for millennia not only through words but also through facial expressions, body language, tone of voice and silence. These forms of communication are lost when people rely solely on mobile phones and social media. Sweden's strategy against loneliness The WHO highlighted Sweden as a positive example. The country has implemented a national strategy against loneliness, as reported by Swedish Social Minister Jakob Forssmed. Sweden recognizes that loneliness is not just an individual problem but one that affects society as a whole. Efforts are being made to foster social connections in places like shops, restaurants, neighbourhoods and clubs. Soon, all children and teenagers in Sweden will receive prepaid cards that can only be used to book group leisure activities. Sweden plans to ban mobile phones in public schools, Forssmed said. Studies have shown that this increases social interaction and reduces cyberbullying. Children and teenagers sleep better and find it easier to put their phones aside during their free time. Forssmed added that children are often frustrated when their parents are constantly distracted by their phones. Finding phone-free times While digital technologies have their benefits, such as enabling video calls that were previously impossible, the commission emphasized the importance of creating spaces in life where people can interact face-to-face without technological distractions. Murthy said 'having places and spaces in our life where we can interact face to face with other people without the distraction of technology is very important.' (DPA)
