UN head 'appalled' by reports of deaths of Palestinians while seeking food aid
The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Monday he was appalled by reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza on Sunday, and called for an independent investigation.
"It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food," Guterres said in a statement.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
29 minutes ago
- The National
Gaza aid sites run by US and Israel-backed group closed after bloodshed
Aid distribution points run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will be temporarily closed on Wednesday, the organisation said, following three days of chaos and bloodshed at the sites during which Israeli troops were accused of firing on civilians. "June 4, distribution centres will be closed for renovation, reorganisation and efficiency improvement work," the foundation wrote on Facebook. Aid work will resume Thursday, it added. The Israeli army confirmed the closure. The foundation began its operations last week after Israel eased a blockade on Gaza that had prevented aid from entering for over two months, sparking warnings of mass famine. But the group's first week of work has been marred by violence and criticism. At least 27 Palestinians were killed waiting for aid at a distribution centre in the southern city of Rafah on Tuesday, according to Gaza authorities. On Sunday, 31 people were killed in a similar incident near a site run by the foundation. Three were killed on Monday. The Israeli military faces allegations of shooting into crowds of civilians rushing to pick up aid packages near the sites. It has said the incidents are under investigation. On Tuesday the army said people would be prevented from approaching the distribution points on Wednesday. "It is prohibited tomorrow to travel on roads leading to the distribution centres, which are considered combat zones," Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X. "Entry to the distribution centre areas is strictly forbidden." The foundation is officially a private group but is backed by the US and Israel. Its aid operations, which bypass traditional humanitarian groups, have been condemned by the UN and established charities, who say they place civilians at risk by forcing them to navigate militarised areas to reach the aid sites. The organisation has said it distributed more than seven million meals in its first week. On Tuesday the foundation appointed Johnnie Moore, an evangelical leader and businessman, as its new leader after former chief Jake Wood resigned last week. Mr Wood had said the organisation could not fulfil its mission. Mr Moore is an adviser to US President Donald Trump on interfaith issues and the founder and chief executive of a boutique communications consultancy named Kairos Company. For decades, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA had spearheaded aid distribution in Gaza, with dozens of other organisations also participating. But Israel has accused UNRWA of providing cover for Hamas militants, claiming that some of the agency's employees took part in the October 7 attack that started the Gaza war. It also says Hamas has been pilfering aid and that the new foundation's operations are a method of circumventing the Palestinian militant group. Israel has faced mounting international criticism over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the UN has warned the entire population faces famine. It imposed an aid blockade on the enclave on March 2 and has only relaxed it in recent days. Nearly 20 months into the war, negotiations over a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked. A brief truce collapsed in March and Israel has since intensified operations to 'destroy' the group. The UN Security Council will vote on Wednesday on a resolution calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian access to Gaza, a measure expected to be vetoed by the US.
Khaleej Times
43 minutes ago
- Khaleej Times
27 killed in Israeli attacks on US-backed Gaza aid centre; agency to close temporarily
Aid centres in hunger-wracked Gaza will temporarily close on Wednesday, a controversial US-backed agency said, with the Israeli army warning roads leading to distribution stations "are considered combat zones". Twenty-seven people were killed in southern Gaza on Tuesday when Israeli troops opened fire near one of the centres operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Israel recently eased its blockade of the Palestinian enclave, but the UN has said the entire population remains at risk of famine. The UN Security Council will vote Wednesday on a resolution calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian access to Gaza, a measure expected to be vetoed by the United States. The GHF said its "distribution centres will be closed for renovation, reorganisation and efficiency improvement work" on Wednesday and would resume operations on Thursday. The Israeli army, which confirmed the temporary closure, warned against travelling "on roads leading to the distribution centres, which are considered combat zones". The GHF, officially a private effort with opaque funding, began operations a week ago but the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. Following Tuesday's deadly incident near one of GHF's centres, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres decried the killing of Palestinians seeking food aid as "unacceptable". Israeli authorities and the GHF — which uses contracted US security — have denied allegations that the Israeli army shot at civilians rushing to pick up aid packages at GHF sites. The Israeli army has said the incident is under investigation. 'A trap' At a hospital in southern Gaza, the family of Reem al-Akhras, who was killed in the shooting at Rafah's Al-Alam roundabout near GHF's facility, were beside themselves with grief. "She went to bring us some food, and this is what happened to her," her son Zain Zidan said, his face streaked with tears. Akhras's husband, Mohamed Zidan, said "every day unarmed people" were being killed. "This is not humanitarian aid — it's a trap." The Israeli military maintains that its forces do not prevent Gazans from collecting aid. Army spokesperson Effie Defrin said the Israeli soldiers had fired towards suspects who "were approaching in a way that endangered" the troops, adding that the "incident is being investigated". UN human rights chief Volker Turk called such attacks against civilians "unconscionable" and said they "constitute a grave breach of international law and a war crime". The International Committee of the Red Cross meanwhile said "Gazans face an "unprecedented scale and frequency of recent mass casualty incidents". Relief boat The United States said Tuesday that a US-backed relief effort in Gaza was succeeding in distributing meals but acknowledged the potential for improvement after the reports of shootings near the GHF centre. A boat organised by an international activist coalition was meanwhile sailing toward Gaza, aiming to deliver aid. The boat from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition departed Sicily Sunday carrying a dozen people, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg, along with fruit juices, milk, tinned food and protein bars. "Together, we can open a people's sea corridor to Gaza," the coalition said. But Israel's military said Tuesday it was ready to "protect" the country's maritime space. When asked about the Freedom Flotilla vessel, army spokesman Defrin said "for this case as well, we are prepared", declining to go into detail. Israel has stepped up its offensive in what it says is a renewed push to defeat the Palestinian group Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war. At least 4,240 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel resumed its attacks on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,510, mostly civilians. Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Apart from the aid centre incident, the civil defence agency reported 19 killed on Tuesday. The army said three of its soldiers had been killed in northern Gaza, bringing the number of Israeli troops killed in the territory since the start of the war to 424.
Al Etihad
8 hours ago
- Al Etihad
UN calls for immediate, unimpeded humanitarian aid access to Gaza
4 June 2025 00:56 NEW YORK (WAM)United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the loss of life and injuries suffered by Palestinians in Gaza who are seeking food and humanitarian assistance, describing the situation as "utterly unacceptable".In remarks conveyed today by his spokesperson, the Secretary-General highlighted the dire risks faced by civilians in Gaza, many of whom are losing their lives simply while attempting to obtain reaffirmed the basic right of Palestinians to adequate food and freedom from hunger, calling for an immediate, independent investigation into the incidents and for those responsible to be held stressed that the essential needs of Gaza's population remain vast and unmet, and reminded that Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to allow and facilitate humanitarian relief for all civilians in reiterated the urgent necessity of the immediate and unimpeded re-entry of large-scale humanitarian aid into Gaza. He emphasised that the United Nations must be allowed to operate safely and securely by humanitarian Secretary-General concluded by renewing his calls for the release of all hostages and for an immediate, lasting and sustainable ceasefire.
