Israel releases Gaza medic detained since troops killed 15 rescue workers
The Palestinian Red Crescent aid group said one of its medics, Asaad al-Nsasrah, was released by Israel on Tuesday alongside nine other detainees from Gaza.
Prisoners released by Israel have said they were ordered by Israel not to speak to the media, and fear for their safety.
The medic had been detained since Israeli forces killed several of his colleagues on March 23 — eight medics with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, six members of the Hamas government's Civil Defence rescue group, and a United Nations staff member.
Israeli troops bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. UN and rescue workers were able to reach the site only a week later.
Among the Palestinians released on Tuesday was Mohammad al-Sharif who was taken from Rafah.
He said it felt like he had been given a 'new date of birth' because he can finally see his family again.
'While I was in captivity, I thought that I would not find any of my family members and relatives' if he returned to Gaza, he said.
The 10 Palestinians released by Israel arrived at Aqsa Hospital in a Red Cross vehicle on Tuesday, where they were examined by doctors. Some of them said they had been held for around five or six months.
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Los Angeles Times
32 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
U.S. and Israeli-backed group pauses food delivery in Gaza after deadly shootings
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli- and U.S.-backed group paused food delivery at its three distribution sites in the Gaza Strip after health officials said dozens of Palestinians were killed in a series of shootings near the sites this week. Israeli strikes across the territory, meanwhile, killed 26 people overnight and into Wednesday, officials said. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it was in discussions with the Israeli military on better guiding foot traffic near the distribution hubs and enhancing military training procedures to promote safety. The move came a day after Israeli forces acknowledged opening fire as people headed toward a GHF site in the now mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah, a military zone off limits to independent media. Gaza health officials, the Red Cross and the U.N. rights office said 27 people were killed on Tuesday, and witnesses blamed Israeli forces. Israel's military said it fired near people it described as suspects who it said approached its forces and ignored warning shots. It says it is looking into reports of casualties. At least 80 people have been killed in the vicinity of the sites or heading to them since they opened last week, according to hospital officials, including dozens in similar shootings at roughly the same location on Sunday and Monday, when the military also said it had fired warning shots. GHF says there has been no violence in the aid sites themselves but has acknowledged the potential dangers people face when traveling to them on foot. Thousands of Palestinians walk to the sites early each morning, desperate for food and hoping to beat the crowds, and pass near Israeli forces in the predawn darkness. GHF said it asked Israel's military, the Israel Defense Forces, to 'introduce measures that guide foot traffic in a way that minimizes confusion or escalation risks near IDF military perimeters; develop clearer IDF-issued guidance to help the population transit safely; enhance IDF force training and refine internal IDF procedures to support safety.' In a separate development, Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 26 people late Tuesday and into Wednesday, according to hospital officials. One of the strikes hit a tent in Gaza City, killing seven people, including two women and a 7-year-old girl, according to Shifa Hospital. The military said it was looking into the reports. Israel says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because the militant group is entrenched in populated areas. Israel and the United States say they supported the establishment of the new aid system to prevent Hamas from stealing aid and selling it to finance its militant activities. Israel has not claimed that Hamas fired in the area of the GHF sites. The United Nations, which operates a longstanding aid system that can deliver to hundreds of locations across the territory, denies there has been any systematic diversion of aid by Hamas, saying it has mechanisms to prevent that. The U.N. has refused to take part in the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to control who gets aid and by forcing Palestinians to travel to just three distribution hubs, two of which are in the southernmost city of Rafah. 'The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat,' U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement. He called for a flood of aid to be let in and for the world body to be the one delivering it. Israel imposed a complete ban on food and other imports for 2 1/2 months before easing the restrictions in May. U.N. agencies say lingering restrictions, the breakdown of law and order inside Gaza, and widespread looting have made it difficult to deliver assistance. Experts warned earlier this year that Gaza is at risk of famine if Israel does not lift its blockade and stop the military campaign it renewed in March, when it shattered a ceasefire with Hamas. Israel has since ramped up its offensive, in what it says is meant to pressure Hamas to agree to a ceasefire more favorable to Israel's terms. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed over 54,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The ministry is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government. Its toll is seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts, though Israel has challenged its numbers. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. The offensive has destroyed vast areas, displaced around 90% of the population, and left people almost completely reliant on international aid. Shurafa writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Controversial Gaza aid operation pauses for 24 hours after days of deadly shootings
The distribution of aid from a controversial new US- and Israel-backed organization into Gaza was paused for 24 hours on Wednesday after Palestinians en route to a distribution site came under fire for three straight days, with fatal consequences. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said that its hubs would be closed due to logistical work to better handle the massive number of people arriving in the hope of collecting food, and so the Israeli military could make 'preparations on the access routes to the centers.' Distribution at the sites is expected to resume Thursday. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) warned Palestinians, who endured an 11-week blockade on aid into the strip followed by a meager trickle of food and supplies in the past couple of weeks, to stay away from the GHF sites. 'Movement tomorrow on the roads leading to the distribution centers is strictly prohibited, as these are considered combat zones,' the military's Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote in a post on X on Tuesday. A spokesperson for GHF said the organization was 'actively engaged' in talks with the Israeli military to improve security beyond the perimeter of the humanitarian zone. GHF asked the IDF to introduce measures to guide foot traffic away from military positions, develop clearer guidance to allow the population to move safely to the aid sites, and to 'enhance IDF force training and refine internal IDF procedures to support safety,' the spokesperson said. The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli agency coordinating the passage of aid into Gaza, said 157 trucks with food and flour entered the enclave on Tuesday. These truckloads of humanitarian aid have supplied both GHF and the United Nations, which has continued to deliver aid after GHF began operating. But it remains a fraction of the 500-600 trucks that entered Gaza before the war, according to the UN. GHF got off to a rocky start when its first executive director resigned the day before operations began last Monday, citing concerns over impartiality and urging Israel to allow more aid into the blockaded enclave. US military veteran Jake Wood quit as GHF's head after just a matter of weeks at the organization, publicly launched by the United States in early May. The foundation appointed evangelical Christian leader Rev. Johnnie Moore as its new director on Tuesday, who promised to expand the distribution effort in Gaza. 'GHF is demonstrating that it is possible to move vast quantities of food to people who need it most – safely, efficiently, and effectively,' Moore said in a statement Tuesday. The organization has repeatedly said there has been no violence at their sites but acknowledged on Tuesday that there have been incidents along the approach routes to the centers. 'This was an area well beyond our secure distribution site,' GHF said. Dozens of Palestinians have died after coming under Israeli fire in recent days, Palestinian authorities say. On Tuesday, nearly 30 people were killed, and dozens wounded, according to the Palestinian health officials. The IDF said its forces opened fire multiple times after identifying 'several suspects moving toward them, deviating from the designated access routes.' A day earlier, three Palestinians were shot dead and dozens wounded as they were on their way to access aid, Palestinian and hospital authorities said. The Israeli military said that its forces fired warning shots approximately a kilometer (about 1,100 yards) from the GHF site. On Sunday, the Palestinian health ministry, hospital officials and a half-dozen eyewitnesses said the Israeli military was responsible for gunfire that killed 31 people. At the time, the IDF said its forces 'did not fire at civilians while they were near or within' the aid site, but an Israeli military source acknowledged that Israeli forces fired toward individuals about a kilometer away, before the aid site opened. Most established aid organizations and the UN have refused to work with GHF saying it fails to meet core humanitarian principles and citing concerns that its limited distribution points in the south of the strip would further the military goals of Israel to remove Gaza's population from the north. The UN's humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, was scathing in his assessment of the foundation during a UN Security Council meeting earlier this month. 'It makes aid conditional on political and military aims. It makes starvation a bargaining chip. It is a cynical sideshow. A deliberate distraction. A fig leaf for further violence and displacement,' Fletcher said. But GHF has doubled down on its distribution mechanism. The organization said Tuesday: 'We remain focused on one thing: getting food to the people who need it most. And right now, we are the only organization doing that at scale, with consistency and safety.' CNN's Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US-backed Gaza aid group pauses food distribution after days of violence
The controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is pausing its aid distribution operations for one day as it seeks to bolster security around its sites. The pause is reportedly also intended to give GHF time to develop plans for accommodating larger crowds. GHF's break in operations comes after Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops reportedly shot at Palestinians who strayed from a pre-approved path to get aid three days in a row, according to the Times of Israel. Tensions Rise As Israel Strongly Denies Firing On Palestinians At Gaza Humanitarian Site "GHF is actively engaged in discussions with the IDF to enhance its security measures beyond the immediate perimeter of GHF sites," a GHF spokesperson told Fox News Digital. The organization said it has asked the IDF to "introduce measures that guide foot traffic in a way that minimizes confusion or escalation risks near IDF military perimeters, develop clearer IDF-issued guidance to help the population transit safely and enhance IDF force training and refine internal IDF procedures to support safety." "These measures are part of our commitment to continuous improvements for civilian safety and risk reduction in one of the most complex humanitarian environments in the world," the GHF spokesperson added. "Our top priority remains ensuring the safety and dignity of civilians receiving aid. This is critical given that GHF is the only operation reliably delivering aid to the Gazan people at present." Dozens Of Palestinians Killed, Nearly 200 Wounded While On Their Way To Collect Aid In Gaza Read On The Fox News App On Tuesday, the IDF said its troops "identified several suspects moving toward them, deviating from the designated access routes." The soldiers fired warning shots and then opened fire when the suspects would not retreat, according to the IDF. Contrary to the IDF's account of events, several reports stated that at least 27 Palestinians were killed while trying to access aid on Tuesday. The Times of Israel reported that Hamas health authorities claimed 31 people were killed on Sunday, three on Monday and 27 on Tuesday, in addition to the many wounded in each incident. While the GHF has enjoyed the support of the U.S. and Israel, several aid organizations and the United Nations have criticized the system, claiming that it militarizes aid. However, Israel has repeatedly praised GHF for distributing aid in Gaza without empowering Hamas. U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordination Tom Fletcher, an outspoken critic of GHF, has routinely urged in interviews that his organization be allowed to do its work. On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on a demand for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as well as humanitarian access across Gaza, according to Reuters. Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon has already voiced his objection to the resolution, saying that it "undermines" humanitarian aid relief and "ignores a working system in favor of political agendas."Original article source: US-backed Gaza aid group pauses food distribution after days of violence
