logo
At least 32 killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid in Gaza, hospital says

At least 32 killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid in Gaza, hospital says

Straits Times2 days ago
Mourners react next to a body during the funeral of Palestinians killed in an early morning Israeli strike, according to medics, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, July 19, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
GAZA - At least 32 people were killed by Israeli fire while they were on their way to an aid distribution site in Gaza at dawn on Saturday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots at suspects who approached its troops after they did not heed calls to stop, about a kilometre away from an aid distribution site that was not active at the time.
Gaza resident Mohammed al-Khalidi said he was in the group approaching the site and heard no warnings before the firing began. "We thought they came out to organise us so we can get aid, suddenly (I) saw the jeeps coming from one side, and the tanks from the other and started shooting at us," he said.
The Gaza Humanitarian Fund, a U.S.-backed group which runs the aid site, said there were no incidents or fatalities there on Saturday and that it has repeatedly warned people not to travel to its distribution points at dark.
"The reported IDF (Israel defence Forces) activity resulting in fatalities occurred hours before our sites opened and our understanding is most of the casualties occurred several kilometres away from the nearest GHF site," it said.
The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident.
DEATHS NEAR AID SITES
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Mindef, SAF units among those dealing with attack on S'pore's critical information infrastructure
Asia How China's growing cyber-hacking capabilities have raised alarm around the world
Asia Autogate glitch at Malaysia's major checkpoints causes chaos for S'porean and foreign travellers
Singapore A deadly cocktail: Easy access, lax attitudes driving Kpod scourge in S'pore
Singapore 'I thought it was an April Fool's joke': Teen addicted to Kpods on news that friend died
Singapore Who decides when you can't? A guide on planning for end-of-life care
Singapore Why hiring more teachers makes sense, even with falling student numbers
Singapore Bukit Panjang LRT disruption: Train service resumes after power fault affects 13-station line
GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a U.N.-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the accusation.
The U.N. has called the GHF's model unsafe and a breach of humanitarian impartiality standards, which GHF denies.
On Tuesday, the U.N. rights office in Geneva said it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks in the vicinity of aid sites and food convoys in Gaza - the majority of them close to GHF distribution points.
Most of those deaths were caused by gunfire that locals have blamed on the Israeli military. The military has acknowledged that civilians were harmed, saying that Israeli forces had been issued new instructions with "lessons learned".
At least 18 more people were killed in other Israeli attacks across Gaza on Saturday, health officials said. The Israeli military said that it had struck militants' weapon depots and sniping posts in a few locations in the enclave.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.
The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed around 58,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis, leaving much of the territory in ruins.
Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect talks in Qatar aimed at reaching a 60-day ceasefire though there has been no sign of any imminent breakthrough. REUTERS
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Judge who drew calls for impeachment over DOGE ruling assigned to Maxwell transcript case
Judge who drew calls for impeachment over DOGE ruling assigned to Maxwell transcript case

Straits Times

timean hour ago

  • Straits Times

Judge who drew calls for impeachment over DOGE ruling assigned to Maxwell transcript case

Find out what's new on ST website and app. Ghislaine Maxwell appears via video link during her arraignment hearing in Manhattan Federal Court, in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. July 14, 2020 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg/File Photo NEW YORK - A federal judge who faced Republican demands for impeachment after blocking Elon Musk's government review team from accessing sensitive Treasury Department records will consider whether to release grand jury testimony from the criminal case of Jeffrey Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell. U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan was assigned to the case on Monday. Maxwell's trial judge, Alison Nathan, is now a federal appellate judge. The assignment came three days after the U.S. government sought to unseal grand jury transcripts related to Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender who died by suicide in 2019 in jail after being charged with sex trafficking. In a Friday court filing, the Department of Justice said the criminal cases against Epstein and Maxwell are a matter of public interest, justifying the release of associated grand jury transcripts. Backers of conspiracy theories about Epstein have urged President Donald Trump to release a broad array of investigative files related to Epstein, not just grand jury transcripts. Separately, U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami was assigned on Monday to preside over Trump's $10-billion lawsuit accusing The Wall Street Journal of defaming him by claiming he created a lewd birthday greeting for Epstein in 2003. Dow Jones, which publishes the Journal and is part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, said it will defend against the lawsuit, and had "full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting." News Corp and Murdoch are also defendants. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Subsidies and grants for some 20,000 people miscalculated due to processing issue: MOH Asia At least 19 killed as Bangladesh air force plane crashes at college campus Singapore ST Explains: What does it mean for etomidate to be listed under the Misuse of Drugs Act? Business Why Singapore and its businesses stand to lose with US tariffs on the region Singapore NTU to have compulsory cadaver dissection classes for medical students from 2026 World US authorities probing passenger jet's close call with B-52 bomber over North Dakota Singapore Jail for man who conspired with another to bribe MOH agency employee with $18k Paris trip Singapore New research institute will grow S'pore's talent in nuclear energy, safety Engelmayer and Gayles were appointed to the bench by Democratic President Barack Obama. U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, an appointee of Democratic President Bill Clinton, will oversee the government's request for transcripts in Epstein's criminal case. NEWEST TRUMP CASE FOR FLORIDA JUDGE Many Trump supporters view the judiciary as an impediment to the Republican president's policy and personal goals. Each case could take several months or longer to resolve, followed by possible appeals. Engelmayer, 64, came under fire and drew Musk's scorn in February after temporarily blocking Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury systems. Congressman Derrick Van Orden, a Wisconsin Republican, said impeachment was justified because the judge played politics in his decision, "demonstrating clear bias and prejudice against the president and the 74,000,000 Americans who voted for him." Judicial impeachments are rare and normally reserved for serious misconduct, not disapproval of individual rulings. Any unsealed transcripts are likely to be redacted, reflecting privacy or security concerns. Gayles, 58, has been on the federal bench since 2014, after the U.S. Senate approved his nomination by a 98-0 vote. The Wall Street Journal case is at least the second Trump lawsuit he has overseen. Gayles presided in 2023 over Trump's $500-million lawsuit accusing former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen of breaching fiduciary duties by revealing confidences and spreading falsehoods in books, podcasts, and media appearances. Trump voluntarily dismissed that case after six months. The lawyer who filed that case also filed the Journal lawsuit. REUTERS

Colombian man guilty of murdering UK couple, put body parts in suitcases
Colombian man guilty of murdering UK couple, put body parts in suitcases

Straits Times

timean hour ago

  • Straits Times

Colombian man guilty of murdering UK couple, put body parts in suitcases

Find out what's new on ST website and app. Paul Longworth (left) and Albert Alfonso were killed in their London flat in July 2024. LONDON - A Colombian national was convicted on July 21 of murdering two men in London before taking parts of their dismembered bodies in suitcases to Bristol's Clifton Suspension Bridge. Yostin Andres Mosquera, 35, was visiting 62-year-old Albert Alfonso and 71-year-old Paul Longworth at the London flat they shared in July 2024 when he killed the pair and decapitated them, prosecutors said. Mosquera – who prosecutors said had engaged in extreme sexual acts with Alfonso – then put some of the couple's dismembered bodies in two suitcases and attempted to dispose of the bodies in Bristol, south-west England, before he was caught and charged. Prosecutor Deanna Heer told jurors at Woolwich Crown Court that Mosquera killed Longworth with a hammer, before stabbing Alfonso to death after the pair had sex – which was recorded in a video played several times to the jury. Mosquera said in his evidence that Alfonso - who he alleged had been abusive to him and had threatened his family - had killed Longworth before Mosquera killed Alfonso. Yostin Andres Mosquera killed the two men, before decapitating and dismembering them. PHOTO: METROPOLITAN POLICE He had pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, but admitted the manslaughter of Alfonso by reason of loss of control. He was convicted by a jury on July 21 and will be sentenced on Oct 24. REUTERS

Pakistan police say tribal chief among 14 arrested over 'honour killing'
Pakistan police say tribal chief among 14 arrested over 'honour killing'

Straits Times

timean hour ago

  • Straits Times

Pakistan police say tribal chief among 14 arrested over 'honour killing'

Find out what's new on ST website and app. QUETTA, Pakistan - Police in southwestern Pakistan have arrested 14 suspects over the so-called honour killing of a couple accused of having an affair, including a local tribal chief who ordered their deaths, officials said on Monday. The killings in Pakistan's Balochistan province last month came to attention after a video showing the couple being shot went viral on social media. The man who shot and killed the woman was her brother, acting on behalf of her family and tribe, provincial police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari told Reuters in an update on the case. The chief of the tribe, Sher Baz Satakzai, had ordered the killing, he said. The tribal chief was among those detained, provincial chief minister Sarfraz Bugti told a news conference in Quetta, the provincial capital. "We will make sure that they all will be prosecuted," he said. It was unclear if the brother was among those detained. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Subsidies and grants for some 20,000 people miscalculated due to processing issue: MOH Asia At least 19 killed as Bangladesh air force plane crashes at college campus Singapore ST Explains: What does it mean for etomidate to be listed under the Misuse of Drugs Act? Business Why Singapore and its businesses stand to lose with US tariffs on the region Singapore NTU to have compulsory cadaver dissection classes for medical students from 2026 World US authorities probing passenger jet's close call with B-52 bomber over North Dakota Singapore Jail for man who conspired with another to bribe MOH agency employee with $18k Paris trip Singapore New research institute will grow S'pore's talent in nuclear energy, safety The man and woman, accused of having an affair out of wedlock, both had several children from separate marriages, Bugti said. Authorities had initially said the couple were killed for marrying against the wishes of their families. "No one has a right, no matter what, to kill someone in such a painful and disgusting way, and then video shoot it," said Bugti. "It is a crime. It is a murder." The video that was circulating widely on social media on Sunday shows a man shooting the woman in the back at close range, and later a bloodied man lying close to the woman's body. Men are then shown shooting at both the bodies. Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the video. A local court on Monday ordered police to exhume the bodies for an autopsy. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that in 2024, there were at least 405 "honour killings", criticising the authorities for failing to stamp out these crimes. Most victims are women, and the killings are usually carried out by relatives professing to defend their family's reputation, human rights groups say. REUTERS

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store