Gaza death toll crosses 55,000
Mourners pray during the funeral of a Palestinian killed in what the Gaza health ministry says was Israeli fire near a distribution center in Rafah, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 15, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS
Gaza's civil defence agency said 16 people were killed in Israeli military operations in the Palestinian territory on Sunday, most of them while waiting for aid.
Besides, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Israel's offensive has left at least 55,207 people dead, majority of them civilians.
The first responders agency's teams transported the bodies of 16 people killed by Israeli fire in various part of the Palestinian territory, spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
At least three people were killed and many injured when Israeli forces "targeted a gathering of hundreds of citizens near the aid distribution point" in central Gaza Sunday morning, Bassal said.
In the coastal territory's north, Bassal said civil defence teams transported seven people killed on their way to get aid distributed from trucks in the area northwest of Gaza City.
In south Gaza, two people were killed and 50 were injured "when (Israeli) forces opened fire on citizens near an aid distribution point," Bassal said.
Contacted by AFP, the army said it was "not aware of gunshots near Netzarim or Rafah", and that it was looking into the events in northern Gaza.
Israeli restrictions on media in Gaza and the difficulties of access on the ground mean AFP is unable to independently verify the casualty tolls provided by the civil defence agency.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach GHF distribution points since the US- and Israel-backed organisation began operating in late May, according to the civil defence agency.
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Business Recorder
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40 killed in Gaza, many trying to reach food, as UN denounces Israeli-backed aid system
CAIRO/GAZA: Israeli fire killed at least 40 people, half of them near an aid distribution site operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Monday, the territory's health ministry said, as UN officials denounced Israeli-backed aid delivery methods. Medics said at least 20 people were killed and 200 others wounded near an aid distribution site in Rafah, the latest in daily mass shootings that have killed hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach food since Israel imposed a new distribution system after partly lifting a near three-month total blockade. Israel has put responsibility for distributing much of the aid it allows into Gaza into the hands of a new US-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates three sites in areas guarded by Israeli troops. The United Nations has rejected the plan, saying GHF distribution is inadequate, dangerous and violates humanitarian impartiality principles. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military about Monday's reports of shootings. In previous incidents it has occasionally acknowledged troops opening fire near aid sites, while blaming militants for provoking the violence. Tens of thousands rally for Gaza in Netherlands, Belgium Relatives arrived at Nasser Hospital to mourn the dead. Women and children wept beside bodies wrapped in white shrouds. 'We went there thinking we would get aid to feed our children, but it turned out to be a trap, a killing. I advise everyone: don't go there,' said Ahmed Fayad, one of those who tried to reach aid on Monday. 'Lethal distribution system' Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Palestinian refugees agency UNRWA, said in a post on X: 'Scores of people have been killed & injured in the past days, including of starving people trying to get some food from a lethal distribution system.' Before the new system was set up, aid had been distributed to Gaza's 2.3 million residents mainly by UN agencies such as UNRWA, which employ thousands of staff inside Gaza and operate hundreds of sites across the breadth of the enclave. Israel says it has had to crack down on distribution because Hamas fighters were diverting food aid. The militants deny this and say Israel is using hunger as a weapon. Lazzarini said Israel had not lifted restrictions on UN agencies including UNRWA bringing in aid, despite an abundance of assistance ready to be moved into the enclave. Israeli firing kills 41 people in Gaza On Sunday, COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said that this week it had facilitated the entry of 292 trucks with humanitarian aid from the United Nations and the international community, including food and flour, into Gaza. It said the Israeli military would continue to permit the entry of humanitarian aid while ensuring it did not reach Hamas. Before Monday's incident, the health ministry in Gaza said that at least 300 people had so far been killed, and more than 2,600 wounded, near aid distribution sites since the GHF began operations. In Geneva, Volker Turk, UN rights chief, told the UN Human Rights Council on Monday that Israel had 'weaponised' food in Gaza. He repeated a call for investigations into deadly attacks near the GHF distribution sites. 'Israel's means and methods of warfare are inflicting horrifying, unconscionable suffering on Palestinians in Gaza,' said Turk. 'Disturbing, dehumanizing rhetoric from senior Israeli government officials is reminiscent of the gravest of crimes,' he added. Netanyahu sees Gaza hostage release 'opening', orders talks On Sunday, at least five people were killed as thousands of Palestinians approached two GHF distribution sites in the central and southern the enclave. The GHF said in a statement that it resumed food deliveries on Sunday, distributing more than two million meals from its three distribution sites without incident. Israel's military campaign since has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the densely populated strip. Most of the population is displaced, and widespread malnutrition is a significant concern.
Express Tribune
13 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Gaza death toll crosses 55,000
Mourners pray during the funeral of a Palestinian killed in what the Gaza health ministry says was Israeli fire near a distribution center in Rafah, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 15, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS Gaza's civil defence agency said 16 people were killed in Israeli military operations in the Palestinian territory on Sunday, most of them while waiting for aid. Besides, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Israel's offensive has left at least 55,207 people dead, majority of them civilians. The first responders agency's teams transported the bodies of 16 people killed by Israeli fire in various part of the Palestinian territory, spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. At least three people were killed and many injured when Israeli forces "targeted a gathering of hundreds of citizens near the aid distribution point" in central Gaza Sunday morning, Bassal said. In the coastal territory's north, Bassal said civil defence teams transported seven people killed on their way to get aid distributed from trucks in the area northwest of Gaza City. In south Gaza, two people were killed and 50 were injured "when (Israeli) forces opened fire on citizens near an aid distribution point," Bassal said. Contacted by AFP, the army said it was "not aware of gunshots near Netzarim or Rafah", and that it was looking into the events in northern Gaza. Israeli restrictions on media in Gaza and the difficulties of access on the ground mean AFP is unable to independently verify the casualty tolls provided by the civil defence agency. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach GHF distribution points since the US- and Israel-backed organisation began operating in late May, according to the civil defence agency.
Business Recorder
13 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Israeli firing kills 41 people in Gaza
CAIRO: Israeli fire and airstrikes killed at least 41 Palestinians across Gaza on Sunday, local health authorities said, at least five of them near two aid sites operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Medics at Al-Awda Hospital in the central Gaza Strip said at least three people were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire as they tried to approach a GHF site near the Netzarim corridor. Two others were killed en route to another aid site in Rafah in the south. An airstrike killed seven other people in Beit Lahiya town north of the enclave, medics said. In Nuseirat camp in central Gaza Strip, medics said an Israeli airstrike killed at least 11 people in a house. The rest were killed in separate airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip, they added. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May after Israel partially lifted a near three-month total blockade. Scores of Palestinians have been killed in near-daily mass shootings trying to reach the food. The United Nations rejects the Israeli-backed new distribution system as inadequate, dangerous, and a violation of humanitarian impartiality principles. Later on Sunday, COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said that this week it had facilitated the entry of 292 trucks with humanitarian aid from the United Nations and the international community, including food and flour, into Gaza. It said the Israeli military would continue to permit the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave while ensuring it did not reach Hamas. Hamas denies Israeli accusations that it steals aid and says Israel is using hunger as a weapon against the Gaza population.
