Over 60,000 Palestinians have died in the 21-month Israel-Hamas war, Gaza's Health Ministry says
It did not say how many were civilians or militants, but has said women and children make up around half the dead.
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Winnipeg Free Press
12 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
California governor signs executive order to support boys and men and improve their mental health
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday aimed at supporting men and boys and improving their mental health outcomes, in an effort to lower suicide rates among young men and help them feel less isolated. The order directs the state Health and Human Services Agency to recommend ways to address suicide rates among young men and help them seek services to improve their mental health and well-being. It also requires the state to connect them with education and career opportunities. 'Too many young men and boys are suffering in silence — disconnected from community, opportunity, and even their own families,' Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement. 'This action is about turning that around. It's about showing every young man that he matters and there's a path for him of purpose, dignity, work, and real connection.' The issue has come increasingly into focus for Democrats since last year's election, when the party lost young men to President Donald Trump, who framed much of his campaign as a pitch to men who felt scorned by the country's economy, culture and political system. More than half men under 30 supported Trump, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters, while Democrat Joe Biden had won a similar share of that group four years earlier. Newsom, a possible 2028 presidential candidate, has talked about the need to support men and boys on his podcast. The majority of his guests, which have included MAGA figures, Democratic politicians and book authors, have been men. He released an episode Wednesday with Richard Reeves, the founder and president of the American Institute for Boys and Men, a group that researches issues affecting the well-being of men, to discuss what can be done to better meet their needs. Newsom said at the beginning of the episode that it's an important issue to address beyond just discussing it as a political hurdle for Democrats. 'If you tune into the podcast, you may have noticed a theme — a theme that continues to emerge around men and boys,' Newsom said. 'What is going on with our men and boys? Increasingly isolated, increasingly feeling disengaged, disconnected, depressed.' Newsom's order requires the state to try to get more men and boys to serve their communities through volunteer programs and support pathways to help more male students become teachers and school counselors. State agencies must also recommend ways to get more young men to participate in state career education and training programs, as well as an initiative to help improve student outcomes. Officials must provide an update within two months. Men make up half the population but account for 80% of suicides in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. suicide mortality rate — defined as deaths per 100,000 people — for men and boys in 2023 was 22.7, about four times higher than that of women and girls, according to the CDC. California had one of the lowest suicide rates in the country in 2023, per the CDC. The suicide mortality rate was about 10.2, compared with a rate of 14.1 in the U.S. overall. ___ Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophieadanna
CTV News
12 hours ago
- CTV News
Dozens killed while seeking food in Gaza as U.S. envoy heads to Israel
Humanitarian aid destined for Palestinians is airdropped over the Gaza Strip by a Jordanian Air Force aircraft on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Malak Harb) DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — At least 48 Palestinians were killed and dozens were wounded on Wednesday while waiting for food at a crossing in the Gaza Strip, according to a local hospital that received the casualties. The latest violence around aid distribution came as the U.S. Mideast envoy was heading to Israel for talks. Israel's ongoing military offensive and blockade have led to the 'worst-case scenario of famine' in the coastal territory of some 2 million Palestinians, according to the leading international authority on hunger crises. A breakdown of law and order has seen aid convoys overwhelmed by desperate crowds. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led the Trump administration's efforts to wind down the nearly 22-month war and release hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that sparked the fighting, will arrive in Israel on Thursday for talks on the situation in Gaza. Wooden carts ferry the wounded as survivors carry flour Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said the dead and wounded were among crowds massed at the Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for humanitarian aid to northern Gaza. It was not immediately clear who opened fire and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which controls the crossing. Associated Press footage showed wounded people being ferried away from the scene of the shooting in wooden carts, as well as crowds of people carrying bags of flour. Al-Saraya Field Hospital, where critical cases are stabilized before transfer to main hospitals, said it received more than 100 dead and wounded. Fares Awad, head of the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service, said some bodies were taken to other hospitals, indicating the toll could rise. Israeli strikes and gunfire had earlier killed at least 46 Palestinians overnight and into Wednesday, most of them among crowds seeking food, health officials said. Another seven Palestinians, including a child, died of malnutrition-related causes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the strikes. It says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, because the group's militants operate in densely populated areas. Israel has eased its blockade but obstacles remain Under heavy international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza, but aid workers say much more is needed. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, the leading world authority on hunger crises, has stopped short of declaring famine in Gaza but said Tuesday that the situation has dramatically worsened and warned of 'widespread death' without immediate action. COGAT, the Israeli military body that facilitates the entry of aid, said over 220 trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday. That's far below the 500-600 trucks a day that UN agencies say are needed, and which entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year. The United Nations is still struggling to deliver the aid that does enter the strip, with most trucks unloaded by crowds in zones controlled by the Israeli military. An alternative aid system run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, has also been marred by violence. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid since May, most near sites run by GHF, according to witnesses, local health officials and the UN human rights office. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding. International airdrops of aid have also resumed, but many of the parcels have landed in areas that Palestinians have been told to evacuate while others have plunged into the Mediterranean Sea, forcing people to swim out to retrieve drenched bags of flour. Deaths from malnutrition A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the war began in Gaza. The ministry said that 65 Palestinian adults have also died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults. Israel denies there is any starvation in Gaza, rejecting accounts to the contrary from witnesses, UN agencies and aid groups, and says the focus on hunger undermines ceasefire efforts. Hamas started the war with its attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which militants killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the rest of the hostages were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. By Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy And Sally Abou Aljoud. Magdy reported from Cairo and Abou Aljoud from Beirut. Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
Toronto Star
12 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Dozens killed while seeking food in Gaza as US envoy heads to Israel
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least 48 Palestinians were killed and dozens were wounded on Wednesday while waiting for food at a crossing in the Gaza Strip, according to a local hospital that received the casualties. The latest violence around aid distribution came as the U.S. Mideast envoy was heading to Israel for talks. Israel's ongoing military offensive and blockade have led to the 'worst-case scenario of famine' in the coastal territory of some 2 million Palestinians, according to the leading international authority on hunger crises. A breakdown of law and order has seen aid convoys overwhelmed by desperate crowds.
