Muslim World League Condemns Israeli Airstrikes on Syrian Territory
The Muslim World League (MWL) strongly condemned the deadly Israeli airstrikes targeting several areas in Syria, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.
In a statement, MWL Secretary-General and Chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars, Mohammed Al-Issa, condemned Israel's brutal approach in violating international laws and destabilizing security and stability in Syria and the region.
He called on the international community to take immediate and firm action against these serious violations.
He also emphasized unwavering solidarity with Syria and its people against anything that threatens its security, stability, territorial sovereignty, and unity.
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Saudi Gazette
21 minutes ago
- Saudi Gazette
Aid distribution in Gaza has turned 'a death trap'
JERUSALEM — A new program for getting desperately needed food into the hands of starving Palestinians in Gaza is only days old, but it's already mired in chaos and tragedy. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed over the past few days while on their way to trying to obtain aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). This group, backed by Israel and the US, is intended to replace the UN-led system of distributing aid in Gaza, to address a hunger crisis sparked by a monthslong Israeli blockade. Over the past week, tens of thousands of Palestinians have converged on distribution points run by GHF, hoping to grab one of the limited number of packages before they run out. For the past three days, Palestinian authorities and witnesses have accused Israeli forces of shooting dozens of civilians dead near one of the aid sites in Rafah. On Monday and Tuesday, Israel's military said it fired 'warning shots' toward what were described as 'suspects' approaching a military position, and the military was looking into reports of casualties. On Sunday, during the first deadly shooting, the military said it did not fire at civilians 'near or within' the distribution site, even as a military source admitted Israeli forces fired towards individuals about a kilometer away from the site. As international condemnation grows, here's what to know about aid and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel halted all humanitarian aid into Gaza in early March, with government officials saying their goal was to force Hamas to accept new ceasefire terms and release hostages taken during the militant group's terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The ban meant no supplies entered the territory for 11 weeks, pushing Gaza's 2.1 million people deeper into a hunger crisis. A UN-backed report warned in late April that one in five people were facing starvation and that the entire Gaza Strip was edging closer to famine. Faced with growing international pressure, Israel eased its blockade two weeks ago, allowing a small amount of aid to enter Gaza, to be distributed through UN channels as well as through GHF. But the amount of aid trickling in is nowhere near enough to meet the needs of the population, according to Palestinian officials and international aid groups. On the first day of GHF's delivery in southern Gaza last Tuesday, chaos broke out, as thousands of Palestinians rushed to receive food supplies, with Israeli troops firing warning shots into the air and the US contractors overseeing the site briefly withdrawing. Gaza's hunger crisis long predates Israel's total blockade, however. Since Hamas' attack, Israel has severely restricted the amount of aid that can enter the strip. And even before October 2023, Israel and Egypt had imposed a partial blockade on Gaza, meaning that 63% of the population was food insecure, according to the UN. What is GHF? GHF is a private, non-profit organization created with the backing of Israel and the US to take over aid delivery in Gaza, following Israeli accusations that Hamas was stealing some of the humanitarian aid that was destined for civilians. GHF relies on private military contractors for security and aims to replace traditional methods of aid delivery in Gaza employed by humanitarian organizations. On Tuesday, the organization doubled down on its mechanism, saying its work continues 'full-steam ahead' as it asserts it has delivered millions of meals in pre-packaged boxes to Palestinians. 'In an operating environment as complex and volatile as Gaza, that kind of safe, direct, and large-scale aid delivery is unprecedented,' GHF said in a statement. The group has faced internal turmoil – its executive director, Jake Wood, quit the day before GHF began operations in Gaza, and in a further blow, the Boston Consulting Group confirmed on Tuesday that it had canceled its contract with GHF. The foundation set up four 'Secure Distribution Sites' in southern and central Gaza aiming to feed around 1.2 million of Gaza's estimated 2.1 million population. That pales in comparison to the United Nations system, which relies on some 400 aid distribution points dotted up and down Gaza. The foundation coordinates with the Israeli military to designate specific routes for traveling Palestinians – many of whom must walk a long way through the devastated strip to get food – and issues warnings on Facebook against diverging from the designated roads. But it's unclear how many of those people are aware of these detailed instructions, nor how access to one of the hubs, designated SDS-01, takes them close to positions of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Over the past three nights, Palestinians appear to have come too near to these positions, and the IDF said Tuesday it had opened fire towards people who had left the designated route. The United Nations had warned that the Israeli military's involvement in securing the areas around the sites could discourage participation or lead to recipients facing reprisals. Before GHF arrived in Gaza, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) were the main distributors of aid in the enclave. Additionally, UNWRA took a leading role in providing education and healthcare services. But Israel has long had a contentious relationship with UNRWA and the UN at large. This relationship ruptured completely in the aftermath of the October 7 attack. Israel's parliament subsequently banned UNRWA from operating in the country, making any UN-led humanitarian efforts extremely difficult. Both Israel and the US had also accused Hamas of stealing aid distributed by the UN. Hamas has rejected those claims, and humanitarian aid organizations say most of the food aid reaches civilians. The UN has refused to participate in the new Gaza aid initiative, saying that GHF model violates some basic humanitarian principles. It warned that locating the initial distribution points only in southern and central Gaza could be perceived as encouraging Israel's publicly stated goal of depopulating northern Gaza. GHF has said it is working to open new sites, including in northern Gaza, but no such distribution points have yet opened. There is not enough food for everyone who needs it. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to seek aid from a tiny number of sites – and while a lucky few have been able to secure some relief, for most, the results have been disastrous. Palestinian authorities have said more than 60 people have been killed by Israeli forces in the past three days near a GHF aid site near the southern city of Rafah. Establishing exactly what happened at all these incidents is difficult, as Israel prevents international media from entering Gaza. On Tuesday, nearly 30 people were killed, and dozens wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and Nasser hospital. The Israeli military said its forces opened fire multiple times after identifying 'several suspects moving toward them, deviating from the designated access routes.' On Monday, three Palestinians were shot dead and dozens wounded as they were on their way to access aid, Palestinian and hospital authorities said. The IDF said that Israeli forces fired warning shots approximately a kilometer (about 1,100 yards) from the aid distribution site. On Sunday, the Palestinian health ministry, hospital officials and a half-dozen eyewitnesses said the Israeli military was responsible for gunfire that Palestinian officials said killed 31 people. At the time, the Israeli military 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. GHF said on Sunday that none of the gunfire was in the distribution center itself or the surrounding area. After Tuesday's shooting, the organization directed questions about shootings near the aid site to the IDF. 'This was an area well beyond our secure distribution site. We recognize the tragic nature of the situation and remain committed to ensuring the safety of all civilians during humanitarian operations at all of our sites,' GHF said in a statement. There has been widespread international condemnation, particularly from the UN. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday he was 'appalled' by the reports of deaths and injuries on Sunday. 'It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,' Guterres said in a statement, calling for 'an immediate and independent investigation' into the events and 'for perpetrators to be held accountable.' The UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, said on Tuesday that Palestinians have been given 'the grimmest of choices: die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meager food that is being made available through Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism.' In a post on X, Philippe Lazzarini, executive director of UNRWA, also slammed the new mechanism, saying: 'Aid distribution has become a death trap. Mass casualties including scores of injured & killed among starving civilians due to gunshots this morning. This is according to reports from international medics on ground.' The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, last week criticized the new aid mechanism run by GHF, saying the EU does not support 'any kind of privatization of the distribution of humanitarian aid.' The leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Canada have also threatened to take 'concrete action,' including targeted sanctions, if Israel does not stop its renewed military offensive and continues to block aid from entering Gaza. — CNN
Leaders
8 hours ago
- Leaders
Ex Biden Official Accuses Israel of Committing ‘War Crimes' in Gaza
Former US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that he believes Israel has committed 'war crimes' in Gaza, according to Sky News. Despite denying this fact during press conferences held under the Biden administration, Miller confessed that Israel undoubtedly committed crimes during its war in Gaza since October 2023. 'It is without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes,' he told British media Sky News. He also noted that he could not have unveiled this opinion while he served as the US State Department spokesperson. 'While you're at the podium you're not expressing your personal opinion, you're expressing the conclusions of the United States government,' he said. Although many pioneering genocide scholars in the world state that Israel's actions in Gaza constitute a genocide, Miller rejected to call it a genocide. Miller said it was an 'open question' whether Israel 'has pursued a policy to deliberately committing war crimes or is acting reckless in a way that aids and abets war crimes.' However, he said that it was 'almost certainly' that individual Israeli military members committed war crimes. Related Topics: Pressures Mount for Netanyahu after Biden's Gaza Proposal UK Lawyers Target 10 Britons Over Alleged Gaza War Crimes Saudi Arabia Condemns Israeli Force's War Crimes in Gaza Short link : Post Views: 91 Related Stories
Leaders
8 hours ago
- Leaders
Israel Targets Palestinians Heading to Aid Distribution Site
The Israeli military on Tuesday opened fire on Palestinians while they were trying to reach an aid distribution site in southern Gaza, for the third time in three days. Meanwhile, the UN has called for an independent investigation into the targeting of Palestinians near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution site in Gaza's southern city of Rafah. Killing Aid Seekers On early Tuesday, June 3, 2025, the Israeli military killed at least 27 people, including two women and three children, and injured others while they were heading to the GHF's aid distribution site, the Associated Press (AP) reported citing the head of Gaza's Health Ministry's records department, Zaher al-Waheidi. This marked the third incident in three days. According to the AP, all the shooting incidents took place at the Flag Roundabout, located one kilometer away from one of the GHF's distribution sites in the southern city of Rafah, an area that has been turned into an Israeli military zone. Israeli Denial The Israeli military said that its troops opened fire at several suspects who did not adhere to the designated access routes, according to CNN. It said that its forces do not prevent Gazan civilians from reaching the humanitarian aid distribution sites. 'The troops carried out warning fire, and after the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects who advanced toward the troops,' the Israeli military said in a statement, adding it was looking into reports of casualties. Multiple Incidents The Tuesday shooting occurred near the same location where previous shooting incidents took place over the past two days. On Monday morning, Israeli troops killed three Palestinians and injured dozens while they were on their way to the GHF aid distribution site in Rafah, according to Palestinian and hospital officials. Similarly, the Israeli military shot dead dozens of Palestinians in the same area on Sunday, according to Palestinian officials and eyewitnesses. The Palestinian officials said that the incident claimed the lives of 31 people and wounded dozens. However, the Israeli military denied firing 'within or near' the aid distribution site. GHF Response On its part, the GHF denied any violence in or around its site. In a statement, it said that aid distribution occurred 'safely and without incident.' It added that the Israeli military was investigating whether civilians were injured 'after moving beyond the designated safe corridor and into a closed military zone.' 'This was an area well beyond our secure distribution site and operations area. We recognize the difficult nature of the situation and advise all civilians to remain in the safe corridor when traveling to our distribution sites,' the statement noted. Aid Delivery Mechanism The GHF is an Israeli and US-backed organization which operates a new aid distribution mechanism. It involves establishing a number of distribution hubs in southern and central Gaza, where Palestinian civilians will head once a week to receive one aid package per family. The GHF cooperates with private American contractors to secure aid trucks until their arrival at the distribution sites. However, the GHF has faced mounting criticism from the UN and other humanitarian organizations, which refused to work with the organization amid fears that its distribution model will force the displacement of Palestinians. Moreover, the GHF head resigned, citing concerns over 'humanitarian principles,' including neutrality and independence. UN Calls for Investigation After the Sunday shooting incident, the UN called for an independent investigation. The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, expressed concern over the reports of shooting Gazan civilians seeking aid. 'I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday,' he said in a statement on Monday. 'I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable,' the UN head said. Dehumanization of Gazans On the same day, the UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, sharply criticized the current aid delivery mechanism as 'unacceptable' and 'dehumanizing.' In an interview with the BBC, he said: 'It's heartbreaking. I cannot believe that humanitarian aid is delivered in such circumstances. It's unacceptable, it's dehumanizing and I really hope there is a rethinking of the whole absolute need to get humanitarian aid in quickly and not through the current system.' 'I think what it shows is utter disregard for civilians. Can you imagine people that have been absolutely desperate for food, for medicine, for almost three months and then they have to run for it or try to get it in the most desperate circumstances? It does show a huge dehumanization of the people who are desperately in need,' he noted. Short link : Post Views: 50
