British surgeon in Gaza compares Palestine to ‘slaughterhouse' as Israel intensifies its attacks
A British doctor working in Gaza has described it as a "slaughterhouse" as Israel intensifies its attacks on the enclave.
Surgeon Tom Potokar compared the situation in Khan Younis to Stalingrad due to the "massive extent of destruction."
"Because of the blockade, there's so little stuff getting in. There's no food getting in, so people are starving. There's very little medical supplies coming in," he added.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that despite more supplies arriving in Gaza, none have yet reached the starving population as teams ran out of time after the Israeli military made them transfer the aid onto separate trucks.
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Sky News
3 hours ago
- Sky News
Dozens more killed near food distribution centre in Gaza, claims Hamas-run health ministry
Why you can trust Sky News At least 36 people were killed and 208 wounded when Israeli forces fired towards crowds near a food distribution centre in Gaza on Tuesday morning, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. Footage supplied to Sky News shows people shouting and screaming as they flee explosions in the distance. Dead and wounded people can be seen being carried away from the scene while thick smoke billows into the air. The incident is the latest in a series of reports of Palestinians being killed by Israeli gunfire near one of the distribution centres operated by a new organisation which is permitted by the IDF to hand out aid in the territory. One man seen in the footage says: "We want to live, we want to eat. We have children and wives. We want to live in our homes. Three years of war, bodies ripped apart, all this, for some flour." Humanitarian aid workers and experts have warned Israel's blockade of Gaza and its military campaign has pushed the besieged enclave to the brink of famine. Around 160 people have been killed in shootings near aid sites run by the new Israel and US-backed organisation, the health ministry has said. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs the sites, said there has been no violence in or around the distribution centres themselves. However, it has warned people to stay on designated access routes and paused delivery last week while it held talks with Israel's military on improving safety. Israel's military said in a statement its forces fired warning shots at suspects who were advancing and posed a threat to troops "despite warnings that the area is an active combat zone". It said it was aware of reports several people had been injured but its initial inquiry suggests the number "does not align with the information held" by the Israeli military. "The warning shots were fired hundreds of metres from the aid distribution site, prior to its opening hours and toward the suspects who posed a threat to the troops," it said, adding that the details are under review. The government media office of Hamas said: "In a new crime added to the bloody record of the 'Israeli' occupation, the number of victims of the 'Israeli-American aid distribution centres' since Tuesday morning rose to 36 martyrs and more than 208 injuries, bringing the total number of victims of the 'Israeli-American aid distribution centres' to 163 martyrs and 1,495 injuries, all of whom are starving civilians seeking a living under siege and starvation." Israeli government ministers sanctioned It comes as the UK government sanctioned two Israeli government ministers due to their "repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian civilians", the Foreign Office said. The UK imposed sanctions on Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway. They are being sanctioned in their personal capacities and are now subject to a freeze on UK assets and director disqualifications, and banned from entering the country. The sanctions were criticised by US secretary of state Marco Rubio who said on X: "These sanctions do not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home, and end the war." 1:28 Earlier in the day Greta Thunberg accused Israel of committing "an illegal act" after the Gaza-bound aid boat she was on was seized by the country's military and she was deported to France.
BreakingNews.ie
8 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Palestinians say 36 people killed trying to obtain desperately needed aid
Palestinians desperately trying to access aid in Gaza have come under fire again, with 36 people killed and 207 injured on Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry said. Experts and humanitarian aid workers say Israel's blockade and 20-month military campaign have pushed Gaza to the brink of famine. Advertisement At least 163 people have been killed and 1,495 wounded in a number of shootings near aid sites run by the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which are in military zones that are off-limits to independent media. The Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions at people who it says approached its forces in a suspicious manner. The foundation says there has been no violence in or around the distribution points themselves. But it has warned people to stay on designated access routes and it paused delivery last week while it held talks with the military on improving safety. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday there is 'meaningful progress' on a possible ceasefire deal that would also return some of the 55 hostages still being held in Gaza, but said it was 'too early to hope'. Advertisement Foreign minister Gideon Saar also mentioned on Tuesday that there was progress in ceasefire negotiations. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organisation, is distributing aid in Rafah (AP) Mr Netanyahu was meeting with the Israeli negotiating team and the defence minister on Tuesday evening to discuss next steps. In southern Gaza, at least eight people were killed while trying to obtain aid around Rafah, according to Nasser Hospital. In northern Gaza, two men and a child were killed and at least 130 were wounded on Tuesday, according to Nader Garghoun, a spokesperson for the al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. He said most were being treated for gunshot wounds. Advertisement Palestinians received donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City (AP) Witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli forces opened fire at around 2am (midnight BST), several hundred yards from the aid site in central Gaza. Crowds of Palestinians seeking desperately needed food often head to the sites hours before dawn, hoping to beat the crowds. The Israeli military said it fired warning shots at people it referred to as suspects. It said they had advanced toward its troops hundreds of yards from the aid site prior to its opening hours. Additionally, three Palestinian medics were killed in an Israeli strike Tuesday in Gaza City, according to the health ministry. The medics from the health ministry's emergency service were responding to an Israeli attack on a house in Jaffa street in Gaza City when a second strike hit the building, the ministry said. Advertisement The Israeli military did not comment on the strike, but said over the past day the air force has hit dozens of targets belonging to Hamas' military infrastructure, including rocket launchers.
The Independent
11 hours ago
- The Independent
Palestinians say Israeli forces fired toward crowds near Gaza aid site, killing 3
Palestinian health officials and witnesses say Israeli forces fired toward crowds making their way to a food distribution point run by an Israeli and U.S.-supported group in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing three people and wounding scores. The Israeli military said it fired warning shots at people it referred to as suspects who it said had advanced toward its troops hundreds of meters (yards) from the aid site prior to its opening hours. Experts and humanitarian aid workers say Israel's blockade and 20-month military campaign have pushed Gaza to the brink of famine. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday there is 'meaningful progress' on a possible ceasefire deal which would also return some of the 55 hostages still being held in Gaza, but said it was 'too early to hope.' Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also mentioned on Tuesday that there was progress in ceasefire negotiations. Around 130 people have been killed in a number of shootings near aid sites run by the Israeli and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which are in military zones that are off-limits to independent media. The Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions at people who it says approached its forces in a suspicious manner. The foundation says there has been no violence in or around the distribution points themselves. But it has warned people to stay on designated access routes and it paused delivery last week while it held talks with the military on improving safety. 'People are killed just trying to get food' Two men and a child were killed and at least 130 were wounded on Tuesday, according to Nader Garghoun, a spokesperson for the al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. He said most were being treated for gunshot wounds. Witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli forces opened fire at around 2 a.m., several hundred meters (yards) from the aid site in central Gaza. Crowds of Palestinians seeking desperately needed food often head to the sites hours before dawn, hoping to beat the crowds. Mohammed Abu Hussein, a resident of the nearby built-up Bureij refugee camp, said Israeli drones and tanks opened fire, and that he saw five people wounded by gunshots. Abed Haniyah, another witness, said Israeli forces opened fire 'indiscriminately' as thousands of people were attempting to reach the food site. 'What happens every day is humiliation," he said. "Every day, people are killed just trying to get food for their children.' The U.N. has rejected the new aid system Israel and the United States say they set up the new food distribution system to prevent Hamas from stealing humanitarian aid and using it to finance militant activities. The United Nations, which runs a longstanding system capable of delivering aid to all parts of Gaza, says there is no evidence of any systematic diversion. U.N. agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to decide who receives aid and by forcing Palestinians to relocate to just three currently operational sites. The other two distribution sites are in the now mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah, which Israel has transformed into a military zone. Israeli forces maintain an outer perimeter around all three hubs, and Palestinians must pass close to them to reach the distribution points. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken of creating a 'sterile zone' in Rafah free of Hamas and of moving the territory's entire population there. He has also said Israel will facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of Gaza's 2 million Palestinians to other countries — plans rejected by much of the international community, including the Palestinians, who view it as forcible expulsion. Hamas started the war with its attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage. They still hold 55 hostages, fewer than half of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It says women and children make up most of the dead, but doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population, often multiple times. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman contributed from Jerusalem. ___
