UN official says 47 were wounded, mostly by gunfire, when crowd overran aid hub in Gaza
GENEVA (AP) — A U.N. official says 47 Palestinians were wounded, mostly by gunfire, when crowd overran Gaza aid hub.
Ajith Sunghay, head of the U.N. Human Rights Office for the Palestinian territories, told reporters in Geneva that it appeared Israeli army fire had caused most of the injuries.
On Tuesday, crowds of Palestinians overwhelmed a new aid distribution hub set up by an Israeli and U.S.-backed foundation. The crowd broke through fences and an Associated Press journalist heard Israeli tank and gun fire, and saw a military helicopter firing flares.
The distribution hub outside Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah was opened the day before by
the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
, which has been slated by Israel to take over aid operations.
The U.N. and other humanitarian organizations have rejected the new system, saying it won't be able to meet the needs of Gaza's 2.3 million people and allows Israel to use food as a weapon to control the population. They have also warned of the risk of friction between Israeli troops and people seeking supplies.
Palestinians have become desperate for food after nearly three months of Israeli blockade pushed Gaza
to the brink of famine
.
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Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
More than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, Gaza health officials say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The Palestinian death toll from the 20-month Israel-Hamas war climbed past 55,000, the Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday, and local hospitals said at least 21 people were killed while on their way to aid distribution sites. The circumstances of the deaths reported near the sites were not immediately clear. The Israeli army said Wednesday it fired warning shots in central Gaza toward 'suspects' that posed a threat to troops. The Gaza Health Ministry doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants, but has said that women and children make up more than half the 55,000 dead. Israel says it only targets fighters and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing them of hiding among civilians, because they operate in populated areas. The ministry says 55,104 people have been killed since the start of the war and 127,394 wounded. Many more are believed to be buried under the rubble or in areas that are inaccessible to local medics. The figure did not include Wednesday's deaths. The Health Ministry is part of Gaza's Hamas-run government, but staffed by medical professionals who maintain and publish detailed records. Its tolls from previous conflicts have largely aligned with those of independent experts, though Israel has questioned the ministry's figures. Also Wednesday, Israel said forces recovered the remains of two additional hostages held in Gaza. Fighters still hold 53 captives, less than half of them believed to be alive. Health officials in Gaza said 14 people were killed while on their way to collect aid near the southern city of Rafah. Their bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. In central Gaza, Al-Awda Hospital said that seven additional people were killed while on their way to an aid distribution site. The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots before daylight toward people it identified as suspects 'who were advancing while posing a threat' in central Gaza. The military had no immediate comment on the reports of casualties in southern Gaza. Safaa Farmawi said her daughter, Ghazal Eyad, 16, was killed while on her way to collect food in Rafah. 'My daughter and I went to get aid, she came before me, I looked for my daughter but couldn't find her. People told me your daughter was martyred,' Farmawi told the AP. Near-daily shootings have erupted as crowds make their way to aid sites run by a newly created aid group rejected by the United Nations. Palestinian witnesses to previous shootings have said Israeli forces fired toward the crowds. The military has acknowledged firing warning shots toward people it says approached its forces in a suspicious manner. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates the aid distribution sites, says there has been no violence in or around the distribution points. It has warned people to stay on the designated routes and recently paused delivery to discuss safety measures with the military. The aid system rolled out last month has been marred by chaos and violence, while a longstanding U.N.-run system has struggled to deliver food because of Israeli restrictions and a breakdown of law and order, despite Israel loosening a total blockade it imposed from early March to mid-May. Experts and human rights workers say hunger is widespread and that the territory of some 2 million Palestinians is at risk of famine if Israel does not fully lift its blockade and halt its military campaign, which it renewed in March after ending a ceasefire with Hamas. Israel says the new aid distribution system is designed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid, but U.N. agencies and major aid groups say there is no evidence of systematic diversion. They say the new system violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to control who receives aid and by encouraging more mass displacement as Palestinians seek access to just three operational sites, two of them in the territory's southernmost city of Rafah, now a mostly uninhabited military zone. Israeli authorities identified one of the hostages recovered as Yair Yaakov who was killed during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and whose body was taken into Gaza. His partner and two children were also taken captive and released in a ceasefire deal early in the war. The second hostage's identity was not disclosed. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the bodies were retrieved in a 'complex' operation without disclosing details. The Israeli military said they were recovered from Khan Younis. The war began when Hamas-led fighters killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. More than half the captives have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight and recovered the remains of dozens more. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal. It has offered to hand over power to a politically independent Palestinian committee. but has not agreed to disarm. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected those terms, saying that Israel will only agree to temporary ceasefires to facilitate the return of hostages. He has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile. Netanyahu says Israel will control Gaza indefinitely and facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population to other countries. The Palestinians and most of the international community reject such plans, viewing them as forcible expulsion that could violate international law.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
'I made the sign of victory for Siwar': Mother's relief as malnourished Gaza baby evacuated to Jordan
The cry was frail but I could hear Siwar Ashour even before she was carried out of the coach. It was the cry of a voice that won't give up, of a child born in this war and who has now, for a while at least, managed to escape it. In person six-month-old Siwar is tinier than any visual image can convey. She weighs 3kg (6.6lb) but should be twice that. Her mother, Najwa, 23, smiled as she described her feelings on crossing into Jordan on Wednesday, when her daughter was evacuated from Gaza with other Palestinian children. The first thing she noticed was the quiet. "It feels like there is a truce," she told me. "We will spend our night without rockets and bombing with God's will." Siwar was also accompanied by her grandmother Reem and her father Saleh who is blind. "The first and last goal of this trip is Siwar," said Saleh. "We want to get her to a safe shore. I want to make sure she is safe and cured. She's my daughter, my own flesh and blood. And I'm so deeply worried about her." It was Reem who carried Siwar off the bus onto Jordanian soil, forming her fingers into a V sign as she came. "Until now I can't believe that I have arrived in Jordan. I saw King's Abdullah's photo at the border and I felt so happy I got off the bus and made the sign of victory…for the sake of Siwar." Back in April when the BBC first filmed Siwar at Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, her mother and doctor said she was suffering from malnutrition because the special milk formula she needed could not be found in sufficient quantity. Her body was emaciated. Najwa said then she could not breastfeed Siwar because she herself was suffering from malnutrition. Tins of milk formula were found and delivered by the Jordanian Field hospital and by private fundraisers. But with an Israeli blockade on aid, which was partially eased three weeks ago, and an escalating military offensive it was clear Siwar's condition needed more comprehensive testing and treatment. In a deal announced between King Abdullah and US President Donald Trump in February, Jordan offered to bring 2000 seriously ill children to Amman for treatment. Gaza's devastated medical system cannot cope with the level of sickness and war wounded. Since March, 57 children along with 113 family escorts have been evacuated. Sixteen children came on Wednesday, including Siwar. Cradled in her grandmother's arms, Siwar stared with her large eyes at the unfamiliar crowds of police, medical workers, and journalists gathered on the border. She was taken to an air conditioned hall where Jordanian medics handed out drinks and food to the children. There was peace and plenty. What was most obvious was the exhaustion of parents and children alike. In several months of covering these evacuations this latest was the most striking in terms of a sense of communal trauma. All of these families know what it is to be driven from one area to another by Israeli evacuation orders, or to queue for hours in the hope of finding food. If they have not experienced death in their family, they will definitely know friends or relatives who have been killed. Families are often separated by conflict as parents search for food or medical treatment. One day Najwa took Siwar to hospital and that was the last time husband Saleh was with them for two months. "I thought she would be gone for just three or four days and then come back, a simple treatment and she'd return," he recalled. "But I was shocked that it dragged on and took so long…and eventually I realised that her condition is very serious and difficult." We travelled from the border to Amman with Siwar and her family. Najwa is pregnant and fell into a deep sleep. Siwar remained awake in her grandmother's arms. On the same ambulance were two boys suffering from cancer, along with their mothers and two younger siblings. One of the siblings, a boy of four, cried constantly. He was tired and scared. After an hour we reached Amman and Siwar was transferred into the arms of a nurse and then to another ambulance. Over the next few days she will be tested and given the kind of treatment that is simply impossible under current conditions in Gaza. And her mother, father and grandmother - those who watch over her - will sleep without fear. WIth additional reporting by Alice Doyard, Suha Kawar, Mark Goddard and Malaak Hassouneh. 'Situation is dire' - BBC returns to Gaza baby left hungry by Israeli blockade 'No food when I gave birth': Malnutrition rises in Gaza as Israeli blockade enters third month Gaza now worse than hell on earth, humanitarian chief tells BBC
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Israeli gunfire, strikes kill 120 Palestinians in Gaza, many at aid sites
Israeli forces have killed more than 120 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, medical sources have told Al Jazeera, including dozens of hungry aid seekers, as Israel continues to relentlessly bombard the besieged territory, with the overall war death toll now surpassing a staggering 55,000 people. Gaza's Health Ministry said 57 people trying to access aid were killed and more than 363 injured by Israel since Wednesday morning. The distribution points are operated by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed drive in tightly Israeli-controlled zones. Israel's Foreign Ministry has described the GHF aid system as a 'dramatic success' despite mass killings and scenes of utter human desperation, triggering widespread international opprobrium. The isolated aid sites – set up in Rafah and in the Netzarim Corridor – have been branded 'human slaughterhouses' as more than 220 people have been killed while desperately trying to secure meagre food parcels for their families since GHF started operating on May 27. The Israeli army has admitted its troops fired 'warning shots' in the area of the Netzarim Corridor, where the majority of aid seekers were reported killed overnight. Gaza's Government Media Office said the Israeli military 'is deliberately creating chaos in the Gaza Strip by perpetuating a policy of starvation and deliberately targeting and killing starving people seeking food'. The United Nations also condemned the killings and has refused to supply aid via the foundation, which uses private contractors with Israeli military backup in what the UN says is a breach of humanitarian standards. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) called the aid distribution model 'a distraction from the ongoing atrocities and a waste of resources'. It reiterated that the humanitarian community in Gaza, including UNRWA, is 'ready and has the experience and expertise to reach people in need'. Israel has banned UNRWA and other legacy aid agencies with decades of experience from operating in Gaza, where a famine looms, while it maintains a punishing aid blockade. Chris Newton, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, said Israel's chaotic and violence-plagued aid system is deliberately structured to keep Palestinians desperate and hungry while pushing them southward. Newton told Al Jazeera that GHF's stated aim of providing 1,750 calories worth of food per person per day is well short of the minimum standard for crisis situations. That amount of food is 'closer to the ration given in a starvation experiment run in the 1940s in the US than it is to Israel's own previous 2008 red line for the minimum calories needed to avoid malnutrition in Gaza,' said Newton. Elsewhere in Gaza on Wednesday, dozens of other people were killed by Israeli gunfire and strikes across the coastal territory. An Israeli attack in Gaza City's Tuffah neighbourhood killed at least seven people, according to local medical sources. Three Palestinians, including two children, were killed when an Israeli strike hit a home in northern Gaza's Jabalia, while in central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, three more Palestinians were killed in an Israeli drone strike, which wounded several others, according to the news agency Wafa. In southern Gaza's Khan Younis, Israeli air strikes on displacement tents in the Tiberias camp killed four Palestinians, including a child, and wounded others, Wafa have borne much of the brunt of Israel's ongoing assault. Gaza's Health Ministry said the total death toll from Israel's war has risen to 55,104 since October 7, 2023 – most of them women and children. Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said al-Shifa Hospital, like many other health facilities, has been reduced in terms of its capacity to provide proper healthcare to people, let alone children. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder, who was at al-Shifa, said, 'Everywhere we go, this is the same scenario. 'Despite doctors' most incredible efforts, we see children being brutalised, burned … because it's a war on children.' In the meantime, Israel continues to hold some of the crew members and activists who were on board the Madleen aid vessel trying to break the Israeli siege. Israeli forces intercepted the vessel and its 12 crew members in international waters off Gaza earlier this week. While it deported four of the members, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, eight others remain in detention. The group Adalah–The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel called on Israel to immediately release the remaining detained volunteers and return them either 'to the Madleen to resume their humanitarian mission to Gaza or to their countries of origin'.At least two of the detainees were placed in solitary confinement, according to their lawyers, though one – Rima Hassan – has since been returned to the main prison wing. Brazilian national Thiago Avila was placed in solitary at Ayalon Prison due to an 'ongoing hunger and thirst strike' that began this week. 'He has also been treated aggressively by prison authorities, although this has not escalated to physical assault,' Adalah said. Hassan, a French citizen and member of the European Parliament, was also temporarily placed in isolation in Neve Tirza Prison after writing 'Free Palestine' on a wall in another prison called Givon. The UN's special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has decried the arrests as 'arbitrary' and 'unlawful' and also called for the detainees' immediate release. The Israeli military says it recovered the bodies of Yair Yaakov and a second captive, whose name has not yet been released, in a joint operation in Khan Younis with the Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet.
