Dozens more Palestinians killed by Israeli fire as war drags on
The dead include more than 30 people who were seeking humanitarian aid, according to a hospital that treated dozens of wounded people.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the strikes, but says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, because the group's militants operate in densely populated areas.
The deaths came as the UK announced it would recognise a Palestinian state in September, unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, after a similar declaration by France's president. Israel's foreign ministry said that it rejected the British statement.
The Shifa hospital in Gaza City said it received 12 people who were killed on Tuesday night when Israeli forces opened fire towards crowds waiting for aid trucks coming from the Zikim crossing in north-western Gaza.
Thirteen others were killed in strikes in the Jabaliya refugee camp and the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, the hospital said.
In the southern city of Khan Younis, the Nasser hospital said it received the bodies of 16 people it says were killed on Tuesday evening while waiting for aid trucks close to the newly built Morag corridor, which separates Khan Younis from the southernmost city of Rafah.
The hospital received another body, of a man killed in a strike on a tent in Khan Younis, it said.
The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp said that it received the bodies of four Palestinians who it says were killed on Wednesday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the Netzarim corridor area, south of the Wadi Gaza.
Seven more Palestinians, including a child, have died of malnutrition-related causes in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the territory's health ministry said on Wednesday. A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the war began in Gaza.
The ministry said 65 Palestinian adults have also died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults.
Hamas started the war with a militant-led attack on southern Israel on October 7 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 others.
They still hold 50 hostages, though Israel believes that more than half are dead. Most of the rest 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 organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
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Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘The war will end, but the habit remains': Israel's growing crisis of trauma and addiction
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Los Angeles Times
43 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
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Forbes
44 minutes ago
- Forbes
Do Employers Have A Rational Fear Of Hiring Disabled Staff?
Sir Charlie Mayfield, a stalwart of the UK business community and advisor to Liz Kendall, Work and Pensions Secretary, has recently been quoted in The Times stating that employers have a 'rational' fear of hiring disabled staff. During his review of workplace sickness, Mayfield concluded that adapting work to staff with health problems was a huge issue that required employers to change, but suggested extra duties on businesses were not the answer. He said: "We've got a large amount of legislation which places requirements on employers and it's partly because of that that a lot of employers see it as risky to employ disabled people. And so quite rationally, they don't, even though we all know that's not the right outcome." The context for these comments is one in which 2.5 million UK workers are permanently off sick, and 8.7 million workers identifying as disabled. 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There's a lack of filtering so those with the greatest needs are getting the same level of intervention as those who need a simple set of strategies or some software. Some of the occupational health companies are delivering the same services that they recommend, which is a structural conflict of interest and risks driving up costs - this practice is banned in Access to Work and Disabled Students Allowance, for example. So while we're telling employers to do more, faster, we will also need to be clear about the 'how' and the 'what'. With grand policy gestures and an increasingly litigious atmosphere, the needs of the businesses risk being overlooked and on that note, Sir Mayfield's comments are on point. Advice on adjustments for health and disability needs to be a collaboration between employer and employee. An assessment should consult both parties, and review what the individual needs in relation to the resources available. For example, a higher cost burden might be acceptable for a larger business than a small business. Safety critical roles might not have as much flexibility as a standard role. It is therefore not possible to list reasonable adjustments for each physical, emotional or cognitive difficulty. These can act as guidance, but not definitive entitlements. The policy and specialist support environment is going to need to become more sophisticated, and more responsive to balancing needs and addressing conflict, unfairness and unreasonable requests / restrictions. This is not a straightforward ask. Needs-led models How can employers find good advice in a complex and risky environment? The needs-led model is a good alternative to the medical model, relying more on practical support than clinical diagnosis. At work, we don't need to know the cause of back pain to know that a first port of call is a desk assessment or moving and handling review. Improving knowledge of functional, everyday difficulties and potential scaffolding is within the grasp of HR with the occasional advice of specialists where needed. Up-skilling employer confidence and competence is a potential avenue to improving outcomes, particularly in the areas of emotional regulation and cognition-dependent task performance where the challenges and the solutions are not visible. Knowing what to provide can be a pragmatic, low-cost conversation – research indicates that the cheapest or free adjustments are typically the most welcome, and that employees prefer the ability to personalize rather than passively receive an off-the-shelf allocation. As the population ages, the disability inclusion problem is not going to go away. Employers who are not developing a straightforward and accessible pathway to inclusion – at the company and individual level – will remain at risk of employment tribunal losses. This isn't a question of rights versus reality, it is a question of taking charge of a business need versus sticking your head in the sand. The rational fear of tribunals can be replaced by a rational approach to managing a large and growing cohort of disabled employees. Given the urgency of resolving the problem at the national level, now is a great time to start a strategic workforce plan.
