17 killed by Israel near Gaza aid site, say Palestinian health officials
Israeli gunfire killed at least 17 Palestinians and wounded dozens as thousands of displaced people approached an aid distribution site of a US-backed humanitarian group in central Gaza on Tuesday, local health authorities said.Medics said the casualties were rushed to two hospitals, the Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, and the Al-Quds in Gaza City, in the north.advertisementThe Israeli military said its forces had fired warning shots at "suspects who were advancing in the area of Wadi Gaza and posed a threat to the troops".
It added that it was aware of reports that several were injured, but said numbers released by local health authorities did not align with the information it had collected."The warning shots were fired hundreds of meters from the aid distribution site, prior to its opening hours and toward the suspects who posed a threat to the troops," the military added.It has previously accused Hamas militants of deliberately disrupting aid distribution.Last week the army warned Palestinians not to approach routes leading to sites of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) between 6 p.m. and 6 am local time, describing these roads as closed military zones.advertisementThere was no immediate GHF comment on Tuesday's incident.The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid distribution which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral."Day after day, casualties & scores of injured are reported at distribution points manned by Israel & private security companies," Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), wrote on X."This humiliating system continues to force thousands of hungry & desperate people to walk for tens of miles excluding the most vulnerable & those living too far," he said.ROCKET INTERCEPTIONWhile the GHF has said there have been no incidents at its distribution sites, Palestinians seeking aid have described disorder, and access routes to the sites have been beset by chaos and deadly violence."I went there at 2 am hoping to get some food, on my way there, I saw people returning empty-handed, they said aid packages had run out in five minutes. This is insane and isn't enough," said Mohammad Abu Amr, 40, a father of two."Dozens of thousands arrive from the central areas and from the northern areas too, some of them walked for over 20 km (12 miles), only to come back home with disappointment," he told Reuters via a chat app. He said he heard the firing but did not see what happened.advertisementLazzarini said food aid should be overseen by the United Nations. "Aid deliveries & distribution must be at scale & safe. In Gaza, this can be done only through the United Nations ... We have the expertise, the knowledge & community trust," he said.Israel has repeatedly called for UNRWA to be disbanded, accusing it of having ties with Hamas. UNRWA has denied this.Separately, local health authorities said an Israeli strike on a house in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza Strip killed eight people, taking Tuesday's death toll to at least 25.The Israeli military said it had intercepted one rocket fired from northern Gaza towards Israeli territories, which signalled Hamas and other militant group remained able to fire the weapons despite Israeli devastation of their arsenal.Israel allowed limited UN-led operations to resume on May 19 after an 11-week blockade in the enclave of 2.3 million people, where experts have warned a famine looms. The UN has described the aid allowed into Gaza as "drop in the ocean."advertisementWitnesses said at least 40 trucks carrying flour for UN warehouses were looted by desperate displaced Palestinians as well as thieves near Nabulsi roundabout along the coastal road in Gaza City.The war erupted after Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in the October 7, 2023, attack, Israel's single deadliest day.Israel's military campaign has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the coastal enclave.Trending Reel
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
7 hours ago
- NDTV
8 Mental Health Disorders May Stem From The Same Genetic Root, Study Reveals
A groundbreaking new study has revealed that eight major psychiatric disorders may share a common genetic foundation. Conducted by a US-based research team, the study identified specific genetic variants that are active during brain development and appear across multiple mental health conditions. These variants remain influential over long periods, affecting various stages of brain growth. The genetic study, led by Hyejung Won, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Genetics and the UNC Neuroscience Centre, and Patrick Sullivan, MD, FRANZCP, the Yeargen Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Genetics, has successfully delineated the functional consequences of genetic variants into two groups. Their findings, which were published in Cell, suggest that pleiotropic variants may be optimal targets for treatment due to their extended roles in development and sensitivity to change. "Pleiotropy was traditionally viewed as a challenge because it complicates the classification of psychiatric disorders," said Won."However, if we can understand the genetic basis of pleiotropy, it might allow us to develop treatments targeting these shared genetic factors, which could then help treat multiple psychiatric disorders with a common therapy." The human genome acts as the body's operating manual, containing the instructions that helped us develop from a single cell into a whole person. However, everyone's genetic foundation is unique. There are specific regions of the genome that are prone to genetic variations. Specific genetic variants can impact biological processes, like protein overproduction or altered synapse formation, affecting brain development and contributing to psychiatric disorders. Luckily, researchers are armed with tools to track these variants and learn more about the origins of disease. The discovery opens the door to new treatment strategies that could target several disorders simultaneously, potentially transforming psychiatric care.
Scroll.in
10 hours ago
- Scroll.in
Palestinian toll in Israel's war on Gaza crosses 55,000: Health authorities
More than 55,000 Gazans have been killed by Israeli forces in the last 20 months, the Associated Press reported, citing data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health on Wednesday. The toll does not include deaths reported on Wednesday. During the day, 57 persons were killed and more than 363 injured while attempting to access humanitarian aid, Al Jazeera reported. The Palestinian Ministry of Health operates under the government led by the militant group Hamas. However, it is staffed by medical professionals who keep and release detailed records of deaths and injuries amid Israel's war on Gaza. While Israel has disputed the ministry's numbers, the toll put out by it from past conflicts has matched those of independent experts, according to AP. Israel's military offensive against Gaza began in October 2023 after Hamas killed 1,200 persons during its incursion into southern Israel and took hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza since then. Hamas still holds 53 of the about 200 persons it had taken hostage on October 7, 2023, according to AP. Most of the other hostages were released during ceasefires earlier. Efforts to reinstate a ceasefire have stalled due to disagreements between Hamas and Israel. Tel Aviv demands that the Palestinian militant group disarm, disband and release all remaining hostages, while Hamas insists Israel must withdraw its forces and agree to end the war. Israel has enforced a blockade on humanitarian aid going into Gaza, which United Nations officials say has brought the population to the verge of famine. Although the blockade was partially eased on May 19, allowing limited aid to enter, UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the amount as merely a ' teaspoon ' compared to what is urgently required, Al Jazeera reported.
NDTV
11 hours ago
- NDTV
"They Were Risking Lives": US-Backed Gaza Aid Group Says 5 Members Killed In Hamas Attack
A US- and Israeli-backed charity operating in Gaza accused Palestinian group Hamas of attacking aid workers en route to a distribution centre on Wednesday, saying at least five people were killed. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said a bus carrying its staff to a distribution site near Khan Yunis in the south was "brutally attacked by Hamas" around 10:00 pm (1900 GMT). "We are still gathering facts, but what we know is devastating: there are at least five fatalities, multiple injuries, and fear that some of our team members may have been taken hostage," GHF said in a statement. In an email to AFP, the group added that all five of the people killed were Palestinian aid workers for GHF. "These were aid workers. Humanitarians. Fathers, brothers, sons and friends, who were risking their lives every day to help others," the group said in its statement condemning the attack. The distribution of food and basic supplies in the besieged Gaza Strip has become increasingly fraught and perilous, exacerbating the territory's deep hunger crisis. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach distribution points since late May, according to Gaza's civil defence. It said Israeli forces killed 31 people waiting for aid on Wednesday. The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment about the incident. 'Died While Waiting' The GHF, an officially private effort with opaque funding, began operating on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into Gaza for more than two months, sparking international outcry and warnings of imminent famine. During its first week of operations, the GHF said it distributed more than seven million meals' worth of food, but its operations were heavily criticised even before the string of deadly incidents near its sites. The United Nations and major aid groups have refused to work with the GHF, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality. The amount of aid being allowed back into the territory meanwhile has been described as only a trickle. Gaza's medics have said hospitals were being inundated with people attacked while trying to obtain food. Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat Camp said early Thursday that four people were killed and 100 wounded in an overnight Israeli drone attack on a gathering at an aid distribution site close to a key checkpoint along the road to northern Gaza. At Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital, the emergency room said it had started receiving dozens of victims who had been waiting for aid, including 200 in a single day. "Many Gazans went to the Nabulsi and Netzarim areas to receive aid and were shot at and shelled with tanks," said Mutaz Harara, head of Al-Shifa's emergency department. But with few medical supplies and no operating rooms, "many patients died while waiting for their turn", he said. Convoys Through Egypt? To combat the widespread shortages, two activist convoys are attempting to transport supplies to the Gaza border themselves. The Soumoud convoy -- meaning steadfastness in Arabic -- left Tunis in buses and cars on Monday, hoping to pass through divided Libya and Egypt. The Global March to Gaza, which is coordinating with Soumoud, said it is organising a separate mobilisation starting in Cairo on Friday. The plan entails participants marching through the heavily securitised Sinai Peninsula on foot, and camping on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing. Israel's defence minister objected to the mobilisation, and said he expects Egyptian authorities "to prevent the arrival of jihadist protesters at the Egypt-Israel border". Such actions "would endanger the safety of (Israeli) soldiers and will not be allowed," Defence Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday. Egypt said that while it backs efforts to put "pressure on Israel" to lift its blockade on Gaza, any foreign delegations seeking to visit the border area must receive prior approval. With international and domestic pressure on the Israeli government mounting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu survived the latest challenge to his right-wing coalition early Thursday. A bill to dissolve parliament -- which could have led to snap polls -- was narrowly defeated, with 61 members of the Knesset voting against it, and 53 in favour. The opposition had hoped to leverage dissatisfaction with Netanyahu over proposals to enlist ultra-Orthodox men typically exempt from the military draft. But ultimately, the ultra-Orthodox parties did not back the effort. The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulting in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the retaliatory Israeli military offensive has killed at least 55,104 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable. Out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 are still held in Gaza including 32 the Israeli military says are dead.
