Hamas armed wing says Israeli army besieged location of hostage Matan Zangauker
The spokesperson of Hamas's armed wing said on Saturday (June 7, 2025) that the Israeli army had besieged the location where Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker was held in Gaza.
The Israeli army would not be able to retrieve him alive, he said.
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Indian Express
44 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Hamas officials say at least 6 killed by Israeli military near Gaza aid site: Report
At least six Palestinians were killed and several others were injured in a gunfire allegedly led by Israeli military in the latest deadly incident near an aid distribution centre in southern Gaza, Civil Defence agency which is run by Hamas militant group said. According to a spokesperson of the Civil Defence agency, people had gathered to collect aid supplies near the aid distribution centre when the sudden shooting started on Saturday morning. Reports which quoted eyewitnesses stated that the Israeli military opened fire as soon as the people started advancing towards the aid site, BBC reported. The Israeli military, in its defence, has said that it fired several warning shots at the suspects who approached them in a threatening manner. Since the aid distribution started in the southern Gaza region, dozens of Palestinians have been killed and hundreds have been injured in the past week. Nattapong Pinta was a hardworking and beloved man who worked in agriculture in Kibbutz Nir Oz. He was held hostage for 610 days by terrorists in Gaza. On October 7, 2023, he was abducted with some of his friends. His family, wife and son are waiting for his return. He was… — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 7, 2025 The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the aid distribution agency backed by the United States and Israel, has said that it has paused its distribution to deal with overcrowding and enhance the safety infrastructure. But people are gathering near a roundabout on a daily basis on the edge of the Israeli military zone through which they have to pass to reach the aid site. According to a statement released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Gazans have been told that the area is an active combat zone during nighttime hours. Meanwhile, GHF has said that it wasn't able to distribute aid on Saturday due to direct threat from Hamas, which the militant group has denied. The United Nations has not shown its support towards GHF and said that it doesn't provide enough food and medicine to deal with Gaza's humanitarian crisis, rather putting Palestinians in danger. In a special operation by Israeli forces in the Rafah area of southern Gaza on Friday, the military recovered the body of a Thai national named Nattapong Pinta.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Thousands of demonstrators march through Rome, calling for immediate end to war in Gaza
Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Rome on Saturday (June 7, 2025) against the war in Gaza in a protest called by Italy's main opposition parties, who accuse the right-wing government of being too silent. Protesters held a banner reading 'Stop the massacre, stop complicity!' at the start of the march, which moved peacefully through the center of Rome amid a massive display of rainbow, Palestinian and political party flags. The protest attracted a diverse crowd from across the country, including many families with children. According to organisers, up to 300,000 people participated in the rally organized by the leftist opposition to ask the government for a clear position on the conflict in Gaza. Also Read | Netanyahu says Israel has 'activated' some Palestinian clans opposed to Hamas 'This is an an enormous popular response to say enough to the massacre of Palestinians and the crimes of (Israeli leader Benjamin) Netanyahu's government,' the leader of Italy's center-left Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, told reporters at the march. 'There is another Italy that doesn't remain silent as the Meloni government does,' she said, referring to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Ms Meloni was recently pushed by the opposition to publicly condemn Mr Netanyahu's offensive in Gaza, but many observers considered her criticism too timid. Also Read | Recognising Palestinian state now would send 'wrong signal': Germany '(The Italian government) is not reacting despite an abnormal massacre, despite an absolutely cruel and inappropriate reaction. The (Italian) government remains silent,' said Nadin Unali, a Tunisian demonstrator at the march. Earlier this week, the Italian premier urged Israel to immediately halt its military campaign in Gaza, saying its attacks had grown disproportionately and should be brought to an end to protect civilians. Israel faces mounting international criticism for its offensive and pressure to let aid into Gaza during a humanitarian crisis. Gaza has been under an Israeli blockade for nearly three months, with experts warning that many of its 2 million residents are at high risk of famine. The war broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 hostages. They are still holding 56 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive. Since then, Israel has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians in its military campaign, primarily women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.
Hindustan Times
6 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Gaza rescuers say Israel fire kills 36, six of them near US-backed aid centre
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 36 Palestinians on Saturday, six of them in a shooting near a US-backed aid distribution centre. The Israeli military told AFP that troops had fired "warning shots" at individuals that it said were "advancing in a way that endangered the troops". The shooting deaths were the latest reported near the aid centre run by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) in the southern district of Rafah and came after it resumed distributions following a brief suspension in the wake of similar deaths earlier this week. Meanwhile, an aid boat with 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, was nearing Gaza in a bid to highlight the plight of Palestinians in the face of an Israeli blockade that has only been partially eased. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that at around 7:00 am (0400 GMT), "six people were killed and several others wounded by the forces of the Israeli occupation near the Al-Alam roundabout", where they had gathered to seek humanitarian aid from the distribution centre around a kilometre (a little over half a mile) away. AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls compiled by the civil defence agency or the circumstances of the deaths it reports. Samir Abu Hadid, who was there early Saturday, told AFP that thousands of people had gathered near the roundabout. "As soon as some people tried to advance towards the aid centre, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire from armoured vehicles stationed near the centre, firing into the air and then at civilians," Abu Hadid said. The GHF said in a statement it had not distributed aid on Saturday because of "direct threats" from Hamas. It said it was adapting its operations to "overcome these threats" and planned to "resume distributions without delay". The GHF, officially a private effort with opaque funding, began operations in late May as Israel partially eased a more than two-month-long aid blockade. UN agencies and major aid groups have declined to work with it, citing concerns it serves Israeli military goals. On Saturday, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that the overall toll for the Gaza war had reached 54,772, the majority civilians. The UN considers these figures reliable. The war was sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. Israel has come under increasing international criticism over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the UN warned in May that the entire population was at risk of famine. The aid boat Madleen, organised by an international activist coalition, was sailing towards Gaza on Saturday, aiming to breach Israel's naval blockade and deliver aid to the territory, organisers said. "We are now sailing off the Egyptian coast," German human rights activist Yasemin Acar told AFP. She said they expected to reach Gaza by Monday morning. The Palestinian territory was under Israeli naval blockade even before Hamas's October 2023 attack and the Israeli military has made clear it intends to enforce it. "For this case as well, we are prepared," army spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said on Tuesday. "We have gained experience in recent years, and we will act accordingly." A 2010 commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar attempt to breach Israel's naval blockade, left 10 civilians dead. The Israeli military has stepped up its operations in Gaza in recent weeks in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war. On Saturday, the military issued evacuation orders for neighbourhoods in northern Gaza, saying they had been used for rocket attacks. Meanwhile the World Health Organisation said in a statement there were no functioning hospitals left in northern Gaza and said the healthcare system in the territory was collapsing. It also warned that the last two functioning hospitals in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza were at risk and called for them to be protected. Separately, in a special operation in the Rafah area on Friday, Israeli forces retrieved the body of Thai hostage Nattapong Pinta, Defence Minister Israel Katz said. Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said the country was "deeply saddened" by his death. Also on Saturday, Hamas released a photograph of one of the remaining hostages, Matan Zangauker, appearing to be in poor health, with a warning that he would not survive. During the October 2023 attack, militants abducted 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 the Israeli military says are dead.
