27 Palestinians killed in latest violence in Gaza
At least 16 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight and into Saturday, according to health officials.
The 20-month war with Hamas has raged on even as Israel has opened a new front with heavy strikes on Iran that sparked retaliatory drone and missile attacks.
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Another 11 Palestinians were killed overnight near food distribution points run by an Israeli and US-supported humanitarian group, in the latest of almost daily shootings near the sites since they opened last month.
Families react after the death of relatives at an aid distribution hub in Rafah (Mariam Dagga/AP)
Palestinian witnesses said Israeli forces fired on the crowds, while the military said it has only fired warning shots near people it described as suspects approaching its forces.
The sites are in military zones that are off limits to independent media.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private contractor that operates the sites, said they were closed on Saturday, but witnesses said thousands had gathered desperate for food as Israel's blockade and military campaign have driven the territory to the brink of famine.
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The al-Awda Hospital said it received eight bodies and at least 125 wounded people from a shooting near a GHF site in central Gaza.
Mohamed Abu Hussein, a resident of the built-up Bureij refugee camp nearby, said Israeli forces opened fire towards the crowd about a half a mile from the food distribution point. He said he saw several people fall to the ground as thousands ran away.
Palestinians carry food and humanitarian aid in Rafah (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)
In the southern city of Khan Younis, the Nasser Hospital said it received 16 dead, including five women, from multiple Israeli strikes late on Friday and early on Saturday.
It said another three men were killed near two GHF aid sites in the southernmost city of Rafah, now a mostly uninhabited military zone.
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Israel and the US say the new system is intended to replace a UN-run network that has distributed aid across Gaza through 20 months of war. They accuse Hamas of siphoning off the aid and reselling it to fund its militant activities.
UN officials deny Hamas has diverted significant amounts of aid and say the new system is unable to meet mounting needs. They say the new system has militarised aid by allowing Israel to decide who has access and by forcing Palestinians to travel long distances or relocate again after waves of displacement.
They say the UN has struggled to deliver aid even after Israel eased its blockade last month because of military restrictions and rising lawlessness.
Palestinians receive donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)
Hamas, which is allied with Iran, sparked the war when its fighters led a rampage into southern Israel on October 7 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251.
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They still hold 53 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead but does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced 90% of the population of two million Palestinians, leaving them almost entirely reliant on international aid.
The war has drawn in Iran and its other allies across the region, igniting a chain of events that led to Israel's major strikes on Iran's nuclear and military facilities on Friday.
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The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
At least eight killed near Gaza aid sites as Palestinians fear global attention switching to Iran
At least eight Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded on Sunday in shooting near food distribution points in Gaza, as residents described an escalation of Israeli attacks happening against the backdrop of the new war with Iran. Although Israel has said that Gaza is now a secondary theatre of operations to Iran, Palestinians reported continuing serious violence including fire around US and Israel supported aid distributions points and there are fears that global attention is moving on from Gaza. 'There were wounded, dead, and martyrs,' Ahmed al-Masri told the Associated Press on Sunday as he returned empty-handed from one of the sites. 'It's a trap.' Umm Hosni al-Najjar said she joined the crowd heading to the aid point in Rafah's Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood at about 4.30am. She said the shooting began as people were advancing to the site a few minutes after her arrival. The latest killings of Palestinians near the aid distributions managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) took place as Tom Fletcher, the UN's under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, warned about the foundation's operations. He said: 'Hunger must never be met with bullets. Humanitarians must be allowed to do their work. Life-saving aid must reach people in need, in line with humanitarian principles.' 'Without immediate and massively scaled-up access to the basic means survival, we risk a descent into famine, further chaos and the loss of more lives,' he said. There have been near-daily shootings near the sites since they opened last month. Witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on the crowds and health officials say scores have been killed. The military has acknowledged firing warning shots at what it says were suspects approaching its forces. In the latest incident Palestinians said Israeli forces opened fire at about dawn towards crowds of desperate Palestinians heading to two aid sites in Rafah. The attacks in Gaza are taking place as concern mounts that the territory is being forgotten. Thirty-two-year-old Mahmoud Abu Haloub, who has been displaced six times during the war, told the Guardian that the situation in Gaza had worsened since the outbreak of hostilities with Iran last week. He said: 'The number of aid trucks has decreased, and there is now greater danger for those who go to receive aid. The Israeli army has become more deadly than before, launching shells and bombs that kill many, without anyone talking about these massacres.' Mohammed Zuhair, from the Beit Lahiya area, said: 'The world's shift of attention toward what is happening with Iran is a disaster for the people of Gaza, especially amid the current famine. 'The focus on the Palestinian cause has diminished, and the world has forgotten about us. Our issue has been pushed to the margins while we live through a suffocating crisis under Israeli aggression, blockade, and a lack of food and medicine.' Maryam Al-Shafie, a 65-year-old widow and mother of a family of 12, said: 'Yesterday, my grandson went to the aid trucks but came back with nothing. It was his first time, and we won't let him go again after the massacre took place, and many were killed. 'Since the events between Iran and Israel began, it has been a catastrophe for us. The situation has become even more unbearable. We expected the pressure on Gaza to ease, but it only worsened. No one talks about it – all the news is about what's happening in Iran.' Experts and aid workers say Israel's blockade and military campaign have caused widespread hunger and raised the risk of famine. The shooting happened hundreds of metres away from the sites, which are operated by the GHF, a group that Israel and the US hope will replace the UN-run system of aid distribution. The UN has rejected the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles. The aid system rolled out last month has been marred by chaos and violence, while the UN 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. The GHF said 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. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Several people killed by Israeli fire near aid distribution points in Gaza
Israeli fire and airstrikes killed at least 25 Palestinians across Gaza, local health authorities said, with a number of deaths near two aid sites operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Israeli forces have killed arge numbers of people at food distribution sites, many of them run by GHF, which has come under significant criticism and scrutiny over its operations and a system that forces people to travel through combat zones to reach food
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
8 are killed in the latest shooting near Israeli and US-supported aid sites in Gaza
At least eight Palestinians were killed and dozens more were wounded on Sunday in the latest shooting near Israeli- and U.S.-supported food distribution points in the Gaza Strip, according to health officials. Witnesses blamed the Israeli military, which did not immediately comment. The war in Gaza rages more than 20 months after Hamas ' Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited it. That attack set off a chain of events that helped lead to Israel's surprise attack on Iran on Friday. Witnesses said Israeli forces opened fire around dawn toward crowds of desperate Palestinians heading to two aid sites in the southern city of Rafah. Experts and aid workers say Israel's monthslong blockade and military campaign have caused widespread hunger and raised the risk of famine in the population of over 2 million. The vast majority rely on international aid because the offensive has destroyed nearly all of Gaza's capacity to produce food. The shooting happened hundreds of meters (yards) from the sites that are operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a group that Israel and the United States hope will replace the U.N.-run system of aid distribution. The United Nations has rejected the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles. There have been near-daily shootings near the sites since they opened last month. Witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on crowds, and health officials say scores have been killed. The military has acknowledged firing warning shots at what it says were suspects approaching its forces. 'There were wounded, dead, and martyrs,' Ahmed al-Masri told The Associated Press on Sunday as he returned from one site empty-handed. 'It's a trap.' Umm Hosni al-Najjar said she joined the crowd heading to the aid point in Rafah's Tal al-Sultan neighborhood around 4:30 a.m. She said the shooting began as people were advancing to the site a few minutes after her arrival. 'There were many wounded and martyrs," she said. 'No one was able to evacuate them.' The Nasser Hospital in the nearby city of Khan Younis said it received eight bodies after the shooting. The aid system rolled out last month has been marred by chaos and violence, while the U.N. 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. Israel and the U.S. say Hamas has siphoned aid from the U.N.-run system, while U.N. officials say there is no evidence of systematic diversion. The U.N. says the new system does not meet Gaza's needs, allows Israel to control who gets aid and risks further mass displacement as people move closer to the sites. Two are in the southernmost city of Rafah — now mostly uninhabited — and all three are in Israeli military zones that are off limits to independent media. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says there has been no violence in or around the distribution points. It has warned people to stay on designated routes and recently paused delivery to discuss safety measures with the military. Hamas started the war with its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel as Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage. The militants still hold 53 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 over 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. ___ ___
