Israeli undercover force detains senior Gaza health official, ministry says
Hams, in charge of field hospitals in the enclave, was on his way to visit the ICRC field hospital in northern Rafah when an Israeli force "abducted" him after opening fire, killing one person and wounding another civilian nearby, according to the ministry.
Medics said the person killed was a local journalist who was filming an interview with Hams when the incident happened.
The Israeli military and the Red Cross did not immediately respond following separate requests by Reuters for comment.
Israel has raided and attacked hospitals across the Gaza Strip during the 21-month war in Gaza, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes, an accusation the group denies. But sending undercover forces to carry out arrests has been rare.
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UPI
8 minutes ago
- UPI
Aid agencies say mass starvation stalking Gaza, demand end to blockade
Palestinians wait their turn for a hot meal at a camp for displaced people in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on July 6 File Photo by Anas Deeb/UPI | License Photo July 23 (UPI) -- Mass starvation is spreading across Gaza as a result of Israel's blockade on aid entering the Palestinian enclave, 111 international aid, human rights and religious groups said Wednesday in an appeal to the global community to act. The agencies, including Save the Children, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, Caritas and Amnesty International, said in a joint open letter that colleagues and those they served in Gaza were "wasting away" due to malnutrition. "As the Israeli government's siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families. With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organizations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes," the letter reads. The groups said doctors were reporting record rates of acute malnutrition, particularly in children and the elderly, and adults dropping in the streets from hunger and dehydration as the volume of aid distributions dwindled to just 28 trucks a day, on average, to feed 2 million people. "Exactly two months since the Israeli government-controlled scheme, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, began operating, more than 100 organizations are sounding the alarm, urging governments to act: open all land crossings; restore the full flow of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items, and fuel through a principled, U.N.-led mechanism; end the siege, and agree to a cease-fire now," they wrote. Israel said there was plenty of food getting into Gaza and blamed the U.N. and other aid agencies for failing to get it to the people who needed it. Sharing aerial footage on X that purported to show a staging post inside Gaza stocked with very significant volumes of aid, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said the depot contained 950 trucks worth of aid "waiting for international organizations to pick up and distribute to Gazan civilians." "This is after Israel facilitated the aid entry into Gaza," said Shoshani. COGAT, the Israeli government agency tasked with implementing civilian policy in Gaza and the West Bank, boiled down the issue to what it called a "collection bottleneck." "The collection bottleneck remains the main obstacle to maintaining a consistent flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, despite Israel's proactive efforts to expand the volume of aid trucks entering the area," it said in a social media post. The aid agencies acknowledged the presence of many tons of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel, but said it was lying untouched because Israeli restrictions made it virtually impossible for them to access or deliver it. They said the Israeli government's "restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death." "The U.N.-led humanitarian system has not failed, it has been prevented from functioning," the aid groups said. However, Israeli Army Radio quoted COGAT as saying Hamas was cynically exploiting a highly emotive issue to gain leverage in ongoing negotiations to end the conflict by "conducting a false campaign regarding the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip." Israel upended the traditional U.N.-led system developed over decades that delivered aid to where people were in favour of a new mechanism run by a U.S. non-profit under which Palestinians must collect aid from a handful of distribution hubs in active military zones. Jerusalem said the scheme is aimed at preventing aid from being stolen by Hamas and resold to fund its military operations against Israel. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said on its Facebook page that as of noon Tuesday, 1,026 people had been killed and 6,563 injured trying to access food at GHF sites in Gaza in the eight weeks since the scheme began operating May 27.
Time Magazine
an hour ago
- Time Magazine
The Violent Gaza-ification of the West Bank
With all eyes on Gaza and on the fallout from Israel's war on five other fronts—Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq, as well as Iran itself—few have noted the unprecedented uptick in violence in the West Bank. Even the murder earlier in July of Saif Musallet, an American citizen, and the attack on CNN's Jeremy Diamond as he was on his way to visit the family of the slain American—both by violent West Bank settlers—did little to attract attention to what is an increasingly unstable tinderbox, fanned by convergence of troubling factors Although President Donald Trump's early January decision to lift sanctions on settlers sent the wrong message, a series of significant developments on the ground have triggered the dramatic increase in West Bank violence: Israeli extremists seizing what they see as an opportunity; their leaders using government platforms to provide support; the IDF looking the other way; and many Palestinian youth becoming radicalized. Looming over it all is the shadow of two of the most extreme leaders of the annexationist minority in Israel, entrusted, since late 2022, by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with portfolios directly relevant to West Bank policies. One, Itamar Ben Gvir, a self-proclaimed Jewish Supremacist, controls the national police force. Since entering office, he has enacted a 'hands of' policy concerning Jewish settler terrorists, relaxed the prerequisites for owning weapons and, prioritizing West Bank settlers, launched a campaign for Israelis to arm themselves. The other, Bezalel Smotrich, employs his dual position as minister of finance and as a minister in the ministry of defense in the service of his three publicly declared objectives: rapid expansion of Jewish settlements, increase pressure on Palestinians to emigrate, and financially choking the Palestinian Authority to bring about its collapse. A third, Minister of Defense Israel Katz, added fuel to the fire on Nov. 22, 2024, by depriving the Shin Bet (Israel's Internal Security Agency) of a vital instrument in dealing with Jewish detainees: administrative detention. With settlers following legal advice not to cooperate with investigators and as evidence obtained by clandestine means cannot be used in an open court lest it exposes sources, court-supervised administrative detention has long proved essential in fighting terrorism—from extreme settlers or otherwise. Emboldened by their leaders' serving in such powerful positions, extremist settlers—by now organized and armed—have made the most of the situation as the Israeli public and the world at large focuses on Gaza. The result: The number of incidents involving armed settlers assaulting Palestinian villages has increased dramatically over the past three years, doubling during the first half of 2025 as compared to the same period the previous year. An additional factor relates to the IDF. Its manpower stretched to the limit, and the top brass consumed by tending to simultaneous challenges from several fronts, lower-rank commanders of units deployed to the West Bank are often reluctant to confront violent settlers, primarily because of the support they enjoy from senior government circles. Last, but hardly least: With West Bank Palestinians harassed by settlers day and night, Palestinian youth, who are being put at risk, find neither the IDF nor the nearly bankrupt Palestinian Authority protecting their families. Images of the endless suffering of Gazans add to the combustible mix. With no hope for a better future, certainly not independence—which the current Israeli government vehemently opposes—their elders, scarred by the pains of the Second Intifada, have no persuasive argument to dissuade them from repeating what the elders have long concluded was a mistake: armed resistance. Consequently, young West Bank Palestinians are increasingly inclined to join militant groups or form their own, and take to arms. Thus, Israeli extremists and radicalized Palestinians feed on each other, using each other to justify violence, killing innocents, vandalizing property, and risking a major conflagration in the process. 'Terrorism is terrorism, regardless of religion, race, or gender,' declared a recent urgent letter to Israel's Minister of Defense. Sent on behalf of Commanders for Israel's Security (CIS)—Israel's largest group of retired generals and diplomats, of which I am a member, it alerted the Minister to the dire consequences of 'organized Jewish groups…setting the area ablaze.' 'Resources must be mobilized,' we urged, 'so that those guilty of terrorism are apprehended, investigated, and swiftly brought to justice.' Although even the murder of an American citizen did little to change the dynamics, recent settlers' assaults on IDF soldiers deployed to protect them, might have. Even those who shamefully looked the other way when the victims were Palestinians—PM Netanyahu included—suddenly realized that this lawlessness could not be tolerated. 'No civilized country can tolerate violent and anarchic acts of burning a military facility, damaging IDF property and attacking security personnel by citizens of the country,' said Netanyahu. In contrast, opposition leader Yair Lapid described the events as 'Jewish terrorists, gangs of criminals, who feel backed by the (governing) coalition.' Time will tell whether this wakeup call triggers effective measures to end Jewish terrorism, which is as immoral as any other kind of terrorism. It also undermines Israel's security and legitimacy. What is certain, from my vantage point, is this: if it does not spark those measures, this cycle of violence will only lead to the Gaza-ification of the West Bank, with tragic consequences for both peoples and further destabilizing effects well beyond the Israeli-Palestinian arena.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tesla's quarterly results: what are investors and fans looking for?
By Akash Sriram and Abhirup Roy (Reuters) -Tesla is likely to post its biggest drop in quarterly revenue in more than a decade on Wednesday, as the EV maker grapples with issues including increased competition, a lack of new models and consumer backlash against CEO Elon Musk. Here are the top five issues investors, analysts and Tesla fans are watching closely. Switch Auto Insurance and Save Today! The Insurance Savings You Expect Affordable Auto Insurance, Customized for You Great Rates and Award-Winning Service WILL MUSK BE DISTRACTED BY POLITICS? Musk formed a new U.S. political party, the America Party, earlier this month, after a public feud with President Donald Trump over a tax-cut and spending bill. Three months ago, when he was still allied with Trump, Musk said he was pulling back from working in the president's administration. Founding the party has rekindled worries that Musk will be distracted from business as it faces mounting competition, especially in its key China market, and as he tries to turn Tesla into a robotics and AI company. Musk said on Sunday that he was back to working seven days a week and sleeping in the office when his small children were away. HOW FAST CAN ROBOTAXI SERVICES EXPAND? Last month, Tesla launched a small trial of its self-driving taxi service in Austin, Texas, with roughly a dozen of its Model Y SUVs and several restrictions, including safety supervisors in front passenger seats. Tesla enthusiasts lauded the efforts, although videos showed some driving mistakes. Musk has said the service would reach the San Francisco Bay Area "in a month or two," depending on regulatory approvals, but Tesla has not applied for necessary permits to test or deploy driverless vehicles, regulators in California told Reuters this month. Investors will want to know how the expansion can go forward. WHERE IS THE CHEAPER TESLA? When Musk shifted his focus to robotaxis, he cancelled plans to build a new, cheaper EV platform. Tesla had promised to start producing the first of more affordable EV models by the end of June, but the company has not yet confirmed if it has met that target. Investors are keen for an update on those plans. Sources had told Reuters in April that a stripped-down version of the Model Y was likely to be delayed by months. Analysts have already cut their 2025 delivery estimate for the cheaper car to below 50,000 vehicles, from 63,500 at the start of the year, according to eight of them polled by Visible Alpha. CAN THE MODEL Y REFRESH BOOST SALES? Tesla rolled out a refreshed version of the Model Y this year, a move investors hoped would recharge flagging sales. Deliveries of the SUV and its Model 3 compact sedan - Tesla's volume drivers - plunged in the second quarter. While Tesla blamed a January production pause to retool plants, some analysts have said the re-styling - including new front and rear light bars and a touchscreen for back-seat passengers - was not enough to boost demand. Investors will want to know Musk's view of the rollout to date and going forward. With total deliveries falling 13.5% to 384,122 units in the second quarter, the second straight quarterly decline, revenue is expected to fall 11.2% year-on-year, despite aggressive discounting and low-cost financing. HOW SOON WILL REGULATORY CREDITS DWINDLE? Sales of regulatory credits - a silent profit engine for Tesla - are set to dry up after recent legislation. Tesla earned $2.8 billion in 2024 from such credits sold to legacy automakers to help them comply with emissions rules. Without them, the company would have reported a loss in the first quarter of this year. Analysts expect pressure on Tesla and they are already resetting their revenue estimates for the year.
