
Israel faces growing global condemnation over military expansion in Gaza
Health officials said that 11 Palestinians seeking aid were shot dead, and 11 adults died of malnutrition-related causes in the past 24 hours as the new criticism of Israel came with pleas to allow far more food and other supplies to reach people in the besieged enclave.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to meet with Qatar's prime minister in Spain on Saturday to discuss a new proposal to end the war, according to two officials familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak with the media.
Mediators Egypt and Qatar are preparing a new ceasefire framework that would include the release of all hostages — dead and alive — in one go in return for the war's end and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, two Arab officials have told The Associated Press.
Families of hostages were rallying again to pressure the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid new fears over the 50 remaining hostages, with 20 of them thought to be alive and struggling.
'The living will be murdered and the fallen will be lost forever' if the offensive goes ahead, said Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held in Gaza.
She called on Israelis including the powerful Histadrut labor union to 'help us save the hostages, the soldiers and the state of Israel' and appeared to call for a general strike: 'Shut the country down.'
A joint statement by nine countries including Germany, Britain, France and Canada said that they 'strongly reject' Israel's decision for the large-scale military operation, saying it will worsen the 'catastrophic humanitarian situation,' endanger hostages and further risk mass displacement. They said any attempts at annexation or settlement in Gaza violate international law.
A separate statement by more than 20 countries including ceasefire mediators Egypt and Qatar along with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates called Israel's decision a 'dangerous and unacceptable escalation.' Meanwhile, Russia said Israel's plan will aggravate the 'already extremely dramatic situation' in Gaza.
The U.N. Security Council planned an emergency meeting Sunday. And Germany has said it won't authorize any exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza until further notice.
Officials at Nasser and Awda hospitals said that Israeli forces killed at least 11 people seeking aid in southern and central Gaza. Some had been waiting for aid trucks, while others had been approaching aid distribution points.
Israel's military denied opening fire and said that it was unaware of the incidents. The military secures routes leading to distribution sites run by the Israeli-backed and U.S.-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Two witnesses told the AP that Israeli troops fired toward crowds approaching a GHF distribution site on foot in the Netzarim corridor, a military zone that bisects Gaza. One witness, Ramadan Gaber, said that snipers and tanks fired on aid-seekers, forcing them to retreat.
In Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, some aid-seekers cheered the latest airdrops of aid. Hundreds of people rushed to grab what they could, though many have called the process degrading. Aid organizations have called airdrops expensive, insufficient and potentially dangerous for people on the ground.
Israel's military said that at least 106 packages of aid were airdropped Saturday as Italy and Greece joined the multicountry effort for the first time. Footage from Italy's defense ministry showed not only packages being parachuted over Gaza but the dry and devastated landscape below.
Barefoot children collected rice, pasta and lentils that had spilled from packages onto the ground.
'This way is not for humans, it is for animals,' said one man at the scene, Mahmoud Hawila, who said he was stabbed while trying to secure an airdropped package.
Israel alleges, without giving evidence, that Hamas systematically diverts aid from the existing U.N.-led system, which denies it. That system has called for more of the trucks waiting outside Gaza to be allowed not just into the territory, but safely to destinations inside it for distribution.
With temperatures reaching above 90 degrees F (32 degrees C) in Gaza, families fanned themselves with pieces of cardboard or metal trays and slept on the ground outside their tents, while some women collected water well before dawn.
'My children cry day and night. My son scratches his body because of the heat,' said Nida Abu Hamad, whose displaced family shelters in Gaza City.
Gaza's Health Ministry said the new adult deaths from malnutrition-related causes over the past 24 hours brought the total to 114 since it began counting such deaths in June. It said that 98 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, with fighters killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251.
Israel is 'forcing Palestinians into a state of near-starvation to the point that they abandon their land voluntarily,' Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a news conference in Egypt.
The toll from hunger isn't included in the ministry's death toll of 61,300 Palestinians in the war. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, doesn't distinguish between fighters or civilians, but says around half of the dead have been women and children. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties.
Israel disputes the ministry's figures, but hasn't provided its own.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Israeli strikes kill journalists and aid-seekers as Australia backs Palestinian statehood
Israel's military did not immediately respond to questions about the deaths. Earlier on Monday, it said air and artillery units were operating in northern Gaza and in Khan Younis, where resident Noha Abu Shamala told The Associated Press that two drone strikes killed a family of seven in their apartment. Advertisement A dozen more people killed seeking aid Among the dead were at least 12 aid seekers killed by Israeli gunfire while trying to reach distribution points, or awaiting aid convoys, according to officials at two hospitals and witnesses. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said its Saraya Field Hospital received about 30 injured from the Zikim area. Al-Shifa hospital received five bodies and over 70 wounded, said Mohamed Abu Selmiya, the hospital's director. Relatives said casualties included children and an infant. Witnesses to gunfire near the Morag corridor said they saw barrages of bullets and later dead bodies, describing the grim scene as a near-daily occurrence. The AP spoke to five witnesses who were among the crowds in central Gaza, the Teina area and the Morag corridor. All said that Israeli forces had fired toward the crowds. Advertisement 'The occupation (forces) targeted us, as they do every day,' said Hussain Matter, a displaced father of two who was in the Morag corridor. 'Out of nowhere, you find bullets from everywhere.' Ahmed Atta said he helped carry a wounded man from the Teina area who had been shot in his shoulder and was bleeding. 'It's a pattern,' Atta said of the Israeli gunfire toward aid seekers. Aid seekers were killed from 3 kilometers (nearly 2 miles) to just hundreds of meters (yards) from sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to Nasser and Awda hospitals. The United States and Israel support the American contractor as an alternative to the United Nations, which they say allows Hamas to siphon off aid. The U.N., which has delivered aid throughout Gaza for decades when conditions allow, denies the allegations. The latest deaths raise the toll to more than 1,700 people killed while seeking food since the new aid distribution system began in May, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. U.N. agencies generally do not accept Israeli military escorts for aid trucks, citing concerns over neutrality, and its convoys have come under fire amid severe food shortages. The deaths came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called reports about conditions in Gaza a 'global campaign of lies,' and announced plans to move deeper into the territory and push to dismantle Hamas. Five more Palestinians, including a child, died of malnutrition-related causes in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said. Israel increased the flow of supplies two weeks ago amid such concerns. Israeli strike targets and kills Al Jazeera journalists Israel's military targeted an Al Jazeera correspondent with an airstrike Sunday, killing him. The strike killed a total of eight people, including six journalists and two other civilians, according to Shifa Hospital. Press advocates described the attack as a brazen assault on those documenting the war. Advertisement The network said that along with its correspondent, four others of the slain journalists also worked for Al Jazeera. The Israeli military claimed responsibility for the strike. It came less than a year after Israeli army officials first accused correspondent Anas al-Sharif and other Al Jazeera journalists of being members of the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, an allegation that Al Jazeera and al-Sharif have previously dismissed as baseless. Al Jazeera called the strike a 'targeted assassination' while press freedom groups denounced the rising death toll facing Palestinian journalists working in Gaza. Mourners laid the journalists to rest in Gaza City. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals but 50 remain inside Gaza. Israel believes around 20 are still alive. Israel's air and ground offensive has since displaced most of the population, destroyed vast areas and pushed the territory toward famine. It has killed more than 61,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. Besides those killed, 121 adults and 101 children have died of malnutrition-related causes, including five in the past 24 hours, the ministry said. One was a child. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own. Advertisement International reaction Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday added his country to a list moving toward recognition of a state of Palestine, along with France, Britain and Canada. He said his government's decision aimed to build momentum toward a two-state solution, which he called the best path to ending violence and bringing leadership other than Hamas to Gaza. 'The situation in Gaza has gone beyond the world's worst fears,' he said. 'The Israeli government continues to defy international law and deny sufficient aid, food and water to desperate people, including children.' Also on Monday Italy's Premier Giorgia Meloni announced new aid to Gaza in a phone conversation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. She stressed the need to bring hostilities with Israel to an immediate halt and 'shared her deep concern about recent Israeli decisions that appear to be leading to further military escalation,' her office said in a statement. Meloni reiterated that 'the humanitarian situation in Gaza is unjustifiable and unacceptable.' Italy's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto also told the Italian daily La Stampa Monday that Israel's government has 'lost reason and humanity' over Gaza and raised the possibility of imposing sanctions. Egypt seeking talks Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty confirmed Monday that Egypt is pushing for negotiations to reach a deal that would end the war in Gaza, release Israeli hostages, guarantee aid entry and ultimately agree on a political road map that would lead to establishing a Palestinian state. Deploying international forces to support establishing a Palestinian state was previously proposed throughout the war, but Israel has opposed the idea. Advertisement Abdelatty's comments in a news conference in Cairo came as mediators from Egypt and Qatar were working on a new framework that would include the release of all hostages — dead and alive — in one go, in return for an end of the war in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the strip, according to two Arab officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met with the Qatari prime minister in Spain on Saturday to discuss new efforts. ___ Metz reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Fatma Khaled in Cairo and Charlotte Graham-Mclay in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hamas hostage videos silenced Israeli media's talk of Gaza aid crisis
(Removes extraneous words in intro and paragraph 22; no other changes to text) By Emily Rose JERUSALEM (Reuters) -A growing willingness among Israeli news media to critically explore the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has all but evaporated in recent weeks after militant group Hamas released videos of two emaciated Israeli hostages. In late July, as images of starving Gazans stirred international outcry, some Israeli press and broadcasters began to carry reports on the worsening conditions there, urging a more robust aid response. Yonit Levi, the main news anchor of Channel 12, branded the humanitarian crisis in Gaza a "moral failure" live on air, and the heads of some universities and the national Holocaust memorial appealed to the government to help hungry Gazans. Israeli media has largely focused during 22 months of war on the trauma and impact on Israelis of Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack, in which, according to Israeli tallies, some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. Coverage has concentrated on the fate of the hostages and the casualties suffered by the Israeli army. Some Israelis welcomed Levi's comment and the spate of reports discussing conditions in Gaza as evidence of a readiness to examine the impact of the war on Palestinian civilians. But the mood in Israel hardened dramatically when, on July 31, Hamas released a video of the skeletal 21-year-old Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski, weeping and in pain. It was followed three days later by a video of Evyatar David, 24, who said he was being forced to dig his own grave. The videos - which one Palestinian source said were designed to show the terrible impact of restricted aid flows in Gaza - backfired, shutting down the growing sympathy in Israel towards civilians there. Amid international condemnation of Hamas, thousands of protestors took to the streets in Israel to demand the immediate return of the hostages. About 50 hostages are still in Gaza, but only around 20 of them are thought to still be alive. Uri Dagon, deputy editor-in-chief of Yisrael Hayom, Israel's most widely circulated newspaper, said that with hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, Israelis "don't have the ability to experience the pain of the other side." "I know that sounds terrible but it's the truth," he said. Dagon accused foreign media of falling into a "campaign of lies" about starvation in Gaza: while his paper had published articles on suffering there, it emphasized that Hamas was to blame. He questioned why foreign outlets that published photos of emaciated Gazans had not given the same prominence to the harrowing images of Evyatar David. "I suggest senior editors in the international press review themselves and only then discuss how the Israeli press is conducting itself," Dagon said. DENIALS OF STARVATION Polls in the wake of Oct. 7 that showed most Palestinians approved of the attack sowed anger in Israel. Videos of Gazans crowding around hostages in the immediate aftermath of the raid, filming them on their mobile phones, spitting on them and beating them also fuelled lasting resentment. Harel Chorev, a senior researcher Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University specializing in media and Palestinian society, said such incidents made it difficult for many Israelis to feel sympathy for people in Gaza. While international media, barred by Israel from entering Gaza, have relied on Palestinian journalists, many Israelis have little faith in their reporting. Some cite the lack of press freedom in Gaza under Hamas' authoritarian rule. "I don't think there is a famine in Gaza," said Orit Maimon, 28, a lawyer from Tel Aviv. "I don't think the situation there is ideal or very good but I don't think there is a famine." The Gaza health ministry says 222 people have died of starvation and malnutrition, including 101 children, since the war began. Right-wing Channel 14 has devoted coverage in recent weeks to discrediting some reports of starving children. When a child featured in a front-page photograph in Britain's Daily Express newspaper was discovered to have a pre-existing health condition, some Israeli outlets reacted with outrage. A poll released this month by The Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem-based think tank, found that 78% of Jewish Israelis think Israel is making a substantial effort to avoid Palestinian suffering while only 15% think Israel could do more and chooses not to. The Israeli offensive makes reporting in Gaza perilous. According to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, a professional body, Israel has killed more than 230 journalists in Gaza since November. Reuters was unable to verify those figures independently. Israel denies deliberately targeting journalists and says many of those killed were members of militant groups working under the guise of the press. On Sunday, Israel's military said it killed an Al Jazeera journalist in an airstrike: it accused 28-year-old Anas Al Sharif of being a Hamas cell leader. Al Sharif had rejected the accusations, which Israel made before he was killed, and rights advocates said Al Sharif was targeted for his reporting. More than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's military campaign, according to Gaza health officials CRITICISM OF THE GOVERNMENT Polls conducted over the course of the war found that around 70% of the Israeli public wants to see Israel make a deal to release the hostages, even if that means ending the war immediately. Several Israeli media have criticized Netanyahu's government for failing to bring the hostages home or to enunciate a clear plan for Gaza after the conflict. Amongst its most outspoken critics has been left-leaning newspaper Haaretz, which has also published considerable reporting on the suffering in Gaza, including investigative pieces on army operations there. In November, Netanyahu's cabinet – which includes far-right ultranationalist parties – approved a ban on officials talking to Haaretz and government advertising boycott of the paper, accusing it of supporting "the enemies of the state in the midst of a war". The Israeli prime minister's office declined to comment for this story. Netanyahu's ministers have also put forward a proposal to privatize Channel 11, the public broadcaster, which a spokesperson for his Likud party criticized for serving the radical left and damaging Israelis' morale. Some media experts have warned this could have a chilling effect on media coverage of the government. Asa Shapira, head of the Marketing and Advertising studies at Tel Aviv University, said the government's actions impact what Israeli channels decide to show. While editorial decisions to focus on the fate of Israeli hostages was a response to public concern, there was also fear of attracting government disapproval, he said. (Additional reporting by Nidal Al-Mughbrabi in Cairo and Michal Yaakov Itzhaki in Jerusalem; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Daniel Flynn)


Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Putin Is About to Outplay Trump Again in Alaska
Ukrainian and European leaders are worried Donald Trump will get played for a second time when he meets his Russian counterpart in Alaska on Friday — and they're right to be nervous. Indeed, if Trump wants to emerge from the talks a master negotiator rather than a pushover, his smartest move may be to postpone the summit until it's better prepared. Trump isn't wrong to try sitting down with US foes and rivals, even where more conventional leaders would avoid the risk. But hastily arranged encounters rarely result as hoped, and everything about the visit by Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow that produced the Alaska invitation last week screams confusion. With so much fog on the American side, it's best to understand what Friday's meeting is about from the point of view of Vladimir Putin. To him, this is a windfall he can use both to defuse Trump's threat of sanctions and further his war effort. That's what happened earlier this year, when the former KGB handler made good use of Trump's obvious desperation to secure a peace deal in Ukraine and an economic reset with Moscow. No matter how much Trump was willing to give away, including sanctions relief, Putin saw just one thing: a strategic opportunity. With the US no longer willing to help arm Ukraine's defense, except — as eventually persuaded — when paid, Putin did the only logical thing: He upped the pace of his war effort, both on land and in the air, to take advantage of Kyiv's weakening position. Eventually, even Trump had to acknowledge he was getting strung along. Faced with an Aug. 8 deadline before the US imposed financial consequences on Russia for its intransigence, Putin's task when Witkoff arrived in Moscow was once again to do just enough to stall any US action, while making sure any concrete outcomes would strengthen Russia's position. So far, that's going swimmingly. He got something for nothing. The first priority was to keep Volodymyr Zelenskiy out of the room, rather than have the three-way meeting that Trump — to his credit — was suggesting. The Ukrainian leader's presence would require actual negotiation, making Russian disinterest hard to hide. By insisting on a bilateral sit down with Trump, Putin can seek to propose terms this US administration might accept, but he knows Ukraine can't. That would once again make Zelenskiy the person Trump blames for standing in the way of peace, taking the pressure off Putin. The second goal was to find a location for the meeting that would demonstrate, both to Russians and to leaders around the world, that Putin is no longer a pariah avoiding travel for fear of arrest under a war crimes warrant the International Criminal Court issued against him in 2023. Indeed, this would be Putin's first visit to the US (outside trips to the United Nations in New York) since 2007, before his invasion of Georgia the following year. A summit in Alaska — a US state that once belonged to the Russian Empire — would send a strong signal of Putin's rehabilitation, while also pointing to the Kremlin's long historical reach as a great power.