Israeli forces kill at least 27 at food site while minister's al-Aqsa visit causes outrage
Witnesses said Israeli forces fired on hungry crowds who were attempting to get food aid from a distribution site run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the south of the territory, with some describing the fire as indiscriminate.
'I couldn't stop and help because of the bullets,' Yousef Abed told the Associated Press after seeing at least three people bleeding on the ground as Israeli forces opened fire.
Sunday's killings were the latest in a string of deadly shootings targeting hungry people. At least 1,400 people have been killed while seeking aid since 27 May, most of whom were killed near GHF sites, while others were killed along the routes of aid convoys, the UN said on Friday. The GHF says it only uses pepper spray or fires warning shots to control crowds.
In total, 119 people were killed in Gaza by Israeli shootings and strikes over the last 24 hours, including those seeking aid, the Gaza health ministry said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said the Israeli military targeted its headquarters in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on Sunday, killing one staffer and wounding three more. Video taken by an employee showed the headquarters in flames after the strike, which had destroyed much of the building.
A separate Israeli strike hit a school in Khan Younis that displaced people had been using as shelter, killing at least two people.
Gaza's population is growing increasingly desperate as the territory sinks further into famine, which experts say is a product of Israel's continued blockade of aid. Israel has vehemently denied there is a starvation crisis in Gaza and announced expanded aid measures last week, but humanitarians say Israel is still severely restricting the entry of aid.
Six people have died of starvation or malnutrition in the past 24 hours, health officials said, bringing the total number who have died from hunger to 175, 93 of whom were children. The pace of starvation deaths surged in July with more people dying from hunger than in the previous 20 months combined.
Humanitarians say a far greater amount of aid needs to enter Gaza to help stabilise the starvation emergency.
'We need the sustainable entry of humanitarian aid to flood Gaza with aid for a relatively long period of time. Patients and hospitals need more food than usual to contribute to their recovery,' said Hisham Mhanna, a spokesperson for the ICRC in Gaza.
He said the emergency compounded Gaza's existing crises, which include a devastated healthcare system and the spread of disease. Faced with starvation and lack of humanitarian supplies, aid groups are struggling to help the population of Gaza.
In total, at least 60,839 people have been killed in Gaza during Israel's current military operations, launched after the Hamas-led attack in Israel on 7 October 2023 which killed about 1,200 people.
While Israeli strikes continued in Gaza, Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, led prayers at al-Aqsa mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, provoking outrage among regional powers. Ben-Gvir was among a group of about 1,250 people who prayed at the compound on Sunday under the protection of the Israeli military.
The compound, which Jews call the Temple Mount, is a highly revered site – the holiest in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam. The site is under Jordanian custodianship; under a decades-old agreement, Jews are allowed to visit but not pray there.
Jordan condemned the visit, which it described as 'an unacceptable provocation'. Its foreign ministry said it 'affirmed the kingdom's absolute rejection and strong condemnation of the continued unacceptable incursions by the extremist minister Ben-Gvir'.
Ben-Gvir's visit was in honour of Tisha B'Av, when Jews mourn the destruction of two Jewish temples, and was the first time that an Israeli minister had publicly prayed at the site.
The compound has been the scene of clashes in the past, with Israeli police raiding the mosque in 2023 after Palestinians occupied it in response to reports that Jews were planning a religious ceremony there.
Ben-Gvir called for the annexation of Gaza and for Palestinians to leave the territory while at al-Aqsa on Sunday. He said in a post on X: 'A message must be sent: to ensure that we conquer all of the Gaza Strip, declare sovereignty …. This is the only way that we will return the hostages and win the war.'
Benjamin Netanyahu put out a statement after the visit saying the policy governing the compound 'has not changed and will not change'.
The controversy came as the Israeli public was reeling from the release of two videos over the weekend showing emaciated hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, which triggered protests on Saturday.
The occupied West Bank was also gripped by demonstrations on Sunday, with thousands protesting against the war in Gaza and the detention of Palestinians in Israeli prisons. Protesters carried photos of Palestinians killed or detained by Israel, as well as photos of starving children in Gaza.
More than 10,800 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisoners. Rights groups have documented widespread torture of Palestinians by Israeli prison guards and soldiers, including sexual abuse, food deprivation and physical abuse.
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The Guardian
10 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘Heartbreaking': a London surgeon on the trials of operating in a Gaza hospital
Every day between 4am and 6am, Graeme Groom, an orthopaedic surgeon from London, would be woken by a dawn chorus of bombs and missiles. And so began another 24 hours at the Nasser hospital in Gaza, the largest functioning hospital in the territory. Shortly after 8am, the first patients would be wheeled into the operating theatres. Groom and his orthopaedic and plastic surgery colleagues saw on average 20 patients a day: one-third children, one-third women, then men of all ages, their limbs mangled by bombs and guns. Groom, a co-founder of the charity Ideals that provides health services in places affected by conflict, has been to Gaza about 40 times, including four visits since Hamas militants attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. One evening on his most recent trip, just as the 12-hour-plus shift was ending, another emergency was wheeled in. It was an 11-year boy who had lost his nine siblings in an Israeli strike on their family home in Khan Younis. His father, a doctor, was in a critical condition, and later died of his injuries. That night Groom and his team managed to save the boy's arm, rather than amputate it. The boy's name was Adam al-Najjar. As Adam got better, the NHS doctor found that Adam spoke good English and had 'the most angelic smile', which could be prompted by a bar of chocolate from the surgeon's pocket. A few weeks later Adam and his mother were evacuated to Italy. Physically, he was much better by the time he left, Groom said, although it was too early to assess the long-term impact of the explosion on his brain, or the mental scars. 'We could not begin to get a mental health assessment of the effects of losing almost all his family in one bomb.' For every Palestinian child whose trauma captures headlines, there are thousands more whose stories go untold. The UN agency for children reported on 16 July that more than 17,000 children have been killed and 33,000 injured in the 21-month conflict. The NHS doctor recalls seven-year-old Yakub, who, with his older brother, was the only survivor of a bomb attack. Yakub's legs had been broken above and below the knees, the skin and much soft tissue flayed by bombs. 'While I was writing up the operation note … it was just heartbreaking to hear him calling for the mother who was dead.' He recalls two other patients: a mother who was cradling her three-year-old daughter when the bombs exploded. The child lost both legs, the mother's elbows were damaged, depriving her of the use of her arms. She is now regaining the use of one arm. Patients are usually discharged to tents, or improvised shelters in the sand, without rehabilitation. They are malnourished, so wounds heal less well. Infection rates are high and it is hard to keep track of them for follow-up. But it is happening. 'Amazing Palestinian colleagues are doing their very best … [and] without it, the mortality and the long-term disability rate would be much, much higher,' Groom said. The Ideals charity has been sending medical teams to the occupied Palestinian territories since 2009. But never before has it been so hard to bring in supplies. In the past Groom alone brought five large cases. On the most recent visit, his team was banned 'under pain of exclusion, confiscation and possible penalty' from bringing desperately needed equipment such as delicate plastic surgery tools for repairing vein and tissue or orthopaedic frames that allow broken bones to heal. Since the Ideals team first went to Gaza there have always been damaged buildings, but 'absolutely nothing to compare with the apocalyptic destruction that is everywhere' now. All his Palestinian colleagues have been forced to move, some many times. Many have lost close relatives, or most of their extended families. They live in tents near the hospitals with self-dug latrines for toilets. One woman slept in her hijab each night, 'so that if she was killed, she would be presentable', he recalled. 'What was astonishing was how many of them would turn up for work each day from their tents … clean, well-dressed and smiling.' Several appeared to shrug off unimaginable personal suffering. 'When they talked about the loss of family members … they would say 'this is our lives'. I probably have heard that a dozen times,' Groom said of his Palestinian colleagues. Several have also told him they do not want to be known as resilient. They just want the bombing to stop, said Groom. At his most recent visit, from 13 May to 4 June, market stalls had almost disappeared. Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, reported on Tuesday that doctors and nurses were among people 'fainting from hunger and exhaustion', having previously said Israeli authorities were 'starving civilians'. On 20 July, an anaesthetist, who was also a parent to six children, told Groom that he and his family were starving. His children ranging from two to 13 are suffering from fatigue, weakness, cramps and amnesia. They were confused, they were crying, the anaesthetist said in messages to Groom seen by the Guardian. The anaesthetist could only give them salt to lick and water. Groom has relayed what he has witnessed in Gaza to policymakers in Brussels, Berlin and Paris, urging greater western pressure on Israel. 'Everywhere we were met with empathy, very often with tears, but with a sense of impotence.' After he spoke to the Guardian, the European Commission proposed a partial suspension of Israel's participation in the EU research programme, the first possible punitive measure against the Israeli government, which must be agreed by a majority of member states to take effect. Groom had been 'hugely disappointed' when earlier this month EU foreign ministers took no action following a review into the bloc's relations with Israel, 'but I don't think the fight is over'.
BBC News
11 hours ago
- BBC News
Nurses punched in face at Swindon hospital violent children's unit
Nurses have been assaulted and "punched in the face" amid violent behavioural problems at a hospital's children's unit, staff have told the April, nurses at the Great Western Hospital (GWH) in Swindon say a series of troubled teenagers have assaulted nurses, hit another child and verbally abused very young patients and their incidents have included a patient who "ripped a TV" from a wall and broke a sink. Numerous staff are now taking sick leave.A spokesperson for the GWH said: "Our children's ward is often the only place available locally for vulnerable children and young people up to the age of 18 with complex medical and mental health needs." Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership closed the Riverside adolescent mental health unit as a "temporary measure" in February its continued closure means GWH has to do its best to cope with teenagers suffering form psychiatric conditions. The unit provides care to children up to the age of 18 and the hospitals does not have an adolescent mental health ward as an alternative. Statistics obtained by the BBC show that in the spring there were around 20 incidents relating to the behaviour of inpatients that involved harming themselves or that time, 10 staff, other patients or family members were assaulted. 'Nothing has changed' The BBC has spoken to several nurses from the unit who say up to 15 members of staff have been off work because of said one nurse who remains off work was left seriously injured after being assaulted two years ago and has suffered ever since with hearing loss and PTSD. The nurses all want to remain said: "We kept saying what is it going to take? Still nothing has changed."Is it going to take for a child to get hurt. We then had a child hurt on the ward."The nurse added that the stats were likely lower than the real number because staff find it difficult to find time to report them. The nurse described how she felt some incidents were not being dealt with seriously enough."It is often put to us these children are unwell so in terms of reporting to the police we are made to feel we are doing wrong against the child."We are a secure ward and have to buzz people in and out."It's restrictions like that and some of the mental health patients we have to remove ligatures such as a hoody they then don't like because we are stopping them from hurting themselves."The biggest trouble is we do go up to 18. Most children's wards go to 16. it almost feels like people run scared because it is children." 'Punched in face' Another nurse said: "A lot of children are medically fit to go home. No one wants to take them because of their escalating behaviour. "It has caused a lot of holes in walls, damaged pipes and lots of staff being hit with people being punched in face."The nurse went on to describe how four registered mental health nurses were unable to restrain one teenage girl who was also verbally abusing staff."It is having a massive impact on patients and parents."She added: "One of my colleagues went off sick as this girl was smacking her head against the wall. The registered mental health nurses were just nurse said they have an "assessment unit for children to be assessed" which was then closed. This has left the hospital unit dealing with these cases."One teenager was ripping TVs off the wall, she broke a sink. The whole wall has had to be replaced it has ... led to probably at least 15 staff being off sick," the nurse nurse said that managers had done very little to address the situation apart from introducing a 'safe room' which has not been opened yet. Another nurse said: "We had a young person who was with us because she had taken an overdose and her behaviour escalated to the point that she was being looked after by three registered mental health agency nurses . "Her behaviour escalated and she assaulted nurses and security staff. She punched quite a few people." An NHS report in 2024 highlighted the difficulties of nursing teenagers on hospital wards alongside younger South West director of the Royal College of Nursing, Susan Masters, said it is a national problem, adding: "This trust (GWH) is the local provision. There isn't another provision anywhere else for these young people to go which is why its very difficult here."Children with physical health difficulties, young people with illnesses and procedures need a bright, distracting fun environment."Children and young people with mental health distress need the opposite-very calming very sombre. The other issue of course is specialist nursing staff."So currently these children are being cared for in an acute unit with children's' nurses that are not necessarily trained in specialist mental health services."A statement from GWH trust said: "We have individual rooms providing privacy and division between age groups, alongside two dedicated rooms for patients experiencing a mental health crisis."Many of the children and young people we care for need specialised care and we are planning to recruit specialist mental health nurses so that we have the expertise to better support children and young people with severe mental health needs."It's unacceptable that NHS staff face violence and abuse and we do all we can to keep our staff, patients and visitors safe."This is a national issue, however these incidents can be extremely distressing, and we offer a package of mental health support to our staff, which includes de-briefing sessions and counselling services."Our Never OK campaign, in partnership with Wiltshire Police, encourages staff to report all incidents and the police regularly visit the hospital and support our own security team."
The Guardian
13 hours ago
- The Guardian
100 Gaza children hope to be evacuated to UK for urgent medical care
More than 100 critically ill and injured children in Gaza hope to come to the UK as soon as possible after the government announced a scheme to provide those in severe need with NHS care. The government announced on Sunday that it would evacuate children from Gaza to the UK for treatment under a scheme to be announced within weeks. While campaigners welcomed the announcement, they urged ministers to move quickly, saying children awaiting urgent medical care in the UK had died waiting, or were forced to be medically evacuated to other countries. 'We have previously had children on the list but because approval takes so long, some of those children have ended up dying,' said Omar Din, a co-founder of Project Pure Hope (PPH) and a healthcare executive in NHS primary care. 'The government needs to move at pace.' Through a private scheme, the charity has brought three children to the UK this year. Now, its efforts will provide a blueprint for the new taxpayer-funded scheme, which will operate in parallel. 'It's not too late in the sense that there are people who can still be helped, there are many children,' Din said. But he added: 'We should have done this much sooner.' The UK's decision to offer itself as a receiving state comes as starvation and famine from Israel's aid blockade take hold in Gaza, where more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated as many as 12,500 patients in Gaza require medical evacuation, and humanitarian organisations have called on more countries to assist. Last month, a charity launched legal action against the government's decision not to provide medical evacuations against historical precedent, and ministers faced increased pressure from more than 100 MPs to act. Charities hope that about 100 children on their existing lists will be permitted to come to the UK, along with a guardian and possibly siblings. PPH has told the government it has between 30 and 50 children who should come to the UK, and the charity Children Not Numbers (CNN) has 60 children in critical need of medical evacuation from Gaza. Charities said there were many people – working in healthcare and other sectors – who were willing to donate their time and money to help. 'We have a thriving private healthcare system in addition to our NHS system, and combined with the government behind them, I think services can be expanded to support a greater number of children,' said Din. Looking to counterparts in Europe and the US, and the neighbouring countries Egypt, Qatar and the UAE, which had evacuated more than 7,000 patients as of April, according to the WHO, Din said the UK government should assist children 'relative to our counterparts'. One child the charity was assisting had fourth-degree burns to 40% of his body. However, discussions with the government over bringing the child to the UK moved too slowly, the charity said, and the child ended up being taken to Italy in June, along with a one-year-old boy with a congenital disease. The charity has also assisted medical evacuations to the UAE and Jordan. 'We've now developed a blueprint, we've got all the resources [and] learning. The whole pathway is there now for you to take and use the full force of government to scale [up] urgently,' said Din. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Last month, CNN took legal action against the Home Office and Foreign Office over their decision not to provide medical evacuations. Welcoming the government's announcement, a spokesperson said 71 children they were assisting had died due to insufficient treatment, medicine and delays to medical evacuations, since they first called on the prime minister to consider such a scheme in November last year. 'This is absolutely disheartening,' said a CNN spokesperson. 'We had to wait around 10 months for it to happen.' The charity said the 60 children it had in critical need of evacuation had their paperwork and medical records ready for final review from Israel's coordinator of government activities in the territories (Cogat). Médecins Sans Frontières has previously called on the Israeli government to allow more patients to leave Gaza, and be more flexible, saying cases faced a lot of Cogat rejections. 'We are ready to go as long as we have the green light from the government,' said the CNN spokesperson. A Foreign Office spokesperson said a cross-government taskforce had been created to pull the new scheme together as quickly as possible. 'We are taking forward plans to evacuate more children from Gaza who require urgent medical care, including bringing them to the UK for specialist treatment where that is the best option for their care,' they said.
