‘I Felt a Bullet': Palestinians Recount Deadly Shooting Near New Gaza Aid Site
Hungry and desperate, they raced to secure just one box of food. After nearly three months without any aid entering Gaza, Palestinians had learned that an Israeli-backed aid site would open in Rafah.
Israel promised an orderly system that would improve on the United Nations' efforts to distribute much-needed food to Gazans. Almost from the beginning, things went horribly wrong.
On Saturday night, Mohammed Abdulal, 30, traveled 18 miles and joined thousands of people aggressively pushing their way forward, trying to reach the aid site. Israeli forces formed a wide perimeter around the site, which was overseen by U.S. private security contractors.
Suddenly, he heard a hail of gunfire, forcing people to flee in every direction, their terrified screams filling the night sky. A bullet ripped through Mr. Abdulal's face, leaving him writhing in pain.
'I only took two steps before I felt a bullet tear into my right cheek and neck,' he said. 'I started shouting: 'People, I'm wounded. Help me.''
The rollout of the new aid effort over the past week by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an effort conceived in Israel and endorsed by the United States, was supposed to help Palestinians get aid while keeping it out of the hands of Hamas.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
37 minutes ago
- Fox News
Israeli forces recover body of Thai hostage killed in Gaza by terror group
Israel's military has recovered the body of a Thai man who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in captivity by terror group Kataeb al-Mujahideen shortly after the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023. Natthapong Pinta's body was brought back to Israel after an operation by the Israeli Defense Forces and Israeli Security Agency, the military said on Saturday. "Yesterday (Friday), in a joint IDF and ISA operation, the body of Nattapong Pinta, a Thai national, was recovered from the Rafah area in the Gaza Strip," the IDF and ISA said in a joint statement. His family in Thailand was notified by the Thai Embassy and by Brig. Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch, who serves as the coordinator for Captives and Missing Persons in the Israeli prime minister's office. Natthapong had come to Israel to work in agriculture, according to Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz. "I send my deepest condolences to his wife, young son, and family, and I thank our heroic soldiers who, time and again, operate under fire to bring back all the hostages, out of a profound moral commitment," Katz said in a statement. "We will not rest until all the hostages — both the living and the fallen — are returned to Israel," he continued. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a news release that "the recovery of Nattapong Pinta represents the fulfillment of a basic moral and human obligation, allowing his family the closure they desperately need." In a statement, the Hostage Families Forum said: "We stand with Nattapong's family today and share in their grief." "While the pain is immense, his family will finally have certainty after 20 terrible and agonizing months of devastating uncertainty," the statement continued. "Every family deserves such certainty to begin their personal healing journey." Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza – 33 of whom are confirmed dead, but at least 20 are alive. There is grave concern for the lives of two hostages.
CNN
38 minutes ago
- CNN
Thai hostage recovered from southern Gaza in military operation
The body of a Thai hostage, Nattapong Pinta, who was abducted alive during the October 7 attacks was recovered from southern Gaza in a military operation on Friday, according to a statement from the Israeli military and the Shin Bet security service. The announcement comes just days after Israel recovered the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages from Gaza. Pinta, 35, was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel where he had been working in agriculture, according to an Israeli military official, who said it is estimated that he was killed during the first months of captivity. Pinta was a husband and father working in Israel to support his family in Thailand, the official said. 'We will not rest until all the hostages, living and deceased, are returned home,' Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. Pinta was abducted by the Mujahideen, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, a militant group that took part in the Hamas-led October 7 terror attack on Israel. The IDF said it is the same organization that kidnapped the Bibas family and killed Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, the mother and two young sons who became the most prominent among Hamas' captives. CNN has approached the Thai authorities for comment. Earlier this week, Israel announced that the bodies of Judy Winston-Haggai, 70, and Gadi Haggai, 72, were recovered from southern Gaza. The two were also taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz. The couple had four children and seven grandchildren. The retrieval of Pinta's body comes with an intense Israeli operation underway in Gaza, with the Civil Defense reporting at least 38 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Friday. The IDF said four soldiers were killed and five wounded early Friday morning when an explosive was detonated in a building in Khan Younis in which they were operating, causing part of the structure to collapse. A total of 55 hostages remain in Gaza, including one taken in 2014. Twenty are believed to still be alive. Of the 251 people taken hostage by Hamas militants on October 7, many were migrant workers from poor rural parts of Asia, who had gone to work in Israel's agricultural, construction and health care sectors to send money back home.
CNN
42 minutes ago
- CNN
Thai hostage recovered from southern Gaza in military operation
The body of a Thai hostage, Nattapong Pinta, who was abducted alive during the October 7 attacks was recovered from southern Gaza in a military operation on Friday, according to a statement from the Israeli military and the Shin Bet security service. The announcement comes just days after Israel recovered the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages from Gaza. Pinta, 35, was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel where he had been working in agriculture, according to an Israeli military official, who said it is estimated that he was killed during the first months of captivity. Pinta was a husband and father working in Israel to support his family in Thailand, the official said. 'We will not rest until all the hostages, living and deceased, are returned home,' Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. Pinta was abducted by the Mujahideen, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, a militant group that took part in the Hamas-led October 7 terror attack on Israel. The IDF said it is the same organization that kidnapped the Bibas family and killed Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, the mother and two young sons who became the most prominent among Hamas' captives. CNN has approached the Thai authorities for comment. Earlier this week, Israel announced that the bodies of Judy Winston-Haggai, 70, and Gadi Haggai, 72, were recovered from southern Gaza. The two were also taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz. The couple had four children and seven grandchildren. The retrieval of Pinta's body comes with an intense Israeli operation underway in Gaza, with the Civil Defense reporting at least 38 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Friday. The IDF said four soldiers were killed and five wounded early Friday morning when an explosive was detonated in a building in Khan Younis in which they were operating, causing part of the structure to collapse. A total of 55 hostages remain in Gaza, including one taken in 2014. Twenty are believed to still be alive. Of the 251 people taken hostage by Hamas militants on October 7, many were migrant workers from poor rural parts of Asia, who had gone to work in Israel's agricultural, construction and health care sectors to send money back home.
