Israeli attacks kill dozens as UN demands lifting of ‘cruel' Gaza blockade
Israeli air attacks on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 29 people, Gaza's civil defence agency said, as the United Nations demanded that Israel lift its blockade of the Palestinian territory and allow humanitarian aid to enter.
At least eight people were killed in an Israeli attack that hit the Abu Sahlul family home in Khan Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza, according to civil defence official Mohammed el-Mougher.
Four others were killed in an air strike in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City, east of Shaaf, and at least 17 more were killed in other assaults across the enclave on Thursday, including a strike on a tent housing displaced civilians near Deir el-Balah.
Witnesses told the AFP news agency about a trail of devastation in Khan Younis. 'We came here and found all these houses destroyed, and children, women and young people all bombed to pieces,' said Ahmed Abu Zarqa. 'Enough, we're tired. We don't know what to do with our lives any more. We'd rather die than live this kind of life.'
The bombardment comes amid dire warnings about the humanitarian situation in the besieged territory, which has been under a total Israeli blockade for two months.
Volker Turk, the UN human rights chief, said the conditions being imposed by Israel on Palestinians in Gaza are 'increasingly incompatible with their continued existence as a group'. He warned that starvation as a method of warfare could amount to a war crime.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached a catastrophic level, with Palestinians teetering on the edge of mass starvation, according to Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum reporting from the ground.'Parents have literally started to skip meals and children are now eating spoiled food. Canned food has become a luxury,' he said. Aid-supported bakeries have shut down due to severe shortages, while the World Food Programme has reportedly run out of stock, leaving soup kitchens overwhelmed and barely operational.
'Locals are calling for safe, sustained humanitarian corridors, but say meaningful aid can only enter when Israel permits it,' he added. With the blockade now in its second month, many in Gaza feel they are not just enduring a humanitarian emergency but 'an engineered misery' that has unleashed famine on a devastating scale.
Tom Fletcher, the UN's humanitarian chief, echoed those concerns on Thursday. 'Aid, and the civilian lives it saves, should never be a bargaining chip,' he said.
'Blocking aid kills. It inflicts cruel collective punishment.' He criticised an Israeli proposal for private distribution of aid in Gaza, calling it insufficient and not aligned with basic humanitarian principles.
'To the Israeli authorities, and those who can still reason with them, we say again: lift this brutal blockade. Let humanitarians save lives,' he said.
UN agencies, including UNRWA, said more than 3,000 aid trucks are stuck at the Gaza border, unable to deliver essential supplies. Some one million children are said to be at risk. 'The siege must be lifted,' UNRWA said in a post on X.
Israel's obligations to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank are also the subject of a weeklong hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), following a request for an advisory opinion from the UN General Assembly last year.
In the fourth day of hearings on Thursday, Qatar's ambassador to the Netherlands, Mutlaq al-Qahtani, told the court Israel has continued its 'genocidal war against the Palestinian people' and increased settlement efforts in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians in Gaza continue to face 'famine-like conditions' as Israel continues to block 'any delivery of life-saving aid', said Mutlaq al-Qahtani
Israel has jeopardised the existence of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, which is the 'backbone' of humanitarian and development assistance in the occupied territory, added the Qatari diplomat.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
12 minutes ago
Arizona governor vetoes bill banning teaching antisemitism, calls it an attack on educators
PHOENIX -- Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed a proposal that would have banned teaching antisemitism at the state's public K-12 schools, universities and colleges and exposed educators who violate the new rules to discipline and lawsuits. The proposal would have prohibited teachers and administrators from teaching or promoting antisemitism or antisemitic actions that create a hostile environment, calling for the genocide of any group or requiring students to advocate for an antisemitic point of view. It also would have barred public schools from using public money to support the teaching of antisemitism. Educators would have personally been responsible for covering the costs of damages in lawsuits for violating the rules. Hobbs, a Democrat, said Tuesday that the bill was not about antisemitism but rather about attacking teachers. 'It puts an unacceptable level of personal liability in place for our public school, community college, and university educators and staff, opening them up to threats of personally costly lawsuits," she said in a statement. "Additionally, it sets a dangerous precedent that unfairly targets public school teachers while shielding private school staff." Hobbs described antisemitism as a very troubling issue in the U.S., but said students and parents can go through the state's Board of Education to report antisemitism. The measure cleared the Legislature last week on a 33-20 vote by the House, including a few Democrats who crossed party lines to support it. It's one of a few proposals to combat antisemitism across the country. Democrats tried but failed to remove the lawsuit provision and swap out references to antisemitism within the bill with 'unlawful discrimination' to reflect other discrimination. The bill's chief sponsor, Republican Rep. Michael Way, of Queen Creek, called the veto 'disgraceful,' saying on the social media platform X that the legislation was meant to keep 'egregious and blatant antisemitic content' out of the classroom. 'To suggest that it threatened the speech of most Arizona teachers is disingenuous at best,' he added. Opponents said the bill aimed to silence people who want to speak out on the oppression of Palestinians and opened up educators to personal legal liability in lawsuits students could file. Students over the age of 18 and the parents of younger pupils would have been able to file lawsuits over violations that create a hostile education environment, leaving teachers responsible for paying any damages that may be awarded, denying them immunity and prohibiting the state from paying any judgments arising from any such lawsuits. Last week, Lori Shepherd, executive director of Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center, wrote in a letter to Hobbs that if the bill were approved it would threaten teachers' ability to provide students with a full account of the holocaust. Under the bill, 'those discussions could be deemed 'antisemitic' depending on how a single phrase is interpreted, regardless of intent or context,' she said. The bill would have created a process for punishing those who break the rules. At K-12 schools, a first-offense violation would lead to a reprimand, a second offense to a suspension of a teacher or principal's certificate and a third offense to a revocation of the certificate. At colleges and universities, violators would have faced a reprimand on first offense, a suspension without pay for a second offense and termination for a third offense. The proposal also would have required colleges and universities to consider violations by employees to be a negative factor when making employment or tenure decisions. Under the proposal, universities and colleges couldn't recognize any student organization that invites a guest speaker who incites antisemitism, encourages its members to engage in antisemitism or calls for the genocide of any group. Elsewhere in the U.S., a Louisiana lawmaker is pushing a resolution that asks universities to adopt policies to combat antisemitism on campuses and collect data on antisemitism-related reports and complaints. And a Michigan lawmaker has proposed putting a definition of antisemitism into the state's civil rights law.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Argentina's President Javier Milei Captures Houthi Missile Attack on Israel
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Argentine's President Javier Milei shared images of a suspected Houthi missile attack against Israel a day after Israeli forces struck a port used by the Yemeni group in an unprecedented naval attack. Milei landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport on Monday night for a three-day-visit to meet with Israeli leaders, staying at King David Hotel in Jerusalem, according to the Buenos Aires Times. The Houthis said they had targeted Ben Gurion Airport with two ballistic missiles on Tuesday, claiming one had hit its target, but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said at least one was intercepted and reported no further damage. Newsweek has reached out to the IDF for further comment. Why It Matters The Iranian-backed group has been undeterred by a recent U.S. airstrike campaign and ongoing Israeli operations against their targets in Yemen and the attack demonstrates its continued ability to attack Israel from afar. The Houthis have launched attacks against Israeli and American interests in the Red Sea following the war on Gaza that erupted after Hamas' 2023 October attack, but their threats have expanded to international vessels and now airliners. A Yemeni man walks under mock missiles and drones in a show staged previously in solidarity with Palestine on May 21, 2025 in Sana'a, Yemen. A Yemeni man walks under mock missiles and drones in a show staged previously in solidarity with Palestine on May 21, 2025 in Sana'a, To Know "I just saw this from the hotel where I'm staying in Jerusalem," Milei posted to his X account on Tuesday night, along with video footage showing missiles apparently intercepted in the sky. Milei is a staunch supporter of Israel. ÚLTIMO MOMENTO Sugiero de modo muy enfático que al momento de opinar sobre que pasa en ISRAEL tengan presente lo que es vivir bajo esta situación... Esto acabo de ver desde el hotel en el que estoy hospedado en Jerusalén. Cc: @Isaac_Herzog @netanyahu — Javier Milei (@JMilei) June 10, 2025 Milei's post came as sirens sounded in Jerusalem after a missile was launched from Yemen during his stay, Yedioth Ahronoth's Ynet reported. Military spokesperson for the Houthi group Yahya Saree said two missile attacks targeting the Ben Gurion airport. "One of the missiles directly hit Lod Airport, and interceptor systems failed to intercept it," in a video statement Tuesday. The IDF said "one missile launched from Yemen was apparently intercepted. Additional interceptors were launched due to concerns about falling interceptor fragments," according to a statement on X. Although there has been no confirmation of halting air traffic at the airport, Houthi attacks have impacted operations with some global airlines suspending flights in May. The Houthi attack followed Israel's first Navy assault on the group-controlled Hodeida port in Yemen. "The strikes were carried out to stop the use of the port for military purposes," an Israeli military official told Newsweek. "The Israeli Navy has been preparing for the operation for an extended period of time, and it is safe to say that it was a successful one." The Houthis say they are acting in solidarity with Gaza, which has been devastated by the Israeli offensive launched after its Hamas rulers attacked Israel from there in October, 2023. What People Are Saying Argentina's President Javier Milei wrote on X: "I strongly suggest that when you comment on what's happening in Israel, you keep in mind what it's like to live under this situation." Houthi Military Spokesperson Yahia Saree in statement via Telegram: "Let the criminal enemy expect from us more and more support and assistance for our people of truth and loyalty in Gaza, the pride, dignity, sacrifice, and redemption. We will continue to support and stand by their side until the aggression against them stops and the siege is lifted." An Israeli military official told Newsweek: "We will continue to operate against the Houthi threat - we have done so in the past, we have acted today, and we will act again in the future as long as this threat to Israel persists." What Happens Next Military action is expected to escalate between the two sides with the Houthis now threatening to attack Israel's Haifa port.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Trump vows to ‘liberate Los Angeles' – slams ‘Third World lawlessness' and ‘rioters bearing foreign flags' in speech to US troops
President Trump on Tuesday vowed to 'liberate Los Angeles' from 'Third World lawlessness' on night five of the anti-ICE riots raging through downtown LA in a fiery speech to US troops. Trump, defending his decision to deploy the National Guard and US Marines to the City of Angels amid violent riots, argued that without the reinforcements, LA would be 'burning' like it did when wildfires swept through Southern California in January. 'Generations of Army heroes did not shed their blood on distant shores only to watch our country be destroyed by invasion and third-world lawlessness, like is happening in California,' Trump told soldiers during a speech at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. 'As commander in chief, I will not let that happen.' Advertisement 6 President Donald Trump stands on stage during a speech in front of service members at Fort Bragg in North Carolina on June 10, 2025. REUTERS 6 Masked protesters line up in front of National Guard troops during protests in Los Angeles on June 10, 2025. Barbara Davidson/NYPost The president declared that the 4,000 Guardsmen and 700 Marines he dispatched to Los Angeles will 'protect federal law enforcement' carrying out his mass deportation order 'from the attacks of a vicious and violent mob.' Advertisement 'If we didn't do it, there wouldn't be a Los Angeles. It would be burning today just like the houses were burning a number of months ago,' Trump argued, referring to the wildfires. 'Within the span of a few decades, Los Angeles has gone from being one of the cleanest, safest, and most beautiful cities on Earth to being a trash heap with entire neighborhoods under the control of transnational gangs and criminal networks,' the president said. 'It's horrible.' 'As the entire world can now see, uncontrolled migration leads to chaos, dysfunction, and disorder.' 'Very simply, we will liberate Los Angeles and make it free, clean, and safe again,' Trump pledged. 'It's happening very quickly.' Advertisement 6 An American flag burns on the ground during protests in the streets of LA on June 8, 2025. AFP via Getty Images Protesters have been clashing with local police and federal authorities in Los Angeles since Friday. The unrest was sparked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids targeting criminal illegal immigrants in the sanctuary city, where officials, including Democratic Mayor Karen Bass, refuse to go along with Trump's immigration crackdown. 'What you're witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order and on national sovereignty, carried out by rioters bearing foreign flags,' Trump said. Advertisement 6 Protesters wave a Mexican flag in front of riot police outside a federal building in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. AFP via Getty Images 6 Vulgar graffiti is spray-painted on the exterior of an Apple store looted during the LA Riots on June 10, 2025. REUTERS Mexican and Palestinian flags have been a ubiquitous presence in the demonstrations and violent rioting that have plagued the city for the last five days. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) argued in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that the presence of foreign flags arguably makes the LA riots 'worse' than the unrest that broke out in Minneapolis in 2020 after the death of George Floyd in police custody. The senator called on Trump to consider invoking the seldom-used Insurrection Act of 1807, which would allow US troops to conduct law enforcement activities, to quell the rioting. 6 Mounted police and other riot units enforce a curfew on the streets of Los Angeles on June 10, 2025. Getty Images After Trump's speech, Bass announced that a curfew would go into effect in parts of downtown Los Angeles in response to the violence and looting. 'We reached a tipping point,' Bass said at a news conference, declaring a local emergency after 23 businesses were vandalized Monday night.
