
At least 73 Palestinians killed whilst accessing aid in Gaza
Reports from AP say the highest death toll came in northern Gaza, where 67 people were killed near the Zikim crossing with Israel as aid trucks had just arrived.
READ MORE: 'Israel killed my brother. My boycott app in his memory now has 11 million users'
According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), 25 trucks carrying supplies for 'starving communities' entered the area but were met by large crowds that came under gunfire.
The WFP condemned the violence as 'completely unacceptable.'
Eyewitnesses accused the Israeli military of opening fire on the crowds.
Ehab Al-Zei, who had been waiting for flour, told AP: 'Suddenly, tanks surrounded us and trapped us as gunshots and strikes rained down. We were trapped for around two hours.'
'I will never go back again,' he added. 'Let us die of hunger, it's better.'
Another survivor, Nafiz Al-Najjar, said tanks and drones targeted civilians 'randomly,' and that he witnessed his cousin and others being shot dead.
Israel's military claimed the crowd posed a threat and acknowledged some casualties, but dismissed the numbers reported by Palestinian officials as exaggerated.
Medical teams said more than 150 people were injured, many of them in critical condition.
READ MORE: 'Beyond shameful': Harvie urges SNP to explain secret talks with Israeli diplomat
Elsewhere, seven Palestinians were killed while sheltering in tents in Khan Younis, including a five-year-old boy, according to the Kuwait Specialised Field Hospital.
The killings in northern Gaza did not take place near aid points operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – a US- and Israel-backed project.
However, health workers and witnesses say hundreds have been killed trying to access aid from that same network.
On the same day, Israel issued new evacuation orders in central Gaza, cutting off access between Deir al-Balah and the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis.
The United Nations is seeking clarification on whether its facilities in the area are included in the order.
An unnamed UN official noted that in past cases, UN facilities had been spared, but the scale of the current evacuation zone – which stretches to the Mediterranean coast – will severely limit humanitarian access.
Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee urged people to flee to the Muwasi area – a desolate tent camp with no basic infrastructure, now overcrowded with displaced families.
The announcement came as ceasefire talks in Qatar failed to produce progress.
READ MORE: When 'critical friends' fall out: Angus Robertson's Israel meeting details revealed
Pope Leo has since renewed calls for an end to the violence. At the end of his Sunday Angelus prayer from a summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, he said: 'I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.'
He also expressed his 'deep sorrow' for the Israeli attack on the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, which killed three people and wounded 10 others, including the parish priest.
'I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations,' the Pope added.
Earlier this month, the Israeli military claimed it had taken control of more than 65% of Gaza.
More than 58,800 Palestinians have been killed since the genocide began.
Gaza's 2.3 million residents are now facing full-scale famine, displacement, and relentless bombardment, with aid barely trickling in
Hashtags

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


The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Beware the blizzard of lies: US advice on how to handle Farage's Trump tactics
Truth, the progressive California politician Hiram Johnson once said, is the first casualty of war. His oft-cited remark was supposedly made in 1918 in reference to the first world war, which had by then caused millions of human casualties. More than a century later, truth is again caught in the crossfire, this time as a casualty of 21st-century culture wars. If Donald Trump is the high priest of disinformation, then Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform, is showing signs of being a willing disciple, if his behaviour in the UK this week is anything to go by. Farage has proposed sending prisoners abroad – including to El Salvador, where the Trump administration has sent hundreds of deportees and suggested sending US citizens. He also suggested an extensive police recruitment drive and prison-building programme all while cutting health and education spending. The parroting of Trump's policies by a UK populist has not gone unnoticed in the US. And for those who have studied the president's modus operandi, there is one particular tactic the British public should be braced for: the blizzard of lies and false statements that frequently overwhelms his opponents. The Trump experience, they say, contains sobering lessons for Farage's critics. US pro-democracy campaigners says Trump has become even harder to factcheck since his first term, thanks to a combination of factors including looser social media content moderation and a reluctance among some media owners to stand up to his intimidation. The Washington Post, which tracked more than 30,000 lies or misleading statements from Trump during his presidency, lost subscribers and public trust after its billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, reportedly vetoed an editorial endorsing the Democratic nominee Kamala Harris for president. 'It's become more difficult because there's less commitment from those who are in the best position to do the factchecking,' said Omar Noureldin, a senior vice-president for Common Cause, a non-partisan group. 'Seeking the truth here comes with costs and risks.' Complicating matters is the loss of trust in institutions, with many consumers relying on social media platforms for news. 'Even the best factchecking can be unpersuasive, because we're not just facing an information crisis here, but also a trust crisis in the American information ecosystem,' Noureldin said. Media watchers say the political environment has become so deeply polarised that factchecking can even have the counter-productive effect of further entrenching misplaced beliefs. 'From a lot of research, we're reaching the conclusion that factchecking hasn't been as effective as one would want,' said Julie Millican, the vice-president of Media Matters for America, a media watchdog. 'One reason is that information and disinformation spreads faster than you can check it. It takes a lot longer to factcheck something than it does for it go viral. 'But the other thing is factchecking can backfire. People so distrust institutions that factchecking can validate the misinformation in their minds and make them more inclined to believe the lie they believed in the first place.' A 2022 report from Protect Democracy suggests this is the result of a deliberate strategy of authoritarian regimes. 'Disinformation is spread through coordinated networks, channels and ecosystems, including politically aligned or state-owned media,' the report said. 'The goal is not always to sell a lie, but instead to undermine the notion that anything in particular is true.' Further complicating the problem in the US has been Trump's appointment of allies to key government agencies that have traditionally served as sources of accurate and reliable data for factcheckers. A case in point is Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has engaged in anti-vaccine theories. As Trump's pick for health and human services secretary, he is in charge of the country's vast health bureaucracy. 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 'Factchecking wasn't working very well in the first place, but now you can't even get access to the facts that you need be able to factcheck as well as you used to,' said Millican. The outlook seems bleak, but campaigners say that does not make the problems insurmountable. One answer is to invest in independent, non-partisan research. A prime purpose would be to increase media literacy among young people, who primarily get news from platforms such as TikTok which can be subject to disinformation tools such as AI-manipulated videos. The aim is to teach consumers how to spot doctored footage. 'Media literacy is extremely important and something that should be invested in and taught at a young age,' said Millican. Another solution is the development of 'pre-buttal' strategies to inoculate the public against disinformation, in effect getting the truth out first. Media Matters for America and Common Cause used this approach during last year's presidential election, partly by producing videos designed to counter anticipated false narratives surrounding voting procedures in certain areas. Also important, said Shalini Agarwal, special counsel at Protect Democracy, is calling out the demonisation of vulnerable groups, such as immigrants, as soon as it happens. A crucial role is played by media, even as Trump intensifies his assault on journalists as 'fake news' and tries to exclude certain established outlets from press briefings. 'It's really important when there are opportunities for one-on-one briefings and there are multiple reporters,' Agarwal said. 'Part of it is a sense of collective action. Often, whoever is speaking at the podium won't give a straightforward answer or gives a false answer and then tries to move on – it's incumbent when that happens for other reporters to jump in and say: 'Wait. What about what the other reporter asked?'' Millican has two pieces of advice for Britain and other European countries hoping to arm themselves against any coming authoritarian onslaught: fortify the media and preserve legislation designed to combat disinformation and illegal content online – represented by the online safety act in Britain and the digital safety act in the EU. 'The first thing that's going to happen in these authoritarian takeovers is they're going to try to silence and take over the media and information landscape,' she said. 'Any efforts to rein in hate speech or misinformation on platforms will be seen as tantamount to suppression of conservative thought or free speech. 'I can't stress enough trying to buffer the pollution of your information ecosystem as much as possible. One of the first things that they're going to do is just take down any barriers they can.'


Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Powys County Times
Israeli gunfire and strikes kill 42 in Gaza as many of the dead sought aid
Israeli airstrikes and gunshots killed at least 42 people in Gaza overnight and into Saturday, according to Palestinian health officials and the local ambulance service, as starvation deaths continued and ceasefire talks appear to have stalled. The majority of victims were killed by gunfire as they waited for aid trucks close to the Zikim crossing with Israel, said staff at Shifa hospital, where the bodies were taken. Israel's military said it fired warning shots to distance a crowd 'in response to an immediate threat' and it was not aware of any casualties. Those killed in the strikes include four people in an apartment building in Gaza City among others, hospital staff and the ambulance service said. The strikes come as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have hit a standstill after the US and Israel recalled their negotiating teams on Thursday, throwing the future of the talks into further uncertainty. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday his government was considering 'alternative options' to ceasefire talks with Hamas. His comments came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic. Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks alongside the US, said the pause was only temporary and that talks would resume, though they did not say when. The United Nations (UN) and experts have said that Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine, with reports of increasing numbers of people dying from causes related to malnutrition. While Israel's army says it is allowing aid into the enclave with no limit on the number of trucks that can enter, the UN says it is hampered by Israeli military restrictions on its movements and incidents of criminal looting. The Zikim crossing shootings come days after at least 80 Palestinians were killed trying to reach aid entering through the same crossing. During the shootings on Friday night, Sherif Abu Aisha said people started running when they saw a light that they thought was from the aid trucks, but as they got close, they realised it was from Israel's tanks. That is when the army started firing on people, he told The Associated Press. He said his uncle, a father of eight, was among those killed. 'We went because there is no food… and nothing was distributed,' he said. Israel is facing increased international pressure to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza. More then two dozen Western-aligned countries and more than 100 charity and human rights groups have called for an end to the war, harshly criticising Israel's blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out. The charities and rights groups said even their own staff were struggling to get enough food. For the first time in months Israel said it is allowing airdrops, requested by Jordan. A Jordanian official said the airdrops will mainly be food and milk formula. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wrote in a newspaper article on Saturday that the UK was 'working urgently' with Jordan to get British aid into Gaza. Aid group the World Central Kitchen said on Friday it was resuming limited cooking operations in Deir al-Balah after being forced to halt due to a lack of food supplies.


Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Starmer risks clash with Trump on Gaza
Sir Keir Starmer will press Donald Trump on whether more can be done to end the war in Gaza at a meeting in Scotland on Monday. The Prime Minister's urging for securing a ceasefire raises the risk of a clash with the US president, who has said that Hamas does not want peace. It comes as Mr Trump continues his short visit to Scotland, during which he was expected to visit both of his golf courses. He will also meet Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, to discuss trade ties between the US and the European Union. The Telegraph understands Sir Keir and Mr Trump's one-on-one talks will focus on how Britons and Americans can benefit from the UK-US trade deal struck in May. He is also expected to discuss further support for Ukraine. But the Prime Minister is expected to enter more contentious territory as he seeks to explore further steps that could be taken to secure an 'urgent' ceasefire in Gaza. He will go on to affirm his support for the return of the remaining 50 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas. On Saturday, the Prime Minister confirmed Britain would evacuate critically ill children from the Gaza Strip and said he was working with Jordan on a plan to drop aid into the territory by air. He said: 'Israel must allow aid in over land to end the starvation unfolding in Gaza. The situation is desperate. 'We are urgently accelerating efforts to evacuate children who need critical medical assistance to the UK for treatment.' At the talks in Scotland, Sir Keir will also discuss how to end the Russia-Ukraine war after Mr Trump turned on Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, in recent weeks. Mr Trump told Britain to 'get its act together' on illegal migration as he landed in Scotland on Friday, claiming that a 'horrible invasion' was taking place. Last week, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, condemned Emmanuel Macron's 'reckless' announcement that France will recognise Palestine as a state in September. Sir Keir promised to formally recognise Palestine in Labour's general election manifesto last year but has insisted on the need to do so at the right time. Writing for The Telegraph, Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's ambassador to the UK, said recognition would amount to 'nothing less than a reward for terrorism'. Ms Hotovely said the decision would merely 'reward' the Oct 7 terrorists who killed about 1,200 Israelis and began the current cycle of violence in the Middle East. Sir Keir's reluctance to immediately recognise Palestine comes despite Cabinet colleagues, including Angela Rayner, his deputy, urging him to do so. Despite their political differences, Sir Keir and Mr Trump have forged a surprisingly warm personal relationship. The US president once again lavished the Prime Minister with praise after Air Force One touched down in Glasgow Prestwick on Friday. 'I like your Prime Minister – slightly more liberal than I am, as you probably heard, but he's a good man,' Mr Trump said. 'He got a trade deal done, and you know, they've been working on this deal for 12 years. He got it done. It's a good deal. It's a good deal for the UK.' Mr Trump insisted there would not be a renegotiation next week but promised a 'celebration' of the trade deal.