20 Palestinians killed at Gaza aid distribution site, says Israeli-backed aid group
The Gaza Humanitarian Fund accused the Hamas militant group of fomenting unrest in the crowd leading to a 'dangerous surge' though it provided no evidence to support the claim.
Witnesses said GHF guards threw stun grenades and used pepper spray on people pressing to get into the site before it opened, causing a panic in the narrow, fenced-in entrance.
It was the first time GHF has confirmed deaths at one of its food hubs.
But since the sites began operating in late May, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in shootings by Israeli soldiers while on roads heading to the sites, according to witnesses and health officials. GHF's four sites are all in military-controlled zones, and the Israeli military has said its troops have only fired warning shots to control crowds.
Gaza's more than 2 million Palestinians are living through a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, and many are teetering on the edge of famine, according to food security experts.
Stun grenades and pepper spray caused chaos, witnesses say
GHF said it believed that 19 of the dead died from trampling at its food distribution center between the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah and one was killed by a stabbing in the crowd.
The Gaza Health Ministry said 17 people suffocated at the site and three others were shot. It was not clear if the shootings took place during the crush or earlier on the road to the center. The witnesses did not report shots fired at the center but said Israeli troops fired on the crowds as they headed to the location.
Witnesses said that thousands of Palestinians arrived at the site early in the morning, and the Americans contractors guarding it did not open the gates. It was not clear if it was before the site's opening time or if it was not operating at all, since schedules often change.
The crowd surged forward at the turnstiles in the fenced-in entranceway, said one survivor, Ahmed Abu Amra.
'The Americans were calling out on the loudspeakers, 'Go back, go back.' But no one could turn around because it was so crowded,' he said. 'Everyone was on top of each other. We tried to pull out the people who were underneath, but we couldn't. The Americans were throwing stun grenades at us.'
Other witnesses said the contractors used pepper spray as well. The Health Ministry said tear gas was used, but GHF denied that and said its contractors deployed 'limited use of pepper spray.' It said they fired no shots at the crowd.
'Everyone suffocated from people crushing on top of each other,' said Omar al-Najjar, a Rafah resident, as he and other men carried an injured man on a stretcher. He said the chaos at the sites is forcing Palestinians to 'march towards death.'
GHF said it believed elements in the crowd 'armed and affiliated with Hamas' fomented the unrest. It said that its contractors identified men with firearms in the crowd and confiscated one.
Distribution at the GHF sites has often been chaotic. Boxes of food are left stacked on the ground inside the center and, once opened, crowds charge in to grab whatever they can, according to witnesses and videos released by GHF itself.
In videos obtained recently by The Associated Press from an American contractor working with GHF, contractors are seen using tear gas and stun grenades to keep crowds back behind metal fences or to force them to disperse. Gunshots can also be heard.
The United Nations human rights office said Tuesday that 875 Palestinians were killed while seeking food since May. Of those, 674 were killed while en route to GHF food sites. The rest were reportedly killed while waiting for aid trucks entering Gaza.
Across Gaza, strikes kill 41 as Israel opens a new military corridor
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes killed 22 people in Gaza City, including 11 children and three women, and 19 others in Khan Younis. The Israeli military said it has struck more than 120 targets in the past 24 hours across the Gaza Strip, including Hamas military infrastructure of tunnels and weapons storage facilities.
Israel blames Hamas for the civilian deaths because the group often operates in residential areas.
Also on Wednesday, the Israeli military announced the opening of a new corridor — the fourth — that bisects Khan Younis, where Israeli troops have seized land in what they said is a pressure tactic against Hamas. In the past, these narrow strips of land have been a serious hurdle during ceasefire negotiations, as Israel has said it wants to maintain military presence in them.
Negotiations in the Qatari capital between Israel and Hamas are at a standstill, after 21 months of war, which began with the militants' cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023. That day, militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Fifty hostages are still being held, less than half of them believed to be alive.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other international organizations consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties.
___
This story has been updated to correct that the GHF site is between the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, not in Khan Younis. It has also been updated to delete a reference to witnesses reporting tear gas was used. The Health Ministry reported that.
___ Shurafa reported from Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Frankel reported from Ramallah, West Bank.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
22 minutes ago
- The Independent
A parish priest and several injured as airstrikes hit a Gaza church
Strikes hit the Holy Family Church in northern Gaza on Thursday morning, injuring several people including the parish priest, officials with the Catholic Church said. Parish priest Fr. Gabriel Romanelli was very close with the late Pope Francis and the two spoke often during the war in Gaza. The church was damaged in the attack, officials said, in what witnesses said appeared to be an Israeli tank shelling. The Israeli military did not have immediate comment on the strike. In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war. The war began with Hamas' cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023. That day, militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Fifty hostages are still being held, less than half of them believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other international organizations consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties.
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Sudan's children face growing threat of deadly infectious diseases as vaccination rates halve
Children in Sudan, caught up in what aid organisations have called the world's largest humanitarian crisis and threatened by rising levels of violence, are increasingly vulnerable to deadly infectious diseases as vaccinations in the country plummet. In 2022, more than 90% of young children in Sudan received their routine vaccinations. But that figure has nearly halved to 48%, the lowest in the world, according to the World Health Organization. Globally, more than 14 million infants remain unvaccinated and the world is not on track to meet goals of halving the number of these 'zero-dose' children compared with 2019 levels by 2030, the WHO reported on Tuesday. While misinformation and vaccine hesitancy have driven falls in immunisation in some countries, 'that has not been the problem here', said Dr Tedbabe Degefie Hailegebriel, chief of health for Unicef Sudan. 'This plummeting coverage is driven entirely by the war.' The country's civil war began two years ago and has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more, in what the International Rescue Committee has called 'the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded'. There were 838,000 children in Sudan last year who did not receive a single dose of vaccine – the third-highest figure in the world, behind only Nigeria (2.1 million) and India (909,000). The proportion of children who have received a DTP-1 jab – the first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine – is seen as a key indicator of access to essential healthcare. Missing it, Hailegebriel said, meant a 'child, and most probably also their parents, have almost zero contact with the health system'. She said the war had hit Sudan's health service hard, with people displaced and the physical destruction of health facilities, supply lines and information systems 'that makes the health service functional'. 'Health workers – doctors, nurses, midwives, community volunteers – have not been paid in months. And just the basic infrastructure – the clean water available to health facilities, the electricity availability to health facilities – is totally destroyed,' she said. Disease outbreaks in Sudan tend to affect people who have 'lost your safe place, your home, your protection, however modest that might be', and find themselves in camps or temporary accommodation. 'When that is coupled with an already vulnerable child who is not vaccinated, the vulnerability is compounded,' she said. Diseases that can be prevented with vaccination, including measles, not only kill but can leave survivors with long-term complications, Hailegebriel said, adding that these were 'children who are robbed of their future'. The WHO said war and conflicts around the world were a major threat to immunisation progress, with children living in one of 26 countries 'affected by fragility, conflict or humanitarian emergencies' being three times more likely to be unvaccinated than their counterparts in stable countries. However, there were 'emerging signs of slippage' or stalling progress in many parts of the world, said Dr Kate O'Brien, director of the WHO's immunisation, vaccines and biologicals department. 'Even the smallest drops in immunisation coverage as measured at the country level can have devastating consequences. It opens the door to deadly disease outbreaks and puts even more pressure on health systems that are already stretched,' she said. And while access to vaccination remains the main issue worldwide, 'we're extremely concerned about mis- and disinformation because of the threat it has to worsen the situation'. O'Brien said she expected cuts to aid funding to affect vaccine coverage in future years, with countries struggling to raise domestic finance. Humanitarian efforts had succeeded in boosting vaccination rates in the first half of this year in Sudan, said Hailegebriel, but Unicef's appeal for the country remained unfunded. The charity has shipped in containers to rebuild the country's 'cold chain', vital for keeping vaccines and other essential medicines at the right temperature so they remain effective on the journey from factory to patient. But when conflict flares those efforts have to stop. 'In areas where there was active fighting, active conflict, of course we will not be able to deliver,' she said. 'But when the situation changes, that's when we move in. 'The destruction is unspeakable. The whole infrastructure gets damaged, medicines get looted. So whenever you go into those new areas, it is again rebuilding to make sure the already shaking health system doesn't collapse further. 'The situation of Sudan has not received the world's attention it deserves,' she said. 'It is our hope that this will change, and these hostilities stop so that children get the peaceful environment they need to live and thrive.' Abdallah Idriss Abugarda, who leads the Darfur Diaspora Association in the UK, said the situation in the Darfur region was becoming more difficult, particularly in the besieged city of El Fasher. That meant, Abugarda said, that most families he spoke to in Sudan had more pressing concerns than vaccination. 'It's not a priority to them – they want to have food delivered, and medicine for malaria and fever for the children.'
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
NHS opens first ‘mental health A&E'
The NHS has launched a first-of-its-kind, open-all-hours mental health unit for patients in crisis. The new centre is offering walk-in appointments around the clock for patients with serious mental illness. The first of six new 'neighbourhood mental health centres' opened this week in Tower Hamlets, east London, with the rest due to open in other areas later this year. The NHS said the 'one-stop shop' would bring together a range of community mental health services under one roof, including crisis services, community mental health services and short-stay beds. The centres will operate much as an A&E unit does but with a focus on mental health and without the lengthy delays those in crisis often face. Last year 250,000 people went to A&E because of a mental health issue, but one-in-three had to wait more than 12 hours. One patient waited 18 days for a bed to become available. People with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, will be able to walk in without an appointment if they need mental health support as well as advice on employment, housing, or volunteering. Other patients will be able to book appointments or receive referrals to attend and speak with specialists. The new services will be staffed by psychiatrists, therapists and other mental health professionals, as well as charity staff, volunteers, and people who have experienced serious mental illness themselves. Claire Murdoch, national mental health director at NHS England, said the services would mean 'people can access all the support they need in one place without needing to book ahead'. She said: 'We know that for people with serious mental health problems it can be daunting to seek help, and people can be overwhelmed by the different teams they come into contact with. 'NHS staff will be on hand round-the-clock to offer help as the health service looks to offer more community support through the 10 Year Health Plan. 'I would encourage anyone struggling with their mental health to come forward for care either by contacting their GP, NHS 111 or visiting their local neighbourhood centre.' It comes after Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, set out the 10-year health plan earlier this month, outlining ambitions to bring care out of hospitals and into the community. The NHS said the initiative was part of a wider approach to improve mental health care, alongside the rollout of 24/7 psychiatric teams in every A&E, a 24/7 mental health crisis helpline across England and dedicated mental health emergency departments. The other 24/7 mental health centres will be based in Whitehaven in Cumbria, Acomb in York, East of Birmingham, Heeley in Sheffield, and Lewisham in London. The NHS has ordered all local health providers to review the care they provide to those with the most serious mental illness, and issued guidance instructing patients not to discharge patients just for missing an appointment. It comes after paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane, the Nottingham killer that fatally stabbed Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates in 2023, had been discharged by the NHS after failing to engage with his care. Cassandra Geisel of Rethink Mental Illness and lead for the Tower Hamlets Mental Health Alliance, said timely access to care can 'be the difference between recovery and crisis for people living with severe mental illness'. She said: 'What people tell us, and what evidence shows, is that the most effective support is wraparound: providing access not only to clinical care and treatment but also to support with housing, employment, and building social connections.' These factors can be powerful in preventing relapse and supporting recovery, but when absent, someone's mental health can significantly worsen.' Lorraine Sunduza, chief executive of East London NHS Foundation Trust, said she was proud that they would be providing the first neighbourhood pilot site to be fully operational. She said: 'The Barnsley Street Neighbourhood Mental Health Centre will provide person-centred mental health care for people in Bethnal Green when they need it and bring NHS care closer to home.'
