16 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza
JERUSALEM: Sixteen Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military in Gaza on Friday, according to local health authorities, as a US- and Israeli-backed group said it had handed out aid in the enclave after earlier saying that its distribution sites were closed.
Health authorities said strikes had killed people in Gaza's Jabalia, Tuffah, and Khan Younis areas.
Witnesses and medics said that Israeli planes and tanks had intensified strikes on Jabalia and nearby Beit Hanoun since the early hours.
The Israeli military issued an evacuation order for residents of parts of Gaza City on Friday ahead of an attack, as it presses an intensified campaign in the battered Palestinian territory.
'This is a final and urgent warning ahead of an impending strike,' army spokesman Avichay Adraee said.
The army 'will strike all areas from which rockets are launched.'
The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said by email it had delivered aid on Friday, despite earlier announcing on its official Facebook page that its distribution sites were closed until further notice and that people should stay away from the sites 'for their safety' after a series of deadly shootings.
The GHF opened two sites in southern Gaza on Thursday after closing all of its centers the previous day in the wake of shootings in the vicinity of its operations. It has so far operated four distribution centers.
The organization bypasses traditional relief agencies and has been criticized by humanitarian organizations, including the UN, for alleged lack of neutrality, which it denies.
Palestinians collecting aid from GHF sites said there was no clear distribution system, describing the process as disorganized and chaotic.
Footage released this week by the organization has shown similar scenes at one of its sites.
GHF halted distributions on Wednesday and said it was pressing Israeli forces to improve civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its operations after dozens of Palestinians were shot dead near the Rafah site over three consecutive days.
The Israeli military said on Sunday and Monday that its soldiers had fired warning shots.
On Tuesday, it said, forces also fired warning shots before firing toward Palestinians that it said were advancing toward troops. GHF has said that aid was safely handed out from its sites without any incident.
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Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
16 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza
JERUSALEM: Sixteen Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military in Gaza on Friday, according to local health authorities, as a US- and Israeli-backed group said it had handed out aid in the enclave after earlier saying that its distribution sites were closed. Health authorities said strikes had killed people in Gaza's Jabalia, Tuffah, and Khan Younis areas. Witnesses and medics said that Israeli planes and tanks had intensified strikes on Jabalia and nearby Beit Hanoun since the early hours. The Israeli military issued an evacuation order for residents of parts of Gaza City on Friday ahead of an attack, as it presses an intensified campaign in the battered Palestinian territory. 'This is a final and urgent warning ahead of an impending strike,' army spokesman Avichay Adraee said. The army 'will strike all areas from which rockets are launched.' The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said by email it had delivered aid on Friday, despite earlier announcing on its official Facebook page that its distribution sites were closed until further notice and that people should stay away from the sites 'for their safety' after a series of deadly shootings. The GHF opened two sites in southern Gaza on Thursday after closing all of its centers the previous day in the wake of shootings in the vicinity of its operations. It has so far operated four distribution centers. The organization bypasses traditional relief agencies and has been criticized by humanitarian organizations, including the UN, for alleged lack of neutrality, which it denies. Palestinians collecting aid from GHF sites said there was no clear distribution system, describing the process as disorganized and chaotic. Footage released this week by the organization has shown similar scenes at one of its sites. GHF halted distributions on Wednesday and said it was pressing Israeli forces to improve civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its operations after dozens of Palestinians were shot dead near the Rafah site over three consecutive days. The Israeli military said on Sunday and Monday that its soldiers had fired warning shots. On Tuesday, it said, forces also fired warning shots before firing toward Palestinians that it said were advancing toward troops. GHF has said that aid was safely handed out from its sites without any incident.
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Without Meat, Families in Gaza Struggle to Celebrate Eid Al-Adha Holiday
With the Gaza Strip devastated by war and siege, Palestinians struggled Thursday to celebrate one of the most important Islamic holidays. To mark Eid al-Adha — Arabic for the Festival of Sacrifice — Muslims traditionally slaughter a sheep or cow and give away part of the meat to the poor as an act of charity. Then they have a big family meal with sweets. Children get gifts of new clothes. But no fresh meat has entered Gaza for three months. Israel has blocked shipments of food and other aid to pressure Hamas to release hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the war. And nearly all the territory's homegrown sheep, cattle and goats are dead after 20 months of Israeli bombardment and ground offensives, said The Associated Press. Some of the little livestock left was on sale at a makeshift pen set up in the vast tent camp of Muwasi in the southern part of Gaza's Mediterranean coast. But no one could afford to buy. A few people came to look at the sheep and goats, along with a cow and a camel. Some kids laughed watching the animals and called out the prayers connected to the holiday. 'I can't even buy bread. No meat, no vegetables,' said Abdel Rahman Madi. 'The prices are astronomical.' But prices for everything have soared amid the blockade, which was only slightly eased two weeks ago. Meat and most fresh fruits and vegetables disappeared from the markets weeks ago. At a street market in the nearby city of Khan Younis, some stalls had stuffed sheep toys and other holiday knickknacks and old clothes. But most people left without buying any gifts after seeing the prices. 'Before, there was an Eid atmosphere, the children were happy ... Now with the blockade, there's no flour, no clothes, no joy,' said Hala Abu Nqeira, a woman looking through the market. 'We just go to find flour for our children. We go out every day looking for flour at a reasonable price, but we find it at unbelievable prices.' Israel's campaign against Hamas has almost entirely destroyed Gaza's ability to feed itself. The UN says 96% of the livestock and 99% of the poultry are dead. More than 95% of Gaza's prewar cropland is unusable, either too damaged or inaccessible inside Israeli military zones, according to a land survey published this week by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. Israel barred all food and other supplies from entering Gaza for more than two months. It eased the blockade two weeks ago to allow a trickle of aid trucks in for the UN to distribute. The trucks have brought in some food items, mainly flour. But the UN says it has struggled to delivery much of the incoming aid because of looting or Israeli military restrictions. Almost the entire population of more than 2 million people have been driven from their homes, and most have had to move multiple times to escape Israeli offensives. Rasha Abu Souleyma said she recently slipped back to her home in Rafah — from which her family had fled to take refuge in Khan Younis — to find some possessions she'd left behind. She came back with some clothes, pink plastic sunglasses and bracelets that she gave to her two daughters as Eid gifts. 'I can't buy them clothes or anything,' the 38-year-old said. 'I used to bring meat in Eid so they would be happy, but now we can't bring meat, and I can't even feed the girls with bread.' Near her, a group of children played on makeshift swings made of knotted and looped ropes. Karima Nejelli, a displaced woman from Rafah, pointed out that people in Gaza had now marked both Eid al-Adha and the other main Islamic holiday, Eid al-Fitr, two times each under the war. 'During these four Eids, we as Palestinians did not see any kind of joy, no sacrifice, no cookies, no buying Eid clothes or anything.'
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
WHO urges ‘urgent protection' of key Gaza hospitals
GENEVA: The World Health Organization on Thursday called for the 'urgent protection' of two of the last hospitals remaining in the Gaza Strip, warning that the territory's health system is 'collapsing.' The WHO said the Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Amal Hospital risk becoming 'non-functional' because of restrictions on aid and access routes, further damaging a health system already battered by months of war. 'There are already no hospitals functioning in the north of Gaza. Nasser and Amal are the last two functioning public hospitals in Khan Younis, where currently most of the population is living,' the UN agency said in a statement on X. 'Without them, people will lose access to critical health services,' it said. The WHO added that closure of the two hospitals would eliminate 490 beds and reduce Gaza's hospital capacity to less than 1,400 beds — 40 percent below pre-war levels — for a population of two million people. The WHO said the hospitals have not been told to evacuate but lie within or just outside an Israeli-declared evacuation zone announced on June 2. Israeli authorities have told Gaza's health ministry that access routes to the two hospitals will be blocked, the WHO said. As a result, it will be 'difficult, if not impossible' for medical staff and new patients to reach them, it said. 'If the situation further deteriorates, both hospitals are at high risk of becoming non-functional, due to movement restrictions, insecurity, and the inability of WHO and partners to resupply or transfer patients,' the organization said. The WHO said both hospitals are already operating 'above their capacity,' with patients suffering life-threatening injuries arriving amid a 'dire shortage of essential medicines and medical supplies.' It warned the closure of Nasser and Al-Amal would have dire consequences for patients in need of surgical care, intensive care, blood bank and transfusion services, cancer care and dialysis. After nearly 20 months of war triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Gaza is mired in one of the world's gravest humanitarian crises, with civilians enduring relentless bombardment, mass displacement and severe hunger.
