32 Palestinians killed ‘while trying to reach food distribution sites in Gaza'
The organisation launched operations in late May with backing from the US and Israel. The two governments are seeking to replace the traditional UN-led aid distribution system in Gaza, saying that Hamas militants siphon off supplies. The UN denies the allegation.
While the GHF says it has distributed millions of meals to hungry Palestinians, local health officials and witnesses say hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli army fire as they try to reach the distribution hubs.
The army, which is not at the sites but secures them from a distance, says it only fires warning shots if crowds get too close to its forces.
The GHF, which employs private armed guards, says there have been no deadly shootings at its sites, though 20 people were killed at one of its locations this week, most of them in a stampede. The group accused Hamas agitators of causing a panic, but gave no evidence to back the claim.
The army and the GHF did not immediately comment on Saturday's violence.
Most of the deaths occurred as Palestinians massed in the Teina area, around two miles from a GHF aid distribution centre east of the city of Khan Younis.
Mahmoud Mokeimar said he was walking with masses of people — mostly young men — towards the food hub when troops fired warning shots as the crowd advanced, before opening fire towards the marching people.
'It was a massacre… the occupation opened fire at us indiscriminately,' he said, adding that he managed to flee but saw at least three motionless bodies on the ground, and many other wounded.
Akram Aker said troops fired machine guns mounted on tanks and drones.
'They encircled us and started firing directly at us,' he said.
Monzer Fesifes, a Palestinian-Jordanian, said his 19-year-old son Hisham was among those killed in the Teina area.
'He went to bring food from the failed US, Zionist aid to feed us,' the father of six said, pleading for the Jordanian government to help evacuate them from the Palestinian enclave.
The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 25 bodies, along with dozens of wounded.
Seven other people, including one woman, were killed in the Shakoush area, hundreds of yards north of another GHF hub in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, the hospital said. The toll was also confirmed by the health ministry.
Dr Mohamed Saker, the head of Nasser's nursing department, said it received 70 wounded people. He told the Associated Press that most of the casualties were shot in the head and chest, and some were placed in the already overwhelmed intensive care unit.
'The situation is difficult and tragic,' he said, adding that the facility lacks medical supplies to treat the daily flow of casualties.
Gaza's more than two million Palestinians are living through a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, and the territory is on the edge of famine, according to food security experts.
Distribution at the GHF sites has often been chaotic. Boxes of food are left stacked on the ground inside the centres and, once opened, crowds charge in to grab whatever they can, according to witnesses and videos released by the GHF.
In videos obtained recently by the AP from an American contractor working with the GHF, contractors use tear gas and stun grenades to keep crowds behind metal fences or to force them to disperse. Gunshots can also be heard.
Hamas triggered the ongoing 21-month war in Gaza when it stormed into southern Israel on October 7 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage.
An Israeli military offensive has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, displaced nearly all of Gaza's two million people and caused widespread destruction.
Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar in recent weeks, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
a few seconds ago
- The Independent
Senior judges reveal regret at handing out ‘unfair' indefinite jail terms and call for scandal to be ‘put right'
Senior judges who imposed 'unfair' indefinite jail terms, which have left scores of inmates locked up for minor offences languishing in prison for decades, have revealed their regret for their part in the 'injustice'. Former High Court judge Sir John Saunders said he would apologise to offenders he handed imprisonment for public protection (IPP) jail terms, which were scrapped in 2012, but not retrospectively, leaving thousands already jailed incarcerated with no release date. Now the very judges who dished out the punishment have joined calls for the government to take urgent action to help more than 2,500 prisoners still trapped under the abolished jail term, which has been branded 'psychological torture' by the UN. Victims of the scandal, whose tragic cases have been highlighted by The Independent, include Leroy Douglas, who has served almost 20 years for stealing a mobile phone; Thomas White, 42, who set himself alight in his cell and has served 13 years for stealing a phone; and Abdullahi Suleman, 41, who is still inside 19 years after he was jailed for a laptop robbery. Sir John, 76, who served as recorder of Birmingham before he was appointed to the High Court, told The Independent that if he met an IPP prisoner he had jailed who was years over tariff, he would apologise. 'I should say I'm really sorry this has happened, it's extremely unfair,' he said. 'I didn't want to be party to unfairness. I would feel very bad about it, I would apologise to them.' He said that when the sentence was introduced in 2005 by New Labour in a bid to be tough on crime, it appeared there was a 'certain degree of sense' to plans to ensure offenders completed rehabilitation courses before they were approved for release by the Parole Board. But judges had no idea those prisoners would find themselves trapped in prison indefinitely, often without access to the courses they needed to be released. He added: 'I think the essence of the job of a judge is to be fair. And we really do all try to do that. So when we conduct criminal trials, we attempt to be fair. In passing sentences, we attempt to be fair. 'If we have been party to something which has been accepted by everybody as unfair and we have been part of it… it's a bit of an affront to the job.' He and Simon Tonking, the former recorder of Stafford, have lobbied prisons minister Lord James Timpson to help those still trapped under the jail term. Both have backed a package of proposals put forward by an expert panel convened by the Howard League for Penal Reform, calling for IPP prisoners to be given a release date within a two-year window at their next parole hearing. Mr Tonking recalled imposing an IPP sentence with a minimum tariff of just six months for a relatively minor offence after a man was caught following a woman in an alley. 'Now I wonder what happened to him,' he told The Independent. 'He was in his late twenties. For all I know, he may still be there [in prison]. 'And when I look back at that case, I think I should have tried harder not to impose it.' Although he was doing his best to administer the laws in place at the time, he is now determined to be part of the solution. 'I don't feel guilty, but I do feel, having been part of that, I should be doing all I can to put what has turned out to be an injustice right,' he added. 'And I am driven in part by the fact that I was part of the administration of justice at a time when these sentences were being passed. 'I have been a part of the system that is wrong. I feel that I ought to be part of the system to put it right.' Successive governments have resisted calls to resentence IPP prisoners, claiming they cannot risk letting prisoners out until they have passed the Parole Board's release test. However, at least 94 inmates have taken their own lives in custody after losing hope of being freed, according to campaigners, with many struggling as their mental health deteriorates in prison. Mr Tonking urged the Labour government to use its majority to finally end the injustice by taking up the Howard League's proposals, adding: 'Virtually everybody who has had any professional dealings with IPP knows that it's unjust and now is the time to act.' The proposed reforms also include providing a package of mental health support for released IPP prisoners and tightening up the criteria for recalling them. Currently, many find themselves hauled back to prison indefinitely for minor breaches of strict licence conditions, despite committing no further offences. Paul Glenn, who last year retired from his role as the most senior judge in Stoke-on-Trent, also backed the charity's proposals. He told The Independent: 'Nobody envisaged that 10 years after they should have been released, they would still be in custody. The injustice there is pretty obvious. 'It's undoubtedly right that we should be sentencing people for what they have done, rather than what they might do in the future.' Prisons minister Lord Timpson said: 'It is absolutely right that the IPP sentence was abolished. 'As the IPP annual report shows, we have significantly improved support for these offenders, with greater access to rehabilitation and mental health support. 'There is more work to do as we reduce the number of IPP offenders in custody, but we will only do so in a way that protects the public.'
Daily Mirror
a minute ago
- Daily Mirror
Sick and injured children from Gaza to be evacuated to UK for NHS care
Top ministers are understood to be working on a scheme to bring children from Gaza to the UK for NHS medical care, with plans expected to be unveiled within weeks Plans are being drawn up to evacuate more seriously ill children from Gaza for NHS treatment. Top ministers are understood to be working on a scheme to bring sick children to the UK for free medical care, with plans expected to be unveiled within weeks. More than 50,000 children have been killed or injured in the conflict since October 7 2023 according to the UN charity Unicef. It comes after furious Bob Geldof issued a desperate plea on Sky News to save babies in Gaza. Only three kids have been granted medical visas to come to Britain for treatment so far through work by the group Project Pure Hope, which was set up by volunteer medical professionals. Earlier this year, Ghena, 5, and Rama, 12, came to the UK via Egypt for privately-funded treatment for serious health conditions unrelated to the conflict. Rama, who has a lifelong bowel condition, was able to get surgery in Britain that was unavailable in her home of Khan Younis, in war-torn Gaza. Ghena had laser surgery to relieve fluid pressing against her optic nerve, which could have cost her her sight in her left eye. Last week, 15-year-old Majd Alshagnobi was flown to Britain for facial reconstructive surgery after an Israeli tank shell destroyed his jaw while he was seeking aid in February 2024. Keir Starmer promised Mirror readers last month that he would act to help more sick and injured Palestinian children, saying the public were 'sickened' by scenes of desperation and starvation in Gaza. The PM said at the time: "We are urgently accelerating efforts to evacuate children from Gaza who need critical medical assistance – bringing more Palestinian children to the UK for specialist medical treatment." It is unclear how many children would be covered by the new scheme but it is understood ministers are looking to significantly increase numbers. Each child would be accompanied by a parent or guardian and siblings if necessary, according to the Sunday Times. The Home Office will carry out biometric and security checks before they travel. In 2022, 21 Ukrainian children were brought to the UK to get cancer treatment on the NHS. More than 100 MPs signed a letter urging the Government to fast-track the scheme to help children from Gaza. The letter, coordinated by Labour MP Stella Creasy, said: 'Parliament may be in recess but the commitment we all share to help these children remains absolute and urgent – with every day, more are harmed or die, making the need to overcome any barriers to increasing the support we give them imperative. 'We stand ready to support whatever it takes to make this happen and ask for your urgent response to this request. Let's make it happen.' A Government spokesperson said: "We are taking forward plans to evacuate more children from Gaza who require urgent medical care, including bringing them to the UK for specialist treatment where that is the best option for their care. "We are working at pace to do so as quickly as possible, with further details to be set out in due course." The UK and Jordan are working together to airdrop aid into Gaza after Israel temporarily paused military activity amid international outrage at widespread starvation and malnutrition. Mr Starmer said last week that the UK would recognise a Palestinian state in September if Israel did not change course.
The Guardian
31 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Israeli forces kill at least 27 at food site while minister's al-Aqsa visit causes outrage
At least 27 people were killed by Israeli forces while trying to get food and six others died from starvation or malnutrition in Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian officials said, amid a regional outcry over an Israeli minister's visit to Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site. Witnesses said Israeli forces fired on hungry crowds who were attempting to get food aid from a distribution site run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the south of the territory, with some describing the fire as indiscriminate. 'I couldn't stop and help because of the bullets,' Yousef Abed told the Associated Press after seeing at least three people bleeding on the ground as Israeli forces opened fire. Sunday's killings were the latest in a string of deadly shootings targeting hungry people. At least 1,400 people have been killed while seeking aid since 27 May, most of whom were killed near GHF sites, while others were killed along the routes of aid convoys, the UN said on Friday. The GHF says it only uses pepper spray or fires warning shots to control crowds. In total, 119 people were killed in Gaza by Israeli shootings and strikes over the last 24 hours, including those seeking aid, the Gaza health ministry said. The Palestinian Red Crescent said the Israeli military targeted its headquarters in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on Sunday, killing one staffer and wounding three more. Video taken by an employee showed the headquarters in flames after the strike, which had destroyed much of the building. A separate Israeli strike hit a school in Khan Younis that displaced people had been using as shelter, killing at least two people. Gaza's population is growing increasingly desperate as the territory sinks further into famine, which experts say is a product of Israel's continued blockade of aid. Israel has vehemently denied there is a starvation crisis in Gaza and announced expanded aid measures last week, but humanitarians say Israel is still severely restricting the entry of aid. Six people have died of starvation or malnutrition in the past 24 hours, health officials said, bringing the total number who have died from hunger to 175, 93 of whom were children. The pace of starvation deaths surged in July with more people dying from hunger than in the previous 20 months combined. Humanitarians say a far greater amount of aid needs to enter Gaza to help stabilise the starvation emergency. 'We need the sustainable entry of humanitarian aid to flood Gaza with aid for a relatively long period of time. Patients and hospitals need more food than usual to contribute to their recovery,' said Hisham Mhanna, a spokesperson for the ICRC in Gaza. He said the emergency compounded Gaza's existing crises, which include a devastated healthcare system and the spread of disease. Faced with starvation and lack of humanitarian supplies, aid groups are struggling to help the population of Gaza. In total, at least 60,839 people have been killed in Gaza during Israel's current military operations, launched after the Hamas-led attack in Israel on 7 October 2023 which killed about 1,200 people. While Israeli strikes continued in Gaza, Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, led prayers at al-Aqsa mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, provoking outrage among regional powers. Ben-Gvir was among a group of about 1,250 people who prayed at the compound on Sunday under the protection of the Israeli military. The compound, which Jews call the Temple Mount, is a highly revered site – the holiest in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam. The site is under Jordanian custodianship; under a decades-old agreement, Jews are allowed to visit but not pray there. Jordan condemned the visit, which it described as 'an unacceptable provocation'. Its foreign ministry said it 'affirmed the kingdom's absolute rejection and strong condemnation of the continued unacceptable incursions by the extremist minister Ben-Gvir'. Ben-Gvir's visit was in honour of Tisha B'Av, when Jews mourn the destruction of two Jewish temples, and was the first time that an Israeli minister had publicly prayed at the site. The compound has been the scene of clashes in the past, with Israeli police raiding the mosque in 2023 after Palestinians occupied it in response to reports that Jews were planning a religious ceremony there. Ben-Gvir called for the annexation of Gaza and for Palestinians to leave the territory while at al-Aqsa on Sunday. He said in a post on X: 'A message must be sent: to ensure that we conquer all of the Gaza Strip, declare sovereignty …. This is the only way that we will return the hostages and win the war.' Benjamin Netanyahu put out a statement after the visit saying the policy governing the compound 'has not changed and will not change'. The controversy came as the Israeli public was reeling from the release of two videos over the weekend showing emaciated hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, which triggered protests on Saturday. The occupied West Bank was also gripped by demonstrations on Sunday, with thousands protesting against the war in Gaza and the detention of Palestinians in Israeli prisons. Protesters carried photos of Palestinians killed or detained by Israel, as well as photos of starving children in Gaza. More than 10,800 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisoners. Rights groups have documented widespread torture of Palestinians by Israeli prison guards and soldiers, including sexual abuse, food deprivation and physical abuse.
