36 killed amid Israeli strikes in Gaza as some aid restrictions eased
Israel announced on Sunday that the military would pause operations in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi for 10 hours a day until further notice to allow for the improved flow of aid to Palestinians in Gaza, where concern over hunger has grown, and designate secure routes for aid delivery.
Israel said it would continue military operations alongside the new humanitarian measures.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment about the latest strikes, which occurred outside the time frame for the pause Israel declared would be held between 10am and 8pm local time.
Aid agencies have welcomed the new aid measures, which also included allowing airdrops into Gaza, but said they were not enough to counter the rising hunger in the Palestinian territory.
Images of emaciated children have sparked outrage around the world, including from Israel's close allies.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday called the images of emaciated and malnourished children in Gaza 'terrible'.
Israel has restricted aid to varying degrees throughout the war.
In March, it cut off the entry of all goods, including fuel, food and medicine to pressure Hamas to free hostages.
Israel partially lifted those restrictions in May but also pushed ahead on a new US-backed aid delivery system that has been wracked by chaos and violence.
Traditional aid providers have also encountered a similar breakdown in law and order surrounding their aid deliveries.
Most of Gaza's population now relies on aid.
Accessing food has become a challenge that some Palestinians have risked their lives for.
The Awda hospital in central Gaza said it received the bodies of seven Palestinians who it said were killed on Monday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
The hospital said 20 others were wounded close to the site.
The GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The pregnant woman and her child were killed along with 11 others after their house was struck in the Muwasi area, west of the southern city of Khan Younis, according to a hospital run by the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Another strike hit a two-storey house in the western Japanese neighbourhood of Khan Younis, killing at least 11 people, more than half of them women and children, said the Nasser Hospital, which received the casualties.
At least five others were killed in strikes elsewhere in Gaza, according to local hospitals.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on most of the strikes.
It said it was not aware of one strike in Gaza City during the pause that health officials said killed one person.
In its October 7 2023 attack, Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
It still holds 50, more than half of whom Israel believes to be dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children.
The ministry operates under the Hamas government.
The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
23 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump administration launching health tracking system with big tech's help
The Trump administration is pushing an initiative for millions of Americans to upload personal health data and medical records on new apps and systems run by private tech companies, promising easier to access health records and wellness monitoring. Donald Trump is expected to deliver remarks on the initiative Wednesday afternoon in the East Room. The event is expected to involve leaders from more than 60 companies, including major tech companies such as Google and Amazon, as well as prominent hospital systems like the Cleveland clinic. The new system will focus on diabetes and weight management, conversational artificial intelligence that helps patients, and digital tools such as QR codes and apps that register patients for check-ins or track medications. The initiative, spearheaded by an administration that has already freely shared highly personal data about Americans in ways that have tested legal bounds, could put patients' desires for more convenience at their doctor's office on a collision course with their expectations that their medical information be kept private. 'There are enormous ethical and legal concerns,' said Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown University law professor who specializes in public health. 'Patients across America should be very worried that their medical records are going to be used in ways that harm them and their families.' Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who will be in charge of maintaining the system, have said patients will need to opt in for the sharing of their medical records and data, which will be kept secure. Those officials said patients will benefit from a system that lets them quickly call up their own records without the hallmark difficulties, such as requiring the use of fax machines to share documents, that have prevented them from doing so in the past. 'We have the tools and information available now to empower patients to improve their outcomes and their healthcare experience,' Dr Mehmet Oz, the administrator for CMS, said in a statement Wednesday. CMS already has troves of information on more than 140 million Americans who enroll in Medicare and Medicaid. Popular weight loss and fitness subscription service Noom, which has signed on to the initiative, will be able to pull medical records after the system's expected launch early next year. That might include labs or medical tests that the app could use to develop an AI-driven analysis of what might help users lose weight, the CEO, Geoff Cook, told the Associated Press. Apps and health systems will also have access to their competitors' information, too. Noom would be able to access a person's data from Apple Health, for example. 'Right now you have a lot of siloed data,' Cook said. Patients who travel across the country for treatment at the Cleveland clinic often have a hard time obtaining all their medical records from various providers, said the hospital system's CEO, Tomislav Mihaljevic. He said the new system would eliminate that barrier, which sometimes delays treatment or prevents doctors from making an accurate diagnosis because they do not have a full view of a patient's medical history. Having seamless access to health app data, such as what patients are eating or how much they are exercising, will also help doctors manage obesity and other chronic diseases, Mihaljevic said. 'These apps give us insight about what's happening with the patient's health outside of the physician's office,' he said. Sign up to TechScape A weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives after newsletter promotion CMS will also recommend a list of apps on that are designed to help people manage chronic diseases, as well as help them select healthcare providers and insurance plans. Digital privacy advocates are skeptical that patients will be able to count on their data being stored securely. The federal government, however, has done little to regulate health apps or telehealth programs, said Jeffrey Chester at the Center for Digital Democracy. The new initiative would deepen the pool of information on patients for the federal government and tech companies. Medical records typically contain far more sensitive information, such as doctors' notes about conversations with patients and substance abuse or mental health history. 'This scheme is an open door for the further use and monetization of sensitive and personal health information,' Chester said. The health and human services secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, and those within his circle have likewise pushed for more technology in healthcare, advocating for wearable devices that monitor wellness and telehealth. Kennedy also sought to collect more data from Americans' medical records, which he has previously said he wants to use to study autism and vaccine safety. Kennedy has filled the agency with staffers who have a history of working at or running health technology startups and businesses.
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Leader Live
Dozens killed while seeking aid at Gaza crossing as US envoy heads to Israel
The latest violence around aid distribution came as the US Middle East envoy was heading to Israel for talks. Israel's ongoing military offensive and blockade have led to the 'worst-case scenario of famine' in the coastal territory of some two million Palestinians, according to the leading international authority on hunger crises. A breakdown of law and order has seen aid convoys overwhelmed by desperate crowds. US envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led the Trump administration's efforts to wind down the nearly 22-month war and release hostages taken in the Hamas attack that sparked the fighting, will arrive in Israel on Thursday for talks on the situation in Gaza. Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said the dead and wounded were among crowds massed at the Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for humanitarian aid to northern Gaza. It was not immediately clear who opened fire and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which controls the crossing. Associated Press footage showed bodies being ferried away from the scene of the shooting in ambulances and wooden carts, as well as crowds of people carrying bags of flour. Al-Saraya Field Hospital, where critical cases are stabilised before transfer to main hospitals, said it received more than 100 dead and wounded. Fares Awad, head of the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service, said some bodies were taken to other hospitals, indicating the toll could rise. Israeli strikes and gunfire had earlier killed at least 46 Palestinians overnight and into Wednesday, most of them among crowds seeking food, health officials said. Another seven Palestinians, including a child, died of malnutrition-related causes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the strikes. It says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, because the group's militants operate in densely populated areas. Under heavy international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza, but aid workers say much more is needed. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the leading world authority on hunger crises, has stopped short of declaring famine in Gaza but said on Tuesday that the situation has dramatically worsened and warned of 'widespread death' without immediate action. COGAT, the Israeli military body that facilitates the entry of aid, said more than 220 trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday. That is far below the 500-600 trucks a day that UN agencies say are needed, and which entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year. The United Nations is still struggling to deliver the aid that does enter the strip, with most trucks unloaded by crowds in zones controlled by the Israeli military. An alternative aid system run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has also been marred by violence. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid since May, most near sites run by the GHF, according to witnesses, local health officials and the UN human rights office. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and the GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding. International airdrops of aid have also resumed, but many of the parcels have landed in areas that Palestinians have been told to evacuate while others have plunged into the Mediterranean Sea, forcing people to swim out to retrieve drenched bags of flour. A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the war began in Gaza. The ministry said that 65 Palestinian adults have also died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults. Israel denies there is any starvation in Gaza, rejecting accounts to the contrary from witnesses, UN agencies and aid groups, and says the focus on hunger undermines ceasefire efforts. Hamas started the war with its attack on southern Israel on October 7 2023, in which militants killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the rest of the hostages were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
ITV News
an hour ago
- ITV News
At least 48 Palestinians killed waiting for food in Gaza as death toll from hunger rises
At least 48 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded on Wednesday, while waiting for food at a crossing in the Gaza Strip , according to a local hospital that received the casualties. Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said the dead and wounded were among crowds massed at the Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for humanitarian aid to northern Gaza. It was not immediately clear who opened fire and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which controls the crossing. Another seven Palestinians, including a child, died of malnutrition-related causes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel has come under mounting international pressure in recent days over its ongoing military offensive and blockade. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, the leading world authority on hunger crises, has stopped short of declaring famine in Gaza but said on Tuesday that the situation has dramatically worsened and warned of "widespread death" without immediate action. The latest violence around aid distribution came as the US Mideast envoy was heading to Israel for talks. US envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led the Trump administration's efforts to wind down the nearly 22-month war and release hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that sparked the conflict, will arrive in Israel on Thursday for talks on the situation in Gaza. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the latest strikes. It says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, because the group's militants operate in densely populated areas.
