Israeli forces kill 69 Palestinians in Gaza, including 29 seeking aid: Health officials
agencies
Gaza
At least 69 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire across Gaza on Wednesday, including 29 people who were waiting for aid trucks, Palestinian health officials said, the latest carnage hitting people desperate to secure food for their hungry families.
The latest incidence of the daily killing of Palestinian aid seekers in recent weeks took place early on Wednesday on Salah al-Din Street near the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, medical sources told Al Jazeera. More than 100 others were injured in the attack, they said.
In other deadly Israeli strikes across Gaza, eight people were killed, and others injured, in an air strike on a home in the Zeitoun neighbourhood south of Gaza City, medical sources told Al Jazeera.
Eight more people were killed, and others injured, in Israeli strikes on tents of displaced people in al-Mawasi camp in Gaza's south, medical sources told Al Jazeera. The victims included a woman and two children, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Another strike took place on the Maghazi camp in central Gaza, news agencies reported, citing medics. Wafa reported that 10 people, including a husband, wife and children from a single family, were killed in the strike.
Hamas condemned Israel's assault on residential areas across the enclave, as well as its targeting of aid seekers at distribution points managed by the contentious US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
'The systematic abuse of innocent civilians, the escalation of massacres, the targeting of the starving, forced evictions, and the shrinking of areas the occupation claims are 'safe'' amount to war crimes, the group said. Israel's attacks are 'part of the brutal war of extermination that has been ongoing for nearly 20 months', it added.
The Israeli military, when asked for comment, told the Reuters news agency that it was looking into the reported deaths of people waiting for food aid.
Regarding the other reported strikes, it claimed it was 'operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities' and taking 'feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm', Reuters reported.
The GHF began distributing a trickle of food aid in Gaza at the end of May after Israel partially lifted a nearly three-month total blockade on food, medicines and other essential items, leading to fears of famine for the population of 2.3 million. No other aid has been allowed in by Israel, which in effect has kept the punishing blockade in place.
Israeli mass killings of aid seekers have become a grim daily occurrence amid the chaotic scenes as desperate Palestinians are given a narrow window to rush for food.
The United Nations and major humanitarian groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF, citing concerns that it prioritises Israeli military objectives over humanitarian needs and bypasses organisations with decades of experience in providing food and medicine at hundreds of locations to the entire population of Gaza.
Ahmed Ghaben told Al Jazeera about the death of a relative: 'My nephew went to bring his children a bag of flour, but he was brought back a lifeless body, as you can see, a martyr. He left 14 family members. He went [to get aid] due to hunger. He wasn't a resistance fighter. He went to get a bag of flour.'
Gaza's Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that 397 Palestinian aid seekers had been killed and more than 3,000 wounded since distribution resumed in late May.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Qatar Tribune
6 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Khamenei rejects Trump ultimatum, warns US against joining the fight
dpa Tehran/Tel Aviv Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected US President Donald Trump's call for surrender, as Israel keeps up its bombing campaign on Iranian state infrastructure and tensions mount over possible US military involvement. 'The Iranian people are determined and will resist both an imposed war and an imposed peace,' Khamenei said in an official statement read by a state TV anchor on Wednesday. He also warned Washington against intervening to support Israel's attacks, saying it would cause 'irreparable damage.' Khamenei, the 86-year-old hardline cleric who has ruled the Islamic Republic since 1989, was neither shown on screen nor heard speaking. On Tuesday, Trump issued a direct threat to Khamenei, who, under Iran's constitution, has the final say in all strategic matters. 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there - we are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. 'Our patience is wearing thin,' he added. In another post, he demanded: 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!' Iran, allies warn against foreign military intervention As Israel and Iran exchanged fire for a sixth straight day on Wednesday, Iran's Foreign Ministry warned that any direct military intervention by a third country could trigger an all-out regional war. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Al Jazeera that outside involvement would create a conflagration that 'would engulf all the region.' On the possibility of talks with the United States, Baghaei said, 'Diplomacy never ends.' However, he added that Tehran had lost all trust in Washington. Baghaei said Iran's attacks remain focused solely on Israeli territory and expressed confidence that neighbouring countries would not allow the US to use their land to launch strikes on Iran. So far, Washington has not used its military assets to carry out attacks on Iranian targets. But there are sharp divisions within Trump's Republican Party and the president himself has not categorically ruled it out, telling ABC News earlier this week: 'It's possible we could get involved.' Russia also warned the US against entering the conflict. 'It would be a step that would radically destabilize the whole situation,' said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, according to Interfax. Even speculation about US involvement is dangerous, he added. Moscow, a close ally of Tehran, has criticized Israel for pushing the region toward 'nuclear catastrophe.' Israel strikes nuclear, military and symbolic sites The UN's nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday that Israel has struck two sites in Iran that manufacture parts for uranium enrichment centrifuges. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) identified the facilities as the TESA Karaj workshop and the Tehran Research Centre. Both were under agency monitoring. 'At the Tehran site, one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested. At Karaj, two buildings were destroyed where different centrifuge components were manufactured,' the IAEA wrote on X. The Israeli military said it has carried out hundreds of sorties targeting more than 1,100 sites in Iran since launching its operation early Friday, with a focus on military and nuclear infrastructure. 'We have delivered significant blows to the Iranian regime,' said spokesman Effie Defrin, claiming the strikes had pushed Iran's forces back into central areas around Isfahan. He accused Iran of targeting civilian homes, while Israel focused on military threats. Iran has launched daily waves of missile fire in response, including around 30 ballistic missiles overnight, most of which were intercepted, according to Defrin. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a US-based group of Iranian activists, reported that 585 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, including 239 civilians and 126 military personnel. More than 1,300 people have been injured. In Israel, authorities say 24 people have died and over 800 have been injured since the conflict began. More than 50 Israeli fighter jets took part in strikes around Tehran on Wednesday, hitting facilities linked to weapons and missile production. Israel hints at broader war goals Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday added fuel to speculation that Israel's campaign against Iran may be aimed not only at halting its nuclear ambitions, but also at toppling its leadership. 'Symbols of government are being bombed and destroyed - from the Broadcasting Authority and soon other targets, and crowds of residents are fleeing,' Katz wrote on X. 'This is how dictatorships collapse.' On Monday, Israeli forces bombed the headquarters of Iranian state broadcaster IRIB during a live broadcast. The broadcaster reported deaths and injuries in the strike.
Qatar Tribune
6 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Iran has right to self-defence against Israel, says Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that neighbouring Iran has a right to self-defence in its conflict with Israel. 'It is entirely natural, legitimate, and a right for Iran to defend itself in the face of this state terror,' Erdogan told his party members in Ankara. Iran is under attack by 'a reckless country that respects neither law, rules, nor principles,' added Erdogan. Israel started striking targets in Iran on Friday, saying the attacks aim to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran contends that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. Tehran called Israel's airstrikes a declaration of war and responded by launching hundreds of rockets and drones at Israeli territory. (DPA)
Qatar Tribune
6 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Amir, British PM discuss regional de-escalation
QNA Doha His Highness the Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani discussed with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom HE Keir Starmer, a number of developments of common interest regionally and internationally, particularly those related to the Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran. They also discussed the importance of de-escalation and resolving disputes through diplomatic means. This came during a phone call HH the Amir received Wednesday from the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Bilateral relations between the two countries were also discussed during the call.
