UN demands probe as Israeli forces kill more people near aid site in Gaza
Israeli forces have opened fire again on Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid from a distribution site in Gaza, killing at least three people and injuring more than 30, as the United Nations demands an independent investigation into the repeated mass shootings of aid seekers in the strip.
The shooting erupted at sunrise on Monday at the same Israeli-backed aid point in southern Gaza where soldiers had opened fire just a day earlier, according to health officials and witnesses.
'The Israeli military opened fire on civilians trying to get their hands on any kind of food aid without any kind of warning,' Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
'This is a pattern that's been widely condemned by international aid organisations because it enhances the breakdown of civil order without ensuring humanitarian relief can be received by those desperately in need.'
Witnesses said Israeli snipers and quadcopter drones routinely monitor aid sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by Israel and the United States.
A Red Cross field hospital received about 50 people wounded in the latest shooting, including two who were dead on arrival, said Hisham Mhanna, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross. Most had been hit by bullets or shrapnel. A third body was taken to Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis.
Moataz al-Feirani, 21, said he was shot in the leg while walking with thousands of others towards the food site.
'We had nothing, and they [the Israeli military] were watching us,' he told The Associated Press news agency, adding that surveillance drones circled overhead. The shooting began about 5:30am (02:30 GMT) near the Flag Roundabout, he said.
The pattern of deadly violence around the GHF aid distribution site has triggered mounting international outrage, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday demanded an independent inquiry into the mass shooting of Palestinians.
'It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,' he said. 'I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable.'
The Israeli military has denied targeting civilians, claiming its soldiers fired 'warning shots' at individuals who 'posed a threat'.
The GHF has also denied the shootings occurred although doubts about its neutrality have intensified since its founding executive director, former US marine Jake Wood, resigned before operations even began after he questioned the group's 'impartiality' and 'independence'.
Critics said the group functions as a cover for Israel's broader campaign to depopulate northern Gaza as it concentrates aid in the south while bypassing established international agencies.
Aid is still barely trickling into Gaza after Israel partially lifted a total siege that for more than two months cut off food, water, fuel and medicine to more than two million people.
Thousands of children are at risk of dying from hunger-related causes, the UN has previously warned.
Elsewhere in the territory, Israeli air attacks continued to hammer residential areas.
In Jabalia in northern Gaza, Israeli forces killed 14 people, including seven children, in an attack on a home, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence agency. At least 20 people remained trapped under the rubble.
Two more Palestinians were killed and several wounded in another attack in Deir el-Balah, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, while a drone attack in Khan Younis claimed yet another life.
Gaza's Ministry of Health reported that at least 51 Palestinians have been killed and 503 injured in Israeli attacks across the territory in the latest 24-hour reporting period alone.
Despite growing international condemnation, Israel's military on Monday ordered the displacement of even more civilians from parts of Khan Younis, warning it would 'operate with great force'.
Roughly 80 percent of the strip is now either under Israeli military control or designated for forced evacuation, according to new data from the Financial Times, as Gaza's 2.3 million residents are crammed into an ever-shrinking patch of land in southern Gaza near the Egyptian border.
Israel has made little secret of its aim to permanently displace Gaza's population as officials openly promote 'voluntary migration' plans.
The Financial Times reported that the areas Palestinians are being pushed into resemble a 'desert wasteland with no running water, electricity or even hospitals'.
Satellite images showed Israeli forces clearing land and setting up military infrastructure in evacuated areas.
Analysts who reviewed dozens of recent forced evacuation orders said the trend has accelerated since the collapse of a truce in March.
'The Israeli government has been very clear with regards to what their plan is about in Gaza,' political analyst Xavier Abu Eid told Al Jazeera.
'It is about ethnic cleansing.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Opinion - We're in an era of ideological violence, and it's only getting worse
A CEO gunned down on an early morning Manhattan street. A young couple shot dead outside an event in the nation's capital. Separated by a few hundred miles and a few months, these two events perfectly encapsulate the era of ideological violence we are living in. A crazed man attacking Jews with a makeshift flamethrower while yelling 'Free Palestine' in Colorado is just the latest example in a trend that feels ominously like it is picking up pace. For years, we have managed threats to executives, celebrities and high-net-worth individuals. The threats against these groups have increased exponentially. It mirrors the zeitgeist in the country, which feels like it is on a razor's edge. Threats and who could become a target are evolving quickly beyond people with high profiles. Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, who was murdered in December, had a security detail and knew that he worked in a sector of the economy that many feel is deeply unjust. But he surely had no sense that he would become the personification of those grievances, and that his killer would become a folk hero to those who harbor similar grievances. Last month, when Israeli embassy employees Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were leaving an event focused on humanitarian approaches to foreign policy, they were also surely aware of the vitriol directed at Israel for the war in Gaza and at Jews in general as a result. But this young couple was to face a similar fate as Thompson — becoming the personification of a grievance by a deluded individual, catalyzed towards violence by a society that no longer provides guardrails to curtail it. Social media has brought some good things into our lives. It allows us to keep in touch with old friends, share details of our lives broadly with our networks and get beyond traditional gatekeepers of media to broaden perspectives and quickly find out what's going on in the world. But in many ways, it is a scourge of our time. Algorithms consumed with driving engagement have become outrage machines and lesser minds fall prey to their catastrophic cacophony. Monitoring threats on social media and in other dark corners of the web has become a big part of the corporate security business. We use the same AI that powers the algorithms used by social media companies to drive us mad with anger to gauge who is potentially serious about committing violence by evaluating negative sentiment. We combine analytically driven approaches to language and frequency of posting with tools like background investigations into someone who might pose a threat to our protectee or company. It works, and we frequently take actions that mitigate threats, but it is a game of whack-a-mole. While these types of threats and the realization of the violence that they can bring are chilling and grab the headlines, disgruntled former employees and marginalized individuals with mental illness who have fixated on a celebrity or executive are the more traditional threats that remain the focus of our work. But something is at work in America that is deeply disturbing and changing the threat landscape. Professional athletes have always been under an intense spotlight and have faced the wrath of disappointed fans. But Red Sox pitcher Liam Hendricks described a new reality last month as the latest player to come forward about the many death threats that he has received. Many of these threats have arisen out of the miasma of legalized gambling, with a fan enraged when a pitcher like Hendricks gives up a lead and the gambler's bet is blown. With money on the line and the easy anonymity of social media available, it isn't hard for these gamblers to make vicious threats. And with a wealth of personal identifiable information about any of our lives out there (one threat against Hendricks alluded to the sliding door in his home) it is frightening how real these dangers can be. Hendricks is a cancer survivor and some of these individuals have messaged him that they wish he succumbed to the disease. He is not an outlier — Jarren Duran, an outfielder also with the Boston Red Sox, has bravely discussed suicidal ideations and recently had a fan in Cleveland scream at him that he wished he killed himself. While the trend of ideological violence has complex roots, it is further empowered and manifested by President Trump, who seems to revel in malice and cruelty, especially against anyone he feels may be against him. The examples are manifold, but the gleeful and dishonest purging of many innocent immigrants who have done nothing wrong and have, in many cases, fled violence in their home countries is but one example. The current administration is also awash in conspiracy theorists who have amplified the darkest and most vile rumors online. In many ways, the president of the United States sets the tone for the country. Previous presidents have tried to calm anger and violence in the country — this administration fuels it. Other presidents have tried to unite the country — this one seeks to further divide it. The fault of this crisis of ideological violence doesn't reside with the president, but he is making it worse. Indeed, Trump nearly lost his life to the trend during two assassination attempts last year. We are in the business of forecasting threats and protecting our clients. Doing the work we do, monitoring social media and the dark web for percolating threats and evaluating the fault lines of foreign affairs for other drivers of risk, we are predicting a continued rise in ideological violence. Unfortunately, it is the average American citizen who is likely to bear the continued burden of the violence of this unfortunate era. Don Aviv CPP, PSP, PCI, is CEO of Interfor International. Jeremy Hurewitz is Head of Interfor Academy and the author of 'Sell Like a Spy.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Factbox-What might happen in Israel's parliamentary dissolution vote?
(Reuters) -Opposition party Yesh Atid has submitted a vote to dissolve the Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset, for June 11, amid rising tensions in the ruling right-wing coalition. Here are some key facts about the Knesset, the procedure for a dissolution vote, which would lead to an election, and possible scenarios. KNESSET COMPOSITION Total seats: 120 Simple majority needed to pass the vote: 61 Current government majority: 8 seats LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE The Yesh Atid motion faces four votes with an absolute majority of the Knesset required in the final stretch to become law, thereby bringing a premature end to the legislature and triggering an election, which must be held within five months of the motion passing. In practice, if the initial vote passes, the subsequent stages could occur all the same day or take months. OPPOSITION STRATEGY A bill to dissolve parliament will only be brought to a vote if Yesh Atid is confident of securing a majority. If not, it can withdraw the motion anytime before June 11, preventing a vote. ALTERNATIVE SCENARIOS Ultra-Orthodox coalition parties could decide to leave the government to protest at its failure to put forward a law granting exemption from military service to ultra-Orthodox men. At the same time, they might refuse to vote for dissolution of parliament, allowing a minority government to continue. COALITION NUMBERS The coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a majority of around 68 seats in parliament, though its size has fluctuated due to internal political shifts. The two coalition ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, hold 18 seats collectively. If they united with the opposition, they would have enough votes to dissolve parliament and trigger early elections a year ahead of schedule.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pressure mounts on Netanyahu as opposition moves to dissolve parliament
By Alexander Cornwell TEL AVIV (Reuters) -A member of Israel's right-wing coalition threatened to quit the cabinet on Wednesday and support an opposition motion to dissolve parliament tabled for next week, piling pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Latest opinion polls suggest that Netanyahu's coalition would lose power if an election was held today, with many voters unhappy over the continued war in Gaza prompted by the attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel in October 2023. United Torah Judaism, one of two ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition, said it would withdraw from the government unless it secured last-minute concessions formalising an exemption for ultra-Orthodox men from military service. The opposition party Yesh Atid, led by former prime minister Yair Lapid, put forward a parliamentary vote for next week to topple the government, even as the Israeli army continues battling Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It would require the support of 61 out of the 120 members of the parliament to succeed. "This Knesset (parliament) is finished. It has nowhere to go," Lapid said. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, has remained silent on the looming crisis. A spokesperson for United Torah Judaism leader Yitzhak Goldknopf told Reuters the party would vote in favour of dissolving parliament unless exemption legislation was passed. With a week until the vote, Netanyahu and his allies still have time to negotiate over an issue that has dogged the coalition for months. A source close to the government said, on condition of anonymity, that negotiations within the coalition were continuing. Netanyahu's coalition of secular right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties holds an 8-seat majority in parliament. United Torah Judaism has 7 seats while its ally, Shas, the other ultra-Orthodox party, has 11. BETTING ON A BLUFF The coalition is sharply divided over whether young ultra-Orthodox men who are studying in religious seminaries should be exempt from mandatory military service. Failing to pass an exemption risks a walkout by ultra-Orthodox lawmakers, while approving it could trigger a protest exit by secular parties. Coalition member Ohad Tal of Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party criticized Goldknopf for threatening to trigger elections and called on the ultra-Orthodox lawmaker to resign. He urged others to negotiate a new arrangement but that a blanket exemption from military service could no longer stand. Former Knesset member Ofer Shelah said Netanyahu was likely betting the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were bluffing, given the polls suggested they faced defeat in any early election. In March, ultra-Orthodox lawmakers threatened to bring down the government over the same issue, but time passed without any action. Resentment over the informal exemption given to religious seminary students is growing and lawmakers from the ruling coalition and opposition ranks say it is no longer tenable. Netanyahu won election in 2022 and does not have to return to the polls until 2026. Historically, few Israeli governments serve a full term. He has faced widespread criticism for failing to prevent the surprise October 2023 Hamas attack that killed roughly 1,200 people, and is facing growing calls from protesters and families of hostages still held in Gaza to end the war to secure their release. But some in his coalition say the war must continue until Hamas is eradicated. Political analysts say that the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers could simply quit the government to protest their failure to secure concessions, without toppling the ruling coalition.
