Gaza foundation makes first direct food deliveries with trucks
The controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Sunday, for the first time, distributed food directly to Palestinians outside its distribution centres using trucks, according to media reports.
Around 20 trucks delivered aid to ease the burden on existing distribution centres, the Israeli Kan broadcaster reported, citing GHF.
Other Israeli media also reported on this "pilot project" by GHF in the northern part of Rafah, where local Palestinian workers assisted. The distribution at the various existing centres reportedly proceeded without incident, according to the news portal ynet, which cited the foundation.
Medical sources at the Nasser Hospital had earlier reported that at least four people were killed near one GHF centre in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred approximately 1 kilometre from the distribution centre.
The Israeli army stated that several suspects approached troops in the Rafah area overnight. After being instructed to move away, soldiers fired warning shots, it said.
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Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Palestinians say Israeli fire kills 12 near aid sites
Advertisement Eleven of the latest bodies were brought to Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. Palestinian witnesses said Israeli forces fired on some at a roundabout around a kilometer (half-mile) from a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, in nearby Rafah. Israel's military said it fired warning shots at approaching 'suspects' who ignored warnings to turn away. It said the shooting happened in an area that is considered an active combat zone at night. Al-Awda Hospital said it received the body of a man and 29 people who were wounded near another GHF aid distribution point in central Gaza. The military said it fired warning shots in the area at around 6:40 a.m., but didn't see any casualties. Advertisement A GHF official said there was no violence in or around its distribution sites, all three of which delivered aid on Sunday. The group closed them temporarily last week to discuss safety measures with Israel's military and has warned people to stay on designated access routes. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. The new aid hubs are set up inside Israeli military zones where independent media have no access. The GHF also said it was piloting direct delivery to a community north of Rafah. Witnesses said the first shootings in southern Gaza took place at around 6 a.m., when they were told the site would open. Many headed toward it early, seeking desperately needed food before crowds arrived. Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians are almost completely reliant on international aid because nearly all food production capabilities have been destroyed. Adham Dahman, who was at Nasser Hospital with a bandage on his chin, said a tank fired toward them. 'We didn't know how to escape,' he said. 'This is [a] trap for us, not aid.' Zahed Ben Hassan said someone next to him was shot in the head. 'They said it was a safe area from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. ... So why did they start shooting at us?' he said. 'There was light out, and they have their cameras and can clearly see us.' The military announced on Friday that the sites would be open during those hours, and the areas would be a closed military zone the rest of the time. Children cried over their father's body at the hospital. 'I can't see you like this, Dad!' one girl said. Advertisement The new aid hubs are run by GHF, a new group of mainly American contractors. Israel wants it to replace a system coordinated by the United Nations and international aid groups. Israel and the United States accuse the Hamas militant group of stealing aid. The UN denies there is systematic diversion. The UN says the new system is unable to meet mounting needs, allows Israel to use aid as a weapon by determining who can receive it and forces people to relocate to where aid sites are positioned. The UN system has struggled to deliver aid, even after Israel eased its blockade of Gaza last month. UN officials say their efforts are hindered by Israeli military restrictions, the breakdown of law and order and widespread looting. Experts warned earlier this year that Gaza was at critical risk of famine, if Israel didn't lift its blockade and halt its military campaign. Both were renewed in March. Israeli officials have said the offensive will continue until all hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile. On Sunday, Israel's military invited journalists into Khan Younis to show a tunnel under the European Hospital, saying they found the body of Mohammed Sinwar, the head of Hamas' armed wing, there after he was killed last month. Israel has barred international journalists from entering Gaza independently since the war began. '(Israeli forces) would prefer not to hit or target hospitals,' army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said. Sinwar's body was found in a room under the hospital's emergency room, Defrin said. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Talks mediated by the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar have been deadlocked for months. Advertisement Hamas started the war with its attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage. They still hold 55 hostages, fewer than half of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It says women and children make up most of the dead, but doesn't say how many civilians or combatants were killed. Israel says it has killed more than 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90 percent of its population.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Gaza aid foundation tests new aid handouts after more deaths reported
The controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) tested a new direct aid distribution method on Sunday, after Palestinian sources reported that several more people had been killed by Israeli gunfire near an aid centre. In a "pilot project," the GHF distributed food directly to Palestinians outside its distribution centres using trucks, according to media reports. Around 20 trucks delivered aid to ease the burden on existing centres, the Israeli Kan broadcaster reported, citing GHF. Other Israeli media also reported on the project in the northern part of Rafah, where local Palestinian workers were said to have assisted. At least four killed near aid distribution point Earlier on Sunday, medical sources at the Nasser Hospital reported that at least four people were killed by Israeli gunfire near a humanitarian aid distribution centre in the southern Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred approximately 1 kilometre from the distribution centre near Rafah. The Israeli military stated that several suspects approached troops in the Rafah area in the early hours of Sunday. After being instructed to move away, soldiers fired warning shots, it said. The military said the area is currently classified as an "active combat zone" and acknowledged reports of injuries, but did not confirm any fatalities. Neither the Palestinian nor Israeli accounts could be independently verified. The incident follows a series of recent reports of casualties near aid distribution sites in Gaza after Israeli forces have opened fire. The US and Israel-backed GHF, which manages several of the centres and has faced international criticism, has pledged to improve security measures. In a statement, the GHF said it is working to make aid distribution as safe as possible and urged Palestinians to follow designated army-approved routes when approaching the centres. GHF to reopen centre after closure The GHF said it would reopen one of its centres on Sunday. It had closed them the previous day saying it was being threatened by the Palestinian Islamist militia Hamas. One of the centres in Rafah, in southern Gaza, would reopen at noon on Sunday (0900 GMT), the GHF said in a statement on its Arabic-language Facebook page. At the same time, residents were told not to approach the centre before opening hours. Otherwise, the GHF may not be able to distribute food packages, it said. Later in the day, the foundation said distribution at aid sites was carried out without incidents, according to the news portal ynet. The GHF also closed its distribution centres on Friday for safety reasons and urged residents to stay away from the facilities. Around two weeks ago, Israel eased its blockade of aid deliveries to Gaza. The distribution of aid was taken over by the GHF, bypassing UN aid organizations and other initiatives. The organization has faced criticism for circumventing established aid networks, as well as for allegedly endangering civilians and breaching widely accepted standards of impartial humanitarian assistance. Last week, the UN said increasing numbers of Palestinians were "vulnerable to starvation," with daily energy intake well below what a human body needs to survive. Israel has been fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the militia and its allies launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting 250. The subsequent war has killed more than 54,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry. The figures do not distinguish between civilian and military deaths. Israel says it found body of Hamas military chief in tunnel Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it had located the remains of Hamas military leader Mohammed al-Sinwar in an underground tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip. Al-Sinwar, the brother of former Hamas leader Yehya al-Sinwar who was also killed by Israel, was killed along with the commander of the Rafah Brigade, Mohammed Sabaneh, in an attack on May 13, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a post on its Telegram channel. The two had been hiding in an underground command and control centre belonging to Hamas, it said. The Islamist group has not confirmed Mohammed al-Sinwar's death. The Israeli military said their remains, along with various personal items, were found beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis. Israel has repeatedly said that Hamas uses civilian facilities like hospitals and schools, as cover for its operations - which Hamas denies. "Additional bodies of terrorists were located during the operation, their identities are currently under examination," the statement added. The IDF showed the tunnel to several journalists on Sunday, including a dpa photojournalist. It also posted a video of soldiers dragging a corpse wrapped in white out of the tunnel on its Telegram channel. The military said the tunnel was very far underground, in the immediate vicinity of the clinic. The dpa photographer described a strong smell of decay in the air, and said the floor was covered in worms. In one room, which had apparently been used as a dormitory, there were many blankets on the floor. He said no technical equipment or similar items were visible. After the Israeli military killed Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif last year and Yehya al-Sinwar, Mohammed became the new head of Hamas' armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Gaza foundation makes first direct food deliveries with trucks
The controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Sunday, for the first time, distributed food directly to Palestinians outside its distribution centres using trucks, according to media reports. Around 20 trucks delivered aid to ease the burden on existing distribution centres, the Israeli Kan broadcaster reported, citing GHF. Other Israeli media also reported on this "pilot project" by GHF in the northern part of Rafah, where local Palestinian workers assisted. The distribution at the various existing centres reportedly proceeded without incident, according to the news portal ynet, which cited the foundation. Medical sources at the Nasser Hospital had earlier reported that at least four people were killed near one GHF centre in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred approximately 1 kilometre from the distribution centre. The Israeli army stated that several suspects approached troops in the Rafah area overnight. After being instructed to move away, soldiers fired warning shots, it said.
