Aid airdrops into Gaza begin as Israeli military confirms pauses in bombing
Military activity will stop from 10am-8pm until further notice in Al-Mawasi, a designated humanitarian area along the coast, in central Deir al-Balah and in Gaza City, to the north.
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates parachuted 25 tons of aid into the Gaza Strip on Sunday in their first airdrop in months, a Jordanian official source said.
The official said the air drops were not a substitute for delivery by land.
Palestinian health officials in Gaza City said at least 10 people were injured by falling aid boxes.
The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. starting from Sunday.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the designated areas.
"Our teams on the ground ... will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window," he said on X.
Health officials at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in the central Gaza Strip said Israeli firing killed at least 17 people and wounded 50 waiting for aid trucks on Sunday. Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.
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The ministry reported six new deaths over the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total deaths from malnutrition and hunger to 133 including 87 children.
On Saturday, a five-month-old baby, Zainab Abu Haleeb, died of malnutrition at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, health workers said.
"Three months inside the hospital and this is what I get in return, that she is dead," said her mother, Israa Abu Haleeb, standing next to the baby's father as he held their daughter's body wrapped in a white shroud.
The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was sending more than 100 trucks carrying over 1,200 metric tons of food to southern Gaza on Sunday.
A Palestinian official source said on Sunday afternoon that trucks were still being inspected at Kerem Shalom and had not yet entered Gaza.
Aid groups said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people and international alarm over the humanitarian situation has increased, driving French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September.
A group of 25 states including Britain, France and Canada last week condemned the "drip feeding of aid" and said Israel's denial of essential humanitarian aid was unacceptable.
Israel, which cut off aid to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by militants.
It says it has let enough food into Gaza during the war and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's people.
Israel and the US appeared on Friday to abandon ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying the militants did not want a deal.
HOPE, UNCERTAINTY
Many Gazans expressed some relief at Sunday's announcement, but said fighting must end permanently.
"People are happy that large amounts of food aid will come into Gaza," said Tamer Al-Burai, a business owner. "We hope today marks a first step in ending this war that burned everything up."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue to allow the entry of humanitarian supplies whatever path it took, and it was making progress on both fighting and negotiations.
"We will continue to fight, we will continue to act until we achieve all of our war goals - until complete victory," he said.
Hamas denounced the Israeli measures to allow more aid into Gaza, saying Israel was continuing its military offensive.
"What is happening isn't a humanitarian truce," said Hamas official Ali Baraka in a statement on Sunday.
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the aid decision was made without his involvement. He called it a capitulation to Hamas' deceitful campaign and repeated his call to choke off all aid to Gaza, conquer the territory and encourage Palestinians to leave.
A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a question about Ben-Gvir's comments.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israel's offensive has killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced nearly the entire population.
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Irish Independent
11 hours ago
- Irish Independent
At least 48 people killed while seeking aid at Gaza crossing as starvation death continue to rise
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.
Irish Examiner
11 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Dozens killed while seeking aid at Gaza crossing as US envoy heads to Israel
At least 37 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday while waiting for food at a crossing in the Gaza Strip, according to a local hospital that received the casualties. The latest violence around aid distribution came as the US Middle East envoy was heading to Israel for talks. 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. Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) 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. Israel has come under mounting international pressure in recent days as its 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. 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 conflict, will arrive in Israel on Thursday for talks on the situation in Gaza. Of those killed in the earlier violence, more than 30 were seeking humanitarian aid, according to hospitals that received the bodies and treated dozens of wounded people. 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. Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said that it received 12 people who were killed on Tuesday night when Israeli forces opened fire towards crowds awaiting aid trucks coming from the Zikim Crossing. Thirteen others were killed in strikes in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp, and the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, the hospital said. Palestinians inspect the site where an Israeli strike hit in Muwasi, Khan Younis (Mariam Dagga/AP) In the southern city of Khan Younis, Nasser Hospital said it received the bodies of 16 people who it says were killed Tuesday evening while waiting for aid trucks close to the newly built Morag corridor, which the Israeli military carved out between Khan Younis and the southernmost city of Rafah. The hospital received another body of a man killed in a strike on a tent in Khan Younis, it said. The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp said that it received the bodies of four Palestinians. It said they were killed on Wednesday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the Netzarim corridor area, south of the Wadi Gaza. 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. The alternative aid system run by the Israeli-backed GHF has also been marred by violence. Palestinians scramble for aid packages dropped into the Mediterranean Sea (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid since May, most near sites run by 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 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.
RTÉ News
15 hours ago
- RTÉ News
'We need everything' - inside a Gaza malnutrition ward
On the pink walls of Nasser hospital's child malnutrition ward, cartoon drawings show children running, smiling, and playing with flowers and balloons. Beneath the pictures, a handful of Gazan mothers watch over their babies who lie still and largely silent, mostly too exhausted by severe hunger to cry. The quiet is common in places treating the most acutely malnourished, doctors told Reuters, a sign of bodies shutting down. Over the last week, Reuters journalists spent five days in Nasser Medical Complex, one of only four centres left in Gaza able to treat the most dangerously hungry children. While the journalist were there, 53 cases of acutely malnourished children were admitted, according to the head of the ward. Gaza's food stocks have been running out since Israel, at war with Palestinian militant group Hamas since October 2023, cut off all supplies to the territory in March. That blockade was lifted in May but with restrictions that Israel says are needed to prevent aid being diverted to militant groups. In response to a request for comment, COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, claimed Israel does not restrict aid trucks entering Gaza, but that international organisations face challenges collecting aid inside Gaza. As food stocks ran out, the situation escalated in June and July, with the World Health Organization warning of mass starvation and images of emaciated children shocking the world. The Gaza Health Ministry says 154 people, including 89 children, have died of malnutrition, most in recent weeks. Earlier this week, a global hunger monitor said that a famine scenario is unfolding. The United Nations said the scale of what is needed is vast in order to stave off famine and avert a health crisis. "We need milk for babies. We need medical supplies. We need some food, special food for nutritional department," said Dr Ahmed al-Farra, head of the paediatric and maternity department in Nasser Medical Complex. "We need everything for the hospitals." Israeli officials say many of those who died while malnourished in Gaza were suffering from pre-existing illnesses. Famine experts say this is typical in the early stages of a hunger crisis. Farra said his hospital was now dealing with malnourished children with no previous health problems, like baby Wateen Abu Amounah, born healthy nearly three months ago and now weighing 100 grams less than she weighed at birth. "During the past three months she did not gain one gram. On the contrary the child's weight decreased," the doctor said. "There is total loss of muscles. It's only skin on top of bones, which is an indication that the child has entered a severe malnutrition phase," said Farra. "Even the face of the child: she has lost fat tissues from her cheeks." The baby's mother, Yasmin Abu Sultan, gestures at the child's limbs, her arms about as wide as her mother's thumb. Zeina Radwan, mother of ten-month-old Maria Suhaib Radwan, has not been able to find milk or enough food for her baby, and cannot breastfeed as she herself is underfed, surviving on one meal a day. "She is always lethargic, lying down, like this… she doesn't respond to anything," she said. The youngest babies in particular need special therapeutic formulas made with clean water, and supplies are running low, Farra and the WHO told Reuters. "All the key supplies for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition, including medical complications, are really running out," said Marina Adrianopoli, WHO nutrition lead for the Gaza response. "It's really a critical situation." The treatment centres are also operating beyond capacity, she said. In the first two weeks of July, more than 5,000 children under five received outpatient treatment for malnutrition, with 18% suffering from the severest form. That was a surge from 6,500 in the whole of June, already the highest of the war and almost certainly an underestimate, said the WHO. Seventy-three children with malnutrition and complications were hospitalized in July, up from 39 in June. Hospital places are scarce. Baby Wateen's mother said she tried to get the girl admitted last month, but the centre was full. After ten days with no milk available and barely a meal a day for the rest of the family, she returned last week because her daughter's condition was deteriorating. Like several of the infants at Nasser, Wateen also has a recurring fever and diarrhoea, illnesses that malnourished children are more vulnerable to, and which make their condition more dangerous. "If she stays like this, I'm going to lose her," her mother said. Wateen remains in hospital getting treatment, where her mother encourages her to take tiny sips from a bottle of formula milk. A side-effect of severe malnutrition is, counter-intuitively, loss of appetite, doctors told Reuters. Yasmin herself lives on the one meal a day provided by the hospital.
