At least 8 dead in shooting near Israeli and US-supported aid sites in Gaza
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least eight Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded on Sunday in a shooting near Israeli- and U.S.-supported food distribution points in the Gaza Strip, according to health officials. Witnesses blamed the Israeli military, which did not immediately comment.
Witnesses said Israeli forces opened fire around dawn toward crowds of desperate Palestinians heading to two aid sites in the southern city of Rafah.
Experts and aid workers say Israel's monthslong blockade and military campaign have caused widespread hunger and raised the risk of famine in the population of over 2 million. The vast majority rely on international aid because the offensive has destroyed nearly all of Gaza's capacity to produce food.
The war in Gaza rages more than 20 months after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which sparked a chain of events that helped lead to Israel's surprise attack on Iran on Friday.
The shooting on Sunday happened close to the sites that are operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a group that Israel and the United States hope will replace a system of aid distribution run by the United Nations, which has rejected the initiative, saying it violates humanitarian principles.
There have been near-daily shootings near the sites since they opened last month. Witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on crowds, and health officials say scores have been killed. The military has acknowledged firing warning shots at what it says were suspects approaching its forces.
'There were wounded, dead, and martyrs,' Ahmed al-Masri told The Associated Press on Sunday as he returned from one site empty-handed. 'It's a trap.'
Umm Hosni al-Najjar said she joined the crowd heading to the aid point in Rafah's Tal al-Sultan neighborhood around 4:30 a.m. She said the shooting began as people were advancing to the site a few minutes after her arrival.
'There were many wounded and martyrs," she said. 'No one was able to evacuate them.'
The Nasser Hospital in the nearby city of Khan Younis said it received eight bodies after the shooting.
Gaza's Health Ministry said Sunday that overall, the bodies of 65 people killed by Israeli strikes or gunfire had been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours.
The aid system rolled out last month has been marred by chaos and violence, while the U.N. system has struggled to deliver food because of Israeli restrictions and a breakdown of law and order, despite Israel loosening a total blockade it imposed from early March to mid-May.
Israel and the U.S. say Hamas has siphoned aid from the U.N.-run system, while U.N. officials say there is no evidence of systematic diversion. The U.N. says the new system does not meet Gaza's needs, allows Israel to control who gets aid and risks further mass displacement as people move closer to the sites.
Two are in the southernmost city of Rafah — now mostly uninhabited — and all three are in Israeli military zones that are off limits to independent media.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says there has been no violence in or around the distribution points. It has warned people to stay on designated routes and recently paused delivery to discuss safety measures with the military.
Hamas started the war with its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel as Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage. The militants still hold 53 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 over 55,300 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It says women and children make up most of the dead but doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
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Los Angeles Times
13 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
At least 8 dead in shooting near Gaza aid sites supported by U.S., Israel
KHAN Y\UNIS, Gaza Strip — At least eight Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded Sunday in a shooting near Israeli- and U.S.-supported food distribution points in the Gaza Strip, according to health officials. Witnesses blamed the Israeli military, which did not immediately comment. Witnesses said Israeli forces opened fire around dawn toward crowds of desperate Palestinians heading to two aid sites in the southern city of Rafah. Experts and aid workers say Israel's months-long blockade and military campaign have caused widespread hunger and raised the risk of famine among the population of more than 2 million. The vast majority rely on international aid because the offensive has destroyed nearly all of Gaza's capacity to produce food. The war in Gaza rages more than 20 months after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which sparked a chain of events that helped lead to Israel's surprise attack on Iran on Friday. The shooting Sunday happened close to the sites that are operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a group that Israel and the United States hope will replace a system of aid distribution run by the United Nations, which has rejected the initiative, saying it violates humanitarian principles. There have been near-daily shootings near the sites since they opened last month. Witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on crowds, and health officials say scores have been killed. The military has acknowledged firing warning shots at what it says were suspects approaching its forces. 'There were wounded, dead, and martyrs,' Ahmed al-Masri told the Associated Press on Sunday as he returned from one site empty-handed. 'It's a trap.' Umm Hosni al-Najjar said she joined the crowd heading to the aid point in Rafah's Tal al-Sultan neighborhood around 4:30 a.m. She said the shooting began as people were advancing to the site a few minutes after her arrival. 'There were many wounded and martyrs,' she said. 'No one was able to evacuate them.' The Nasser Hospital in the nearby city of Khan Yunis said it received eight bodies after the shooting. Gaza's Health Ministry said Sunday that overall, the bodies of 65 people killed by Israeli strikes or gunfire had been brought to hospitals over the previous 24 hours. The aid system rolled out last month has been marred by chaos and violence, while the U.N. system has struggled to deliver food because of Israeli restrictions and a breakdown of law and order, despite Israel loosening a total blockade it imposed from early March to mid-May. 'A person dies next to you and you cannot carry him. If you wanted to carry him with your hands, you would return to your children without food. Life is death,' said Alaa Saqer, among those seeking aid. Israel and the U.S. say Hamas has siphoned aid from the U.N.-run system, while U.N. officials say there is no evidence of systematic diversion. The U.N. says the new system does not meet Gaza's needs, allows Israel to control who gets aid and risks further mass displacement as people move closer to the sites. Two are in the southernmost city of Rafah — now mostly uninhabited — and all three are in Israeli military zones that are off-limits to independent media. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says there has been no violence in or around the distribution points. It has warned people to stay on designated routes and recently paused delivery to discuss safety measures with the military. Separately, Israel's military body in charge of aid coordination in Gaza, COGAT, said 292 trucks of aid from the U.N. and international community entered Gaza over the last week. About 600 trucks entered per day during the latest ceasefire. 'I feed my children bread and salt, I swear to God,' said Mohammad Misleh in Gaza City. Hamas started the war with its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel as Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage. The militants still hold 53 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 55,300 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It says women and children make up most of the dead but doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. 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% of its population, often multiple times. Jahjouh and Magdy write for the Associated Press and reported from Khan Yunis and Cairo, respectively.
Hamilton Spectator
13 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
At least 8 dead in shooting near Israeli and US-supported aid sites in Gaza
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least eight Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded on Sunday in a shooting near Israeli- and U.S.-supported food distribution points in the Gaza Strip, according to health officials. Witnesses blamed the Israeli military, which did not immediately comment. Witnesses said Israeli forces opened fire around dawn toward crowds of desperate Palestinians heading to two aid sites in the southern city of Rafah. Experts and aid workers say Israel's monthslong blockade and military campaign have caused widespread hunger and raised the risk of famine in the population of over 2 million. The vast majority rely on international aid because the offensive has destroyed nearly all of Gaza's capacity to produce food. The war in Gaza rages more than 20 months after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which sparked a chain of events that helped lead to Israel's surprise attack on Iran on Friday. The shooting on Sunday happened close to the sites that are operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation , a group that Israel and the United States hope will replace a system of aid distribution run by the United Nations, which has rejected the initiative, saying it violates humanitarian principles. A man described the distribution as 'a trap' There have been near-daily shootings near the sites since they opened last month. Witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on crowds, and health officials say scores have been killed. The military has acknowledged firing warning shots at what it says were suspects approaching its forces. 'There were wounded, dead, and martyrs,' Ahmed al-Masri told The Associated Press on Sunday as he returned from one site empty-handed. 'It's a trap.' Umm Hosni al-Najjar said she joined the crowd heading to the aid point in Rafah's Tal al-Sultan neighborhood around 4:30 a.m. She said the shooting began as people were advancing to the site a few minutes after her arrival. 'There were many wounded and martyrs,' she said. 'No one was able to evacuate them.' The Nasser Hospital in the nearby city of Khan Younis said it received eight bodies after the shooting. Gaza's Health Ministry said Sunday that overall, the bodies of 65 people killed by Israeli strikes or gunfire had been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours. The aid system rolled out last month has been marred by chaos and violence, while the U.N. system has struggled to deliver food because of Israeli restrictions and a breakdown of law and order, despite Israel loosening a total blockade it imposed from early March to mid-May. UN has criticized the new aid system Israel and the U.S. say Hamas has siphoned aid from the U.N.-run system, while U.N. officials say there is no evidence of systematic diversion. The U.N. says the new system does not meet Gaza's needs, allows Israel to control who gets aid and risks further mass displacement as people move closer to the sites. Two are in the southernmost city of Rafah — now mostly uninhabited — and all three are in Israeli military zones that are off limits to independent media. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says there has been no violence in or around the distribution points. It has warned people to stay on designated routes and recently paused delivery to discuss safety measures with the military. Separately, Israel's military body in charge of aid coordination in Gaza, COGAT, said 292 trucks of aid from the U.N. and international community entered Gaza over the past week. About 600 trucks entered per day during the latest ceasefire. Hamas started the war with its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel as Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage. The militants still hold 53 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 over 55,300 Palestinians , according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It says women and children make up most of the dead but doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. 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% of its population, often multiple times . ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
San Francisco Chronicle
14 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Black dads go public with support for their kids with autism -- and each other
ATLANTA (AP) — When Tyrone Green's youngest son was diagnosed with autism, his wife was immediately ready to get the 3-year-old the support he needed. But Green was stuck: He had questions about his son's future and an overwhelming feeling of loneliness — like no one, not his wife, not his friends, understood his experience. ' ... (M)y wife couldn't understand what I was going through as a Black father, all these hopes and dreams I had for my kid," said Green, who lives in Michigan. 'She didn't feel the same way.' In 2021, he joined a Black fathers' support group and met a few other dads eager to discuss their unique challenges. They started their own podcast in 2023 called AutisHIM, a place where Black dads talk about the wins and setbacks of having autistic children. Green is among a growing number of Black fathers of autistic children looking to be more visible in the national autism conversation through podcasts, nonprofits and summits that specifically address their experience. These men say that their hope is not only to be considered more than sidekicks to mothers of the children, but also to help other Black dads accept autism diagnoses and not prolong getting kids the help that they need. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects how people communicate, process information and interact with the world around them. Federal data shows that since 2020, Black children have had a higher prevalence of autism spectrum disorder than white children — a change experts credit mostly to better awareness of autism in underserved communities. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently announced plans to have the federal government do a broad study for the causes of autism, even though it's been looked at by researchers for decades. He has said autism is a 'tragedy' that 'destroys families' and that some people with autism will never hold a job, pay taxes or go on dates. But many people with autism live successful, socially rich and independent lives, which makes a narrative like Kennedy's dangerous, said Michael Hannon, a counseling professor at Montclair State University who studies the social and emotional aspects of autism on Black fatherhood. It 'can literally diminish hope for any father or father figure or family,' Hannon said of Kennedy's framing of autism. But affinity groups for Black men who have kids with autism are a successful way to get the dads to engage with their emotions, Hannon said. 'The challenge is convincing people to (talk openly and honestly), because the practice of doing that is rare, not just among Black men, but people in general,' he said, adding that people might think it will reflect on their ability to parent. Evan Polk said a big part of navigating his 13-year-old daughter's diagnosis was learning to sit with emotions that weren't simply 'happy and mad.' In the beginning, he was very protective. 'I became a helicopter dad,' said Polk, who started AuSome Kicks, an art therapy nonprofit for autistic children near Philadelphia earlier this year. 'I didn't want nobody or nothing to harm her whatsoever. When I found out she was autistic, she'd be outside with knee pads and elbow pads looking crazy.' He said he later taught his family to be more patient with his daughter, as opposed to traditional parenting styles of being firm and hoping that she would fall in line. Dr. Berry Pierre said he initially was on the sidelines of his autistic daughter's support team as his wife, Maria Davis-Pierre, did the bulk of advocating. The Florida couple founded Autism in Black and for the first five years, he said the organization didn't specifically tailor messaging to Black dads. 'Whether it be in schools, the (individual education plan) meetings, the mothers were just there.' Pierre said. 'But as we started to kind of try to go deeper and figure out 'Alright, what's going on? Where are the guys?' we started to realize that a lot of them will be there.' Many Black dads, Pierre found out, were equally involved as the moms, and Pierre wanted to get more of them talking publicly about autism. 'The dads are there, but we know the general public doesn't realize that yet,' Pierre said. 'So we try to serve as this engine to shine a light on what's really happening. The dads are there, they're attentive. And even with this diagnosis, they're going even harder.' Some dads, like Nicholas Love in North Carolina, said they first hesitated to openly share their journey of raising their kids with autism in fear that people may not understand. 'I was very guarded for a while in talking about my children both being on the spectrum,' said Love, who is CEO of the marketing agency The Kulur Group. 'Even in how you take pictures that you upload on social media, being cognizant and thinking about, 'Well is this a picture that looks, dare I say, the perception of what normal looks like?'" Now, he's an open book about them, is understanding when employees need a little extra time for urgent family needs and has advocated that men receive more paid leave so they will have time to be more involved with their kids. 'I got to a point where it's like, 'OK, this is my reality … I need to do my part in normalizing this," Love said. Green said that while his podcast and platforms like Autism in Black make it easier for Black fathers to share their stories of their kids' wins and losses, he'd like to see 'more support groups out there, more podcasts, more conversations.' 'I see a lot of Black women doing their thing and I highly appreciate that, but I think there definitely needs to be more conversations surrounding (Black fatherhood and autism) because, for myself, I'm a Black man," Green said. "I have a Black family, but this is never really the topic of discussion.' ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
