Eight people seeking food among at least 12 killed by Israeli fire in Gaza
Near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution site, Yahia Youssef, who had come to seek aid on Saturday morning, described a panicked scene now grimly familiar.
After helping carry out three people wounded by gunshots, he said he looked around and saw many others lying on the ground bleeding.
'It's the same daily episode,' Mr Youssef said.
We weren't close to them (the troops) and there was no threat. I escaped death miraculously
In response to questions about several witness accounts of violence at the northernmost of the Israeli-backed American contractor's four sites, the GHF media office said 'nothing (happened) at or near our sites'.
The episode came a day after US officials visited one site and the US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called GHF's distribution 'an incredible feat'.
International outrage has mounted as the group's efforts to deliver aid to hunger-stricken Gaza have been marred by violence and controversy.
'We weren't close to them (the troops) and there was no threat,' Abed Salah, a man in his 30s who was among the crowds close to the GHF site near Netzarim corridor, said. 'I escaped death miraculously.'
Families of hostages protest Tel Aviv, Israel (Ariel Schalit/AP)
The danger facing aid seekers in Gaza has compounded what international hunger experts this week called a 'worst-case scenario of famine' in the besieged enclave.
Israel's near 22-month military offensive against Hamas has shattered security in the territory of some 2.0 million Palestinians and made it nearly impossible to deliver food safely to starving people.
From May 27 to July 31, 859 people were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites, according to a United Nations report published on Thursday. Hundreds more have been killed along the routes of food convoys.
Israel and GHF have said they have only fired warning shots and that the toll has been exaggerated.
Health officials reported that Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least 18 Palestinians on Saturday, including three whose bodies were transported from the vicinity of a distribution site to a central Gaza hospital along with 36 others who were wounded.
Officials said 10 of Saturday's casualties were killed by strikes in central and southern Gaza.
Nasser Hospital said it received the bodies of five people killed in two separate strikes on tents sheltering displaced people.
The dead include two brothers and a relative, who were killed when a strike hit their tent close to a main thoroughfare in Khan Younis.
Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, families of Israeli hostages protested and urged Israel's government to push harder for the release of their loved ones, including those shown in footage released by militant groups earlier this week.
US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff joined them a day after visiting Gaza and a week after walking away from ceasefire talks in Qatar, blaming Hamas's intransigence and pledging to find other ways to free hostages and make Gaza safe.
Of the 251 hostages who were abducted when Hamas led an attack on southern Israel on October 7 2023, about 20 are believed to be alive in Gaza.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the second-largest militant group in Gaza, released separate videos of individual hostages this week, triggering outrage among hostage families and Israeli society.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians and operates under the Hamas government.
The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Dozens killed seeking aid in Gaza as Israel considers further military action
At least 38 Palestinians were killed overnight and into Wednesday in the Gaza Strip while seeking aid from United Nations convoys and sites run by an Israeli-backed American contractor, according to local health officials. The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots when crowds approached its forces. The latest deaths came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to announce further military action – and possibly plans for Israel to fully reoccupy Gaza. Trucks carrying humanitarian aid line up as they wait to enter the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip (Khaled Elfiqi/AP) Experts say Israel's ongoing military offensive and blockade are already pushing the territory of some two million Palestinians into famine. Another escalation of the nearly 22-month war could put the lives of countless Palestinians and around 20 living Israeli hostages at risk, and would draw fierce opposition both internationally and within Israel. Mr Netanyahu's far-right coalition allies have long called for the war to be expanded, and for Israel to eventually take over Gaza, relocate much of its population and rebuild Jewish settlements there. US President Donald Trump, asked by a reporter on Tuesday whether he supported the reoccupation of Gaza, said he was not aware of the 'suggestion' but that 'it's going to be pretty much up to Israel'. At least 28 Palestinians were killed overnight and into Wednesday in the Morag Corridor, an Israeli military zone in southern Gaza where UN convoys have been repeatedly overwhelmed by looters and desperate crowds in recent days, and where witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire. The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots as Palestinians advanced towards them, and that it was not aware of any casualties. Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies, said another four people were killed in the Teina area, on a route leading to a site in southern Gaza run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an American contractor. The Al-Awda Hospital said it received the bodies of six people killed near a GHF site in central Gaza. People inspect the damage at the Sheikh Radwan al-Taba UNRWA clinic following an Israeli army bombardment in Gaza City (Jehad Alshrafi/AP) Another 12 people were killed in Israeli air strikes, according to the two hospitals. The GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites. The military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas because its militants are entrenched in heavily populated areas. Israel facilitated the establishment of four GHF sites in May after blocking the entry of all food, medicine and other goods for two-and-a-half months. Israeli and US officials said a new system was needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off humanitarian aid. The United Nations, which has delivered aid to hundreds of distribution points across Gaza throughout the war when conditions allow, has rejected the new system, saying it forces Palestinians to travel long distances and risk their lives for food, and that it allows Israel to control who gets aid, potentially using it to advance plans for further mass displacement. The UN human rights office said last week that some 1,400 Palestinians have been killed seeking aid since May, mostly near GHF sites but also along UN convoy routes where trucks have been overwhelmed by crowds. It says nearly all were killed by Israeli fire. Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) This week, a group of UN special rapporteurs and independent human rights experts called for the GHF to be disbanded, saying it is 'an utterly disturbing example of how humanitarian relief can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas in serious breach of international law'. The experts work with the UN but do not represent the world body. The GHF called their statement 'disgraceful', and urged the UN and other aid groups to work with it 'to maximise the amount of aid being securely delivered to the Palestinian people in Gaza'. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots when crowds threatened its forces, and the GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray and fired into the air on some occasions to prevent deadly crowding at its sites. Israel's blockade and military offensive have made it nearly impossible for anyone to safely deliver aid, and aid groups say recent Israeli measures to facilitate more assistance are far from sufficient. Hospitals recorded four more malnutrition-related deaths over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 193 people, including 96 children, since the war began in October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Jordan said Israeli settlers blocked roads and hurled stones at a convoy of four trucks carrying aid bound for Gaza after they drove across the border into the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli far-right activists have repeatedly sought to halt aid from entering Gaza. Palestinians at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City mourn their relative who was killed while trying to reach aid trucks entering the northern Gaza Strip through the Zikim crossing with Israel (Jehad Alshrafi/AP) Jordanian government spokesperson Mohammed al-Momani condemned the attack, which he said had shattered the windscreens of the trucks, according to the Jordanian state-run Petra News Agency. The Israeli military said security forces went to the scene to disperse the gathering and accompanied the trucks to their destination. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and abducted another 251. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Of the 50 still held in Gaza, around 20 are believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. It is part of the now largely defunct Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source for the number of war casualties.
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
Dozens are killed seeking aid in Gaza as Netanyahu considers further military action
At least 38 Palestinians were killed on overnight and into Wednesday in the Gaza Strip while seeking aid from United Nations convoys and sites run by an Israeli-backed American contractor, local health officials said. The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots when crowds approached its forces. The latest deaths came as Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu was expected to announce further military action – and possibly plans for Israel to reoccupy Gaza fully. Mr Netanyahu is scheduled to discuss military plans for Gaza with other ministers on Thursday. READ MORE Experts say Israel's continuing military offensive and blockade are already pushing the territory of two million Palestinians into famine. Palestinians watch parachuted aid packages landing in the Nuseirat area in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Photograph: Eyad Baba/Getty Mr Netanyahu's far-right coalition allies have long called for the war to be expanded, for Israel to take over Gaza eventually, relocate much of its population and rebuild Jewish settlements there. At least 28 Palestinians were killed overnight and into Wednesday in the Morag Corridor, an Israeli military zone in southern Gaza where UN convoys have been repeatedly overwhelmed by looters and desperate crowds in recent days and where witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire. The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots as Palestinians advanced towards them and it said it was not aware of any casualties. Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies, said another four people were killed in the Teina area, on a route leading to a site in southern Gaza run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an American contractor. The Al-Awda Hospital said it received the bodies of six people killed near a GHF site in central Gaza. Another 12 people were killed in Israeli air strikes, the two hospitals said. The GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites. The military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas because its militants are entrenched in heavily populated areas. Israel facilitated the establishment of four GHF sites in May after blocking the entry of all food, medicine and other goods for two-and-a-half months. A view from the air as aid drops from a Jordanian C-130 military aircraft on Wednesday in Gaza. Photograph: Salah Malkawi/Getty Israeli and US officials said a new system was needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off humanitarian aid. The UN, which has delivered aid to hundreds of distribution points across Gaza throughout the war when conditions allowed, has rejected the new system, saying it forced Palestinians to travel long distances and risk their lives for food. The UN said the arrangements also allowed Israel to control who gets aid, potentially using it to advance plans for further mass displacement. The UN human rights office said last week that 1,400 Palestinians have been killed seeking aid since May, mostly near GHF sites but also along UN convoy routes where trucks have been overwhelmed by crowds. It says nearly all were killed by Israeli fire. The GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Israeli military said it has only fired warning shots when crowds threatened its forces. The GHF said its armed contractors have only used pepper spray and fired into the air on some occasions to prevent deadly crowding at its sites. Israel's blockade and military offensive have made it nearly impossible for anyone to safely deliver aid. Aid groups say recent Israeli measures to facilitate more assistance are far from sufficient. Hospitals on Wednesday recorded four more malnutrition-related deaths over the previous 24 hours, bringing the total to 193 people, including 96 children, since the war began in October 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7th, 2023, attack on southern Israel and abducted another 251. Most hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Of the 50 still held in Gaza, about 20 are believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. The ministry is part of the now largely defunct Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source for the number of war casualties. – AP
The Journal
14 hours ago
- The Journal
US Health Secretary RFK Jr halts funding for vaccines to fight Covid-19 and flu
THE US DEPARTMENT of Health and Human Services is to cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines that are being developed to fight respiratory viruses like Covid-19 and the flu. Robert F Kennedy Jr announced that 22 projects, totalling $500m (€432m), to develop vaccines using mRNA technology will be halted. This is despite infectious disease experts deeming the vaccines safe and effective. 'We're shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate,' Kennedy said in a statement. 'Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them. 'That's why we're moving beyond the limitations of mRNA and investing in better solutions.' Kennedy's decision to terminate the projects is the latest in a string of decisions that have put the long-time vaccine critic's doubts about jabs into full effect at the nation's health department. Since taking office, Kennedy, who spent two decades sowing misinformation around immunisation, has overseen a major overhaul of US health policy – firing, for example, a panel of vaccine experts that advise the government and replacing them with his own appointees. In its first meeting, the new panel promptly voted to ban a longstanding vaccine preservative targeted by the anti-vaccine movement, despite its strong safety record. He has also ordered a sweeping new study on the long-debunked link between vaccines and autism. Last month, he told a meeting of the Vaccine Alliance Gavi that the US would be pulling funding from the organisation indefinitely until the global health organisation has 're-earned the public trust'. Though in development for decades, mRNA vaccines were propelled from lab benches to widespread use through US President Donald Trump's Operation Warp Speed – a public-private partnership led by BARDA that poured billions into companies to accelerate development. The technology's pioneers, Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman, were awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work contributing 'to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times. RFK criticised mRNA vaccines in a video on his social media accounts, explaining the decision to cancel projects being led by the nation's leading pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Moderna, that offer protection against viruses like the flu, Covid-19 and H5N1. Advertisement 'To replace the troubled mRNA programs, we're prioritising the development of safer, broader vaccine strategies, like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms that don't collapse when viruses mutate,' Kennedy said in the video. 'Dangerous decision' Infectious disease experts say the mRNA technology used in vaccines is safe, and they credit its development during the first Trump administration with slowing the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Future pandemics will be harder to stop without the help of mRNA. 'I don't think I've seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business,' said Mike Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases and pandemic preparations. He noted mRNA technology offers potential advantages of rapid production, crucial in the event of a new pandemic that requires a new vaccine. The shelving of the mRNA projects is short-sighted as concerns about a bird flu pandemic continue to loom, said Dr Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. 'It's certainly saved millions of lives,' Offit said of the existing mRNA vaccines. Scientists are using mRNA for more than infectious disease vaccines, with researchers around the world exploring its use for cancer immunotherapies. At the White House earlier this year, billionaire tech entrepreneur Larry Ellison praised mRNA for its potential to treat cancer. Traditionally, vaccines have required growing pieces of viruses, often in chicken eggs or giant vats of cells, then purifying that material. The mRNA approach starts with a snippet of genetic code that carries instructions for making proteins. Scientists pick the protein to target, inject that blueprint and the body makes just enough to trigger immune protection — producing its own vaccine dose. In a statement yesterday, the health department said 'other uses of mRNA technology within the department are not impacted by this announcement'. The mRNA technology is used in approved Covid-19 and RSV jabs, but has not yet been approved for a flu jab. Moderna, which was studying a combination Covid-19 and flu mRNA vaccines, had said it believed mRNA could speed up production of flu jabs compared with traditional vaccines. The abandoned mRNA projects signal a 'shift in vaccine development priorities', the health department said in its statement, adding that it will start 'investing in better solutions'. Additional reporting by AFP
