Dozens killed as Palestinians in Gaza scramble for aid from air and land
Israel's blockade and military offensive have made it nearly impossible to safely deliver aid, contributing to the territory's slide towards famine nearly 22 months into the war with Hamas.
Aid groups say Israel's week-old measures to allow more aid in are far from sufficient.
Families of hostages in Gaza fear starvation affects them too, but blame Hamas.
Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid airdropped by parachutes into Zawaida (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)
Several hundred Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since May while heading toward food distribution sites and aid convoys, according to witnesses, local health officials and the United Nations human rights office.
The military says it has only fired warning shots and disputes the toll.
As international alarm has mounted, several countries have airdropped aid over Gaza.
The UN and aid groups call such drops costly and dangerous for residents, and say they deliver far less aid than trucks.
Many food parcels dropped by air have splashed into the Mediterranean Sea or landed in so-called red zones from which Israel's military has ordered people to evacuate.
In either case, Palestinians risk their lives to get flour and other basic goods.
On Monday, Palestinians cheered as pallets of aid were parachuted over Zuweida in central Gaza. Associated Press footage showed a desperate scramble when the parcels hit the ground, with hundreds of people racing toward them.
Fistfights broke out and some men wielded batons.
'I wish they would deliver it through the (land) crossings,' Rabah Rabah said earlier as he waited for the airdrop.
'This is inhuman.'
Palestinians carry humanitarian aid packages near a distribution centre (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)
At least one parcel fell on a tent where displaced people had been sheltering, injuring a man who was taken to a hospital. His condition was not immediately known.
At least 16 people were killed late on Sunday near the Israeli-controlled Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for aid to northern Gaza, according to records at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which showed that more than 130 people were wounded.
The circumstances were not immediately clear, but the crossing has seen several shootings in recent days that witnesses and health officials blamed on Israeli forces.
There was no immediate comment from the military.
At least 10 people were killed as thousands waited for aid trucks in the Morag Corridor, which the Israeli military carved out between the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.
Mohammed al-Masri, who was among the crowds, said Israeli forces opened fire when a group of young men tried to make their way to the front.
'The occupation forces shot many people in the head and in the back,' he said, adding that he saw four wounded people, one motionless on the ground.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 10 bodies from Morag and another five who were killed near an aid site in southern Gaza run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor.
GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites. It said a new UN route runs near two of its sites in the south and has drawn large crowds of people who unload the convoys.
GHF says its contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots on a few occasions to prevent deadly crowding since it opened four sites in May.
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Irish Independent
14 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Inside the aid drops onto Gaza's torched ruins – with the starving too weak to fight for food
It is as if giants have torn through anything that once lived here: monstrous teeth have ripped chunks out of the few buildings that still teeter above ground. Everything else appears stamped underfoot. In some corners, Israeli tank tracks have clawed up what is left of the soil in sickening scrawls. The only flicker of life is the families corralled into tent s on scraps of beach in the punishing sunlight. From the ground looking up, these impossibly huge planes roar into view. It is absurd. Gaza is just 25 miles long and a few miles wide, and entirely accessible by land and sea. But because of Israel's ongoing bombardment of the strip and war with militant group Hamas, coupled with its crippling blockade, countries across the world are now dropping aid at enormous expense from the sky. Airdrops are always a last resort, a desperate measure. That is because it rarely gets to those who are most in need, it can be dangerous and there are safer simpler routes via land UN officials have told The Independent – those dying of starvation are too weak to endure the hunger games to grab it. Sometimes it lands in the sea. Sometimes it lands on the very people it is supposed to save, with fatal consequences. 'Like all the young men, Oday waited in the scorching sun for four hours. But when the planes arrived, he couldn't get out of the way in time,' said Moatasem al-Quraan, 31, from central Gaza, about his cousin, nurse Oday al-Quraan, who was crushed to death earlier on Monday. A pallet of aid being airdropped into central Gaza landed on him as he waited for food, his family and eyewitnesses told The Independent. 'He is married and has two children,' said Moatasem. 'He was like every citizen in Gaza. He has been hungry for four months. 'The plane that dropped the aid which killed Oday was carrying 12 boxes; inside each were 36 cartons of food. Where will we distribute them? The aid on the plane isn't enough for the 20,000 people who were waiting there.' ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Further north in Gaza, Muhammad Mansour, a 39-year-old father of six, said that when the aid drops, it is usually taken by armed gangs, as crippling hunger has exploded into lawlessness. A few times it falls into the sea. 'I don't know how to swim,' Muhammad said in desperation. 'Some went out in small fishing boats, but when they got it, the flour, sugar and rice were useless due to the seawater.' Jordanian officials told The Independent they are trying all ways to get aid in to Gaza, including by land and sky to ease the hunger crisis in the besieged strip. On Monday, the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF), also known as the Arab Army, conducted seven airdrop operations together with the UAE, Germany, France, Belgium and Canada – delivering 45 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza as part of the kingdom's ongoing efforts to support Palestinians in the enclave. In total, 289 airdrops have been conducted since Israel permitted them to restart two weeks ago, delivering 305 tonnes of aid. Meanwhile, officials in Jordan warned that they have had warehouses of aid for Gaza gathering dust since Israel reimposed its devastating blockade in March. Hussein Shebli, the head of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO), which coordinates much of Jordan's aid response for Gaza, painted a damning picture of the nightmare of getting those supplies in by land. He said they face long distances and multiple checkpoints that make transportation difficult, as well as frequent closures of the crossings into Gaza, and 'active prevention of aid entry by the occupying entity'. 'Deliberate inspection delays at checkpoints and crossings often hold shipments for extended periods, leading to spoilage and further disruption,' he said. Repeated attacks by Israeli settlers on aid convoys have caused serious delays and damage to shipments. The aid that does get to the crossing points can then be rejected on 'questionable grounds', he added, referencing one load of dates which was turned back 'over the alleged presence of pits'. Israel continues to deny there are restrictions on aid or that there is even a hunger crisis in Gaza, despite the UN-backed global hunger monitor recently concluding that 'the worst-case scenario of famine' is playing out. Instead, the Israeli government blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza and says it is taking steps for more aid to reach the population, including the aid drops. The main military unit coordinating aid – COGAT – has even blamed the UN for not picking up aid it has allowed in, although UN officials said they are faced with a slew of obstacles, including struggling to get permits to reach these pick-up points. The Israeli military said on Monday that it will continue to work 'to improve the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip … while refuting the false claims of deliberate starvation in Gaza'. But the reality is people are still dying of hunger: Gaza's health ministry said on Monday that five more people died of starvation or malnutrition over the past 24 hours. The latest deaths raised the toll of those dying from hunger to 180, including 93 children, since the war began. Images are still pouring out of hospitals showing emaciated children, their bones pressing through paper-thin flesh. There are also deep concerns for the 20 remaining live Israeli hostages and captives still being held by Hamas, who during the 7 October attacks on southern Israel seized over 250 hostages and killed over 1,000 more, according to Israeli estimates. Late last week, the militant group released new galling videos of two emaciated Israeli hostages held in Gaza, which have horrified Israelis and added even more pressure on prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire with Hamas, even as his government considers another expansion of the nearly 22-month war. In one, a skeletal Evyatar David, who was taken from the Nova Music Festival, says he is digging his own grave and speaks of days without food. As global outrage over the rising famine in and bombardment of Gaza surges, UN agencies warn that the airdrops are insufficient and Israel must let in far more aid by land. Tamara al-Rifai, a spokesperson for the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, said airdrops are 100 times more expensive than their equivalent by land, and while the UN is grateful for any breakthrough of aid, the airdrops are 'equal to the content of ten trucks.' 'If there is enough political will to bring about airdrops, there has to be political will to put pressure on the government of Israel to open crossings and to allow the UN to do its job,' she added. Last year, the Washington DC-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies estimated that one four-hour round trip by a C-130 military plane costs around $32,000 – while a trip by truck is estimated at around $970 from Cairo to Rafah in southern Gaza (when that route was still possible). Back in Gaza, local medics reported that at least 40 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes on Gaza on Monday, including 10 seeking aid at aid distribution sites run by the controversial US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The UN says more than 1,000 people have been killed trying to receive aid in the enclave in just a few months, most of them shot by Israeli forces operating nearby. The Israeli military has repeatedly denied targeting aid seekers and has said it has previously only fired in the vicinity of aid distribution centres. As the war rages on, the families in ravaged Gaza are dying, trying to find food. 'We thank all the countries that have helped and are trying to help, but the only solution is to open the crossing and distribute supplies,' said Moatasem as he attended the funeral of his cousin Oday. 'My cousin went to bring a meal to feed his family and children, but returned to them dead.'
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Irish Independent
Dozens killed as Palestinians in Gaza scramble for aid from air and land
Israel's blockade and military offensive have made it nearly impossible to safely deliver aid, contributing to the territory's slide toward famine nearly 22 months into the war with Hamas. Aid groups say Israel's week-old measures to allow more aid in are far from sufficient. Families of hostages in Gaza fear starvation affects them too, but blame Hamas. Several hundred Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since May while heading toward food distribution sites and aid convoys, according to witnesses, local health officials and the United Nations human rights office. The military says it has only fired warning shots and disputes the toll. As international alarm has mounted, several countries have airdropped aid over Gaza. The U.N. and aid groups call such drops costly and dangerous for residents, and say they deliver far less aid than trucks. Many food parcels dropped by air have splashed into the Mediterranean Sea or landed in so-called red zones from which Israel's military has ordered people to evacuate. In either case, Palestinians risk their lives to get flour and other basic goods. On Monday, Palestinians cheered as pallets of aid were parachuted over Zuweida in central Gaza. Associated Press footage showed a desperate scramble when the parcels hit the ground, with hundreds of people racing toward them. Fistfights broke out and some men wielded batons. 'I wish they would deliver it through the (land) crossings,' Rabah Rabah said earlier as he waited for the airdrop. 'This is inhuman.' At least one parcel fell on a tent where displaced people had been sheltering, injuring a man who was taken to a hospital. His condition was not immediately known. At least 16 people were killed late Sunday near the Israeli-controlled Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for aid to northern Gaza, according to records at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which showed that more than 130 people were wounded. The circumstances were not immediately clear, but the crossing has seen several shootings in recent days that witnesses and health officials blamed on Israeli forces. There was no immediate comment from the military. At least 10 people were killed as thousands waited for aid trucks in the Morag Corridor, which the Israeli military carved out between the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah. ADVERTISEMENT Mohammed al-Masri, who was among the crowds, said Israeli forces opened fire when a group of young men tried to make their way to the front. "The occupation forces shot many people in the head and in the back,' he said, adding that he saw four wounded people, one motionless on the ground. Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 10 bodies from Morag and another five who were killed near an aid site in southern Gaza run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor. GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites. It said a new U.N. route runs near two of its sites in the south and has drawn large crowds of people who unload the convoys. GHF says its contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots on a few occasions to prevent deadly crowding since it opened four sites in May. Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza said it received the bodies of eight people killed near a GHF site in the Israeli-controlled Netzarim Corridor, and that another 50 people were wounded. Witnesses and health officials said Israeli forces had fired toward the crowds. An Associated Press photo showed a man carrying a body away from the site, as others hauled bags of food. 'It's like yesterday, and the day before,' said Ayman Ruqab, a young Palestinian who said he had tried unsuccessfully to reach the site for the past three days. 'It's a death trap." The Israeli military said it fired warning shots at people who approached 'in a manner that posed a threat to the troops,' without elaborating. It said it was not aware of any casualties. Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. They still hold 50 hostages, around 20 of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed more than 60,900 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count but says around half the dead have been women and children, is staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable casualty count. Israel has disputed the figures but hasn't provided its own.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Dozens killed as Palestinians in Gaza scramble for aid from air and land
Dozens of Palestinians were killed or wounded on Monday as desperate crowds headed toward food distribution points and airdropped parcels in the Gaza Strip, according to witnesses and local health officials. Israel's blockade and military offensive have made it nearly impossible to safely deliver aid, contributing to the territory's slide towards famine nearly 22 months into the war with Hamas. Aid groups say Israel's week-old measures to allow more aid in are far from sufficient. Families of hostages in Gaza fear starvation affects them too, but blame Hamas. Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid airdropped by parachutes into Zawaida (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) Several hundred Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since May while heading toward food distribution sites and aid convoys, according to witnesses, local health officials and the United Nations human rights office. The military says it has only fired warning shots and disputes the toll. As international alarm has mounted, several countries have airdropped aid over Gaza. The UN and aid groups call such drops costly and dangerous for residents, and say they deliver far less aid than trucks. Many food parcels dropped by air have splashed into the Mediterranean Sea or landed in so-called red zones from which Israel's military has ordered people to evacuate. In either case, Palestinians risk their lives to get flour and other basic goods. On Monday, Palestinians cheered as pallets of aid were parachuted over Zuweida in central Gaza. Associated Press footage showed a desperate scramble when the parcels hit the ground, with hundreds of people racing toward them. Fistfights broke out and some men wielded batons. 'I wish they would deliver it through the (land) crossings,' Rabah Rabah said earlier as he waited for the airdrop. 'This is inhuman.' Palestinians carry humanitarian aid packages near a distribution centre (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) At least one parcel fell on a tent where displaced people had been sheltering, injuring a man who was taken to a hospital. His condition was not immediately known. At least 16 people were killed late on Sunday near the Israeli-controlled Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for aid to northern Gaza, according to records at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which showed that more than 130 people were wounded. The circumstances were not immediately clear, but the crossing has seen several shootings in recent days that witnesses and health officials blamed on Israeli forces. There was no immediate comment from the military. At least 10 people were killed as thousands waited for aid trucks in the Morag Corridor, which the Israeli military carved out between the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah. Mohammed al-Masri, who was among the crowds, said Israeli forces opened fire when a group of young men tried to make their way to the front. 'The occupation forces shot many people in the head and in the back,' he said, adding that he saw four wounded people, one motionless on the ground. Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 10 bodies from Morag and another five who were killed near an aid site in southern Gaza run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor. GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites. It said a new UN route runs near two of its sites in the south and has drawn large crowds of people who unload the convoys. GHF says its contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots on a few occasions to prevent deadly crowding since it opened four sites in May.
