Palestinians say 36 people killed trying to obtain desperately needed aid
Experts and humanitarian aid workers say Israel's blockade and 20-month military campaign have pushed Gaza to the brink of famine.
At least 163 people have been killed and 1,495 wounded in a number of shootings near aid sites run by the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which are in military zones that are off-limits to independent media.
The crisis has reached unprecedented levels of despair as people continue to go hungry across #Gaza.
🚨 Over 2.700 children under 5 diagnosed with acute malnutrition in late May🏥 Only 1 medical point partially functional in North Gaza⛽ Fuel stocks critically lowHumanitarian… pic.twitter.com/CqxghXJhyx
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) June 10, 2025
The Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions at people who it says approached its forces in a suspicious manner.
The foundation says there has been no violence in or around the distribution points themselves. But it has warned people to stay on designated access routes and it paused delivery last week while it held talks with the military on improving safety.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday there is 'meaningful progress' on a possible ceasefire deal that would also return some of the 55 hostages still being held in Gaza, but said it was 'too early to hope'.
Foreign minister Gideon Saar also mentioned on Tuesday that there was progress in ceasefire negotiations.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organisation, is distributing aid in Rafah (AP)
Mr Netanyahu was meeting with the Israeli negotiating team and the defence minister on Tuesday evening to discuss next steps.
In southern Gaza, at least eight people were killed while trying to obtain aid around Rafah, according to Nasser Hospital.
In northern Gaza, two men and a child were killed and at least 130 were wounded on Tuesday, according to Nader Garghoun, a spokesperson for the al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. He said most were being treated for gunshot wounds.
Palestinians received donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City (AP)
Witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli forces opened fire at around 2am (midnight BST), several hundred yards from the aid site in central Gaza. Crowds of Palestinians seeking desperately needed food often head to the sites hours before dawn, hoping to beat the crowds.
The Israeli military said it fired warning shots at people it referred to as suspects. It said they had advanced toward its troops hundreds of yards from the aid site prior to its opening hours.
Additionally, three Palestinian medics were killed in an Israeli strike Tuesday in Gaza City, according to the health ministry.
The medics from the health ministry's emergency service were responding to an Israeli attack on a house in Jaffa street in Gaza City when a second strike hit the building, the ministry said.
The Israeli military did not comment on the strike, but said over the past day the air force has hit dozens of targets belonging to Hamas' military infrastructure, including rocket launchers.
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The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
Israeli forces kill at least 60 Palestinians seeking food aid in Gaza, health officials say
Israeli forces killed at least 60 Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday, most of them as they were seeking food from a US-Israeli distribution scheme, according to local health authorities. Medical officials said at least 25 people were killed and dozens wounded as they approached a food distribution centre run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), near Netzarim in central Gaza. Later in the day, at least 14 people were killed by Israeli gunfire as they were moving towards another GHF distribution site, in Rafah, at Gaza's southern border. On Tuesday Israeli troops killed 17 Palestinians around GHF sites. The mass casualties came as the bodies of two Israel hostages were recovered from Gaza by the army and the internal security service, Shin Bet. Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, issued a statement naming one of the dead hostages as Yair Yaakov, a 59-year-old father of three who was abducted and killed by Hamas in its 7 October 2023 attack in which 1200 Israelis were killed and triggered the conflict. Netanyahu said the second hostage whose remains were recovered, could not yet be named. There are thought to be 53 Israelis hostages still in Gaza, but most of them are believed to be dead. The Gaza health authorities said on Wednesday the Palestinian death toll over the 20 months of conflict had passed 55,000. The health ministry was part of the Hamas government, but is staffed by medical professionals and its casualty statistics are generally regarded as reliable by the UN and other global organisations. In recent days, more and more of the fatalities have been associated with GHF food distribution. On Wednesday, a New York-based law group, the Center for Constitutional Rights, warned the GHF of its 'potential legal liability for complicity in Israel's war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against Palestinians'. 'As Palestinians now face mass starvation, Israel has teamed up with GHF to make accessing food not only dangerous and potentially deadly but also a tool of forced displacement,' its senior staff attorney, Katherine Gallagher, said. 'If GHF continues its militarised aid operations, it must be prepared to face the legal consequences, whether in the United States or beyond.' The Israeli government and armed forces are now under scrutiny by the International Court of Justice, on allegations of genocide, in part because of the use of food as a weapon against the occupied territory's 2.2 million people. Humanitarian experts had previously warned that the GHF scheme or distributing food from a restricted number of heavily militarised sites would be highly dangerous for people seeking food, forcing them to cross combat zones. The organisation's first executive director, Jake Wood, resigned last month, saying its plan ran counter to 'humanitarian principles'. Last week, a US consulting firm, Boston Consulting Group which had helped set up the GHF, severed ties with the organisation. Johnnie Moore, an evangelical leader and religious adviser to Donald Trump, with a record of outspoken support for Israel and minimal experience of humanitarian work, was appointed the new chair of the GHF. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that its forces had fired 'warning shots' overnight towards a group it said posed a threat to troops 'This is despite warnings that the area is an active combat zone. The IDF is aware of reports regarding individuals injured; the details are under review,' the IDF said. The GHF told the Reuters news agency it was unaware of Wednesday's incidents but added that it was working closely with Israeli authorities to ensure safe passage routes are maintained, and that it was essential for Palestinians to closely follow instructions. 'Ultimately, the solution is more aid, which will create more certainty and less urgency among the population,' it said. 'There is not yet enough food to feed everyone in need in Gaza. Our current focus is to feed as many people as is safely possible within the constraints of a highly volatile environment.' In a social media post on Wednesday, Moore said he had visited a GHF packing and distribution centre in Israel on Wednesday and claimed the organisation provided 2.5 million meals on Wednesday bringing to 16 million meals distributed in Gaza since it started operations on 27 May. Also on Wednesday, an Israeli civil rights group, Adalah, said that one of an international group of activists detained by Israel on a ship in the eastern Mediterranean, was being held in solitary confinement. In a statement it said that a Brazilian protester, Tiago Ávila, was being held in isolation in Ayalon prison 'due to his ongoing hunger and thirst strike, which he began two days ago'. Another activist detained on the Madleen protest ship, a French-Palestinian member of the European parliament, Rima Hassan, was temporarily held in solitary confinement, in Neve Tirza prison after writing 'Free Palestine' on a cell wall. 'She was moved to a small, windowless cell with extremely poor hygienic conditions and has been denied access to the prison yard,' Adalah said. It added that Hassan had been moved out of isolation on Wednesday. There was no immediate response from the Israeli foreign ministry to the reports of solitary confinement.
Sky News
13 hours ago
- Sky News
Palestinians killed by Israeli gunfire at US-backed aid site, officials say
At least 25 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire at a US-backed humanitarian aid site in Gaza, according to health officials. Medical officials at Shifa and al Quds hospitals say the people were killed as they approached the site - operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Dozens more were injured at the scene close to the former settlement of Netzarim, near Gaza City, medical officials from the Hamas-run territory added. It comes just a day after Gaza health officials said 17 people were killed close to another GHF site in Rafah, southern Gaza. Health officials said at least another six people were killed by Israeli gunfire as they approached a GHF site in Rafah on Wednesday. Ten other people were also killed on Wednesday by Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to officials. The Israeli military said its forces fired warning shots towards suspects who were advancing and which it claimed posed a threat to the troops in the area of Netzarim. "This is despite warnings that the area is an active combat zone. The IDF is aware of reports regarding individuals injured. The details are under review," it added. A total of 163 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded trying to reach the handful of aid sites operated by the GHF since it began work two weeks ago after a three-month blockade, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. It comes as the US ambassador to Israel said he does not think an independent Palestinian state remains a foreign policy for the Trump administration. Mike Huckabee's comments to Bloomberg News prompted the White House to say he spoke for himself. When asked if a Palestinian state remains a US goal, Mr Huckabee said: "I don't think so." 3:59 Asked about Mr Huckabee's comments, the White House referred to remarks earlier this year by Donald Trump when he pledged an American takeover of Gaza - a proposal which was condemned globally. Rights groups, Arab states, Palestinians and the UN said such a move amounted to "ethnic cleansing".
The Independent
16 hours ago
- The Independent
Israeli fire kills 41 in Gaza with many deaths near aid centre
At least 41 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza on Wednesday due to Israeli gunfire and airstrikes, according to local health officials. The majority of these casualties occurred at an aid site operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the centre of the coastal territory. Medical officials at Shifa and Al-Quds Hospitals reported that Israeli gunfire killed at least 25 people as they approached the aid site near the former settlement of Netzarim, with dozens more wounded. The Israeli military stated that its forces fired warning shots overnight at suspects who posed a threat to troops in the area of the Netzarim Corridor. "This is despite warnings that the area is an active combat zone. The IDF is aware of reports regarding individuals injured; the details are under review," the military added. Later on Wednesday, health officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, located in the southern Gaza Strip, reported that Israeli gunfire killed at least six people as they approached another GHF site in Rafah. This brought Wednesday's death toll to at least 41. According to Gaza's health ministry, a total of 163 people have been killed and over 1,000 wounded while trying to reach the few aid sites operated by the foundation. The GHF began its work two weeks ago, following a three-month blockade. The United Nations has condemned the killings. It said the blockade brought the Palestinian enclave to the brink of famine and that food supplies remain critically low. The foundation said earlier it was unaware of Wednesday's incident but that it is working closely with Israeli authorities to ensure safe passage routes are maintained, and that it is essential for Palestinians to closely follow instructions. "Ultimately, the solution is more aid, which will create more certainty and less urgency among the population," it said by email in response to Reuters questions. "There is not yet enough food to feed everyone in need in Gaza. Our current focus is to feed as many people as is safely possible within the constraints of a highly volatile environment." The UN and other aid groups have refused to supply aid via the foundation, which uses private contractors with Israeli military backup in what they say is a breach of humanitarian standards. Gaza health officials said 10 other people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis in the south of the enclave. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the reports. On Tuesday, when Gaza health officials said 17 people were killed near another GHF aid site in Rafah in southern Gaza, the army said it fired warning shots to distance "suspects" who were approaching the troops and posed a threat. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday there had been "significant progress" in efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, but that it was "too soon" to raise hopes that a deal would be reached. Despite efforts by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar to restore a ceasefire in Gaza, neither Israel nor Hamas has shown willingness to back down on core demands, with each side blaming the other for the failure to reach a deal. Two Hamas sources told Reuters they did not know about any new ceasefire offers. The war erupted after Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in an 7 October 2023, attack, Israel's single deadliest day. Israel's military campaign has since killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the densely populated strip, which is home to more than two million people.
