Palestinians say at least 4 killed by Israeli fire near aid site. Israel says it fired warning shots
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian health officials and witnesses say at least four people were killed and others were wounded by Israeli fire around a kilometer (half-mile) from an aid distribution point in the Gaza Strip run by an Israeli and U.S.-backed group. Israel's military said it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces.
The bodies were brought to Nasser Hospital in Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis, which confirmed the toll. Palestinian witnesses said Israeli forces had fired on them at a roundabout in the nearby city of Rafah as they went to get food from a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation .
The Israeli military said it fired warning shots at people it said were suspects who had advanced toward its forces and ignored warnings to turn away. It said the shooting occurred in an area in southern Gaza that is considered an active combat zone at night.
The GHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The past two weeks have seen frequent shootings near the new hubs where thousands of desperate Palestinians are being directed to collect food. Witnesses say nearby Israeli troops have opened fire, and more than 80 people have been killed , according to Gaza hospital officials. Israel's military has said it fired warning shots or, in some instances, near individuals approaching its forces.
Witnesses said Sunday's shooting occurred at around 6 a.m., when they were told the site would open. Many had headed toward it early to try and get desperately needed food before the crowds.
Adham Dahman, 30, who was at Nasser Hospital with a bandage on his chin, said a tank had fired toward them. 'We didn't know how to escape,' he said. 'This is trap for us, not aid.'
Zahed Ben Hassan, another witness, said someone next to him was shot in the head. He said that he and others pulled the body from the scene and managed to flee to the hospital.
'They said it was a safe area from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. ... So why did they start shooting at us?' he said. 'There was light out, and they have their cameras and can clearly see us.'
The hubs are set up inside Israeli military zones — where independent media have no access — and are run by GHF, a new group of mainly American contractors. Israel wants it to replace a system coordinated by the United Nations and international aid groups.
Israel and the United States accuse the militant Hamas group of stealing aid, while the U.N. denies there is any systematic diversion. The U.N. says the new system is unable to meet mounting needs and allows Israel to use aid as a weapon by determining who can receive it and forcing people to relocate to where the aid sites are positioned.
The U.N. system has meanwhile struggled to deliver aid — even after Israel eased its complete blockade of Gaza last month. U.N. officials say their efforts are hindered by Israeli military restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting.
Experts warned earlier this year that Gaza was at critical risk of famine if Israel did not lift its blockade and halt its military campaign, which Israeli officials have said will continue until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile.
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Talks mediated by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have been deadlocked for months .
Hamas started the war with its massive attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinians militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 people hostage. They are still holding 55 hostages, fewer than half of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel has recovered dozens of bodies, including three in recent days , and rescued eight living hostages over the course of the war.
Israel's military campaign has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It has said women and children make up most of the dead but does not say how many civilians or combatants were killed. Israel says it has killed over 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population. The territory's roughly 2 million Palestinians are almost completely reliant on international aid because nearly all of Gaza's food production capabilities have been destroyed.
___
Chehayeb reported from Beirut.
___
Follow AP's war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dozens of Palestinians killed while seeking aid in Gaza, hospitals say
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed as they tried to access aid in Gaza, hospitals say. Two hospitals in Gaza City said 25 people were killed overnight, near a convoy transporting flour and a food distribution site run by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the area of the Netzarim corridor, an Israeli military zone. The Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said Israeli forces opened fire. There are also reports of people being crushed by lorries and being shot by Palestinians. Israel's military said troops fired warning shots as suspects approached them. Another 14 people were killed by Israeli fire near a GHF site in Rafah, in the south, a hospital in Khan Younis said. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports from Rafah. The GHF said more than 43,000 food parcels were handed out at its three distribution centres in Rafah and central Gaza "without incident" on Wednesday. However, there have been deadly incidents near the GHF's sites almost every day since its controversial aid system began operating on 26 May. Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said 223 people had been killed while trying to reach areas designated for aid distribution over the past two weeks, including 57 on Wednesday. Palestinians say local gunmen and Israeli forces opened fire near Gaza aid site Gaza health workers say four killed by Israeli gunfire near aid centre Netanyahu confirms Israel arming clans opposed to Hamas in Gaza On Wednesday afternoon, Israeli anti-war activist Alon Lee-Green shared a video showing scenes of total chaos as hundreds of young Palestinian men rush from all directions into a GHF distribution centre to get boxes of food. Many are seen climbing over earth mounds and metal fencing, and there appears to be no organisation or control. BBC Verify geolocated the video to the GHF's Tal al-Sultan site, which is inside an Israeli military zone in western Rafah. It is said to have been filmed on Tuesday. In a post on X, Green described the scene as "apocalyptic", adding: "This is what starving people look like, rushing for food while risking their lives." It came after officials at al-Shifa and al-Quds hospitals in Gaza City said at least 25 people were killed by gunfire from Israeli troops as people gathered early on Wednesday near the GHF's Wadi Gaza site in the Netzarim corridor. The director of al-Shifa's emergency department, Moataz Harara, said the hospital received around 200 injured people at the same time, many of them with gunshot or shrapnel wounds to the abdomen and pelvis. Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told news agency AFP that the deaths and injuries were the result of "Israeli tank and drone fire on thousands of civilians". The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement: "Overnight, IDF troops fired warning shots toward suspects who were advancing while posing a threat to the 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." Later on Wednesday, officials at Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis said another 14 people were killed by Israeli gunfire near GHF sites in Rafah. For the past few days, people have been saying that Palestinian gunmen have also fired at them. It is not clear whether they were members of militias linked to the Israeli military, or criminal gangs intent on looting supplies from aid convoys. Eyewitnesses have expressed their sense of utter despair. "They shoot and throw missiles at us, the gangs attack us - everyone attacks us for a bag of flour. They kill their own people for a bag of flour," one man said. Another said their child had not eaten in two or three days. "Our children are being pushed from one community kitchen to another, and the situation is dire. We call on the whole world to stand with the people and demand a ceasefire. We have no part in this war." Much of the focus in the past two and a half weeks has been on the deadly incidents connected to the new aid mechanism run by the GHF. But what is becoming clearer by the day is that the entire aid distribution system in Gaza - such as it is - appears to be close to complete breakdown. UN agencies and other aid groups are refusing to co-operate with the GHF, saying its system contravenes the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence. They also warn that Gaza's 2.1 million population faces catastrophic levels of hunger after an almost three-month total Israeli blockade that was partially eased on 19 May. The US and Israel say the GHF's system will prevent aid being stolen by Hamas. The UN says this is not a widespread issue, while Hamas denies doing it. UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York on Wednesday: "We reiterate in the strongest terms possible that no-one should be forced to risk their lives to receive aid." He also said the UN's World Food Programme had only been able to deliver small amounts of food and other aid since Israel started allowing limited supplies into Gaza three weeks ago, and that this was largely due to delays or denials of permission for convoys due to expanded Israeli military operations. The WFP said it dispatched 59 aid lorries carrying 930 tonnes of flour to northern Gaza on Monday night, but that the convoy was "stopped along the way and offloaded by hungry civilians in critical need of food to feed their families". A GHF spokesman told news agency Reuters: "Ultimately, the solution is more aid, which will create more certainty and less urgency among the population. "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 Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 55,104 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Dozens of Palestinians killed while seeking aid in Gaza, hospitals say
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed as they tried to access aid in Gaza, hospitals say. Two hospitals in Gaza City said 25 people were killed overnight, near a convoy transporting flour and a food distribution site run by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the area of the Netzarim corridor, an Israeli military zone. The Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said Israeli forces opened fire. There are also reports of people being crushed by lorries and being shot by Palestinians. Israel's military said troops fired warning shots as suspects approached them. Another 14 people were killed by Israeli fire near a GHF site in Rafah, in the south, a hospital in Khan Younis said. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports from Rafah. The GHF said more than 43,000 food parcels were handed out at its three distribution centres in Rafah and central Gaza "without incident" on Wednesday. However, there have been deadly incidents near the GHF's sites almost every day since its controversial aid system began operating on 26 May. Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said 223 people had been killed while trying to reach areas designated for aid distribution over the past two weeks, including 57 on Wednesday. Palestinians say local gunmen and Israeli forces opened fire near Gaza aid site Gaza health workers say four killed by Israeli gunfire near aid centre Netanyahu confirms Israel arming clans opposed to Hamas in Gaza On Wednesday afternoon, Israeli anti-war activist Alon Lee-Green shared a video showing scenes of total chaos as hundreds of young Palestinian men rush from all directions into a GHF distribution centre to get boxes of food. Many are seen climbing over earth mounds and metal fencing, and there appears to be no organisation or control. BBC Verify geolocated the video to the GHF's Tal al-Sultan site, which is inside an Israeli military zone in western Rafah. It is said to have been filmed on Tuesday. In a post on X, Green described the scene as "apocalyptic", adding: "This is what starving people look like, rushing for food while risking their lives." It came after officials at al-Shifa and al-Quds hospitals in Gaza City said at least 25 people were killed by gunfire from Israeli troops as people gathered early on Wednesday near the GHF's Wadi Gaza site in the Netzarim corridor. The director of al-Shifa's emergency department, Moataz Harara, said the hospital received around 200 injured people at the same time, many of them with gunshot or shrapnel wounds to the abdomen and pelvis. Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told news agency AFP that the deaths and injuries were the result of "Israeli tank and drone fire on thousands of civilians". The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement: "Overnight, IDF troops fired warning shots toward suspects who were advancing while posing a threat to the 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." Later on Wednesday, officials at Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis said another 14 people were killed by Israeli gunfire near GHF sites in Rafah. For the past few days, people have been saying that Palestinian gunmen have also fired at them. It is not clear whether they were members of militias linked to the Israeli military, or criminal gangs intent on looting supplies from aid convoys. Eyewitnesses have expressed their sense of utter despair. "They shoot and throw missiles at us, the gangs attack us - everyone attacks us for a bag of flour. They kill their own people for a bag of flour," one man said. Another said their child had not eaten in two or three days. "Our children are being pushed from one community kitchen to another, and the situation is dire. We call on the whole world to stand with the people and demand a ceasefire. We have no part in this war." Much of the focus in the past two and a half weeks has been on the deadly incidents connected to the new aid mechanism run by the GHF. But what is becoming clearer by the day is that the entire aid distribution system in Gaza - such as it is - appears to be close to complete breakdown. UN agencies and other aid groups are refusing to co-operate with the GHF, saying its system contravenes the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence. They also warn that Gaza's 2.1 million population faces catastrophic levels of hunger after an almost three-month total Israeli blockade that was partially eased on 19 May. The US and Israel say the GHF's system will prevent aid being stolen by Hamas. The UN says this is not a widespread issue, while Hamas denies doing it. UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York on Wednesday: "We reiterate in the strongest terms possible that no-one should be forced to risk their lives to receive aid." He also said the UN's World Food Programme had only been able to deliver small amounts of food and other aid since Israel started allowing limited supplies into Gaza three weeks ago, and that this was largely due to delays or denials of permission for convoys due to expanded Israeli military operations. The WFP said it dispatched 59 aid lorries carrying 930 tonnes of flour to northern Gaza on Monday night, but that the convoy was "stopped along the way and offloaded by hungry civilians in critical need of food to feed their families". A GHF spokesman told news agency Reuters: "Ultimately, the solution is more aid, which will create more certainty and less urgency among the population. "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 Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 55,104 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.
Fox News
3 hours ago
- Fox News
Jordan evacuates sick and injured Palestinian children from Gaza
EXCLUSIVE – Sixteen Palestinian children, 10 of whom are cancer patients, were evacuated from Gaza on Wednesday as part of an ongoing Jordanian initiative to help civilians amid the war, Fox News has learned. The humanitarian effort is part of a larger initiative called the "Jordan Medical Corridor" that was developed by King Abdullah II and announced during a White House meeting between the Jordanian leader and President Donald Trump in mid-February. "Jordan is keen to bring more child patients from Gaza in each evacuation batch and to expedite the process," a Jordanian source told Fox News. "There are limitations due to technical and logistical challenges facing the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as Israeli restrictions." Despite the limitations, a total of 64 Palestinians were able to leave Gaza on Wednesday for Jordan. The youngest is a 5-month-old baby suffering from severe malnutrition. Other patients include a 6-year-old with explosive injury burns and a 2-year-old with blood cancer. Four of the patients were taken by helicopter from the Israel-Jordan border. In Amman, the entire group of children, with the exception of two who will be flown to nearby countries, will receive free medical treatment and housing until the completion of their care. The current Jordanian mandate aims to evacuate 2,000 children from the Palestinian enclave, while continuing internal efforts to provide field hospital treatment and aid to those still trapped in Gaza. "The ongoing Israeli operations make it hard to ensure the safety of the child patients and their families during their transportation to the assembly point and inside the assembly point," a Jordanian source added. An Israeli official confirmed the evacuation took place at the Kerem Shalom crossing in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, adding that there is cooperation between Israel and Jordan despite the security challenges. Earlier in the war, Jordan used C-130 aircraft to drop food into Gaza using pallets attached to large parachutes. Some of these drops were done in coordination with U.S. Central Command. More than 600 days into the war, regional conversations continue to take place aiming for a ceasefire that would end the suffering of Palestinian civilians and bring the remaining 55 hostages held by Hamas home. Jordan's King Abdullah II has spoken out against discussions of forced displacement for Palestinians living in Gaza.
