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Arab News
05-08-2025
- Arab News
Gaza civil defense says Israeli attacks kill 26
GAZA CITY: Gaza's civil defense agency said 26 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and air strikes on Tuesday, including 14 who were waiting near an aid distribution site inside the Palestinian territory. Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that eight people were killed by Israeli gunfire while waiting for aid near the south Gaza city of Khan Yunis. Six more people were killed and 21 injured by Israeli fire in central Gaza while waiting for food near a distribution center, according to Bassal. The Israeli army told AFP it was looking into the incidents. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties. Thousands of Gazans gather daily near food distribution points across Gaza, including four belonging to the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Its operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to collect rations. Israeli restrictions on the entry of goods and aid into Gaza since the start of the war nearly 22 months ago have led to shortages of food and essential goods, including medicine, medical supplies and fuel, which hospitals rely on to power their generators. Bassal said that five people were killed by a nightly air strike on a tent in Al-Mawasi in south Gaza, an area Israeli authorities designated as a safe zone early on in the war. 'It's said to be a green zone and it's safe, but it's not. They also say that the aid (distribution) is safe, but people die while obtaining aid,' said Adham Younes, who lost a relative in the strike. 'There's no safety within the Gaza Strip, everyone is exposed to death, everyone is subject to injury,' the 30-year-old told AFP. Mahmud Younes, another Gazan who said he witnessed the strike, said: ''We found women screaming — they were covered in blood. The entire family has been injured.' Bassal of the civil defense agency said that six more people were killed in a strike near Gaza City, and one in a strike near the southern city of Khan Yunis. The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing and the largest armed force in Gaza, said in a statement Tuesday that they had bombarded an Israeli command-and-control center in south Gaza's Morag Axis, an Israeli-controlled corridor.
Telegraph
27-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Israel announces tactical pause in military activity in parts of Gaza
Israel announced a tactical pause in military activity in several parts of Gaza to allow humanitarian aid in following pressure from the international community to avoid mass starvation. The Israeli military said that in order to increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Strip, a 'local tactical pause' in military activity will take place for humanitarian purposes from 10am to 8pm local time on Sunday. The pauses will be in place every day until further notice the southern coastal area of Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and Gaza City in the northern part of the enclave This decision was coordinated with the UN and international organisations, according to the IDF. The military also designated 'secure routes' that will be in place permanently from 6am to 11pm to enable the 'safe passage of UN and humanitarian aid organisation convoys delivering and distributing food and medicine to the population across the Gaza Strip.' These moves come as Sir Keir Starmer is expected to push Donald Trump, the US president, to restart Gaza peace talks. The US and Israel withdrew their negotiating teams on Friday. Sir Keir is also facing pressure for the UK Government to follow France in announcing it will recognise Palestine as a state, a highly symbolic move that would risk the ire of both Israel and Mr Trump. The Israeli Air Force also air dropped humanitarian aid over Gaza for the first time since the beginning of the war. Until now, other countries such as the UAE and UK have air dropped food over the Strip during periods of the conflict, but Israel has not taken direct part in such operations. The IDF said the airdrop was carried out in coordination with international organisations and led by COGAT (Coordinator of the Government Activities in the Territories). The airdrops included seven packages of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food. But the airdrops have been criticised for endangering Gazans when they hit the ground, and for being ineffective. 'Driving aid through is much easier, more effective, faster, cheaper and safer. It's more dignified for the people of Gaza,' said Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UN's Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA. COGAT and Israel Electric Corporation also connected the power line from Israel to the desalination plant in Gaza, with the IDF saying that move is expected to supply approximately 20,000 cubic meters of water per day, up from the 2,000 cubic meters supplied until now, to serve about 900,000 residents in the area. The UN and other international organisations also increased their efforts to alleviate starvation in Gaza, picking up and distributing some 600 trucks from border crossings. The UN and Israel have blamed each other in the past week for aid not getting into Gaza. Israel invited international journalists to the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing earlier this week to see nearly 1,000 trucks worth of aid piling up and waiting to get picked up. Israel said they regularly update the UN on which routes are safe to use when picking up aid, and that the IDF had extended operating hours at the border crossings. Stéphane Dujarric, a UN spokesman, said that Israel is imposing 'tremendous bureaucratic impediments' and 'tremendous security impediments'. Mr Dujarric said: 'Frankly I think there is a lack of willingness to allow us to do our work.'
