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Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Health
- Straits Times
Gaza doctors give their own blood to patients after scores gunned down seeking aid
A child looks on as Palestinians carry their belongings as they flee their homes after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from Israel, June 4, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen Gaza doctors give their own blood to patients after scores gunned down seeking aid GENEVA - Doctors in the Gaza Strip are donating their own blood to save their patients after scores of Palestinians were gunned down while trying to get food aid, the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Thursday. Around 100 MSF staff protested outside the UN headquarters in Geneva against an aid distribution system in Gaza run by an Israeli-backed private company, which has led to chaotic scenes of mass carnage. "People need the basics of also need it in dignity," MSF Switzerland's director general, Stephen Cornish, told Reuters at the protest. "If you're fearing for your life, running with packages being mowed down, this is just something that is completely beyond everything we've ever seen," he said. "These attacks have killed were left to bleed out on the ground." Cornish said staff at one of the hospitals where MSF operates had to give blood as most Palestinians are now too poorly nourished to donate. Israel allowed the private Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to begin food distribution in Gaza last week, after having completely shut the Gaza Strip to all supplies since the beginning of March. Gaza authorities say at least 102 Palestinians were killed and nearly 500 wounded trying to get aid from the food distribution sites in the first eight days. Eyewitnesses have said Israeli forces fired on crowds. The Israeli military said Hamas militants were to blame for opening fire, though it acknowledged that on Tuesday, when at least 27 people died, that its troops had fired at "suspects" who approached their positions. The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution on Wednesday supported by all other Council members, which would have called for an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" in Gaza and unhindered access for aid. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Egypt Independent
3 days ago
- General
- Egypt Independent
Nearly 80 aid trucks carrying food ransacked in Gaza Saturday, says WFP as famine worsens
CNN — Nearly 80 aid trucks traveling through southern and central Gaza were looted by desperate civilians on Saturday, the UN World Food Programme said as famine conditions worsen in the Palestinian enclave. In a statement issued on X, the WFP said 77 trucks had crossed into Gaza loaded with flour. All of them 'were stopped along the way, with food taken mainly by hungry people trying to feed their families.' It added that 'after 80 days of a total blockade, communities are starving – and they are no longer willing to let food pass them by.' Nahed Shehaibar, head of the association, told CNN that 20 trucks carrying flour were ransacked near Netzarim in central Gaza, and about 50 flour trucks were stripped of their cargoes in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. WFP said in a post on X on Saturday that 'the humanitarian situation in #Gaza is spiraling. Border closures, hunger, and desperation have made aid delivery volatile — trucks are looted, people risk everything for a bag of flour.' 'To restore hope, ease fear and prevent further chaos we must flood communities with food – now.' A truck loaded with aid drives near the Israel-Gaza border. Amir Cohen/Reuters Videos showed dozens of people in Khan Younis carrying away sacks of flour. Similar scenes played out in Netzarim, where bursts of gunfire could be heard as crowds rushed to grab sacks of flour. Hunger has spread in Gaza, with UN agencies warning of impending famine without a drastic scaling up of aid entering the territory and being distributed across it. There have been multiple incidents of looting. The United Arab Emirates said last week that only one of 24 truckloads it had organized had reached the planned destination. Last week, chaos broke out when tens of thousands of starving Palestinians arrived at two new food distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). According to the Palestinian health ministry, 11 people were killed and dozens injured in that incident. The GHF, a controversial private foundation backed by Israel and the US, says it is continuing to scale up distribution at its four hubs in central and southern Gaza. It said that on Saturday it had distributed 30 truckloads of food totaling 28,800 boxes at its hub in Rafah in southern Gaza, adding that 'today's meal distribution was the largest to date and five times more than yesterday.' The UN's aid agencies have criticized the GHF's aid mechanism, saying it violates humanitarian principles and raises the risks for Palestinians. Philippe Lazzarini, executive director of UNRWA – the UN agency that serves Palestinian territories – said 900 trucks had reportedly been sent into Gaza over the past two weeks, since an Israeli blockade was partially relaxed. The UN also says that it is struggling to coordinate safe distribution of aid inside Gaza once it arrives. Palestinians gather to receive a hot meal at a food distribution point in the Nuseirat camp for refugees on May 24. Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images 'That's just over 10 per cent of the daily needs of people in Gaza. The aid that's being sent now makes a mockery to the mass tragedy unfolding under our watch,' Lazzarini posted on X, comparing the quantity to the 600 to 800 truckloads coming into Gaza daily during the ceasefire earlier this year. 'The current mass starvation can be stopped. It takes political will,' he said.
Straits Times
6 days ago
- General
- Straits Times
Conditions in Gaza are catastrophic despite renewed aid, UN says
FILE PHOTO: Boxes of aid are stacked as Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it has commenced operations to begin distribution of aid, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 26, 2025. Gaza Humanitarian Foundation/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Trucks transport aid as Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it has commenced operations to begin distribution of aid, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 26, 2025. Gaza Humanitarian Foundation/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo FILE PHOTO: A view of an aid truck entering from Israel into Gaza, near the Kerem Shalom crossing near the Israeli-Gaza border, May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo UNITED NATIONS - The situation in Gaza is the worst since the war between Israel and Hamas militants began 19-months ago, the United Nations said on Friday, despite a resumption of limited aid deliveries in the Palestinian enclave where famine looms. Under growing global pressure, Israel ended an 11-week long blockade on Gaza 12 days ago, allowing limited U.N.-led operations to resume. Then on Monday, a controversial new avenue for aid distribution was also launched - the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by the United States and Israel. "Any aid that gets into the hands of people who need it is good," U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York. But, he added, the aid deliveries so far overall have had "very, very little impact." "The catastrophic situation in Gaza is the worst since the war began," he said. The U.N. and international aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral and has a distribution model that forces the displacement of Palestinians. Israel ultimately wants the U.N. to work through the GHF, which is using private U.S. security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza for distribution by civilian teams at so-called secure distribution sites. However, Israel will allow aid deliveries "for the immediate future" via both the U.N. and the GHF operations, Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said this week. GHF said on Friday that it has so far managed to distribute more than 2.1 million meals. Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. The war in Gaza has raged since 2023, when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies, and Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. LOOTING, ACCESS The U.N. says that in the past 12 days it has only managed to transport some 200 truckloads of aid into Gaza, hindered by insecurity and Israeli access restrictions. It was not immediately clear how much of that aid reached those in need. It said some trucks and a World Food Programme warehouse have also been looted by desperate, hungry people. U.N. officials have also criticized Israeli limitations on what kind of aid they can provide. "Israeli authorities have not allowed us to bring in a single ready-to-eat meal. The only food permitted has been flour for bakeries. Even if allowed in unlimited quantities, which it hasn't been, it wouldn't amount to a complete diet for anyone," said Eri Kaneko, U.N. humanitarian affairs spokesperson. Some of recipients of GHF aid said the packages include some rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar. Under a complex process, Israel inspects and clears aid shipments, which are then transported to the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing. There the aid is offloaded and then reloaded on to other trucks for transport to warehouses in Gaza. Several hundred more truckloads of aid currently await U.N. collection from the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom. "More aid would actually get to the people if you would collect the aid waiting for you by the crossings," COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said to the U.N. in a posting on X on Friday. However, the U.N. said that on Tuesday the Israeli military denied all its requests to access Kerem Shalom to pick up the aid. And on Thursday, when 65 trucks of aid managed to leave the crossing, all but five turned back due to intense fighting. Five trucks of medical aid managed to reach the warehouses of a field hospital, but "a group of armed individuals stormed the warehouses... looting large quantities of medical equipment, supplies, medicines and nutritional supplements that was intended for malnourished children," Dujarric said. CEASEFIRE PROPOSAL Israel says it has been facilitating all aid deliveries. COGAT said this week that since the war 1.8 million tonnes of aid, including 1.3 million tonnes of food, had reached Gaza. A U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in the conflict - accepted by Israel and currently being considered by Hamas - would see humanitarian aid delivered by the United Nations, the Red Crescent and other agreed channels. During a two-month ceasefire, which ended when Israel resumed its military operation in March, the U.N. said it got 600-700 trucks of aid a day into Gaza. It has stressed then when people know there is a steady flow of aid, the looting subsides. "To prevent chaos, aid must flow in steadily," Corinne Fleischer, the U.N. World Food Programme's Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe director, posted on X on Thursday. "When people know food is coming, desperation turns to calm." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Ya Libnan
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
Germany threatens steps against Israel as tone shifts over Gaza
A general view shows destruction in North Gaza, as seen from Israel, May 27. REUTERS/Amir Cohen Germany's foreign minister threatened unspecified measures against Israel on Tuesday and said Berlin would not export weapons used to break humanitarian law, as he and Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivered their most severe rebuke yet over Gaza. Germany, along with the United States, had long remained in support of Israel's conduct since the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, even as Israel became increasingly isolated internationally. Its about-turn comes as the European Union is reviewing its Israel policy and Britain, France and Canada also threatened 'concrete actions' over Gaza. Speaking to broadcaster WDR, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul warned Germany's historic support for Israel must not be instrumentalized, as massive air strikes and shortages of food and medicines had made the situation in Gaza 'unbearable'. Earlier, Merz criticised air strikes on Gaza as no longer justified by the need to fight Hamas and 'no longer comprehensible', in comments at a press conference in Finland. While not a complete rupture, the shift in tone is significant in a country whose leadership follows a policy of special responsibility for Israel, known as the Staatsraeson. It also reflects a broader shift in German public opinion. 'Our committed fight against anti-Semitism and our full support for the right to exist and the security of the state of Israel must not be instrumentalized for the conflict and the warfare currently being waged in the Gaza Strip,' Wadephul said. 'We are now at a point where we have to think very carefully about what further steps to take,' he said, without giving further details. 'Where we see dangers of harm, we will of course intervene and certainly not supply weapons so that there will be further harm,' he said, adding that no new weapons orders were currently under consideration. The shift in government stance comes after calls among the junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats, to halt arms exports to Israel or else risk what the move's backers say would be German complicity in war crimes. WORSENING HUNGER AND STARVATION Attacks on Gaza killed hundreds in recent days, and the population of more than 2 million faces worsening hunger and starvation , according to a U.N.-backed monitor. Efforts to revive a short-lived ceasefire that broke down in March have made little visible progress , although one regional diplomat said talks were still going on in Doha and there remained a chance for a deal. The German comments are particularly striking given that Merz won elections in February promising to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on German soil in defiance of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC). 'The massive military strikes by the Israelis in the Gaza Strip no longer reveal any logic to me – how they serve the goal of confronting terror,' Merz said in Turku, Finland. He did not reply to a question about German weapons exports to Israel. Wadephul said arms deliveries were a matter for a security council presided over by Merz, whose meetings are confidential. The foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a further request for comment on whether Germany's next step could include halting weapons shipments. only 36% of people in Germany view Israel positively The chancellor is due to speak to Netanyahu this week. In his office, Merz has a picture of Zikim beach, where Hamas fighters arrived on boats during their rampage in 2023 that killed around 1,200 people – a picture he had hanging for years previously in his parliamentary office. Israel's ambassador to Berlin, Ron Prosor, acknowledged German concerns on Tuesday but made no commitments. Only a quarter of Germans recognize a special responsibility towards the state of Israel 'When Friedrich Merz raises this criticism of Israel, we listen very carefully because he is a friend,' Prosor told the ZDF broadcaster. Merz's comments come on top of a groundswell of opposition to Israel's actions. A survey by Civey, published in the Tagesspiegel newspaper this week, showed 51% of Germans opposed weapons exports to Israel. More broadly, only 36% of people in Germany view Israel positively, a survey by the Bertelsmann Foundation found in May, down from 46% in the last survey in 2021. Only a quarter of Germans recognize a special responsibility towards the state of Israel, while 64% of Israelis believe Germany has a special obligation, the survey found. Reuters
Straits Times
27-05-2025
- General
- Straits Times
Palestinians wary as US-backed aid group begins operations in Gaza
Palestinians inspect the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, May 26, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas A Palestinian woman places a kettle over the fire outside her tent, where she took shelter after being displaced, in Gaza City May 26, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa Palestinians displaced by the Israeli military offensive take shelter in tents near Gaza's seaport, in Gaza City May 26, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa An Israeli tank stands on the Israel-Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Israel, May 27, 2025 REUTERS/Amir Cohen Smoke rises from North Gaza after an explosion, near the Israel-Gaza border as seen from Israel, May 27, 2025 REUTERS/Amir Cohen Israeli military vehicles operate inside Gaza, near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel, May 27, 2025 REUTERS/Amir Cohen A general view shows destruction in North Gaza, as seen from Israel, May 27, 2025 REUTERS/Amir Cohen Military vehicles stands on the Israel-Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Israel, May 27, 2025 REUTERS/Amir Cohen Trucks transport aid as Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it has commenced operations to begin distribution of aid, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 26, 2025. Gaza Humanitarian Foundation/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo CAIRO - Palestinians voiced wariness on Tuesday toward a U.S.-backed foundation set to bring aid to Gaza amid signs of famine, with Hamas warnings about biometric screening procedures keeping many away from distribution points. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it began operations on Monday, but there was little indication of Palestinians turning up at distribution centres in southern Gaza even after almost three months of Israel blockading the enclave. Palestinians said there was no known visits to new sites of distribution on Monday, but on Tuesday dozens headed to one of them established in Rafah to get some aid despite the warnings, at least three witnesses told Reuters. Others stayed away. "As much as I want to go because I am hungry and my children are hungry, I am afraid," said Abu Ahmed, 55, a father of seven. "I am so scared because they said the company belongs to Israel and is a mercenary, and also because the resistance (Hamas) said not to go," he said in a message on the chat app WhatsApp. Israel says the Switzerland-based GHF is a U.S.-backed initiative and that its forces will not be involved in the distribution points where food will be handed out. But its endorsement of the plan, which resembles Israeli schemes floated previously, and its closeness with the U.S. has led many to question the neutrality of the foundation, including its own former chief, who resigned unexpectedly on Sunday. The United Nations and other international aid groups have boycotted the foundation, which they say undermines the principle that humanitarian aid should be distributed independently of the parties to a conflict, based on need. "Humanitarian assistance must not be politicised or militarised," said Christian Cardon, chief spokesperson of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Israel, at war with Gaza's dominant Hamas militant group since October 2023, imposed the blockade in early March accusing Hamas of stealing supplies and using them to entrench its position. Hamas has denied such accusations. Israeli officials said one of the advantages of the new aid system is the opportunity to screen recipients to exclude anyone found to be connected with Hamas. Humanitarian groups briefed on the foundation's plans say anyone accessing aid will have to submit to facial recognition technology that many Palestinians fear will end up in Israeli hands to be used to track and potentially target them. Details of exactly how the system will operate have not been made public. Israel makes extensive use of facial recognition and other forms of biometric identification in the occupied West Bank and has been reported by Israeli and international media to be using such techniques in Gaza as well. BEGGING FOR BREAD Hamas, which has in recent months faced protests by many Palestinians who want the devastating war to end, has also warned residents against accessing GHF sites, saying Israel was using the company to collect intelligence information. "Do not go to Rafah ...Do not fall into the not risk your lives. Your homes are your fortress. Staying in your neighbourhoods is survival, and awareness is your protection," a statement published by the Hamas-linked Home Front said. "These schemes will be broken by the steadfastness of a people who do not know defeat," it added. The launch of the new system came days after Israel eased its blockade, allowing a trickle of aid trucks from international agencies into Gaza last week, including World Food Programme vehicles bringing flour to local bakeries. But the amount of aid that has entered the densely populated coastal enclave has been only a small fraction of the 500-600 trucks that U.N. agencies estimate are needed every day. "Before the war, my fridge used to be full of meat, chicken, dairy, soft drinks, everything, and now I am begging for a loaf of bread," Abu Ahmed told Reuters via a chat app. As a small aid flow has resumed, Israeli forces - now in control of large parts of Gaza - have kept up attacks on various targets around the enclave, killing 3,901 Palestinians since a two-month-old ceasefire collapsed in mid-March, according to the Gaza health ministry. In all, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's air and ground war, launched following a cross-border Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023 that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage into Gaza. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
