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IOL News
4 days ago
- General
- IOL News
Chaos, gangs, and gunfire: Woefully insufficient Gaza aid fails to reach the most needy
The UN human rights office said on August 1 that 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while waiting for aid in the shortage-stricken Gaza Strip since late May, most of them by the Israeli military. Image: Bashar Taleb / AFP The trickle of food aid Israel allows to enter Gaza after nearly 22 months of war is seized by Palestinians risking their lives under fire, looted by gangs or diverted in chaotic circumstances rather than reaching those most in need, UN agencies, aid groups and analysts say. After images of malnourished children stoked an international outcry, aid has started to be delivered to the territory once more but on a scale deemed woefully insufficient by international organisations. Every day, AFP correspondents on the ground see desperate crowds rushing towards food convoys or the sites of aid drops by Arab and European air forces. On Thursday, in Al-Zawayda in central Gaza, emaciated Palestinians rushed to pallets parachuted from a plane, jostling and tearing packages from each other in a cloud of dust. "Hunger has driven people to turn on each other. People are fighting each other with knives," Amir Zaqot, who came seeking aid, told AFP. To avoid disturbances, World Food Programme (WFP) drivers have been instructed to stop before their intended destination and let people help themselves. But to no avail. "A truck wheel almost crushed my head, and I was injured retrieving the bag," sighed a man, carrying a bag of flour on his head, in the Zikim area, in the northern Gaza Strip. 'Gunshots, blood everywhere' Mohammad Abu Taha went at dawn to a distribution site near Rafah in the south to join the queue and reserve his spot. He said there were already "thousands waiting, all hungry, for a bag of flour or a little rice and lentils." "Suddenly, we heard gunshots….. There was no way to escape. People started running, pushing and shoving each other, children, women, the elderly," said the 42-year-old. "The scene was truly tragic: blood everywhere, wounded, dead." Nearly 1,400 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip while waiting for aid since May 27, the majority by the Israeli army, the United Nations said on Friday. The Israeli army denies any targeting, insisting it only fires "warning shots" when people approach too close to its positions. A Palestinian man is helped onto a wooden pallet after he returned injured from an area in which aid trucks entered Gaza through the Zikim crossing point, in Jabalia. Image: Bashar Taleb / AFP International organisations have for months condemned the restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on aid distribution in Gaza, including refusing to issue border crossing permits, slow customs clearance, limited access points, and imposing dangerous routes. On Tuesday, in Zikim, the Israeli army "changed loading plans for WFP, mixing cargo unexpectedly. The convoy was forced to leave early, without proper security," said a senior UN official who spoke on condition of anonymity. In the south of Gaza, at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, "there are two possible routes to reach our warehouses (in central Gaza)," said an NGO official, who also preferred to remain anonymous. "One is fairly safe, the other is regularly the scene of fighting and looting, and that's the one we're forced to take." 'Darwinian experiment' Some of the aid is looted by gangs -- who often directly attack warehouses - and diverted to traders who resell it at exorbitant prices, according to several humanitarian sources and experts. "It becomes this sort of Darwinian social experiment of the survival of the fittest," said Muhammad Shehada, visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). "People who are the most starved in the world and do not have the energy must run and chase after a truck and wait for hours and hours in the sun and try to muscle people and compete for a bag of flour," he said. Jean Guy Vataux, emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Gaza, added: "We're in an ultra-capitalist system, where traders and corrupt gangs send kids to risk life and limb at distribution points or during looting. It's become a new profession." This food is then resold to "those who can still afford it" in the markets of Gaza City, where the price of a 25-kilogramme bag of flour can exceed $400 (R7,200), he added. 'Death trap' Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of looting aid supplied by the UN, which has been delivering the bulk of aid since the start of the war triggered by the militant group's October 2023 attack. The Israeli authorities have used this accusation to justify the total blockade they imposed on Gaza between March and May, and the subsequent establishment of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private organisation supported by Israel and the United States which has become the main aid distributor, sidelining UN agencies. However, for more than two million inhabitants of Gaza the GHF has just four distribution points, which the UN describes as a "death trap". "Hamas... has been stealing aid from the Gaza population many times by shooting Palestinians," said the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
IOL News
5 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
'Very insufficient' aid entering Gaza, Germany says, as two million face starvation
Palestinians carry bags of flour that they obtained from aid trucks in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on August 1. Image: Bashar Taleb / AFP The amount of aid entering Gaza remains "very insufficient" despite a limited improvement, the German government said on Saturday after ministers discussed ways to heighten pressure on Israel. The criticism came after Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul visited the region on Thursday and Friday and the German military staged its first food airdrops into Gaza, where aid agencies say that more than two million Palestinians are facing starvation. Germany "notes limited initial progress in the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of the Gaza Strip, which, however, remains very insufficient to alleviate the emergency situation," government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said in a statement. "Israel remains obligated to ensure the full delivery of aid," Kornelius added. Facing mounting international criticism over its military operations in Gaza, Israel has allowed more trucks to cross the border and some foreign nations to carry out airdrops of food and medicines. International agencies say the amount of aid entering Gaza is still dangerously low, however. The United Nations has said that 6,000 trucks are awaiting permission from Israel to enter the occupied Palestinian territory. The German government, traditionally a strong supporter of Israel, also expressed "concern regarding reports that large quantities of humanitarian aid are being withheld by Hamas and criminal organisations". Israel has alleged that much of the aid arriving in the territory is being siphoned off by Hamas, which runs Gaza. The Israeli army is accused of having equipped Palestinian criminal networks in its fight against Hamas and of allowing them to plunder aid deliveries. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading "The real theft of aid since the beginning of the war has been carried out by criminal gangs, under the watch of Israeli forces," Jonathan Whittall of OCHA, the United Nations agency for coordinating humanitarian affairs, told reporters in May. A German government source told AFP it had noted that Israel has "considerably" increased the number of aid trucks allowed into Gaza to about 220 a day. Berlin has taken a tougher line against Israel's actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank in recent weeks. The source said that a German security cabinet meeting on Saturday discussed "the different options" for putting pressure on Israel, but no decision was taken. A partial suspension of arms deliveries to Israel is one option that has been raised. Hamas militants launched an attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel's military offensive on Gaza since then has killed at least 60,249 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry. The UN considers the ministry's figures reliable. AFP
Scotsman
7 days ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
Why silence over Gaza, even in Scotland, risks complicity in war crimes
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The situation in Gaza has never been a distant conflict; it is a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in real time, and it demands a political response that goes beyond words of concern. As the death toll rises, the calls for action from my constituents grow louder and more urgent. Every day, I receive messages not only expressing anguish over the suffering of Palestinians, who are being deliberately starved, displaced, and killed while trying to access food and water, but also demanding that their elected representatives act. They are not only grieving; they are writing letters and calling for accountability at every level of government. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad As a Muslim MSP, I feel the emotional toll of this crisis both personally and publicly. At Friday prayers, in mosques, at community events and constituency surgeries, I am approached with grief, frustration, and a deep sense of urgency. Many are deeply shaken by what they are witnessing and feel abandoned by institutions they once trusted to stand for justice. People want reassurance that their voices are not being drowned out by political hesitation. READ MORE: Why Palestinians in Gaza are protesting with photos of Israeli children killed by Hamas Scores of people carry sacks of flour through the ruins of northern Gaza. UN-backed food security experts have warned the 'worst-case scenario of famine' is playing out in the area (Picture: Bashar Taleb) | AFP via Getty Images Providing arms and diplomatic cover Some argue that Gaza should not be a focus for British politicians. However, decisions made in Westminster, regarding arms exports, foreign policy, and trade, have global implications. We provide arms and diplomatic cover; we are not a neutral party. People in Scotland understand this. They expect those in public office to act with transparency and a firm commitment to human rights. Silence, in this context, is not a neutral stance. It risks complicity in war crimes. The systematic brutality we are witnessing in Gaza and the West Bank is not collateral damage; it is the deliberate dismantling of a people's right to exist. Entire families are being wiped out in minutes. Hospitals, schools, and places of worship have been bombed. Journalists and aid workers are allegedly being targeted and some have been killed. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The horror unfolding at humanitarian aid points is especially shocking. Civilians, many of them children, have been killed while queuing for food and water. What should be safe zones for relief have become death traps. These are not isolated incidents. The ongoing violence fits a broader pattern that many human rights observers now warn may amount to ethnic cleansing, or even genocide under international law. Such actions cannot go unanswered. There must be accountability. British citizens have also been among the victims. Three UK aid workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a World Central Kitchen convoy in April 2024. More recently, Israeli tank fire struck the Holy Family Church in Gaza, killing civilians who were sheltering inside. People rush to join a queue at a charity kitchen in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip | AFP via Getty Images Condemning but enabling atrocities That is why I have consistently worked with MPs and fellow MSPs to amplify concerns about Gaza. I welcomed the UK Government's decision to suspend trade talks with Israel and to impose sanctions on the most extreme members of Prime Minister Netanyahu's government. These measures are steps in the right direction, but they are far from sufficient. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Last week, the UK joined 27 other countries in condemning Israel's 'inhumane killing' of civilians seeking aid. Yet, despite suspending some export licences in September 2024, the UK has continued to authorise military exports, including munitions, vehicle and aircraft parts, and maintains diplomatic support in international arenas. You cannot claim to condemn atrocities while enabling the means to carry them out. Here in Scotland, we must also question how our own institutions may be complicit. I recently met with members of Campaign Against Arms Trade Edinburgh, which raised serious concerns about public subsidies being directed through Scottish Enterprise to arms manufacturers, including companies whose components may be used in weapons linked to war crimes. While not all funding is directly tied to weapons, the ethical implications are undeniable. Taxpayer money should never support, even indirectly, actions that risk violating international law. Public funds must align with Scotland's commitment to peace, dignity, and justice. Yasmine, a 22-year-old Palestinian mother, holds her malnourished two-month-old daughter Teen as they wait for treatment at the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip | AFP via Getty Images Standing Together In that same spirit of accountability and solidarity, I've also been in conversation with Standing Together, a movement of Jewish and Palestinian citizens in Israel working jointly for peace and equality. In a deeply polarised and dangerous environment, these activists are showing extraordinary courage. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad They risk their personal safety to stand against settler violence, challenge discriminatory policies, and protest against the actions of the Israeli government. Their message is simple but powerful: that peace is only possible when it is built on mutual recognition and shared humanity. Supporting movements like Standing Together is not only a way to protest against violence and promote peace in the face of the horrific situation unfolding in the region, it is also essential to tackling antisemitism and Islamophobia. This is not about political allegiance. It is about basic human dignity; the right of every person, regardless of where they are born, to live free from fear, violence, and oppression. The scale of suffering in Gaza has moved far beyond the bounds of political debate. Calls for a ceasefire are no longer enough. There must be immediate international action to stop the violence, protect civilians, and hold those responsible to account. In light of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's recent announcement, I welcome the outlined pathway towards recognising the state of Palestine ahead of the United Nations' General Assembly in September. The suffering in Gaza remains relentless. Our priority must be protecting civilians, both hostages and the people of Gaza, who continue to bear the unbearable. On Gaza, and on every issue where human rights are under threat, I will continue to raise my voice. Whether it's in the Scottish Parliament, in community spaces, or in solidarity with international movements for justice, I will continue to use every platform to speak out against oppression and to stand up for those whose voices are being silenced.
Toronto Sun
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Canada prompts Trump trade threat on recognizing Palestine
Published Jul 31, 2025 • 3 minute read A Palestinian flag amid the ruins of buildings in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip in March. Photographer: Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images Photo by Bashar Taleb / Photographer: Bashar Taleb/AFP/G (Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations summit in September, following France and clashing with the US and Israel. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Carney said Canada's long-favoured approach of a two-state solution through a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority was 'no longer tenable.' He said that process had been 'gravely eroded' by Hamas terrorism and its rejection of Israel's right to exist, as well as recent Israeli actions such as accelerated settlement building and a Knesset vote calling for the annexation of the West Bank. 'The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable — and is rapidly deteriorating,' Carney said in Ottawa on Wednesday. Carney said the declaration relied upon commitments made by the Palestinian Authority, and that its president, Mahmoud Abbas, had committed to reforms and to holding elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part. He also said the Palestinian state must be demilitarized. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. US President Donald Trump the decision by Canada would 'make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them,' according to a late night post on his Truth Social platform. Responding to media questions on Wednesday, Carney said it's possible trade talks with the US don't conclude by Aug. 1, the date Trump had set out for higher tariffs kicking in on a wide range of countries, including import taxes rising to 35% from 25% on certain Canadian goods. Carney and Abbas spoke Wednesday, with the prime minister informing him that 'Canada will increase its efforts to promote peace and stability in the region, and work closely with regional allies toward this goal,' according to a statement from his office. Canada is the third Group of Seven country to pivot on the central question of Palestinian statehood in the last several weeks. Earlier in July, French President Emmanuel Macron said he would would recognize a Palestinian state at the UN in September. A few days later, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK would follow suit, if Israel won't stop its war in Gaza and commit to a two-state solution. Both Starmer and Macron also said Hamas must release all hostages and disarm. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Israel quickly said it rejected the move. 'Let us be clear: Israel will not bow to the distorted campaign of international pressure against it,' Iddo Moed, Israel's ambassador to Canada, said in an emailed statement. 'We will not sacrifice our very existence by permitting the imposition of a jihadist state on our ancestral homeland that seeks our annihilation.' Canada's Conservative Party also said the unilateral declaration 'sends the wrong message to the world: that violence and terror are effective tools for achieving political objectives.' The opposition also said it's 'impossible' that, at this moment, Hamas wouldn't play a central role in any validated Palestinian state. The US, Israel's top ally, has rejected the growing recognition movement. Trump dismissed France's plan for recognition last week, saying it wouldn't change anything. Secretary of State Marco Rubio went further, deriding the growing statehood push as 'reckless' and one that 'sets back peace.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. International concerns have mounted in the wake of Israel's military response to Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying Gaza is now on the brink of famine and that Palestinians there are 'enduring a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions.' Ceasefire talks faltered last week. The United Nations has been holding a special conference this week on settling the conflict, which the US boycotted. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar called international pressure a 'distorted campaign' and that demands to end the war now mean leaving Hamas in power in Gaza. Establishing such a state at this time means creating a 'Jihadist terror state' a few kilometres away from Israel, and this 'ain't gonna happen,' he added. Hamas is designated as a terror organization by the European Union, Canada, the US and others. Trump, typically a staunch defender of Israel, said the US would work on a new effort to provide food aid to alleviate starvation in Gaza — at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who's said there's no starvation. —With assistance from Brian Platt. Sunshine Girls Celebrity Sunshine Girls Wrestling Canada
Middle East Eye
31-07-2025
- Health
- Middle East Eye
Palestinian man starves to death in Gaza
A young man from Rafah has died from starvation, Al Jazeera Arabic reported, quoting sources at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis. At least 155 Palestinians have died due to starvation as Israel continues to block aid to Gaza. Since May, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,239 Palestinian aid seekers. Over 8,152 others have been wounded in Israeli attacks, mainly at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution sites run by the US and Israel. Palestinians mourn outside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, where bodies of people killed a day earlier while waiting for aid were brought, on 31 July 2025 (Bashar Taleb/AFP)
