Latest news with #EyalZamir
United News of India
3 hours ago
- Politics
- United News of India
Hamas expresses readiness to begin new round of Gaza peace talks
Gaza/Jerusalem, June 2 (UNI) Hamas said on Sunday that it affirms its readiness to begin indirect negotiations over the Gaza ceasefire immediately. In a press statement, Hamas expressed its appreciation for the continued efforts by Qatar and Egypt to broker a ceasefire agreement. The movement said that it is ready to "immediately begin a round of indirect negotiations" to address the outstanding issues with "the other party." Hamas said the objective of the talks would be to end the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza, ensure the delivery of relief aid to the Palestinian people, and achieve a permanent ceasefire accompanied by the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. There has been no immediate comment from the Israeli side regarding the Hamas announcement. However, Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir has ordered the expansion of the ground operation into additional areas in both the southern and northern parts of the Gaza Strip, according to a statement issued by the Israel Defense Forces. He stated that the expansion of activity will continue until conditions are created for the return of the Israeli hostages and the decisive defeat of Hamas. UNI XINHUA GNK
DW
5 hours ago
- Politics
- DW
Middle East: Dozens of Palestinians killed at aid site – DW – 06/01/2025
06/01/2025 June 1, 2025 IDF head Zamir orders Gaza operation expansion The Israeli army's Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir has ordered an expansion of the IsraeliDefense Forces' (IDF) operation in the Gaza Strip. IDF head Zamir visited troops in one of the enclave's coastal areas while announcing the move, saying Palestinian militant group Hamas "is losing control" over the Strip. "We are in the midst of a powerful and relentless operation," Zamir was quoted as saying by the DPA news agency. This comes hours after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF will go ahead with its plans regardless of the negotiations over a potential ceasefire and a hostage deal.
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Business Standard
8 hours ago
- Health
- Business Standard
31 Palestinians killed near Gaza aid site, Israel denies responsibility
At least 31 people were killed and over 170 were wounded Sunday as large crowds were on their way to receive food in the Gaza Strip, health officials and witnesses said. Witnesses said Israeli forces fired toward the crowds just before dawn around a kilometre (about 1,100 yards) from an aid site run by an Israeli-backed foundation. Israel's military denied its forces fired at civilians near or within the site in the southern city of Rafah. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with procedure, said troops fired warning shots at several suspects advancing toward them overnight. The military also released drone footage it said was shot Sunday, apparently in daylight, in the southern city of Khan Younis, showing what it said were armed, masked men firing at civilians trying to collect aid. The Associated Press could not independently verify the video, and it was not clear who was being targeted. "Hamas is doing everything in its power to prevent the successful distribution of food in Gaza," the statement said. The foundation promoted by Israel and the United States said in a statement it delivered aid "without incident," and released a separate video it said was shot Sunday at the site that appeared to show people collecting aid. The AP was not able to verify the video. The foundation has denied previous accounts of chaos and gunfire around its sites, which are in Israeli military zones where independent media has no access. It was the deadliest incident yet around the new aid distribution system, which has operated for less than a week. The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement its field hospital in Rafah received 179 casualties, including women and children; 21 of them declared dead upon arrival, the majority with gunshot or shrapnel wounds. It was unclear if any of the dead were militants. "All patients said they had been trying to reach an aid distribution site," the ICRC said, calling it the highest number of "weapon-wounded" people in a single incident since the hospital was set up over a year ago. "Aid distribution has become a death trap," the head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said in a statement. In a separate statement, Israeli military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered that more aid sites be established and that troops' ground operation be expanded in unspecified parts of northern and southern Gaza. A new aid system marred by chaos Multiple witnesses have said Israeli troops fired on crowds near the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's sites. Before Sunday, 17 people were killed while trying to reach them, according to Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Gaza Health Ministry's records department. The foundation says private security contractors guarding its sites have not fired on crowds. Israel's military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions. The foundation said in a statement it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early Sunday "without incident," and dismissed what it described as "false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles. The scene was horrible Thousands of people headed toward the distribution site hours before dawn. As they approached, Israeli forces ordered them to disperse and come back later, witnesses said. When the crowds reached the Flag Roundabout, around 1 km away, at around 3 am, Israeli forces opened fire, the witnesses said. "There was fire from all directions, from naval warships, from tanks and drones," said Amr Abu Teiba, who was in the crowd. He said he saw at least 10 bodies with gunshot wounds and several other wounded people, including women. People used carts to ferry the dead and wounded. "The scene was horrible," he said. Most people were shot "in the upper part of their bodies, including the head, neck and chest," said Dr Marwan al-Hams, a Health Ministry official at Nasser Hospital, where many were transferred from the Red Cross field hospital. A colleague, surgeon Khaled al-Ser, said 150 wounded people had arrived, along with 28 bodies. The hospital corridors were filled with patients, "but unlike what I have witnessed before, where most of the patients were women and children, today it was mainly men, a spokesperson with medical charity MSF, Nour Alsaqa, said in a statement. Ibrahim Abu Saoud, another witness, said the military fired from about 300 meters (yards) away. He said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who died at the scene. "We weren't able to help him," he said. Mohammed Abu Teaima, 33, said he saw Israeli forces open fire and kill his cousin and a woman as they headed toward the distribution site. He said his cousin was shot in his chest, and his brother-in-law was among the wounded. "They opened heavy fire directly toward us," he said. An AP reporter arrived at the field hospital at around 6 am and saw dozens of wounded, including women and children. The reporter also saw crowds of people returning from the distribution point. Some carried boxes of aid, but most appeared to be empty-handed. Gaza's Health Ministry said at least 31 people were killed and over 170 were wounded. This is sinful; enough with the humiliation. They humiliated us for the sake of food, said Ilham Jarghon as fellow Palestinians wept and prayed for the dead. Later Sunday, Israeli artillery shells struck tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, killing three and wounding at least 30, according to Nasser Hospital. The UN says new aid system violates humanitarian principles Israel and the US say the new system is aimed at preventing Hamas from siphoning off assistance. Israel has not provided evidence of systematic diversion, and the UN denies it has occurred. UN agencies and major aid groups say the new system allows Israel to control who receives aid and forces people to relocate to distribution sites, risking yet more mass displacement in the coastal territory. "It's essentially engineered scarcity," Jonathan Whittall, interim head in Gaza of the UN humanitarian office, said last week. The UN system has struggled to bring in aid after Israel slightly eased its nearly three-month blockade of the territory last month. The groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians. Experts have warned that the territory is at risk of famine if more aid is not brought in. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed over 54,000 people in Hamas-run Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed vast areas, displaced around 90% of the population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid. The latest efforts at ceasefire talks appeared to stumble Saturday when Hamas said it had sought amendments to a US ceasefire proposal that Israel had approved, and the US envoy called that unacceptable. Mediators Qatar and Egypt, in a joint statement Sunday, said they continued "intensive efforts to bridge the gaps in viewpoints" and hoped for "a swift agreement for a temporary ceasefire lasting 60 days, leading to a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sydney Morning Herald
9 hours ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Death trap': Dozens killed waiting for food in Gaza
GHF said it delivered aid 'without incident,' and released a separate video it said was shot on Sunday at the site that appeared to show people collecting aid. The AP was not able to verify the video. The foundation has denied previous accounts of chaos and gunfire around its sites, which are in Israeli military zones where independent media has no access. The International Committee of the Red Cross said that its field hospital in Rafah received 179 casualties including women and children, 21 of them declared dead upon arrival, the majority with gunshot or shrapnel wounds. It was unclear if any of the dead were militants. 'All patients said they had been trying to reach an aid distribution site,' the Red Cross said, calling it the highest number of 'weapon-wounded' people in a single incident since the hospital was set up over a year ago. In a separate statement, Israeli military chief of staff Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir ordered that more aid sites be established, and that troops' ground operation be expanded in unspecified parts of northern and southern Gaza. A new aid system marred by chaos Witnesses said on Sunday that Israeli forces opened fire after thousands of people heading towards the GHF distribution site in the hours before dawn congregated about one kilometre away to wait for the site to open. The witnesses said Israeli forces ordered people to disperse and come back later, before opening fire. An Associated Press reporter arrived at the field hospital about 6am and saw dozens of wounded, including women and children. The reporter also saw crowds of people returning from the distribution point. Some carried boxes of aid but most appeared to be empty-handed. GHF said in a statement that it delivered 16 trucks worth of aid 'without incident' early on Sunday and rejected 'false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos' at its distribution sites, which are in Israeli military zones where independent access is limited. Multiple witnesses have said Israeli troops have fired on crowds near the delivery sites, which began operating last week under a new system where people have to pass through Israeli checkpoints and undergo screening to reach the aid distribution centres. Before Sunday, 17 people had been killed while trying to reach them, according to Zaher al-Waheidi, the head of the Gaza Health Ministry's records department. United Nations agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles. The foundation says the private security contractors guarding its sites have not fired on the crowds, while the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions. 'The scene was horrible' One witness said that he saw at least 10 bodies with gunshot wounds and several other wounded people near the aid centre on Sunday morning. 'There was fire from all directions, from naval warships, from tanks and drones,' Amr Abu Teiba, who was in the crowd, said, adding that people used carts to ferry the dead and wounded to the field hospital. 'The scene was horrible,' he said. Ibrahim Abu Saoud provided a nearly identical account. He said the military fired from about 300 metres away and that he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who he said had died at the scene. 'We weren't able to help him,' he said. Another witness, Mohammed Abu Teaima, 33, said he saw Israeli forces open fire and kill his cousin and another woman as they were heading toward the distribution site. He said his cousin was shot in his chest and died at the scene. Many others were wounded, including his brother-in-law, he said. 'They opened heavy fire directly toward us,' he said as he was waiting outside the Red Cross field hospital for word on his wounded relative. Loading Most people were shot 'in the upper part of their bodies, including the head, neck and chest,' Dr Marwan al-Hams, a health ministry official at Nasser Hospital said. Many were transferred from the Red Cross field hospital to Nasser Hospital. A colleague, surgeon Khaled al-Ser, said 150 wounded people had arrived, along with 28 bodies. The hospital corridors were filled with patients, 'but unlike what I have witnessed before, where most of the patients were women and children, today it was mainly men,' a spokesperson with medical charity MSF, Nour Alsaqa, said. Hub is part of a controversial new aid system Israel and the United States say the new aid system in place in Gaza is aimed at preventing Hamas from siphoning off assistance. Israel has not provided any evidence of systematic diversion, and the United Nations denies it has occurred. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles because it allows Israel to control who receives aid and forces people to relocate to distribution sites, risking yet more mass displacement in the territory. The UN system has struggled to bring in aid since Israel slightly eased its 11-week blockade of the territory last month. Aid groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting have made it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians. Dozens of United Nations aid trucks carrying flour to Gaza bakeries were hijacked by armed groups and subsequently looted by people desperate for food on Saturday. A US ceasefire proposal that Israel has accepted would allow for the entry of aid into Gaza and a 60-day pause in fighting, alongside the release of 28 hostages held by Hamas. In response, Hamas said on Saturday it was willing to release 10 living hostages and hand over the bodies of 18 dead in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, but it also reiterated demands for an end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza – conditions Israel has rejected. US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said that response was 'totally unacceptable'. Mediators Qatar and Egypt issued a joint statement on Sunday saying they continued 'intensive efforts to bridge the gaps in viewpoints' and hoped for 'a swift agreement for a temporary ceasefire lasting 60 days, leading to a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip'. Israel has previously rejected Hamas' conditions, instead demanding the complete disarmament of the group and its dismantling as a military and governing force, along with the return of all 58 remaining hostages. Loading The Israeli military also said on Saturday it had killed Hamas' Gaza chief, Mohammad Sinwar, during a strike on a hospital in southern Gaza on May 13, confirming what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told parliament earlier this week. Sinwar, the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the group's deceased leader and mastermind of the October 2023 attack on Israel, was the target of an Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza. Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied his death. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Israel's military chief orders expansion of Gaza offensive
Israeli Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir has ordered the expansion of the ground offensive to additional areas of the Gaza Strip, the military said following a troop visit by the military chief in the south of the embattled coastal area. "We are in the midst of a powerful and relentless operation," Zamir said to soldiers. The offensive is to continue until "the return of all our hostages and the elimination of Hamas' governing capabilities and military wing," the statement further noted. Zamir said that the Palestinian Islamist organization is now losing control over the Gaza Strip. He did not provide details. Previously, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that he had instructed the army to continue advancing in the Gaza Strip and to achieve all declared war objectives, "regardless of any negotiations." Hopes for a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas have been dashed for the time being. Although Hamas agreed in its response to a proposal by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of some hostages still held there, it set further conditions.
