Latest news with #GazaCity
RNZ News
9 hours ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Kiwi donor outraged after Givealittle shuts down Gaza fundraising page
Palestinian children wait with others for food at a distribution point in Gaza City, on June 3, 2025. Photo: AFP / Majdi Fathi New Zealand donors are fighting Givealittle for refunds after their page was shut down over concerns around money laundering in Gaza. More than $3500 is locked in one Givealittle fund, which is destined for what organisers say is a friend to buy formula for babies, after the donation company changed its policy on Gaza. Givealittle has recently updated its policy in response to "operational risks" associated with transferring funds to individuals in Gaza, a spokesperson told Midday Report. As a result, four pages have been closed. One of those pages was a fundraiser set up by Ciara's friend in the United Kingdom to raise money to buy baby formula for families in need in Gaza. Ciara, who wishes to keep her last name anonymous, told Midday Report when the page was set up, Givealittle said it would be moderated in three days but in the meantime, they could start fundraising. "We just got straight into it and within about six days we had about $3500 fundraised," Ciara said. Palestinian children wait in front of a food distribution truck at a displacement camp near Gaza City's port on 22 May, 2025. Photo: AFP/ Omar Al-Qattaa Givealittle then asked for verification of their contact in Gaza who was getting the formula and distributing it to families. Ciara said they provided Givealittle with their contact's bank account details, written permission for them to fundraise on their contact's behalf and their passport. On 17 July, Givealittle emailed to say the page did not meet its requirements and would not be going ahead. "They have said that, in high-risk areas such as Gaza, they don't believe there is evidence of were their funds are going and that they would like [funds] to go through a registered charity instead," Ciara said. "They are leaning on some very tight New Zealand laws on anti-money laundering and countering terrorism regime, which are extremely tight and basically give us no wiggle room. "The thing that really got us was that they changed their policy on donating to individuals in Gaza while our page was receiving funds." Givealittle told Ciara in an email, which Midday Report has seen, that as a regulated platform under New Zealand's Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, they "have a duty to go beyond minimum requirements when we assess risk". The platform was worried the funds could be used by someone linked to Hamas, which New Zealand has listed as terrorist entity . "While we acknowledge the identity information you have provided for [their contact in Gaza] we note that your relationship with him only began in May of this year and has developed entirely online," the Givealittle email read. "In this context, we are unable to verify the end use of funds with the confidence required under our obligations. The risk of misuse - even where intentions are good - is high, and in such cases, we must err on the side of caution." Now the page has $3573 on hold that the organisers and donors can't access. "We have got many donors waiting, who require explanation on where their money is going," Ciara said. "Furthermore, we've got children, babies and families who are starving in Gaza ." She is still waiting on a response from Givealittle to explain what is happening with the funds. "We have just been absolutely beside ourselves. The devastation that's happening is unfathomable," Ciara said. "Here is a way for us to provide some kind of help. Yes, it might just be a drop in the ocean, but it is a tin of formula for a starving baby to get them through that next day. I just think it is absolutely outrageous. It's unforgivable and it's unacceptable." Givealittle said in a statement to Midday Report the decision to update its policy was not taken lightly. "The banking and financial infrastructure in Gaza is now so unstable that we can no longer, with certainty, verify the identity of individual beneficiaries or ensure that funds can be delivered safely and transparently," a spokesperson said. This policy applies to only to individual fundraising in Gaza. "Givealittle continues to support pages linked to registered New Zealand charities operating in the region, where funds can be safely distributed through trusted channels. We encourage donors who wish to help to continue giving through these organisations," the spokesperson said. "We appreciate the compassion of those who have created and supported these pages and are committed to ensuring that generosity continues to have an impact." Any payments already due to verified individuals will still be honoured. It comes after Midday Report reported PayPal was withholding funds donated by New Zealanders for families in Gaza. PayPal has yet to reply to requests for comment. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Asharq Al-Awsat
14 hours ago
- Health
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Baby Boy Starves to Death in Gaza as Hunger Spreads, Medics Say
Six-week-old Yousef's lifeless body lay limp on a hospital table in Gaza City, his skin stretched over protruding ribs and a bandage where a drip had been inserted into his tiny arm. Doctors said the cause of death was starvation. He was among 15 people to starve to death in the last 24 hours in Gaza, according to doctors who say a wave of hunger that has loomed over the enclave for months is now finally crashing down. Yousef's family couldn't find baby formula to feed him, said his uncle, Adham al-Safadi. "You can't get milk anywhere, and if you do find any it's $100 for a tub," he said, looking at his dead nephew. Three of the other Palestinians who died of hunger over the last day were also children, including 13-year-old Abdulhamid al-Ghalban, who died in a hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in airstrikes, shelling and shooting since launching their assault on Gaza in response to attacks on Israel by the Hamas group that killed 1,200 people and captured 251 hostages in October 2023. For the first time since the war began, Palestinian officials say dozens are now also dying of hunger. Gaza has seen its food stocks run out since Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March and then lifted that blockade in May with new measures it says are needed to prevent aid from being diverted to armed groups. At least 101 people are known to have died of hunger during the conflict, according to Palestinian officials, including 80 children, most of them in just the last few weeks. Israel, which controls all supplies entering Gaza, denies that it is responsible for shortages of food. Israel's military said that it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza as a matter of utmost importance", and works to facilitate its entry in coordination with the international community. It has blamed the United Nations for failing to protect aid it says is stolen by Hamas and other gunmen. The fighters deny stealing it. More than 800 people have been killed in recent weeks trying to reach food, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli soldiers posted near distribution centers of a new, US-backed aid organization. The United Nations has rejected this system as inherently unsafe, and a violation of humanitarian neutrality principles needed to ensure that distribution succeeds. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation for the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave a "horror show". "We are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles," Guterres told the UN Security Council. "That system is being denied the conditions to function." The Norwegian Refugee Council, which supported hundreds of thousands of Gazans in the first year of the war, said its aid stocks were now depleted and some of its own staff were starving. "Our last tent, our last food parcel, our last relief items have been distributed. There is nothing left," its director Jan Egeland told Reuters. "Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyze our work," he said. The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday that its staff, as well as doctors and humanitarian workers, were fainting on duty in Gaza due to hunger and exhaustion. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that images of civilians killed during the distribution of aid were "unbearable" and urged Israel to deliver on pledges to improve the situation. FOOD AND MEDICINE SHORTAGES On Tuesday, men and boys lugged sacks of flour past destroyed buildings and tarpaulins in Gaza City, grabbing what food they could from aid warehouses. "We haven't eaten for five days," said Mohammed Jundia. Israeli military statistics showed on Tuesday that an average of 146 trucks of aid per day had entered Gaza over the course of the war. The United States has said a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to feed Gaza's population. "Hospitals are already overwhelmed by the number of casualties from gunfire. They can't provide much more help for hunger-related symptoms because of food and medicine shortages," said Khalil al-Deqran, a spokesperson for the health ministry. Deqran said some 600,000 people were suffering from malnutrition, including at least 60,000 pregnant women. Symptoms among those going hungry include dehydration and anaemia, he said. Baby formula in particular is in critically short supply, according to aid groups, doctors and residents. The health ministry said at least 72 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes in the past 24 hours, including 16 people living in tents in Gaza City. The Israeli military said it wasn't aware of any incident or artillery in the area at that time.
Irish Times
15 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Times
‘We haven't eaten for five days': Baby boy starves to death in Gaza as hunger spreads, medics say
Six-week-old Yousef's lifeless body lay limp on a hospital table in Gaza City, his skin stretched over protruding ribs and a bandage where a drip had been inserted into his tiny arm. Doctors said the cause of death was starvation. He was among 15 people to starve to death in the last 24 hours in Gaza , according to doctors, who say a wave of hunger that has loomed over the enclave for months is now finally crashing down. Yousef's family couldn't find baby formula to feed him, said his uncle, Adham al-Safadi. READ MORE 'You can't get milk anywhere, and if you do find any it's $100 (€25) for a tub,' he said, looking at his dead nephew. Three of the other Palestinians who died of hunger over the last day were also children, including 13-year-old Abdulhamid al-Ghalban, who died in a hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in air strikes, shelling and shooting since launching their assault on Gaza in response to attacks on Israel by the Hamas group that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 hostages captured in October 2023. For the first time since the war began, Palestinian officials say dozens are now also dying of hunger. Gaza has seen its food stocks run out since Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March and then lifted that blockade in May with new measures it says are needed to prevent aid from being diverted to militant groups. At least 101 people are known to have died of hunger during the conflict, according to Palestinian officials, including 80 children, most of them in just the last few weeks. [ Doctors and humanitarian staff fainting from hunger in Gaza, says Unrwa head Opens in new window ] Israel, which controls all supplies entering Gaza, denies that it is responsible for shortages of food. Israel's military said that it 'views the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza as a matter of utmost importance', and works to facilitate its entry in co-ordination with the international community. It has blamed the United Nations for failing to protect aid it says is stolen by Hamas and other militants. The fighters deny stealing it. More than 800 people have been killed in recent weeks trying to reach food, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli soldiers posted near distribution centres of a new, US-backed aid organisation. The United Nations has rejected this system as inherently unsafe and a violation of humanitarian neutrality principles needed to ensure that distribution succeeds. For the first time since the war began, Palestinian officials say dozens are now also dying of hunger. Photograph: AFP/ Getty Images) United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called the situation for the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave a 'horror show'. 'We are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles,' Guterres told the UN Security Council. 'That system is being denied the conditions to function.' The Norwegian Refugee Council, which supported hundreds of thousands of Gazans in the first year of the war, said its aid stocks were now depleted and some of its own staff were starving. 'Our last tent, our last food parcel, our last relief items have been distributed. There is nothing left,' its director Jan Egeland told Reuters. 'Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyse our work,' he said. The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday that its staff, as well as doctors and humanitarian workers, were fainting on duty in Gaza due to hunger and exhaustion. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that images of civilians killed during the distribution of aid were 'unbearable' and urged Israel to deliver on pledges to improve the situation. On Tuesday, men and boys lugged sacks of flour past destroyed buildings and tarpaulins in Gaza City, grabbing what food they could from aid warehouses. 'We haven't eaten for five days,' said Mohammed Jundia. Israeli military statistics showed on Tuesday that an average of 146 trucks of aid per day had entered Gaza over the course of the war. The United States has said a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to feed Gaza's population. 'Hospitals are already overwhelmed by the number of casualties from gunfire. They can't provide much more help for hunger-related symptoms because of food and medicine shortages,' said Khalil al-Deqran, a spokesperson for the a spokesperson for the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. Deqran said some 600,000 people were suffering from malnutrition, including at least 60,000 pregnant women. Symptoms among those going hungry include dehydration and anaemia, he said. Baby formula in particular is in critically short supply, according to aid groups, doctors and residents. Gaza's health ministry said at least 72 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes in the past 24 hours, including 16 people living in tents in Gaza City. The Israeli military said it wasn't aware of any incident or artillery in the area at that time. Meanwhile, Israel is reported to have refused to renew the visa of a senior UN official who oversees humanitarian affairs in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, further straining tense ties between the government of prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the organisation. The UN official, Jonathan Whittall, will not be allowed to continue working in the country, foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar said. Mr Whittall is the acting head of the local branch of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which plays a big role in managing the entry of desperately needed aid into Gaza. Sa'ar cited what he called Whittall's 'biased and hostile conduct against Israel' as the grounds for the decision.
Associated Press
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Photos show Palestinian suffering as Israeli troops push deeper into central Gaza
Israeli troops for the first time are pushing into parts of a central Gaza city where several aid groups are based, in the latest apparent effort to carve up the Palestinian territory with military corridors. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Associated Press
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Israeli strikes kill at least 20 in Gaza, health officials say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza, Palestinian health officials said Tuesday, as Israel pushed on with a new incursion in an area that had largely been spared heavy fighting during the 21-month war. The expansion of Israel's ground invasion comes as Israel and Hamas have been considering terms for a ceasefire for Gaza that would pause the fighting and free at least some hostages. The latest round of talks have dragged on for weeks with no signs of breakthrough, though negotiators have expressed optimism. With Israel expanding its control over large chunks of Gaza, an expected pullback of troops is a major point of contention in the talks. The Trump administration has been pushing Israel to wrap up the war and has shown signs of impatience. On Monday, President Donald Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was 'caught off guard' by a recent Israeli strike on a Catholic church in Gaza. Top Christian clergy visited that church last week and in a press conference Tuesday in Jerusalem called for the war to end. At least 20 killed in Israeli strikes, health officials say One strike hit tents sheltering displaced people in the built-up, seaside Shati refugee camp on the western side of Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to the city's Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The dead included three women and three children, Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of the hospital told The Associated Press. Thirty-eight other Palestinians were wounded, he said. The strike tore apart tents, and left some of the dead laying on the ground, according to footage shared by the Health Ministry's ambulance and emergency service. An overnight strike that hit crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks in Gaza City killed eight, hospitals said. At least 118 were wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Ahmed Mhana, who said he was waiting on a coastal road for aid trucks, said the crowd was struck twice by Israeli aircraft. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes. Israel blames the deaths of Palestinian civilians on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. It accuses the group of prolonging the war because Hamas has not accepted Israel's terms for a ceasefire — including calls to give up power and disarm. Heavy explosions heard in area that avoided major fighting In Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, which previously has not seen major ground operations or widespread devastation, Palestinians reported heavy explosions from strikes and tank shelling overnight. 'It was non-stop,' Ayman Aby Hassan said. 'We felt that the area was shaking, as if there was an earthquake.' The man, who is in his 40s, fled an area in the southwestern side of Deir al-Balah that was invaded by the military earlier this week. He headed to the Muwasi area near the sea. The Israeli military ordered evacuations from parts of the city earlier this week. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people. Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive. More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. Church leaders witnessed an 'almost totally destroyed' Gaza In Jerusalem, top church leaders called on the international community to help bring an end to the war in Gaza after making a rare visit to the conflict-ridden territory last week. Their visit came a day after Gaza's only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli shell in an attack that killed three people and wounded 10, including a priest who had developed a close friendship with the late Pope Francis. The strike drew condemnation from Pope Leo XIV and Trump, and prompted statements of regret from Israel, which said it was an accident. 'It is time to end this nonsense, end the war,' Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa told reporters. Israel has heavily restricted access to Gaza since the start of the war, though church leaders have entered on previous occasions, usually to mark major holidays. Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III said they witnessed a Gaza that was 'almost totally destroyed.' They said they saw older people, women and boys 'totally starved and hungry' and called for urgent humanitarian aid. 'Every hour without food, water, medicine, and shelter causes deep harm.' Pizzaballa said. 'It is morally unacceptable and unjustifiable.' Israel has greatly reduced the amount of aid being let into Gaza and aid that does enter is often met by chaos and violence at distribution points. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo and Goldenberg from Jerusalem. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
