Latest news with #GazaGovernmentMediaOffice
IOL News
a day ago
- Health
- IOL News
Gaza's humanitarian crisis deepens: Israel's relentless attacks on civilians and healthcare
People look for survivors following an Israeli strike that targeted the home of the al-Bursh family in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. Israel continues its attacks on the Gaza Strip, after it bombed the Noura Al-Kaabi Kidney Dialysis Centre in the northern Gaza Strip and opened fire on thousands of civilians gathered at a distribution site in southern Gaza's Rafah, over two days. The Gaza Government Media Office said Israeli forces killed at least 31 people when they opened fire at the distribution site. The Government Media Office condemned the attacks and described distribution sites as 'mass death traps, not humanitarian relief points'. 'We confirm to the entire world that what is happening is a systematic and malicious use of aid as a tool of war, employed to blackmail starving civilians and forcibly gather them in exposed killing points, managed and monitored by the occupation army and funded and politically covered by the US administration,' it said in a statement. The Noura Al-Kaabi Kidney Dialysis Centre was providing dialysis services to kidney patients in the northern Gaza Strip. "The destruction of the centre puts the health of kidney patients in a catastrophe with unpredictable consequences. 41% of kidney failure patients died during the war due to being denied access to dialysis centres and after the destruction of the centres and departments designated for them," said the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Mada
2 days ago
- Politics
- Mada
Israel kills 31 aid seekers, injures 200 in mass shooting at Rafah distribution point
Thirty-one people were killed in the early hours of Sunday morning at an aid distribution point in Rafah, south Gaza, where Israeli forces once again opened fire on aid seekers waiting to pick up supplies. The mass shooting was the most violent yet at the Rafah site, where Israeli forces and aircraft have repeatedly shot at crowds of people since the site opened last week. Following almost three months of a total siege, the Rafah distribution site is one of several zones that Israel has opened to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a company based in the United States and endorsed by Israel as part of its plans to control aid distribution across the strip — a move Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed is necessary to prevent Hamas stealing aid. Mohamed Gharid was among the thousands of people who began to gather near Rafah late on Saturday night, waiting for the distribution zone's gates to open, he told Mada Masr. They spent the night, he said, and people slept in the streets or along the shore. At dawn, crowds began moving along a designated route to the distribution point, Gharib continued. Another eyewitness, who had traveled south from the Nuseirat camp to the coastal Mawasi region near Rafah in hopes of receiving food aid, said thousands of people were directed from Mawasi along a specific path leading to the distribution point. The US aid distribution point is located south of the Morag corridor, a zone between Rafah and Khan Younis that Israeli forces bulldozed and occupied in early April to separate the two governorates. As aid seekers proceeded along the designated path, an Israeli quadcopter appeared overhead, colliding with high-voltage power lines before crashing and falling into the crowd, Gharib recalled. Immediately afterward, heavy rounds of fire broke out in the direction of civilians. Many were killed or injured. More quadcopters soon swarmed the area, firing at civilians, while 'insanely' heavy artillery shelling also rang out, he said. The second eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described 'Israeli military vehicles coming out from all directions and opening heavy fire on the people.' 'The scene was horrific,' they continued. 'Drones and vehicles were firing everywhere. Many were killed and dozens were wounded.' Thirty-one people were killed in total, Gaza Government Media Office head Ismail Thawabta said in a statement on Sunday morning, while hospitals received more than 200 injured patients, 35 of them in critical condition, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. The ministry noted that medical services were severely strained by extreme overcrowding and a lack of resources at hospitals, which have not received new supplies since Israel imposed a full blockade on the strip three months ago. 'Shortages of surgical, operating and intensive care supplies have reached their worst,' the Sunday morning statement read. Ambulance services are also unable to access the Rafah distribution point, which is adjacent to the Morag militarized zone occupied by Israel. Last week, the civil defense agency said it had resorted to transporting the wounded and dead on animal-drawn carts or civilian vehicles. The second eyewitness described their efforts to get the injured to hospitals. 'We fell back while the bodies of the dead lay on the ground. We couldn't get close until the shooting subsided a little,' they said. 'Then people began carrying the dead onto carts.''Women were among those killed,' the eyewitness said. 'Two or three at a time were wrapped in blankets and taken away on carts.' The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations in Gaza last week at sites where Palestinians are required to undergo security checks and interrogation by the Israeli military before being permitted to access rationed portions of aid supplies. Israeli forces have also carried out multiple arrests among aid seekers at the distribution sites situated near military zones dubbed by Israel as the Morag and Netsarim corridors. At the same time, the Occupation military has allowed international humanitarian organizations, such as the World Food Program, only limited access to the strip — restrictions the organization says have severely constrained its capacity to help those in need. Cases of malnutrition have surged since March, when Israel broke the ceasefire agreement and imposed a full blockade on Gaza to pressure Hamas into delivering all remaining prisoners held in its custody outside of the ceasefire starvation spreads, incidents of theft have also become widespread, making neighborhoods, bakeries and warehouses increasingly unsafe.
Mada
6 days ago
- Politics
- Mada
Israeli military shoots at aid seekers again near new distribution site, pick-up points remain closed
Thousands of Palestinians who headed to the Israeli-controlled aid distribution zone in southern Gaza on Wednesday did not receive any supplies as the centers remained closed to the public throughout the day, eyewitnesses told Mada Masr. Instead, Israeli drones opened fire on them again, injuring dozens and killing at least four near the Morag corridor, where the new distribution site is located. Aid seekers were told to return home until they are informed of the center's reopening. Wednesday marked the second day of the US-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's operations in an area Israel has designated for a new aid distribution program it has sought to install to replace existing mechanisms. In its first day of operations, Israeli forces stationed near the distribution site conducted at least 13 arrests before opening fire on crowds of people who rushed toward the boxed supplies, while GHF evacuated its staff. The Gaza Government Media Office described the operation as 'an absolute failure.' Thousands of Palestinians headed to the aid distribution center in western Rafah on Wednesday, eyewitnesses who were seeking aid told Mada Masr. The center is based near Morag, the bulldozed corridor zone established by the Israeli military to separate Rafah from the rest of southern Gaza. The area was known among locals as the Muharrarat route or Miraj Street, and was dubbed Morag in the period from 1967 until 2005 during which Israel maintained settlements in the Gaza Strip. When they arrived, they found Israeli military vehicles awaiting them near the corridor. Israeli drones opened fire on the crowds to disperse them, the eyewitnesses said. Several aid seekers were injured and an elderly Palestinian woman was killed in the attack, an eyewitness, Nasser al-Louh, told Mada Masr. At least three more aid seekers were killed by Israeli fire at the site, Palestinian outlets reported. Israeli drones then began to broadcast a recording over loudspeakers ordering residents to retreat to their homes and await messages informing them of the center's reopening date, Louh added. The Civil Defense Directorate in Gaza announced on Wednesday that its ambulance services are currently unable to operate in Rafah. The agency stopped its operations in Gaza's southernmost city in March, when Israeli forces invaded the area, breaking the ceasefire. The directorate stated on Wednesday that it faces obstacles in transporting the injured and dead from Rafah to hospitals, saying it is currently forced to move them in civilian and animal-drawn vehicles. Similar scenes ensued on Tuesday when the new distribution points opened for the first time. Lengthy inspections meant that the thousands who had gathered to receive aid grew tired of waiting in areas enclosed with wire mesh under the scorching afternoon sun. A crowd ultimately broke through the gates and rushed toward the aid boxes to seize them, at which point the distribution company, GHF, evacuated its staff while Israeli forces stationed nearby opened fire on aid seekers. Israeli forces injured about 50 Palestinians and killed an unspecified number on Tuesday inside and around the aid distribution center in Rafah, according to Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayyam, which added that a number of victims remain at the scene and have not yet been recovered.
Al-Ahram Weekly
7 days ago
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
3 killed, 48 wounded as Israel opens fire on starving Gazans clamoring for aid in Rafah - War on Gaza
At least three Palestinians were killed and 48 others wounded in Rafah in southern Gaza after Israeli forces opened fire on starving crowds who rushed to an aid hub set up by an Israeli-US-backed foundation, officials in Gaza said Wednesday. Seven people also went missing in the ensuing stampede, according to the Gaza Government Media Office. Thousands of Palestinians clambered over fences and pushed through packed crowds to reach life-saving supplies brought by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a new, controversial US-Israeli-backed group tasked with the delivery of aid to Palestinians in the besieged strip. Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office for the Palestinian territories, had earlier confirmed to reporters in Geneva that 47 people were wounded, mostly by gunfire. "What happened in Rafah is a true massacre and a full-fledged war crime, committed in cold blood against civilians exhausted by the ongoing siege and starvation that has lasted for more than 90 days since the closure of the crossings, and nearly 20 months since the genocide and the complete interruption of food and medicine to the Strip," the Gaza Government Media Office said in a statement. The office also denounced the Israeli-run aid distribution project in the so-called 'buffer zones' in Gaza as a total failure. "What is happening is clear evidence of the occupation's failure to manage the humanitarian situation it deliberately created," the office stated. Displaced Palestinians receive food packages from a US-backed foundation pledging to distribute humanitarian aid in western Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 27, 2025. AFP Distraction from atrocities Following the chaotic scenes and the deadly shooting in Rafah, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) slammed the new US-Israeli-backed aid distribution model in Gaza. "I believe it is a waste of resources and a distraction from atrocities. We already have an aid distribution system that is fit for purpose," Philippe Lazzarini said in Japan. "The humanitarian community in Gaza, including UNRWA, is ready. We have the experience and expertise to reach people in need," he added. "The clock is ticking towards famine, so humanitarian (organisations) must be allowed to do its life-saving work now," Lazzarini stated. "We have seen yesterday the shocking images of hungry people pushing against fences, desperate for food. It was chaotic, undignified and unsafe," he said. On Wednesday, Lazzarini affirmed that Israel's model of aid distribution does not align with the core humanitarian principle. "It will deprive a large part of Gaza, the highly vulnerable people, of desperately needed assistance," he expressed. The distribution hub outside Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah was opened on Tuesday by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which Israel has slated to take over aid operations. The UN and other humanitarian groups refused to participate in the GHF system, saying it violates humanitarian principles. They warned that it can be used by Israel to forcibly displace the population by requiring them to move near the few distribution hubs or else face starvation, a violation of international law. Since the start of the war in Gaza, the UN and other aid groups have conducted massive operations distributing food, medicine, and other supplies to wherever Palestinians are located. Although Israel said GHF will replace that network, the past week has allowed a trickle of aid to enter Gaza for the UN to distribute. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Mada
26-05-2025
- Mada
‘They were burned alive': Israel bombs school sheltering thousands, premises engulfed in flames
Israel bombed a school sheltering thousands of displaced people in east Gaza City on Sunday night, causing fire to spread rapidly through the crowded premises where people were sleeping, eyewitnesses told Mada Masr. 'We heard the cries of the displaced as they were burning inside classrooms. We tried to break the iron bars on the classroom windows, but it was too late for many of them — they were burned alive,' said Ahmed al-Nady, who was at the scene at the time of the explosion. The Gaza Government Media Office said on Monday morning that the heavy strikes on the school killed 31 people, including 18 children and six women, and injured tens of others. The Fahmi al-Jargawi school that was struck is in the Daraj area of Gaza City, the crowded capital where over one million Palestinians are currently sheltering in buildings and temporary camps, according to local officials' latest estimates. Israeli troops displaced hundreds of thousands of people in recent weeks as they advanced on several towns north of the city while launching an aerial bombardment campaign that destroyed much of the towns' infrastructure. 'The fire broke out in the span of seconds,' said Abd al-Nahal, who witnessed the first moments of the attack. 'The displaced had no chance to evacuate the tents and classrooms — the flames engulfed them before they realized what was happening,' he added. He and others present struggled to conduct rescue operations with no access to equipment. 'Children and women were screaming inside the classrooms, calling for help, while we had no real tools to extinguish the fire,' he said. 'The scenes were terrifying and horrific.' Nady echoed his account of what happened. 'The scene was indescribable — pure horror,' he said. 'The charred bodies of children laid in front of me. I could not even carry them; they were burning hot from the intense heat,' he continued. 'I saw a child through a classroom window burning alive while calling his mother, who had burned beside him. This scene will never leave my memory,' he added. First responders at the scene, including civilians like Nady and Nahal, and the civil defense were only able to retrieve the charred remains of some of those who had taken refuge at the site, most of whom were women and children. Fadl Naeem, the head of the Ahli Arab Hospital which received many of the attack victims, likewise told Mada Masr that as well as the injured, some of the charred remains of those killed were delivered to the facility in such a state of damage that it was difficult to establish the identity of those killed. Such critical injuries are difficult to treat due to the severe shortage of medicines and essential supplies imposed by Israel's blockade, Naeem continued. The siege, which it resumed once it renewed its genocidal war in early March, deprived the population in Gaza of food, water, fuel and medicines for over 80 consecutive days and was only interrupted last week when limited supplies of essential aid were permitted to enter the strip. The situation at the facility is 'catastrophic' as it is unequipped to handle the massive number of injured and the hospital's medical staff was forced to move some of the injured to other hospitals, he added. The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza announced a preliminary death toll shortly after the Israeli attack, stating that its teams were eventually able to extinguish the fire and retrieve 13 dead bodies and 21 wounded. The death toll later increased to 31. In a Monday morning announcement, the Israeli military claimed it had taken 'numerous steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.' It said the strike targeted Hamas and other militant groups allegedly operating from the school — a claim it has repeatedly invoked over the past 19 months of aggression on the strip when striking densely-populated areas where displaced people were sheltering. Targeting the school at night, however, ensured the strike would cause the highest possible number of casualties among those sleeping inside, head of the Government Media Office, Ismail al-Thawabta, told Mada Masr on Monday. He described the Occupation's timing and targeting of the school as deliberate. The scale of destruction and number of fatalities led many eyewitnesses to believe that Israel used different munitions than those previously deployed. 'Occupation forces used a certain type of missiles that cause massive fires,' said Nahal, pointing to the scale of the flames that engulfed the Fahmi al-Jargawi school. The hospital director similarly noted that the nature of the injuries pointed to missiles designed to produce large and destructive fires. Officials and humanitarian organizations operating in the besieged Gaza enclave have warned for months that the medical system is on the verge of collapse, with the remaining facilities either overwhelmed by the intensified Israeli attacks and lack of supplies or directly targeted by Israeli forces. Over the past few days, small quantities of food were allowed into some areas of Gaza for the first time in over 80 days, following Israel's abandonment of the prisoners exchange framework established under the January ceasefire deal. However, UN humanitarian coordinator Tom Fletcher described the amount of aid Israel allowed in as 'a drop in the ocean' and totally inadequate.
