Latest news with #HindKhoudary
Morocco World
3 days ago
- Health
- Morocco World
Israeli Forces Turn Gaza Aid Sites into ‘Death Traps,' 102 Killed
Rabat – Israeli forces have killed more than 100 Palestinians and injured around 460 in the past eight days while they were trying to get food from aid distribution points in Rafah, southern Gaza, according to Gaza's Government Media Office. Officials and eyewitnesses are accusing Israeli forces of targeting the heads and chests of starving civilians at sites set up to provide humanitarian aid. The aid points were located in western Rafah, a zone previously declared by Israel as a 'safe humanitarian area.' But civil defence teams and witnesses say these locations have turned into 'death traps,' with Israeli forces opening fire on crowds of people trying to collect food. Many of the victims were shot while holding food parcels, including women trying to feed their families, said Al Jazeera correspondent Hind Khoudary. Doctors say most of the injuries were to the head, chest, and upper body, suggesting that people were deliberately targeted. Doctors at the Nasser Hospital said that many of the injured are being treated in intensive care, as the facility is running out of blood units and essential medical supplies. One of the survivors, 30-year-old Rania al-Astal, told AFP that she went with her husband to collect food early in the morning. 'The shooting began around 5 am. Every time people approached Al-Alam roundabout, they were fired upon,' she said. Another witness, 44-year-old Mohammed al-Shaer, said that at first, Israeli soldiers fired into the air, but then they started shooting directly at people. 'A helicopter and quadcopters [drones] started firing at the crowd to prevent them from approaching the tank barrier. There were injuries and deaths,' he added. Israeli attacks on civilians near US-backed aid distribution centers have drawn international condemnation. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the killing of over 100 Palestinians is deeply concerning. 'Can you imagine someone who is so desperate for food that they are making this trek over a long distance, and the fear that they must have – that they could even be shot or that they may even come back with no food?' Laurence told Al Jazeera. He said that attacking civilians is a grave breach of international law and may be considered a war crime. The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which oversees some of the aid efforts, has not commented on the accusations. However, local officials are calling for urgent international intervention to protect civilians and ensure safe delivery of food and medical aid.
Al Jazeera
12-04-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
At least 500 Gaza children killed since Israel broke truce: Official
At least 500 Palestinian children have been killed by sustained Israeli air attacks and bombardments in Gaza since Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas last month, said Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson of the Gaza Civil Defence, while a UN official described the war-torn territory as a 'post-apocalyptic' killing zone. Meanwhile, Israeli air raids in Gaza on Saturday killed at least six people, including a child, bringing the death toll in the last 24 hours to more than 20. More than 1,500 people have been killed since Israel resumed its bombardment of Gaza on March 18, according to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. In the latest Israeli attacks on Saturday, two people were reported killed, and two children were injured in Gaza's Tuffah neighbourhood, while two others were killed in al-Atatra district of Beit Lahiya, in the northern part of Gaza. Another Palestinian was killed in an Israeli drone attack in the Qizan an-Najjar area, south of Khan Younis. Several casualties were also reported following Israeli air raids on the tent shelters of civilians in the al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis, which Israel had designated a so-called 'safe zone'. Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting outside Al-Ahli Hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, reported that a newborn named Sham was severely injured after the child's family was hit in an attack. 'She was in very critical condition where her arm was amputated and she died a couple of hours later, because her injury was very critical and doctors were unable to help her situation,' she said. The death brings to six the number of deaths early on Saturday. Khoudary also reported that two forced evacuation orders were issued on Saturday in Shujayea and Khan Younis. 'Palestinians do not know where to go.' 'We are here in Al-Aqsa Hospital and we observe the ambulances that come every single day and most of those who are targeted, injured or killed, are women and children. 'Due to the lack of medical supplies, most of these Palestinian children and women are witnessing a very deteriorating situation,' she added. On Friday, Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, reported that 36 of the 224 documented Israeli strikes in Gaza, between March 18 and April 9, involved deaths that were only women and children. In a statement, the Palestinian rights group Al-Haq said the findings by the UN further confirmed a pattern it previously identified. 'Such a calculated effort to exterminate women, boys, girls & even infants, has not been witnessed in any other modern conflict,' Al-Haq said in a post on social media. In an interview with Al Jazeera's Upfront, UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) chief Philippe Lazzarini described the situation in Gaza as a 'post-apocalyptic' killing zone. Speaking at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkiye on Friday, Lazzarini also reiterated that Israel has been preventing the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other vital humanitarian supplies into Gaza, contravening international law. In a separate post on X on Saturday, UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma warned that all basic supplies 'are running out' in Gaza. 'It means babies, children are going to bed hungry.' Israel has pledged to press on with its military offensive, with officials in recent days outlining plans to seize new swaths of territory in southern Gaza and issuing a series of forced evacuation orders. UNRWA said about 400,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced across Gaza since the ceasefire ended on March 18. Israel forcibly displaced about 90 percent of Gaza's 2.3 population since it launched war on October 7, 2023. More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed and 115,981 wounded drawing condemnation from rights groups.
Al Jazeera
06-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Photos: Death, devastation as Israel hits homes in Gaza's Khan Younis
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza over the past 24 hours that targeted residential homes and makeshift tents. The main focus of the attacks was the southern city of Khan Younis, where the Israeli forces attacked residential homes and a makeshift tent, according to Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah in the centre of the enclave. Jamal al-Mdhoun, a resident of Khan Younis, told Al Jazeera how he survived the early morning bombing of a home that killed at least nine people. 'We were peacefully sleeping … and all of a sudden, homes were levelled, roofs brought down on innocent women's and children's heads. Missiles heavy enough to reduce mountains to ashes are fired on children,' he said. 'We pulled out eight dead bodies, all of them women and children – not a single man,' he added. 'They are raising false claims [that they are targeting fighters]. All are lies. Their goal is to kill any human being with a Muslim identity. Those innocent women and children were all blown to pieces.'
Al Jazeera
02-04-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
LIVE: Israel's Gaza blockade reaches 1 month, forces all bakeries to close
Update: Date: 4m ago (00:07 GMT) Title: WATCH: Palestinians face hunger as Israeli blockade forces Gaza bakery closures Content: For more than four weeks, no food, bread, flour, medical supplies, fuel or cooking gas have entered the Gaza Strip, after Israeli authorities again closed the borders. Palestinian families are now beginning to wonder where their next meals will come from as bakeries close due to a lack of supplies. Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary reports from Deir el-Balah, Gaza, Palestine This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Update: Date: 8m ago (00:03 GMT) Title: A recap of recent developments Content: Update: Date: 11m ago (00:00 GMT) Title: Welcome to our live coverage Content: Hello, and thank you for joining our live coverage of Israel's war on Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Follow this page for round-the-clock updates on the latest developments. You can find all our updates from Tuesday, April 1, here.
Al Jazeera
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israel orders Rafah evacuation as it continues bombardment of Gaza
Israel has announced new forced evacuation orders for Rafah in southern Gaza, as the military said it plans to expand its renewed assault on the enclave. The military's Arabic language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, announced on X on Monday morning that the army was returning to 'fight with great force' in Rafah, one of Gaza's largest cities, and surrounding areas. He called on Palestinians to immediately move to shelter in al-Mawasi on the coast. The area has regularly come under Israeli fire during the war in Gaza, despite being designated as a 'safe zone'. Shortly after the evacuation order, Al Jazeera Arabic reported that at least two people were killed during an Israeli attack on a tent housing displaced people in the area. Last week, the United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA) reported that 142,000 people have been displaced since Israel renewed its war on the enclave on March 18, breaking the fragile January ceasefire. Gaza's Ministry of Health has reported that more than 900 people have been killed since the bombardment resumed. That has raised the death toll since the start of the war in October 2023 to more than 50,000, it stated. The October 7 Hamas attack on southern Gaza killed 1,139 people, and about 250 were taken captive, igniting the Israeli onslaught. Israeli attacks have continued to rain down on Gaza as Palestinians observe Eid al-Fitr, a three-day holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. On Sunday, the first day of Eid, at least 64 Palestinians were killed. By Monday morning, the situation in Gaza had the same grim outlook, with at least nine people having been killed in Israeli attacks. Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary explained that in Khan Younis, the other main city in southern Gaza, Israeli forces have attacked 'at least seven houses of different families'. 'There has also been endless artillery shelling in the central parts of the Gaza Strip, in Nuseirat, and also in the area very close to the Netzarim Corridor,' she said, adding that explosions were heard in Deir el-Balah, and three farmers were killed in the area. In Beit Hanoon, northern Gaza, children who once celebrated the joyous occasion of Eid are now spending the holiday in fear. 'We're too scared to go near the beach in case the Israelis shell us,' Wissam Nassar told Al Jazeera. Hussein Alkafarna added: 'We don't feel any joy this Eid. We can't get new clothes, never mind the constant fear we live in.'Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli attack on a house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip [Hatem Khaled/Reuters]
