Latest news with #IsmailAl-Thawabta
Saba Yemen
3 days ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Gaza Government Media Office: Health & Humanitarian Situation in Gaza reaches total collapse
Gaza – SABA: The Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip has declared that the health and humanitarian situation in the territory has reached a stage of total collapse due to the ongoing policies of genocide carried out by the Israeli occupation. Ismail Al-Thawabta, Director General of the Media Office, told the Palestinian Safa news agency on Friday that Gaza is facing a catastrophic food crisis and famine as Israel systematically prevents the entry of food, resulting in actual cases of starvation. He explained that the absence of hygiene and the leakage of sewage have led to the spread of epidemics and skin and digestive diseases in overcrowded shelter centers. Al-Thawabta added that the near-total destruction of water and electricity infrastructure has rendered basic services unavailable to the majority of the population. He stressed that this situation constitutes not only a humanitarian catastrophe but an ongoing crime against humanity that amounts to genocide under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. He noted that Israel has deliberately committed massacres against Palestinian civilians and families in Gaza, with over 15,000 massacres reported since the start of the genocide campaign. Among these, 14,000 families have been subjected to massacres, with 2,483 families completely erased from the civil registry, totaling 7,120 martyrs. Additionally, 5,620 families were mostly wiped out, leaving only one survivor in each, with a death toll of 10,151 martyrs. 'This pattern of targeting clearly reflects a genocidal intent and contradicts the rules of international humanitarian law, particularly the four Geneva Conventions, which prohibit attacks against civilians and protected families,' Al-Thawabta stated. Regarding hospital attacks, he emphasized that the systematic targeting of hospitals, shelters, and the killing of children is not random, but part of a deliberate strategy to inflict maximum pain and destruction for multiple objectives. These objectives, according to Al-Thawabta, include depopulating the land through mass killings of children and families to force displacement, dismantling societal resilience structures including the healthcare system, shelters, schools, mosques, and churches, and paralyzing humanitarian and medical efforts to increase death tolls and deepen the catastrophe. These acts aim to use suffering as a political bargaining tool, which is in blatant violation of international law. He pointed out that under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, targeting protected medical and humanitarian facilities constitutes a clear war crime. Al-Thawabta confirmed that since March 18, the pace of Israeli crimes has seen a bloody escalation aimed at enforcing a 'surrender or genocide' equation before summer, using starvation and brutal bombardment as pressure tools. This includes the destruction of what remains of community infrastructure in Rafah – the last refuge for hundreds of thousands of displaced people – where a major massacre occurred. The escalation also aims to create a state of total shock to obstruct any political or field solutions, enforce new realities on the ground, and attempt a final forced displacement from Gaza – all in direct violation of international law and amounting to a crime of mass deportation. Al-Thawabta highlighted the catastrophic outcomes of this escalation, including over 5,500 civilian deaths in just two months and the destruction of thousands of tents and shelter centers in southern Gaza, including the so-called 'safe zone.' This also included attacks on rescue teams and field hospitals, rendering the remaining humanitarian response systems inoperative. He concluded by asserting that what is happening in Gaza is not just a military assault, but a described and systematic act of genocide being perpetrated by the occupying forces amid a disgraceful international silence and absence of accountability. Al-Thawabta called on relevant international bodies, particularly the International Criminal Court and the United Nations, to act immediately to halt this genocide and hold its perpetrators accountable. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
Reuters
4 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Fact Check: Video shows China, Egypt joint military exercise, not Gaza aid drop
A video of a transport plane escorted by jets during a joint Chinese and Egyptian military exercise in April and early May has been miscaptioned online as footage of China air-dropping aid for Gaza. Chinese jets, helicopters and transport planes flew over Egypt during the countries' first joint air force exercises, the Chinese military said on May 5. On social media, a video of planes flying over the Egyptian pyramids, opens new tab shared on May 16 was captioned: 'China had recently promised to provide food aid to 60,000 families, and now it has fulfilled that promise. You can see the cargo plane carrying aid for Gaza, escorted by smaller aircraft for protection. The plane is entering Gaza through Egypt.' However, Egypt said the flight was a joint military exercise with China in Egypt and had nothing to do with aid to Gaza. A spokesperson for the Gaza government told Reuters no aid had been air-dropped there by China. The video was initially posted on TikTok, opens new tab on May 11 with no mention of Gaza. The caption, in Chinese, said it showed the Chinese Air Force flying over the Egyptian pyramids. The account did not respond to a request for comment. On May 6, the official Facebook page of the military spokesman of the Egyptian armed forces posted photos, opens new tab of the joint military exercise and Chinese state-owned broadcaster CCTV uploaded a video, opens new tab to YouTube about the exercise, saying it took place from April 19 to May 4. A military security source in Egypt told Reuters on May 20 that the video showed a joint military parade and had no connection to Gaza aid. The spokesperson's office for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Reuters that they were not aware of the video shared online. 'China has cooperated with Egypt, Jordan and other parties to provide multiple batches of humanitarian supplies to Gaza,' and 'will continue to work tirelessly with the international community to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and achieve peace and stability in the Middle East,' the office added. China's Ministry of National Defense did not respond to a request for comment. Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the government media office in the Gaza Strip, told Reuters on May 19 that China had not sent any humanitarian aid to Gaza through any relief airlifts and that China was not among the countries that participated in aerial delivery operations for aid. A spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said in a May 20 email to Reuters that no aid or commercial supplies entered Gaza between March 2 and May 19 through land, sea or air. Israel cleared nine trucks, opens new tab of goods to enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing on May 19 and approved about 100 more emergency aid trucks the next day. Miscaptioned. The video shows a joint military exercise in Egypt, not the Chinese military air-dropping aid for Gaza. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
The Advertiser
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Palestinians storm aid centres, ignoring checks
Thousands of Palestinians stormed into sites where aid was being distributed by a foundation backed by the US and Israel, with desperation for food overcoming concern about biometric and other checks Israel said it would employ. By late afternoon on Tuesday, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it had distributed about 8000 food boxes, equivalent to about 462,000 meals, after an almost three-month-old Israeli blockade of the war-devastated enclave. In the southern city of Rafah, which is under full Israeli army control, thousands of people including women and children, some on foot or in donkey carts, flocked towards one of the distribution sites to receive food packages. Videos, some of which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed lines of people walking through a wired-off corridor and into a large open field where aid was stacked. Later, images shared on social media showed large parts of the fence torn down as people jostled their way onto the site. Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said, without providing evidence, that Hamas, Gaza's dominant militant group, had tried to block civilians from reaching the aid distribution centre. Hamas denied the accusation. "The real cause of the delay and collapse in the aid distribution process is the tragic chaos caused by the mismanagement of the same company operating under the Israeli occupation's administration in those buffer zones," Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, told Reuters. "This has led to thousands of starving people, under the pressure of siege and hunger, storming distribution centres and seizing food, during which Israeli forces opened fire," he added. The Israel military said its troops fired warning shots in the area outside the compound and that control was reestablished. A UN spokesperson called images of the incident "heartbreaking." Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein wrote on X that 8000 "food packages" were delivered to Palestinians on Tuesday, the first day of what he described as an American initiative. Some of the recipients showed the content of the packages, which included some rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar. Although the aid was available on Monday, Palestinians appeared to have heeded warnings, including from Hamas, about biometric screening procedures employed at the foundation's aid distribution sites. Israel says the Switzerland-based GHF is a US-backed initiative and that its forces will not be involved in the distribution points where food will be handed out. But its endorsement of the plan and its closeness with the US has led many to question the neutrality of the foundation, including its own former chief, who resigned unexpectedly on Sunday. The Israeli military said four aid sites have been established in recent weeks across the enclave, and that two of them in the Rafah area began operations on Tuesday and "are distributing food packages to thousands of families in the Gaza Strip." The GHF said the number of people seeking aid at one distribution site was so great at one point on Tuesday that its team had to pull back to allow people to "take aid safely and dissipate" and to avoid casualties. It said normal operations later resumed. Israeli officials said one of the advantages of the new aid system is the opportunity to screen recipients to exclude anyone found to be connected with Hamas. Israel, at war with Hamas since October 2023, accuses Hamas of stealing supplies and using them to entrench its position. Hamas denies the accusations. The Israeli military said in a statement that 400 humanitarian aid trucks were waiting in Gaza for distribution but that the UN was still refusing to "do its job." Last week Israel eased its blockade, allowing a trickle of aid trucks from international agencies into Gaza - just a fraction of the 500-600 trucks that the UN estimates are needed every day. Thousands of Palestinians stormed into sites where aid was being distributed by a foundation backed by the US and Israel, with desperation for food overcoming concern about biometric and other checks Israel said it would employ. By late afternoon on Tuesday, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it had distributed about 8000 food boxes, equivalent to about 462,000 meals, after an almost three-month-old Israeli blockade of the war-devastated enclave. In the southern city of Rafah, which is under full Israeli army control, thousands of people including women and children, some on foot or in donkey carts, flocked towards one of the distribution sites to receive food packages. Videos, some of which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed lines of people walking through a wired-off corridor and into a large open field where aid was stacked. Later, images shared on social media showed large parts of the fence torn down as people jostled their way onto the site. Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said, without providing evidence, that Hamas, Gaza's dominant militant group, had tried to block civilians from reaching the aid distribution centre. Hamas denied the accusation. "The real cause of the delay and collapse in the aid distribution process is the tragic chaos caused by the mismanagement of the same company operating under the Israeli occupation's administration in those buffer zones," Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, told Reuters. "This has led to thousands of starving people, under the pressure of siege and hunger, storming distribution centres and seizing food, during which Israeli forces opened fire," he added. The Israel military said its troops fired warning shots in the area outside the compound and that control was reestablished. A UN spokesperson called images of the incident "heartbreaking." Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein wrote on X that 8000 "food packages" were delivered to Palestinians on Tuesday, the first day of what he described as an American initiative. Some of the recipients showed the content of the packages, which included some rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar. Although the aid was available on Monday, Palestinians appeared to have heeded warnings, including from Hamas, about biometric screening procedures employed at the foundation's aid distribution sites. Israel says the Switzerland-based GHF is a US-backed initiative and that its forces will not be involved in the distribution points where food will be handed out. But its endorsement of the plan and its closeness with the US has led many to question the neutrality of the foundation, including its own former chief, who resigned unexpectedly on Sunday. The Israeli military said four aid sites have been established in recent weeks across the enclave, and that two of them in the Rafah area began operations on Tuesday and "are distributing food packages to thousands of families in the Gaza Strip." The GHF said the number of people seeking aid at one distribution site was so great at one point on Tuesday that its team had to pull back to allow people to "take aid safely and dissipate" and to avoid casualties. It said normal operations later resumed. Israeli officials said one of the advantages of the new aid system is the opportunity to screen recipients to exclude anyone found to be connected with Hamas. Israel, at war with Hamas since October 2023, accuses Hamas of stealing supplies and using them to entrench its position. Hamas denies the accusations. The Israeli military said in a statement that 400 humanitarian aid trucks were waiting in Gaza for distribution but that the UN was still refusing to "do its job." Last week Israel eased its blockade, allowing a trickle of aid trucks from international agencies into Gaza - just a fraction of the 500-600 trucks that the UN estimates are needed every day. Thousands of Palestinians stormed into sites where aid was being distributed by a foundation backed by the US and Israel, with desperation for food overcoming concern about biometric and other checks Israel said it would employ. By late afternoon on Tuesday, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it had distributed about 8000 food boxes, equivalent to about 462,000 meals, after an almost three-month-old Israeli blockade of the war-devastated enclave. In the southern city of Rafah, which is under full Israeli army control, thousands of people including women and children, some on foot or in donkey carts, flocked towards one of the distribution sites to receive food packages. Videos, some of which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed lines of people walking through a wired-off corridor and into a large open field where aid was stacked. Later, images shared on social media showed large parts of the fence torn down as people jostled their way onto the site. Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said, without providing evidence, that Hamas, Gaza's dominant militant group, had tried to block civilians from reaching the aid distribution centre. Hamas denied the accusation. "The real cause of the delay and collapse in the aid distribution process is the tragic chaos caused by the mismanagement of the same company operating under the Israeli occupation's administration in those buffer zones," Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, told Reuters. "This has led to thousands of starving people, under the pressure of siege and hunger, storming distribution centres and seizing food, during which Israeli forces opened fire," he added. The Israel military said its troops fired warning shots in the area outside the compound and that control was reestablished. A UN spokesperson called images of the incident "heartbreaking." Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein wrote on X that 8000 "food packages" were delivered to Palestinians on Tuesday, the first day of what he described as an American initiative. Some of the recipients showed the content of the packages, which included some rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar. Although the aid was available on Monday, Palestinians appeared to have heeded warnings, including from Hamas, about biometric screening procedures employed at the foundation's aid distribution sites. Israel says the Switzerland-based GHF is a US-backed initiative and that its forces will not be involved in the distribution points where food will be handed out. But its endorsement of the plan and its closeness with the US has led many to question the neutrality of the foundation, including its own former chief, who resigned unexpectedly on Sunday. The Israeli military said four aid sites have been established in recent weeks across the enclave, and that two of them in the Rafah area began operations on Tuesday and "are distributing food packages to thousands of families in the Gaza Strip." The GHF said the number of people seeking aid at one distribution site was so great at one point on Tuesday that its team had to pull back to allow people to "take aid safely and dissipate" and to avoid casualties. It said normal operations later resumed. Israeli officials said one of the advantages of the new aid system is the opportunity to screen recipients to exclude anyone found to be connected with Hamas. Israel, at war with Hamas since October 2023, accuses Hamas of stealing supplies and using them to entrench its position. Hamas denies the accusations. The Israeli military said in a statement that 400 humanitarian aid trucks were waiting in Gaza for distribution but that the UN was still refusing to "do its job." Last week Israel eased its blockade, allowing a trickle of aid trucks from international agencies into Gaza - just a fraction of the 500-600 trucks that the UN estimates are needed every day. Thousands of Palestinians stormed into sites where aid was being distributed by a foundation backed by the US and Israel, with desperation for food overcoming concern about biometric and other checks Israel said it would employ. By late afternoon on Tuesday, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it had distributed about 8000 food boxes, equivalent to about 462,000 meals, after an almost three-month-old Israeli blockade of the war-devastated enclave. In the southern city of Rafah, which is under full Israeli army control, thousands of people including women and children, some on foot or in donkey carts, flocked towards one of the distribution sites to receive food packages. Videos, some of which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed lines of people walking through a wired-off corridor and into a large open field where aid was stacked. Later, images shared on social media showed large parts of the fence torn down as people jostled their way onto the site. Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said, without providing evidence, that Hamas, Gaza's dominant militant group, had tried to block civilians from reaching the aid distribution centre. Hamas denied the accusation. "The real cause of the delay and collapse in the aid distribution process is the tragic chaos caused by the mismanagement of the same company operating under the Israeli occupation's administration in those buffer zones," Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, told Reuters. "This has led to thousands of starving people, under the pressure of siege and hunger, storming distribution centres and seizing food, during which Israeli forces opened fire," he added. The Israel military said its troops fired warning shots in the area outside the compound and that control was reestablished. A UN spokesperson called images of the incident "heartbreaking." Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein wrote on X that 8000 "food packages" were delivered to Palestinians on Tuesday, the first day of what he described as an American initiative. Some of the recipients showed the content of the packages, which included some rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar. Although the aid was available on Monday, Palestinians appeared to have heeded warnings, including from Hamas, about biometric screening procedures employed at the foundation's aid distribution sites. Israel says the Switzerland-based GHF is a US-backed initiative and that its forces will not be involved in the distribution points where food will be handed out. But its endorsement of the plan and its closeness with the US has led many to question the neutrality of the foundation, including its own former chief, who resigned unexpectedly on Sunday. The Israeli military said four aid sites have been established in recent weeks across the enclave, and that two of them in the Rafah area began operations on Tuesday and "are distributing food packages to thousands of families in the Gaza Strip." The GHF said the number of people seeking aid at one distribution site was so great at one point on Tuesday that its team had to pull back to allow people to "take aid safely and dissipate" and to avoid casualties. It said normal operations later resumed. Israeli officials said one of the advantages of the new aid system is the opportunity to screen recipients to exclude anyone found to be connected with Hamas. Israel, at war with Hamas since October 2023, accuses Hamas of stealing supplies and using them to entrench its position. Hamas denies the accusations. The Israeli military said in a statement that 400 humanitarian aid trucks were waiting in Gaza for distribution but that the UN was still refusing to "do its job." Last week Israel eased its blockade, allowing a trickle of aid trucks from international agencies into Gaza - just a fraction of the 500-600 trucks that the UN estimates are needed every day.
West Australian
5 days ago
- Politics
- West Australian
Palestinians storm aid centres, ignoring checks
Thousands of Palestinians stormed into sites where aid was being distributed by a foundation backed by the US and Israel, with desperation for food overcoming concern about biometric and other checks Israel said it would employ. By late afternoon on Tuesday, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it had distributed about 8000 food boxes, equivalent to about 462,000 meals, after an almost three-month-old Israeli blockade of the war-devastated enclave. In the southern city of Rafah, which is under full Israeli army control, thousands of people including women and children, some on foot or in donkey carts, flocked towards one of the distribution sites to receive food packages. Videos, some of which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed lines of people walking through a wired-off corridor and into a large open field where aid was stacked. Later, images shared on social media showed large parts of the fence torn down as people jostled their way onto the site. Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said, without providing evidence, that Hamas, Gaza's dominant militant group, had tried to block civilians from reaching the aid distribution centre. Hamas denied the accusation. "The real cause of the delay and collapse in the aid distribution process is the tragic chaos caused by the mismanagement of the same company operating under the Israeli occupation's administration in those buffer zones," Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, told Reuters. "This has led to thousands of starving people, under the pressure of siege and hunger, storming distribution centres and seizing food, during which Israeli forces opened fire," he added. The Israel military said its troops fired warning shots in the area outside the compound and that control was reestablished. A UN spokesperson called images of the incident "heartbreaking." Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein wrote on X that 8000 "food packages" were delivered to Palestinians on Tuesday, the first day of what he described as an American initiative. Some of the recipients showed the content of the packages, which included some rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar. Although the aid was available on Monday, Palestinians appeared to have heeded warnings, including from Hamas, about biometric screening procedures employed at the foundation's aid distribution sites. Israel says the Switzerland-based GHF is a US-backed initiative and that its forces will not be involved in the distribution points where food will be handed out. But its endorsement of the plan and its closeness with the US has led many to question the neutrality of the foundation, including its own former chief, who resigned unexpectedly on Sunday. The Israeli military said four aid sites have been established in recent weeks across the enclave, and that two of them in the Rafah area began operations on Tuesday and "are distributing food packages to thousands of families in the Gaza Strip." The GHF said the number of people seeking aid at one distribution site was so great at one point on Tuesday that its team had to pull back to allow people to "take aid safely and dissipate" and to avoid casualties. It said normal operations later resumed. Israeli officials said one of the advantages of the new aid system is the opportunity to screen recipients to exclude anyone found to be connected with Hamas. Israel, at war with Hamas since October 2023, accuses Hamas of stealing supplies and using them to entrench its position. Hamas denies the accusations. The Israeli military said in a statement that 400 humanitarian aid trucks were waiting in Gaza for distribution but that the UN was still refusing to "do its job." Last week Israel eased its blockade, allowing a trickle of aid trucks from international agencies into Gaza - just a fraction of the 500-600 trucks that the UN estimates are needed every day.
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Palestinians storm aid centres, ignoring checks
Thousands of Palestinians stormed into sites where aid was being distributed by a foundation backed by the US and Israel, with desperation for food overcoming concern about biometric and other checks Israel said it would employ. By late afternoon on Tuesday, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it had distributed about 8000 food boxes, equivalent to about 462,000 meals, after an almost three-month-old Israeli blockade of the war-devastated enclave. In the southern city of Rafah, which is under full Israeli army control, thousands of people including women and children, some on foot or in donkey carts, flocked towards one of the distribution sites to receive food packages. Videos, some of which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed lines of people walking through a wired-off corridor and into a large open field where aid was stacked. Later, images shared on social media showed large parts of the fence torn down as people jostled their way onto the site. Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said, without providing evidence, that Hamas, Gaza's dominant militant group, had tried to block civilians from reaching the aid distribution centre. Hamas denied the accusation. "The real cause of the delay and collapse in the aid distribution process is the tragic chaos caused by the mismanagement of the same company operating under the Israeli occupation's administration in those buffer zones," Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, told Reuters. "This has led to thousands of starving people, under the pressure of siege and hunger, storming distribution centres and seizing food, during which Israeli forces opened fire," he added. The Israel military said its troops fired warning shots in the area outside the compound and that control was reestablished. A UN spokesperson called images of the incident "heartbreaking." Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein wrote on X that 8000 "food packages" were delivered to Palestinians on Tuesday, the first day of what he described as an American initiative. Some of the recipients showed the content of the packages, which included some rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar. Although the aid was available on Monday, Palestinians appeared to have heeded warnings, including from Hamas, about biometric screening procedures employed at the foundation's aid distribution sites. Israel says the Switzerland-based GHF is a US-backed initiative and that its forces will not be involved in the distribution points where food will be handed out. But its endorsement of the plan and its closeness with the US has led many to question the neutrality of the foundation, including its own former chief, who resigned unexpectedly on Sunday. The Israeli military said four aid sites have been established in recent weeks across the enclave, and that two of them in the Rafah area began operations on Tuesday and "are distributing food packages to thousands of families in the Gaza Strip." The GHF said the number of people seeking aid at one distribution site was so great at one point on Tuesday that its team had to pull back to allow people to "take aid safely and dissipate" and to avoid casualties. It said normal operations later resumed. Israeli officials said one of the advantages of the new aid system is the opportunity to screen recipients to exclude anyone found to be connected with Hamas. Israel, at war with Hamas since October 2023, accuses Hamas of stealing supplies and using them to entrench its position. Hamas denies the accusations. The Israeli military said in a statement that 400 humanitarian aid trucks were waiting in Gaza for distribution but that the UN was still refusing to "do its job." Last week Israel eased its blockade, allowing a trickle of aid trucks from international agencies into Gaza - just a fraction of the 500-600 trucks that the UN estimates are needed every day.
