Latest news with #Israel-backed
NBC News
4 hours ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Dozens feared killed after Israeli tank fires on crowd waiting for aid in Gaza, witnesses say
The Israeli military said it was 'unaware of injuries caused by IDF fire within the humanitarian aid distribution site,' adding that 'the matter is still under review.' The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which began distributing aid in the enclave last week as part of a new U.S. and Israel-backed plan, said that it delivered 16 trucks of food 'without incident,' and denied reports of 'deaths, mass injuries and chaos' at its distribution sites. GHF was tasked with distributing aid in Gaza after Israel earlier this month lifted an almost three-month-long blockade barring the entry of food, medicine and other vital supplies following warnings of rising starvation in the enclave. But its first week in operations has been marred by controversy and chaos. Last week, thousands of hungry Palestinians flooded one of their distribution centers and Israeli soldiers fired live rounds into the air to disperse crowds. The GHF rejected statements by Gaza's Hamas-run government media office that three Palestinians were killed, 46 others injured and seven people were missing after the incident. The foundation said that no one was killed while trying to access its distribution site. GHF's former executive director, Jake Wood, also quit the organization ahead of its operations in Gaza, saying it was impossible to implement the plan while also adhering to the 'humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence,' according to a statement published by Reuters. The United Nations, which has refused to participate in the plan, has condemned the GHF initiative as a 'distraction' that undermines a long-standing humanitarian framework in Gaza. The U.N. says the effort poses a threat to the independence of aid operations, while simultaneously displacing Palestinians en masse to Gaza's south. Israel has maintained that a new aid distribution system was necessary, alleging that Hamas was diverting supplies. Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks, in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage, marking a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict. Since then, more than 54,000 people, including thousands of children, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in the enclave, which has been run by Hamas since 2007.
5 hours ago
- Health
At least 21 killed by Israeli gunfire near Gaza aid site, health ministry says
LONDON -- At least 21 people were killed and 179 people were injured after Israeli forces opened fire near an aid distribution site to the west of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. In a statement posted to X, the Israel Defense Forces said, "At this stage, there are no known casualties from IDF gunfire" within the site. "The matter is still under investigation," it added. Local witnesses cited by The Associated Press suggested that the shooting occurred around 1,000 yards from the aid site, which is run by the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. In a Sunday morning statement issued before the latest report of shooting emerged, the GHF said aid "was again distributed today without incident."
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Gaza aid trucks rushed by desperate and hungry crowds, WFP says
Crowds of civilians have rushed aid trucks in Gaza, the World Food Programme has said, as hunger and desperation create chaotic scenes. The humanitarian organisation said it had brought 77 trucks loaded with flour into Gaza overnight and early on Saturday. "All trucks were stopped along the way, with food taken mainly by hungry people trying to feed their families," WFP said. Due to a "very high" chance convoys would not reach their warehouse, a decision was taken to let people take aid in the event of crowds, WFP spokeswoman Abeer Etefa told the BBC. Israel eased an 11-week aid blockade on 19 May, but the UN says the amount sent in the last week amounts to just over 10% of people's needs. The crowds on Saturday were civilians who had received word that food was coming, "the desperate ones who cannot wait to get to distribution points", Ms Etefa said. WFP had chosen aid delivery routes "that are closer to the populations and safer, and away from the gangs". Workers instructed people to take only one bag of flour each, but were not able to control who took what as intended. "After nearly 80 days of a total blockade, starving people will not let a food truck pass," the WFP added. A UN-backed assessment has said Gaza's entire population is at "critical risk" of famine, with Ms Efeta saying two million people are in "desperate need" of food. After the blockade partially lifted, WFP has been able to distribute trucks, but "not at the scale that we would like to and not at the quantities that should get there so that we can calm the situation and control the chaos", she said. Israel said it had imposed the blockade on Gaza to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive. The UN Palestinian relief agency chief said the 900 trucks sent in to Gaza over the past week were "just over 10% of the daily needs of people". "The aid that's being sent now makes a mockery to the mass tragedy unfolding under our watch," Philippe Lazzarini said on X. Israeli military agency Cogat has accused the UN of not distributing aid already inside Gaza, with Israel's foreign ministry saying hundreds of trucks are waiting. "More aid would actually get to the people if you would collect the aid waiting for you by the crossings," Cogat said to the UN on X on Friday. The UN humanitarian office's regional head, Jonathan Whittall, said the agency faced challenges in distributing aid because of escalating insecurity along routes, being given "inappropriate routes", "long delays" in receiving approvals to move, and "desperate crowds" along the way. Separately, a new US and Israel-backed organisation has also been distributing food at designated sites across Gaza. Israel set up the plan after accusing Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it distributed two million meals this week, which the BBC has not been able to independently verify. There were chaotic scenes at those distribution sites this week. The UN has refused to work with the operation, saying it contradicts humanitarian principles. Meanwhile, Israeli air strikes continue. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday that over the past day, it had struck "dozens of terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip". Sixty people were killed in Israeli military operations over the past 24 hours, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said. The statistics do not include the North Gaza Governorate, where the last hospital closed on Thursday after the Israeli military ordered its evacuation. Christos Georgalas, a Greek surgeon who until 21 May worked at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, told the BBC his patients were mainly children, usually with shrapnel injuries. "Children were the main victims in terms of trauma and malnutrition," he said on Friday. Malnutrition slows down the healing process and increases the risk of infections because wounds remain open longer, he explained. He and hospital staff eat only rice for lunch and dinner, which he said made them lucky compared to others. One of his colleagues told him he had lost 26 kilos (57 pounds) over recent months. Georgalas said a lot of doctors had not been paid for a year. Some live in tents, commuting without protection to work, or have to evacuate at short notice. "They are worried for their relatives and lives, they are starved, despite that they continue," he said. Since he left Gaza, his colleague told him the ICU had been "constantly full" and "overwhelmed", with doctors having to ration care because so many patients need intubation. Meanwhile, four Arab countries that had planned a landmark visit to the West Bank this weekend condemned Israel's decision to block the trip. The delegation that was planning to meet the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah included the foreign ministers of Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. An Israeli official said the intended meeting was meant to discuss promoting a Palestinian state, which the current Israeli government rejects. Saudi Arabia and France are co-hosting an international conference next month meant to resurrect the two-state solution as an answer to the Gaza war. Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas's cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 54,381 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 4,117 since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. How controversial US-Israeli backed Gaza aid plan turned to chaos Last hospital in North Gaza governorate evacuated after Israeli order
NBC News
a day ago
- Health
- NBC News
Hamas says it's reviewing a U.S. ceasefire deal backed by Israel
Naim said Hamas had received an official response from the Israeli side to the proposal, but said it failed to 'to meet any of the just and legitimate demands of our people,' including an immediate cessation of hostilities. But he said Hamas was still considering the ceasefire proposal. Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage, marking a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict. Since then, more than 54,000 people, including thousands of children, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in the enclave, which has been run by Hamas since 2007. Meanwhile, aid groups have warned of a dire humanitarian situation in the enclave due to Israel's offensive and 11-week-long blockade that barred the entry of food and medicine before it was lifted last week. President Donald Trump on Wednesday acknowledged the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling it a "nasty situation," adding that 'Oct. 7 was a very nasty day, the worst that I think I've ever seen.' He told reporters the U.S. was getting food to Palestinian civilians, with a new system for aid distribution launched over the past week, led by the U.S. and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. GHF began operations this week days after Israel lifted its blockade, despite criticism from humanitarian groups who warned that its operations undermined a long-running humanitarian framework in Gaza and risked compromising the independence of aid operations. They also expressed significant concern over a plan laid out by Netanyahu to see aid distributed at sites in southern Gaza, effectively forcibly displacing Palestinians there. In an update Friday, however, GHF said it planned to build additional sites across Gaza, including in the northern region, 'in the weeks ahead.' The organization said it had so far distributed more than 2.1 million meals to Palestinians in the span of four days.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Gazans rush for humanitarian aid as Israeli strikes continue
Gazans camped out close to a humanitarian aid distribution site near the city of Rafah on Wednesday night, as a controversial U.S.- and Israel-backed project to distribute food in the devastated Palestinian territory expanded. Local journalists told ABC News that thousands of people gathered at the site northeast of Rafah in the hope of receiving food aid, but there was not enough to satisfy demand when distribution began on Thursday. The site is located close to the Morag corridor -- a strip of land controlled by the Israel Defense Forces separating the Gazan cities of Rafah and Khan Younis. Videos from the site showed large crowds of Gazans rushing to collect aid, carrying boxes stamped with the mark of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF -- which is directing the aid distribution in collaboration with the American and Israeli governments. "It is very difficult, we want to eat, we want to live -- what should we do?" one man said when speaking with Reuters. Another man left the site empty-handed, telling Reuters, "Every time I go, I hold a box, a hundred people crowd over me, 300. I could not take anything." Meanwhile, Israeli strikes continued across the strip. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday that 67 people were killed and 184 people injured by Israeli action over the previous 24 hours. The latest casualties bring the total toll in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, to 54,249 people killed and 123,492 injured, the ministry said. MORE: Gazan children wait for food in long lines as starvation looms The Israeli government had been implementing a blockade on all humanitarian aid being sent into Gaza since March 2. The blockade was instituted to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages, Israel said. Hamas still holds 58 hostages, with about one-third of them believed to be alive, according to The Associated Press. The blockade has caused widespread malnutrition and conditions likely to lead to famine, according to the U.N. and other international aid organizations. Two million people in the Gaza Strip face "extreme hunger and famine without immediate action," the U.N.'s World Food Programme, or WFP, said last week. Last week, Israel began allowing small amounts of humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, approving GHF's responsibility for distribution. Israel had demanded a new aid distribution system, having accused Hamas of previously siphoning off aid. GHF -- launched earlier this year and run by U.S. security contractors, former military officers and humanitarian workers -- has set up a handful of hubs protected by armed contractors close to IDF positions. Gazans have been told to travel to the hubs to collect aid. The United Nations and other humanitarian aid groups have refused to take part in the new effort, citing concerns that it will allow Israel to control -- and weaponize -- aid supply. WFP, for example, said it "cannot safely operate under a distribution system that limits the number of bakeries and sites where Gaza's population can access food. WFP and its partners must also be allowed to distribute food parcels directly to families -- the most effective way to prevent widespread starvation." GHF Executive Director Jake Wood resigned earlier this week, saying in a statement it had become "clear that it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon." MORE: As Ukraine negotiations founder, Trump turns to Middle East for signs of progress: ANALYSIS GHF on Wednesday denied reports that it was forced to pause operations after thousands of Palestinians overran one of its aid distribution sites in Gaza on Tuesday. The group said its "operations will continue to scale up" on Thursday, having distributed a total of eight trucks worth of aid -- enough for 378,262 meals -- on Wednesday. GHF later said that three of its sites were operational on Thursday, distributing around 997,920 meals. That brought the total number of meals distributed to approximately 1,838,182, GHF's statement said. However, multiple aid organizations and nongovernmental organizations have said the aid distributed so far is just a drop in the bucket compared to what is needed. ABC News' Helena Skinner, Diaa Ostaz, Joe Simonetti, Nadine El-Bawab, Camilla Alcini and Will Gretsky contributed to this report. Gazans rush for humanitarian aid as Israeli strikes continue originally appeared on
