Latest news with #Israeli army
The National
3 days ago
- Health
- The National
Israeli army air strikes on Gaza kill at least 50 Palestinians
Israeli army air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Sunday killed more than 50 Palestinians, including at a market and a water distribution point, as talks for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas stalled. In one of the attacks, at least 15 people were killed in an Israeli army strike on a popular market in Gaza city's Al Daraj neighbourhood, official news agency Wafa reported. A surgeon at Al Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, Dr Ahmed Qandil, was among the dead, medical sources said. Gaza's civil defence said more than 50 people were injured in the attack. A separate strike killed at least 10 people at a water distribution point in central Gaza, officials said. Al Awda Hospital said it received 10 bodies, including six children, as well as 16 injured people after Israeli warplanes struck the water distribution point north-west of Nuseirat camp. Seven children were among those injured. Dozens others were killed in separate attacks on Gaza, Wafa said. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has condemned the strike on the water distribution point and other attacks on hungry Palestinians seeking to get food from the aid distribution centres run by the US-baked Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Gaza's Health Ministry said on Sunday that at least 58,026 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the 21-month war that was caused by the Hamas -led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 that killed about 1,200 people and saw the abduction of 251. Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 that the Israeli army says are dead. The war has displaced almost the entire population of more than 2.3 million people, caused a humanitarian crisis and left much of the territory in ruins. Seven UN agencies warned that a fuel shortage had reached 'critical levels', threatening aid operations, hospital care and already chronic food insecurity. The Israeli army on Saturday warned Gaza residents against entering the sea area along the enclave, saying security restrictions have been imposed. 'We urge fishermen, swimmers, and divers to refrain from entering the sea. Entering the sea along the strip puts you at risk,' spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X. Talks to agree a 60-day ceasefire in the fighting and hostage release were in the balance on Sunday after Israel and Hamas accused each other of trying to block a deal. Hamas wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, but a Palestinian source said Israel had presented plans to maintain troops in more than 40 per cent of the territory. The source said Israel wanted to force hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into the south of Gaza 'in preparation for forcibly displacing them to Egypt or other countries'. A senior Israeli official said Israel had demonstrated 'a willingness to flexibility in the negotiations, while Hamas remains intransigent, clinging to positions that prevent the mediators from advancing an agreement'. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is prepared to enter talks for a more lasting end to hostilities once a temporary truce is agreed, but only if Hamas disarms.
The National
3 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Israeli army refusal of full withdrawal from Gaza stalls ceasefire talks
The Israeli army's refusal to fully withdraw its troops from Gaza are stalling its indirect negotiations with Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage release deal, sources told The National on Sunday. The latest Israel-Hamas negotiations began in the Qatari capital Doha on July 6 amid high expectations fuelled by upbeat comments made by US President Donald Trump that suggested a deal was in reach. The talks have over the past week made significant progress, but not without hiccups over key issues like the distribution of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and what comes after a proposed 60-day truce ends, according to the sources. Held on two floors at a suburban Doha hotel, they are taking place with mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar at hand to enable the process. Success of the talks would herald the third ceasefire since the Gaza war began in October 2023 following a deadly, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel communities. The last ceasefire collapsed in March this year, when Israel resumed military operations after nearly two months of quiet. The first truce in the war was in November 2023. It lasted one week. The sources said Israeli negotiators were due later on Sunday to present Hamas representatives with maps showing areas the military intends to withdraw from and those it aims to stay in. They said Israel wants to hold on to at least five areas in Gaza, including a narrow but strategic strip of land that runs on the Palestinian side of the Gaza-Egypt border as well as another corridor that is close by. Israel also wants to keep outposts in the north and south of the territory, including an area close to the spot outside the southern city of Rafah where it is reportedly planning to provide humanitarian aid to about 600,000 Palestinians, according to the sources. Hamas, said the sources, has agreed to allow Israel to set up a security zone that is 1km deep and runs on the Palestinian side of the Gaza-Israel border, but it is adamant that the Israeli army pulls out from everywhere else in the coastal enclave. Hamas is also demanding that the security zone is patrolled by an international force, said the sources. A Palestinian source told AFP on Sunday that Israel's proposals to keep its troops in Gaza were holding up a deal. It quoted a senior Israeli official it did not name as accusing Hamas of inflexibility and deliberately trying to scuttle an accord. Besides the 60-day truce, the main terms of the proposed deal is for Hamas to free 10 living hostages and for humanitarian assistance to flow into the territory where hundreds of thousands are facing hunger. They also include the release of about 1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails and negotiations during the initial truce on ending the war completely. If Hamas agrees to a deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would be prepared to enter talks on a more permanent end to hostilities. The Israeli leader, who is under domestic and international pressure to end the war, said last week that neutralising Hamas as a security threat was a prerequisite for any long-term ceasefire talks. That includes disarmament, he said. Failure to do that would mean Israel would have to do so by force, he warned. Hamas has vehemently rejected calls for surrendering its arms but suggested a willingness to lay down and store them in the case of an end to the war. Mediators had in the meantime asked both Israel and Hamas to postpone discussions until Mr Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, arrived in the Qatari capital, according to AFP. The source did not say when that would be, but the sources who spoke to The National said he was unlikely to travel to Qatar before a deal becomes within reach. The Hamas attack on southern Israel communities in October 2023 left about 1,200 dead, mostly civilians. The assailants also took another 250 hostage. Of the hostages, 49 remain, with about 27 who died in captivity. Israel's response to the October 2023 attack has to date killed at least 57,882 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, and wounded more than twice that number, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
ABC News
5 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
UN says almost 800 people killed near Gaza aid hubs in six weeks
Nearly 800 people have died trying to access aid in Gaza since late May, with most killed near the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's sites, the UN said Friday. An officially private effort, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operations on May 26 after Israel halted supplies into the Gaza Strip for more than two months, sparking warnings of imminent famine. Since those operations began through to July 7, UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the agency had recorded "615 killings in the vicinity of the GHF sites". Another 183 people had been killed "presumably on the routes of aid convoys" carried out by UN and other aid organisations, she told reporters in Geneva. "This is nearly 800 people who have been killed while trying to access aid," she said, adding that "most of the injuries are gunshot injuries". GHF operations, which effectively sidelined a vast UN aid delivery network in Gaza, have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations. The GHF, which said Thursday it had distributed more than 69 million meals to date, has denied that fatal shootings have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points. The Israeli army has accused Hamas of being responsible for firing at civilians in the vicinity of aid centres. The army said Friday it had issued instructions to Israel's forces in the field "following lessons learned" after reports of deadly incidents at distribution facilities. It explained that it "allows the American civilian organisation (GHF) to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip". "As part of this effort, IDF forces have recently worked to reorganise the area through the installation of fences, signage placement, the opening of additional routes, and other measures," it said. The army stressed that "following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted," adding those incidents were "under review by the competent authorities in the IDF". Ms Shamdasani highlighted that the UN rights office had repeatedly raised "serious concerns about respect for international humanitarian law principles" in the war in Gaza, which erupted following Hamas's deadly October 7, 2023, attack inside Israel. "Where people are lining up for essential supplies such as food and medicine, and where they are being attacked, where… they have a choice between being shot or being fed, this is unacceptable," she said. The Gaza war was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, while displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million and causing a hunger crisis. wires
ABC News
5 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
UN says almost 800 people killed near Gaza aid hubs in in six weeks
Nearly 800 people have died trying to access aid in Gaza since late May, with most killed near the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's sites, the UN said Friday. An officially private effort, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operations on May 26 after Israel halted supplies into the Gaza Strip for more than two months, sparking warnings of imminent famine. Since those operations began through to July 7, UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the agency had recorded "615 killings in the vicinity of the GHF sites". Another 183 people had been killed "presumably on the routes of aid convoys" carried out by UN and other aid organisations, she told reporters in Geneva. "This is nearly 800 people who have been killed while trying to access aid," she said, adding that "most of the injuries are gunshot injuries". GHF operations, which effectively sidelined a vast UN aid delivery network in Gaza, have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations. The GHF, which said Thursday it had distributed more than 69 million meals to date, has denied that fatal shootings have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points. The Israeli army has accused Hamas of being responsible for firing at civilians in the vicinity of aid centres. The army said Friday it had issued instructions to Israel's forces in the field "following lessons learned" after reports of deadly incidents at distribution facilities. It explained that it "allows the American civilian organisation (GHF) to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip". "As part of this effort, IDF forces have recently worked to reorganise the area through the installation of fences, signage placement, the opening of additional routes, and other measures," it said. The army stressed that "following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted," adding those incidents were "under review by the competent authorities in the IDF". Ms Shamdasani highlighted that the UN rights office had repeatedly raised "serious concerns about respect for international humanitarian law principles" in the war in Gaza, which erupted following Hamas's deadly October 7, 2023 attack inside Israel. "Where people are lining up for essential supplies such as food and medicine, and where they are being attacked, where… they have a choice between being shot or being fed, this is unacceptable," she said. AFP
LBCI
6 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Israeli army claims killing Hezbollah's coastal artillery commander in South Lebanon
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee claimed Thursday that Israeli forces killed Muhammad Jamal Murad, identified as Hezbollah's artillery commander in the coastal sector, in an airstrike earlier in the day on the town of Mansouri in southern Lebanon. In a post on X, Adraee wrote: "The Israeli army attacked earlier today in the area of Mansouri, southern Lebanon, and eliminated Muhammad Jamal Murad, who served as the commander of artillery in the coastal sector of Hezbollah.'' He added: ''Murad was responsible for numerous rocket attacks toward the State of Israel during the war and had made several attempts in recent months to rebuild Hezbollah's artillery capabilities in the coastal area.'' Adraee concluded: ''Murad's activities posed a threat to the security of the State of Israel and its citizens, and were a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The Israeli army will continue to operate to eliminate any threat to the State of Israel.'
