Latest news with #Israeli-US-backed
Al-Ahram Weekly
28-05-2025
- 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:
Middle East Eye
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
UN and aid groups condemn US-Israeli initiative after deadly scenes in Gaza
The United Nations and aid groups have spoken out after three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire and dozens injured at an aid distribution point set up by an Israeli-US-backed initiative. There were chaotic scenes in Rafah, southern Gaza, on Tuesday as starving Palestinians rushed inside a facility holding aid, due to long delays conducting security checks on recipients. Israel's military opened fire on the crowds as they rushed in, killing at least three Palestinians. At least 47 others were wounded and seven missing, according to Palestinian authorities in Gaza and the UN. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) denied such reports, while the Israeli military said it fired 'warning shots' and later re-established control of the facility. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters According to Israeli media, Americans affiliated with the GHF had to be rescued once they lost control of the facility. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric described the scenes as 'heartbreaking, to say the least'. 'We and our partners have a detailed, principled, operationally sound plan - supported by member states - to get aid to a desperate population,' Dujarric told reporters. 'We continue to stress that a meaningful scale-up of humanitarian operations is essential to stave off famine and meet the needs of all civilians, wherever they are.' Dujarric added that aid needed to be distributed in a way that was independent and impartial. 'We saw the plan that [the GHF] published and that they presented to us, and it is not done with the parameters that we feel match our principles, which we apply across the board, from Gaza to Sudan to Myanmar, to anywhere you want to talk about.' 'Chaotic, undignified and unsafe' Philippe Lazzarini, head of Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said Israel's model for providing aid was wasteful and a 'distraction from atrocities'. 'The model of aid distribution proposed by Israel does not align with core humanitarian principles,' Lazzarini said on Wednesday. 'We have seen yesterday the shocking images of hungry people pushing against fences, desperate for food. It was chaotic, undignified and unsafe.' Starving Palestinians storm US aid facility as distribution operation breaks down Read More » Ahmed Bayram of the Norwegian Refugee Council called on Israel and the US to scrap the initiative. He said: 'This is not how aid is done; this is not how aid should be distributed, not least obviously an occupier doing that - a country that has destroyed and flattened Rafah, asking people to come back to Rafah, that has displaced people out of Rafah, and now tells them to come back and receive whatever they can get hold of.' The GHF said in a statement that it had distributed 8,000 food boxes, which it said amounted to around 462,000 meals. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu played down the chaotic scenes. 'There was some loss of control momentarily. Happily, we brought it back under control,' he said. He also went on to falsely claim that there was no proof of malnutrition in Gaza, stating: 'You don't see one, not one emaciated [person] from the beginning of the war to the present.' Gaza Humanitarian Foundation The GHF is an Israeli-backed organisation established in early 2025 to manage a new model of humanitarian aid distribution in the Gaza Strip. It was incorporated in Switzerland in February 2025, with a US-based counterpart also registered. The organisation presented itself as an independent and neutral body, aiming to deliver aid directly to Palestinian civilians through a network of four secure distribution sites in southern and central Gaza. According to the GHF, the aid distribution sites are managed by private US security and logistics firms, including UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions (SRS), that are responsible for securing distribution hubs and overseeing vehicle checkpoints. Both SRS and UG Solutions have faced scrutiny regarding their legitimacy and transparency. Critics, including Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, have suggested that these entities might be 'shell companies' designed to obscure Israeli government involvement and funding in the aid process.
ITV News
28-05-2025
- Health
- ITV News
One killed and dozens injured after forces fire at crowd overrunning aid site in Gaza
At least one Palestinian was killed and 48 were injured when forces opened fire at a crowd overrunning an aid site in Gaza, Gaza's Health Ministry says. Crowds of Palestinians broke through fences around the distribution centre, set up by an Israeli-US-backed foundation. Journalists, working for the Associated Press, say they heard Israeli tank and gun fire, and witnessed a military helicopter firing flares. The distribution hub outside Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah opened on Monday, as part of Israel's plans for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to take over aid operations. However, the UN and other humanitarian organisations have rejected the new system, saying it won't be able to meet the needs of Gaza's 2.3 million people and allows Israel to use food as a weapon to control the population. They have also warned of the risk of friction between Israeli troops and people seeking supplies. Palestinians have become desperate for food after a near three month Israeli blockade pushed Gaza to the brink of famine. Israel says it helped establish the new aid mechanism to prevent Hamas from siphoning off supplies, but it has provided no evidence of systematic diversion of aid, and UN agencies say they have mechanisms in place to prevent it. According to GHF, four hubs have been established, and so far two have begun operating. They are guarded by private security contractors and have chain-link fences channelling Palestinians into what resemble military bases surrounded by large banks of sand. GHF said its military contractors had not fired on the crowd on Tuesday but 'fell back' before resuming operations. Israeli forces are stationed nearby in what Israel refers to as the Morag corridor, a military zone separating the southern city of Rafah, which is now mostly uninhabited, from the rest of the territory. The UN and other humanitarian groups have refused to participate in GHF's system, saying it violates humanitarian principles. They say 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. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that 'there was some loss of control momentarily' at the distribution point, adding that "happily, we brought it under control.' He repeated that Israel plans to move Gaza's entire population to a 'sterile zone' at the southern end of the territory while troops fight Hamas elsewhere. Throughout the war, the UN and other aid groups have conducted a massive operation distributing food, medicine and other supplies to wherever Palestinians are located. Israel says GHF will replace that network, but the past week has allowed a trickle of aid to enter Gaza for the UN to distribute.
