Latest news with #Israeli-besieged
Boston Globe
10-07-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
IDF strike kills Gazan children awaiting food supplements, health officials say
Advertisement Eyad Amawi, director of al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, said his facility had received at least 17 dead and more than 30 others injured by midmorning. Others were taken to local field hospitals, Amawi said. 'Those people were trying to feed their children,' he said. The IDF said that it was 'aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals in the area,' and that it was reviewing the incident. 'The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible,' it added. It did not respond to questions about what weapon was used, what steps were taken to minimize civilian harm, or why the target was struck while near a crowd of women and children. The Project HOPE clinic, which Abutaha said screens children for malnutrition and provides them and lactating women with nutritional supplements, is on the front lines of efforts to treat fast-rising rates of malnutrition amid widespread hunger in the Israeli-besieged Strip. Advertisement Malnutrition among children has been increasing at an 'alarming rate' in recent months, with more than 5,000 children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years diagnosed with acute malnutrition in May alone, according to UNICEF. Only at one other point of the war, in December, has malnutrition been worse. But malnutrition rates have risen to similar levels just four months since the end of the most recent ceasefire, which lasted two months and saw a surge in aid before it collapsed in March. Dua al-Hazarin, a local journalist, said in a phone interview that she was passing through the area when the strike hit near the clinic. 'The scene was so painful, more than you can imagine,' she said. '[Dead] children in the middle of the street.' In footage she took and shared on social media, dust rises from the streets as the high-pitched wails and screams of children ring out. Women gather around the body of a child with blood seeping from his head. Elsewhere, bodies lie on the ground with pools of blood around them. One bloodied little girl is motionless in a pink dress. Next to her is a man hunched over with blood seeping from his head and another woman, both lying still, their conditions unclear. The camera continues to pan over more bodies, many of them children, collapsed across the pavement. Because of Gaza's acute fuel crisis — no fuel has entered the Strip since the beginning of March, according to the United Nations — Thursday's victims had to be brought to the hospital on carts pulled by animals, because cars and ambulances were not available, Hazarin said. Advertisement At al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, the fuel shortage was complicating efforts to care for the victims, Amawi said. As of Thursday, fuel reserves fell so low that the hospital could no longer run generators that were keeping lights on, and electricity was cut, he said. The hospital was using solar energy to run the most vital machines, Amawi said, but described it as only a short-term fix. 'The casualties are in a complex situation,' he said. 'They need more intensive medical intervention, more than is available here with this condition.' Awami also shared an image of a CT scan of one of the hospital's patients, whom he identified as 11-year-old Eman Abu Shalouf. She has a 'severe traumatic brain injury,' Awami said, adding that she fears she will die. In images shared by Awami and Mohammad al-Haj, spokesman for al-Aqsa Hospital, multiple bloodied and bandaged children are cared for in the same hospital bed. In another photo, a young girl is hooked up to machines while lying on the floor. Local photojournalist Mohammed Fayeq told The Washington Post that the scene in the hospital was 'truly catastrophic' as casualties poured in. In photos he shared on social media, five dead children covered in blood are lined up on the hospital floor. The little girl in a pink dress appears among them. In a video he took, injured children wail as they are treated on the bloodied hospital floor. The strike came amid intensified diplomatic efforts to end the war, which in 21 months has killed more than 57,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority killed are women and children. Advertisement European officials on Thursday struck a new deal with Israel to allow desperately needed food and fuel into Gaza. The agreement could result in 'more crossings open, aid and food trucks entering Gaza, repair of vital infrastructure and protection of aid workers,' said Kaja Kallas, the 27-member EU's top diplomat. 'We count on Israel to implement every measure agreed,' she said in a post on social media.
Qatar Tribune
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Pope Leo XIV calls for Gaza ceasefire, peace in Ukraine in first Sunday message
ROME: Pope Leo XIV has called for genuine peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in his first Sunday noon blessing as pontiff. 'No more war,' Leo said on Sunday, adding, 'the dramatic scenario of a third world war being fought piecemeal.' 'I too address the world's great powers by repeating the ever-present call 'never again war',' he said from the loggia of Saint Peter's Basilica to an estimated 100,000 people below. Pope Leo said he carries in his heart the 'suffering of the beloved people of Ukraine' and appealed for negotiations to reach an 'authentic, just and lasting peace'. Leo also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and said he was 'profoundly saddened' by the war in the Israeli-besieged enclave. He said humanitarian relief must be provided to the 'exhausted civilian population'. (Agencies)
Al Jazeera
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Qatar, Egypt leaders renew support for Gaza ceasefire, reconstruction plan
Egypt and Qatar, the leading intermediaries in talks to end the war on the Gaza Strip, have expressed 'grave concern' over the escalation of violence and deaths in the Israeli-besieged and -bombarded Palestinian territory, stressing continuing efforts to achieve a ceasefire. In a joint statement released on Monday during a visit by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to Qatar, Cairo and Doha reiterated their support for the Arab-backed Gaza reconstruction plan in the face of calls by the United States and Israel for depopulating the territory, which critics and rights groups have called ethnic cleansing. The two countries also announced their intention to organise an international conference in Egypt 'in cooperation with regional and international partners, to coordinate humanitarian and development efforts to ensure improved living conditions for the Palestinian people in the Strip'. The statement stressed the need to 'ensure the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid to civilians, and support reconstruction efforts' in Gaza. Qatar and Egypt emphasised the 'centrality of the Palestinian cause for Arabs', calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders – in Gaza and the occupied West Bank – with East Jerusalem as its capital. El-Sisi met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, days after US President Donald Trump renewed his call for removing all Palestinians from Gaza. With full US support, Israel resumed its assault on Gaza last month and imposed a total siege on the territory, cutting off all food and medical supplies to Palestinians there. Israel and Hamas had agreed a three-phased ceasefire in January, leading to a six-week pause in the fighting. But after the end of the first stage, which saw Hamas release dozens of Israeli captives, Israel refused to negotiate over the second phase of the agreement or commit to a permanent end to the war. Since restarting the offensive, Israel has killed more than 1,600 Palestinians, regularly targeting medical facilities, civilian shelters and aid workers. On Monday, an Israeli attack on Gaza City's Tuffah neighbourhood killed at least six civilians, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Separately, Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum reported that a barrage of air strikes hit the Israeli-designated 'safe area' al-Mawasi in southern Gaza, killing at least one person. In addition to its bombardments, Israel has again been forcibly displacing Palestinians in their thousands. On Saturday, the Israeli military announced the establishment of a new 'corridor' to cut off Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, from the rest of the territory, raising fears that Israel may be looking to annex the area. Since the start of the war in October 2023, the Israeli military has killed at least 50,983 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health authorities in the territory. Thousands more have gone missing and are presumed to be dead under the rubble. The Gaza Ministry of Health said at least 38 people were killed by Israeli attacks on Sunday. United Nations experts and leading rights groups have accused Israel of carrying out a genocide against Palestinians. The Gaza Government Media Office on Monday accused Israel of imposing a policy of 'systemic starvation' against Palestinians and rejected plans for Israel to control the distribution of humanitarian assistance – a task currently undertaken by aid groups and United Nations agencies. 'We warn against the plan that the Israeli occupation is trying to pursue by establishing or using security companies and suspicious parties to distribute humanitarian aid,' the office said. It added that the plan aims to advance Israel's 'colonial agenda' under the guise of humanitarian aid. Last year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza, including using starvation as a weapon of war.
Arab News
06-02-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Over 10,000 aid trucks have entered Gaza since ceasefire: UN
GENEVA: More than 10,000 aid trucks have crossed into Gaza since a fragile ceasefire took hold on Jan. 19, the UN humanitarian chief said on Thursday. 'We've moved over 10,000 trucks in the two weeks since the ceasefire, a massive surge,' Tom Fletcher said on X. The UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator added that he himself was 'about to cross into northern Gaza with a convoy of aid.' 'Thank you to the many people making it possible to get these trucks of vital, lifesaving food, medicine, and tents through,' he said. His comments come as Israel and Hamas prepare to negotiate the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, which has paused 15 months of relentless fighting and bombing unleashed after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack. With just a trickle of aid coming into the territory before the ceasefire deal, international aid organizations repeatedly reported crisis levels of hunger in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip and warned of looming famine. The truce has led to a surge of food, fuel, medical, and other aid being allowed into Gaza and enabled people displaced by the war to return to the north of the Palestinian territory. Under the Gaza truce's ongoing 42-day first phase, 18 hostages have meanwhile been freed so far in exchange for some 600 mostly Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. The Health Ministry in Gaza said Thursday that the death toll from the war in the Palestinian territory had reached 47,583. The number of dead, published by the ministry, continues to rise every day as bodies discovered under the rubble are identified or people die from earlier wounds. During the past 24 hours, 31 further deaths were recorded by the ministry, which also registered 111,633 wounded from the war.
Al-Ahram Weekly
06-02-2025
- General
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Over 10,000 aid trucks have entered Gaza since ceasefire: UN - War on Gaza
More than 10,000 aid trucks have crossed into Gaza since a fragile ceasefire took hold on January 19, the United Nations humanitarian chief said on Thursday. "We've moved over 10,000 trucks in the two weeks since the ceasefire, a massive surge," Tom Fletcher said on X. The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator added that he himself was "about to cross into northern Gaza with a convoy of aid". "Thank you to the many people making it possible to get these trucks of vital, lifesaving food, medicine and tents through," he said. His comments come as Israel and Hamas prepare to negotiate the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, which has paused 15 months of Israeli war and siege on the Palestinian territory. Israel's war on Gaza has so far killed at least 47,518 people and injured more than 111,000 others, mostly women and children, according to the territory's health ministry, figures the UN considers reliable. With just a trickle of aid coming into the Israeli-besieged territory before the ceasefire deal, international aid organisations repeatedly reported crisis levels of hunger in the Gaza Strip and warned of looming famine. The truce has led to a surge of food, fuel, medical and other aid being allowed into Gaza, and enabled people displaced by the war to return to the north of the Palestinian territory. Under the Gaza truce's ongoing 42-day first phase, 18 captives have meanwhile been freed so far in exchange for some 600 mostly Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. *This story was edited by Ahram Online. Short link:
