Latest news with #IsraeliBombardment
CTV News
2 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Gaza marks the start of Eid with outdoor prayers amongst the rubble and food growing ever scarcer
Palestinians gather for Eid al-Adha prayers beside the ruins of a mosque destroyed by Israeli bombardment, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinians across the war-ravaged Gaza Strip marked the start of one of Islam's most important holidays with prayers outside destroyed mosques and homes early Friday, with little hope the war with Israel will end soon. With much of Gaza in rubble, men and children were forced to hold the traditional Eid al-Adha prayers in the open air and with food supplies dwindling, families were having to make do with what they could scrape together for the three-day feast. 'This is the worst feast that the Palestinian people have experienced because of the unjust war against the Palestinian people,' said Kamel Emran after attending prayers in the southern city of Khan Younis. 'There is no food, no flour, no shelter, no mosques, no homes, no mattresses ... The conditions are very, very harsh.' The Islamic holiday begins on the 10th day of the Islamic lunar month of Dhul-Hijja, during the Hajj season in Saudi Arabia. For the second year, Muslims in Gaza were not able to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform the traditional pilgrimage. The war broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 hostages. They are still holding 56 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies. Since then, Israel has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians in its military campaign, primarily women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry which does not distinguish between civilians or combatants in its figures. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced around 90 per cent of its population of roughly two million Palestinians. After blocking all food and aid from entering Gaza for more than two months, Israel began allowing a trickle of supplies to enter for the UN several weeks ago. But the UN says it has been unable to distribute much of the aid because of Israeli military restrictions on movements and because roads that the military designates for its trucks to use are unsafe and vulnerable to looters. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome said Thursday that Gaza's people are projected to fall into acute food insecurity by September, with nearly 500,000 people experiencing extreme food deprivation, leading to malnutrition and starvation. 'This means the risk of famine is really touching the whole of the Gaza Strip,' Rein Paulson, director of the FAO office of emergencies and resilience, said in an interview. Over the past two weeks, shootings have erupted nearly daily in the Gaza Strip in the vicinity of new hubs where desperate Palestinians are being directed to collect food. Witnesses say nearby Israeli troops have opened fire, and more than 80 people have been killed according to Gaza hospital officials. Israel has accused Hamas of stealing aid and trying to block it from reaching Palestinians, and has said soldiers fired warning shots or at individuals approaching its troops in some cases. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a newly formed group of mainly American contractors that Israel wants to use to replace humanitarian groups in Gaza that distribute aid in coordination with the UN, said Friday that all its distribution centers were closed for the day due to the ongoing violence. It urged people to stay away for their own safety, and said it would make an announcement later as to when they would resume distributing humanitarian aid. _____ Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Paolo Santalucia in Rome and David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this story. Waffa Shurafa, The Associated Press
CTV News
3 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Netanyahu says Israel has ‘activated' some Palestinian clans opposed to Hamas
The sun sets as smoke from Israeli bombardment billows over buildings in the northern Gaza Strip, seen from southern Israel, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo) JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel has 'activated' some clans of Palestinians in Gaza that are opposed to Hamas, though it was not immediately clear what role they would play. His comments on social media were the first public acknowledgment of Israel's backing of armed Palestinian groups within Gaza, based around powerful clans or extended families. Such clans often wield some control in corners of Gaza, and some have had clashes or tensions with Hamas in the past. Palestinians and aid workers have accused clans of carrying out criminal attacks and stealing aid from trucks. Several clans have issued public statements rejecting cooperation with the Israelis or denouncing looting. An Israeli official said that one group that Netanyahu was referring to was the so-called Popular Forces, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a local clan leader in Gaza's southernmost city, Rafah. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. In recent weeks, the Abu Shabab group announced online that its fighters were helping protect shipments to the new, Israeli-backed food distribution centers run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the Rafah area. But some Palestinians say the group has also been involved in attacking and looting aid convoys. Netanyahu did not specify what support Israel was giving to the clans, or what specifically their role would be. His announcement came hours after a political opponent criticized him for arming unofficial groups of Palestinians in Gaza. In a video posted to his X account, Netanyahu said the government made the move on the advice of 'security officials,' in order to save lives of Israeli soldiers. Though it was known in southern Gaza throughout the war, the Abu Shabab group emerged publicly the past month, posting pictures of its armed members, with helmets, flak jackets and automatic weapons. It declared itself a 'nationalist force' protecting aid. The Abu Shabab family renounced Yasser over his connections with the Israeli military in a recent statement, saying he and anyone who joined his group 'are no longer linked' to the family. The group's media office said in response to emailed questions from the Associated Press that it operates in Israeli military-controlled areas for a 'purely humanitarian' reason. It described its ties with the Israel military as 'humanitarian communication to facilitate the introduction of aid and ensure that it is not intercepted.' 'We are not proxies for anyone,' it said. 'We have not received any military or logistical support from any foreign party.' It said it has 'secured the surroundings' of GHF centers in Rafah but was not involved in distribution of food. It rejected accusations that the group had looted aid, calling them 'exaggerations' and part of a 'smear campaign.' But it also said, 'our popular forces led by Yasser Abu Shabab only took the minimum amount of food and water necessary to secure their elements in the field,' without elaborating how, and from whom, they took the aid. Abu Shabab and around 100 fighters have been active in eastern parts of Rafah and Khan Younis, areas under Israeli military control, according to Nahed Sheheiber, head of the private transportation union in Gaza that provides trucks and drivers for aid groups. He said they used to attack aid trucks driving on a military-designated route leading from the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, the main entry point for aid. 'Our trucks were attacked many times by the Abu Shabab gang and the occupation forces stood idle. They did nothing,' Sheheiber said, referring to the Israeli military, 'The one who has looted aid is now the one who protects aid,' he said sarcastically. An aid worker in Gaza said humanitarian groups tried last year to negotiate with Abu Shabab and other influential families to end their looting of convoys. Though they agreed, they soon reverted to hijacking trucks, the aid worker said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk the media. The aid worker said he saw Abu Shabab's men operating in Israeli-controlled areas near the military-held Morag Corridor in southern Gaza in late May. They were wearing new uniforms and carried what appeared to be new weapons, he said. Jonathan Whittall, head of the U.N. humanitarian office OCHA for the occupied Palestinian territory, said Thursday that 'criminal gangs operating under the watch of Israeli forces near Kerem Shalom would systematically attack and loot aid convoys. .... These gangs have by far been the biggest cause of aid loss in Gaza.' The war between Israel and Hamas erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-linked militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with an offensive that has decimated Gaza, displaced nearly all of its 2.3 million people and caused a humanitarian crisis that has left the territory on the brink of famine. Gaza's Health Ministry says over 54,000 Palestinians have been killed, more than half of them women and children. The ministry, which is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally. Hamas is still holding 56 hostages. Around a third are believed to be alive, though many fear they are in grave danger the longer the war goes on. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. Julia Frankel, Samy Magdy And Sam Mednick, The Associated Press
CTV News
6 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Israeli forces open fire a kilometre away from Gaza aid site, killing 3, health officials say
Smoke from Israeli bombardment billows over buildings in the northern Gaza Strip, seen from southern Israel, Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo) KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip -- Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip opened fire as people headed toward an aid distribution site a kilometre away at around sunrise on Monday, killing at least three people and wounding dozens, health officials and a witness said. The military said it fired warning shots at 'suspects' who approached its forces. The shooting occurred at the same location where witnesses say Israeli forces fired a day earlier on crowds of people heading toward the aid hub in southern Gaza run by the Israeli and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The Israeli military said it fired warning shots on Monday toward 'several suspects who advanced toward the troops and posed a threat to them,' around a kilometre (1,000 yards) away from the aid distribution site at a time when it was closed. The army denied it was preventing people from reaching the site. The United Nations and major aid groups have rejected the foundation's new system for aid distribution. They say it violates humanitarian principles and cannot meet mounting needs in the territory of roughly 2 million people, where experts have warned of famine because of an Israeli blockade that was only slightly eased last month. In a separate incident Monday, an Israeli strike on a residential building in northern Gaza killed 14 people, according to health officials. The Shifa and al-Ahli hospitals confirmed the toll from the strike in the built-up Jabaliya refugee camp, saying five women and seven children were among those killed. The military said it had struck 'terror targets' across northern Gaza, without elaborating. Israel says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militant group is entrenched in populated areas. Shooting in southern Gaza A Red Cross field hospital received 50 wounded people, including two declared dead on arrival, after the shooting in southern Gaza, according to Hisham Mhanna, a Red Cross spokesperson. He said most had gunfire and shrapnel wounds. Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis said it received a third body. Moataz al-Feirani, 21, who was being treated at Nasser Hospital, said he was shot in his leg as he walked with a crowd of thousands toward the aid distribution site. He said Israeli forces opened fire as they neared the Flag Roundabout at around 5:30 a.m. 'We had had nothing, and they (military) were watching us,' he said, adding that drones were filming them. On Sunday, at least 31 people were killed and over 170 wounded at the Flag Roundabout as large crowds headed toward the aid site, according to local health officials, aid groups and several eyewitnesses. The witnesses said Israeli forces opened fire on the crowds at around 3 a.m. after ordering them to disperse and come back when the distribution site opens. Israel's military on Sunday denied its forces fired at civilians near the aid site in the now mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah, a military zone off limits to independent media. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with procedure, said troops fired warning shots at several suspects advancing toward them overnight. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has denied previous accounts of chaos and gunfire around its sites, said it had delivered aid on both days without incident. On Sunday night, the foundation issued a statement, saying aid recipients must stay on the designated route to reach the hub Monday, and that Israeli troops are positioned along the way to ensure their security. 'Leaving the road is extremely dangerous,' the statement said. 'Risking their lives for food' Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was 'appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza' on Sunday. 'It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food.' 'I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable,' he said in a statement on Monday. Israel and the United States say they helped establish the new aid system to circumvent Hamas, which they accuse of siphoning off assistance. UN agencies deny there is any systemic diversion of aid and say the new system violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to control who receives aid and by forcing Palestinians to travel long distances to receive it. Palestinians must pass close to Israeli forces and cross military lines to reach the GHF hubs, in contrast to the UN aid network, which delivers aid to where Palestinians are located. No end in sight to Israel-Hamas war The Israel-Hamas war began when Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is still holding 58 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The ministry is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government. Its toll is seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts, though Israel has challenged its numbers. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli pullout. Israel has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned, and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile. It has said it will maintain control of Gaza indefinitely and facilitate what it refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population. Palestinians and most of the international community have rejected the resettlement plans, viewing them as forcible expulsion. ------ By Mohammad Jahjouh, Wafaa Shurafa And Samy Magdy Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Magdy from Cairo.
Jordan Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Israeli 'warning' fire at diplomats sparks outcry amid Gaza pressure
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip, shows smoke billowing above destroyed buildings during Israeli bombardment in the besieged Palestinian territory on May 21, 2025 (AFP photo) JENIN, Palestinian Territories — Israeli troops fired warning shots during a visit by foreign diplomats to the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, the military said, drawing condemnation as pressure mounted on Israel to allow aid into war-battered Gaza. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged Israel to hold to account those responsible for the shooting near Jenin, a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups and a frequent target of Israeli raids. The Palestinian foreign ministry accused Israel of having "deliberately targeted by live fire an accredited diplomatic delegation". A European diplomat said the group had gone to the area "to see the destruction" caused by months of Israeli operations. The Israeli military said "the delegation deviated from the approved route", prompting troops to fire "warning shoots" to keep them away from "an area where they were not authorised to be". In said it "regrets the inconvenience caused" by the shooting, which resulted in no injuries. The incident came as international pressure intensified over the war in Gaza, where Palestinians were desperate for supplies after a two-month aid blockade was eased. Rescue teams in the Palestinian territory said overnight Israeli strikes killed at least 19 people, including a week-old baby. 'Unbearable' Israel said 93 trucks had entered Gaza on Tuesday but faced accusations the amount fell far short of what was required. The United Nations said the aid had been held up. The world body on Monday said it had been cleared to send in aid for the first time since Israel imposed a total blockade on March 2 in a move leading to critical shortages of food and medicine. Umm Talal Al Masri, 53, a displaced Palestinian living in an area of Gaza City, described the situation as "unbearable". "No one is distributing anything to us. Everyone is waiting for aid, but we haven't received anything," she told AFP. "We're grinding lentils and pasta to make some loaves of bread, and we barely manage to prepare one meal a day." The Israeli army stepped up its offensive at the weekend, vowing to defeat Gaza's Hamas rulers, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war. Israel has faced massive pressure, including from traditional allies, to halt its intensified offensive and allow aid into Gaza. Kallas said on Tuesday that "a strong majority" of foreign ministers from the 27-nation European Union backed the move to review its trade cooperation with Israel. "The countries see that the situation in Gaza is untenable... and what we want is to unblock the humanitarian aid," she said. Sweden said it would press the EU to impose sanctions on Israeli ministers, while Britain suspended free-trade negotiations with Israel and summoned the Israeli ambassador. Pope Leo XIV described the situation in Gaza as "worrying and painful" and called for "the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid". Israel's foreign ministry has said the EU action "reflects a total misunderstanding of the complex reality Israel is facing". Germany on Wednesday defended a key EU-Israel cooperation deal as "an important forum that we must use in order to discuss critical questions" over the situation in Gaza. Reckless act' After the warning shots were fired at diplomats, Belgium demanded a "convincing explanation" from Israel, while Spain said it was "in contact with other affected countries to jointly coordinate a response to what happened, which we strongly condemn". Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani summoned the Israeli ambassador to Rome and said that "threats against diplomats are unacceptable". Ahmad Al Deek, political adviser for the Palestinian foreign ministry, said he had been leading the delegation. "We condemn this reckless act by the Israeli army, especially at a time when it had given the diplomatic delegation an impression of the life the Palestinian people are living", he said. A European diplomat present during the visit said he heard "repeated shots" coming from inside Jenin refugee camp, which has been largely emptied of its inhabitants since the Israeli operation began in January. In Gaza, Israel resumed its operations across the territory on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire. Gaza's health ministry said Tuesday at least 3,509 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,655.
Jordan Times
17-05-2025
- Health
- Jordan Times
Israel launches expanded Gaza offensive amid increasing concern about worsening humanitarian situation
This picture taken from a position in southern Israel on the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing over destroyed buildings on the Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardment on May 17, 2025 (AFP photo) GAZA/OCCUPIED JRUSALEM — Israel's military launched intensified Gaza operations on Saturday aimed at "the defeat of Hamas", with rescuers in the besieged Palestinian territory reporting at least 10 killed by new Israeli strikes. The stepped-up campaign came amid increasing international concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza which continues to worsen amid an Israeli aid blockade. One of the territory's last functioning hospitals warned it could no longer treat seriously wounded patients because of shortages and damage from a nearby attack. It also came as Hamas said a new round of indirect negotiations with Israel "without any preconditions" aimed at ending the war had started in Doha. Israel's military called the new operation part of "the expansion of the battle in the Gaza Strip, with the goal of achieving all the war's objectives, including the release of the abducted and the defeat of Hamas". It said it had "launched extensive strikes and transferred forces to seize control of areas within the Gaza Strip". Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said 10 bodies were brought to hospitals on Saturday morning a day after Israeli strikes killed at least 100 people. In the central city of Deir El Balah, displaced Gazans sifted through belongings, some bloodstained, for whatever could be salvaged after overnight strikes hit their tents. "We woke up at half past two in the morning to the sound of a loud explosion that shook the entire area," said Umm Fadi Quzaat. "There was blood and body parts everywhere." Israel resumed its Gaza offensive on March 18, ending a two-month truce in the war triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack. UN human rights chief Volker Turk on Friday denounced the renewed attacks and what he described as an apparent push to permanently displace Gaza's inhabitants as being "tantamount to ethnic cleansing". Doha talks Senior Hamas official Taher Al Nunu said Saturday new talks on ending the war had begun in Doha "without any preconditions from either side". "Hamas will present its viewpoint on all issues, especially ending the war, [Israel's] withdrawal and prisoner exchange," he added. Previous negotiations failed to secure a breakthrough, but the talks have been ongoing, with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying this week he had told negotiators to head for the Qatari capital. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz credited the intensified campaign with bringing Hamas back to the table -- "in contrast to the recalcitrant position they had taken up until that moment". Both sides have insisted on certain conditions, with Hamas saying disarmament was a red line and Netanyahu unwilling to agree to a deal that would leave the group intact. At the Arab League summit, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called on leaders to adopt a Palestinian Authority-led plan to end the war under which "Hamas would relinquish its control" of Gaza and "hand over its weapons" to the PA. The plan would also involve a permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages, humanitarian aid entering Gaza and an Israel's withdrawal from the Strip, he said, as well as "a political process" for implementing a two-state solution. 'Catastrophic' Israel has faced increasing pressure to lift its aid blockade, as UN agencies warn of critical shortages of food, clean water, fuel and medicines. Marwan Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, said the situation there Saturday was "catastrophic after its surroundings were targeted again this morning". The hospital was "unable to receive any more critical cases" amid "a severe shortage" of blood units, medicine and supplies, he said. Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead. The health ministry in the territory said 3,131 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,272.
