Latest news with #IsraeliConflict
Arab News
7 days ago
- General
- Arab News
Gaza relief effort ‘succeeding' but can ‘improve,' Washington says after deaths
WASHINGTON: The United States said Tuesday that a US-backed relief effort in Gaza was succeeding in distributing meals but acknowledged the potential for improvement after the Red Cross reported 27 deaths. 'They're succeeding in getting the meals distributed. And in the meantime, we're going to obviously be determining how that's working and how we can further improve perhaps,' State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters. The Red Cross said that 27 people were killed in southern Gaza near an aid center of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund as Israeli troops opened fire. The foundation has faced persistent criticism from the United Nations and aid groups, which say it goes against long-standing humanitarian principles by coordinating relief efforts with a military belligerent. Bruce complained that President Donald Trump's administration had been 'harangued' by criticism on accounts of hunger in Gaza and that the foundation was getting in food. She blamed the presence of Israeli troops on the lack of a surrender by Hamas, which Israel has been battling since the armed group's unprecedented attack on October 7, 2023. 'The dynamics are dangerous and there are seven million meals that have been distributed. I can't stress enough that that is the story,' she said. 'In the meantime, hopefully things will be refined,' she said, adding there would be another environment 'if Hamas actually behaved like human beings.' The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, on Monday attacked media outlets that, quoting witnesses, had reported on injuries in Gaza aid delivery, saying they were 'contributing to the anti-Semitic climate' that has led to two attacks in the United States. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, asked about the Red Cross account of deaths on Tuesday, said that the Trump administration was 'aware of those reports, and we are currently looking into the veracity of them.' 'Because unfortunately, unlike some in the media, we don't take the word of Hamas with total truth,' she said.
The Independent
03-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
Israel military says it fired ‘warning shots' after 27 Palestinians killed near Gaza aid centre
At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens suffered injuries on Tuesday, according to local health officials, after the latest incident involving Israeli troops opening fire near an aid centre in Rafah. Israeli warplanes as well as forces on the ground targeted crowds gathered near an aid distribution centre run by the US-based and Israel -backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the Palestinian Authority's Wafa news agency reported. Tuesday's shooting took place at the same location where witnesses say Israeli forces fired a day earlier at crowds heading toward the aid hub. The Israeli military confirmed its troops had opened fire but described them as 'warning shots' aimed towards 'several suspects who advanced toward the troops and posed a threat to them,' around 1km away from the aid distribution site at a time when it was closed. The individuals were moving towards forces in a way that "posed a threat to [the soldiers]", the military said, adding that the incident occurred some distance away from the aid distribution site in a 'closed military zone'. The Israeli army denied it was preventing people from reaching the aid site. The GHF's aid plan has been criticised by both the UN and established aid charities, which say it does not follow humanitarian principles. In particular they have questioned GHF's biometric scanning policies, which Israel says are designed to prevent Hamas from profiting from aid, and say the foundation is unable to meet the mounting needs of the territory's roughly 2 million people. The private group said it distributed 21 truckloads of food early on Tuesday and that the aid operation was "conducted safely and without incident within the site". The GHF's distribution of aid, which began last week, has been marred by chaos, and multiple witnesses have reported incidents of Israeli troops firing on crowds near the delivery sites. On Sunday, Palestinian and international officials reported that at least 31 people were killed and dozens more injured. On Monday, three more Palestinians were reportedly killed by Israeli fire. The Israeli military has repeatedly denied targeting civilians gathering for aid and joined the GHF in blaming Hamas for trying to block civilians from reaching the aid distribution centre. Hamas denied the accusation. The UN secretary-general has called for an independent investigation into Sunday's killing of Palestinians near the aid distribution centre in Gaza. "I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza," said Antonio Guterres. "It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food," he added. "Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to agree to and facilitate humanitarian aid. The unimpeded entry of assistance at scale to meet the enormous needs in Gaza must be restored immediately." The UN has described Gaza as the 'hungriest place on Earth' and said Israel is allowing only a 'trickle' of food into the enclave. The way humanitarian aid was being delivered was "unacceptable" and "dehumanising", UN human rights chief Volker Turk told the BBC. "I think what it shows is utter disregard for civilians. Can you imagine people that have been absolutely desperate for food, for medicine, for almost three months and then they have to run for it or try to get it in the most desperate circumstances?" he added. As a small flow of aid has resumed, Israeli forces – now in control of large parts of Gaza – have kept up attacks on various targets around the enclave, killing more than 3,900 Palestinians since a two-month ceasefire collapsed in mid-March, according to the health ministry in Gaza. More than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's air and ground war, Gaza health authorities say. The offensive was launched following a Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023, during which around 1,200 people were killed – most of them civilians – and 251 hostages were captured.
Arab News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Our doors and hearts are open to you, Mr. President
Dear President Trump, You have come among kin and may you tread an easy path. That is the traditional Arab greeting for visitors summarized by two words in Arabic: Ahlan Wa Sahlan. You arrive at what has become a hackneyed adjective: a 'crucial' time. So many crucial times have come and gone without any finality for an egregious denial of the basic rights of the Palestinian people. Rectifying that situation would be a crowning achievement not only for you, Mr. President, as the man who would have brought peace to the holy land, but also for all the values that your country has promoted throughout its history. It would also stop the endemic killing of innocent people on both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The killing of one innocent human being is like killing all of humankind. This is part of a Qur'anic verse. Mr. President, the leadership and people of our country are committed to strong and strategic partnerships with you and the American people. This commitment is historic, as witnessed by the accord reached by King Abdulaziz and President Franklin Roosevelt 80 years ago. It has been reaffirmed by the mutual benefits of our economic and military cooperation. It is confirmed by the number of our students who have studied and continue to study in your universities. More than a million of them have done so over that time. It is clear from the permanent presence of an American community living and working in the Kingdom. Thousands have done that. Most importantly, that commitment has survived and thrived through the differences that we have had over the past eight decades. That is a measure of the strength of the relationship. Your friend is he who tells you the truth, not he who tells you what you want to hear. These are words that you already heard from King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in your first term. So, welcome, Mr. President. Our doors and hearts are open to you. • Prince Turki Al-Faisal served as the chief of the General Intelligence Directorate — Saudi Arabia's main foreign intelligence service — from 1977 to 2001. He was appointed Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the UK in October 2002. He served in that position until July 2005, when he was appointed Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the US. He retired in February 2007. He is the founder and trustee of the King Faisal Foundation and chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.
LBCI
07-05-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
Hamas mourns member killed in Israeli strike in southern Lebanon
Hamas said Wednesday that one of its members, Khaled Ahmad al-Ahmad, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon. In a statement, Hamas said the strike targeted al-Ahmad as he was heading to perform dawn prayers.
