Latest news with #IsraeliRaids
CBS News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Israeli raid hits Catholic Church in Gaza, Italian leader says, with several wounded including priest
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Thursday that "Israeli raids on Gaza" had hit the Catholic Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City, condemning "the attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months" as unacceptable. "No military action can justify such behavior," the Italian leader said on social media. The Israel Defense Forces said it was "aware of reports regarding damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and casualties at the scene. The circumstances of the incident are under review." "The IDF makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them," the military said in the statement, which it shared on social media. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees the church in Gaza, said in a statement that several people were injured in "a raid" on the Holy Family Church, including the Parish Priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli. "Currently there are no fatalities confirmed," the patriarchate said, but "the Church sustained damage." CBS News' team in Gaza saw Romanelli being brought to the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City. He appeared to have sustained an injury to his right leg. The Italian Catholic news agency SIR reported that six people were injured, two of whom it said were in critical condition. It said the parish had been housing around 500 displaced Christians, but Fadel Naem, the acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, told The Associated Press there were both Christians and Muslims sheltering at the church, including a number of children with disabilities. The late Pope Francis would regularly call Father Romanelli to check in with him and the people staying in the church during the war in Gaza. In his final public appearance, one day before his death, Francis called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as well as the release of Israeli hostages.
The Independent
10-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
PHOTO ESSAY: Gaza's main hospital barely functions after Israeli raids and 21 months of war
Shifa Hospital was once the cornerstone of the health system in the Gaza Strip. Now, after 21 months of war and two major Israeli raids, it barely functions. Its corridors are filled with people wounded in Israeli airstrikes, its morgue packed with bodies. Doctors and nurses perform surgeries in squalid conditions, often by the light of cellphones. Patients waiting outside for dialysis treatment sit beside the rubble of a bombed-out hospital wing. Israel carried out two major raids on Shifa and has attacked several other medical facilities, accusing Hamas militants of sheltering inside them. Medical staff have denied the allegations, but Hamas security men can often be seen inside such facilities and have placed parts of them off limits to the public. Hospitals can lose their protected status under international law if they are used for military purposes. Israel says it makes every effort to avoid harming civilians, including by evacuating such facilities and delivering aid to them. But medics say the raids have recklessly endangered patients and wrecked the health system as casualties mount from the ongoing war. Israel first raided Shifa in November 2023, weeks after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack triggered the war. The military said the hospital served as a major Hamas command and control center but provided little evidence beyond a single tunnel leading to underground rooms near the facility. Israeli forces returned to Shifa in March 2024, igniting days of heavy fighting in which the military said it killed some 200 militants who had regrouped there. The hospital's emergency ward and a surgery building were destroyed. Today, former storage rooms now house patients. Medical supplies are scarce because of Israel's blockade and the breakdown of law and order in the territory, which has made it difficult for aid groups to deliver supplies. Power outages are routine because of a lack of fuel. Much of the staff are volunteers working long hours without pay. Some rooms are so crowded that patients lie on the floor. Flies swarm throughout the facility, in part because of a lack of disinfectant. This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors. ___
Al Jazeera
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israel kills more than 70 in Gaza, including 16 in attack on family home
Israeli raids across Gaza have killed at least 75 Palestinians, with rescuers scrambling to find dozens of bodies under the rubble after the bombing of a residential building in Gaza City described by the enclave's civil defence as a 'full-fledged massacre'. Palestinian Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basel told Al Jazeera that the Israeli army gave 'no warning, no alert' before Saturday's strike on the house in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City that left at least 16 people dead, including women and children. 'This is truly a full-fledged massacre … a building full of civilians,' said Basel, who added that approximately 85 people were believed to be trapped under the rubble. 'We woke up to the strikes, destruction, yelling, rocks hitting us,' said Hamed Keheel, a displaced Palestinian at the site, noting that the attack had taken place on the second day of Eid al-Adha. 'This is the occupation,' he said. 'Instead of waking up to cheer our children and dress them up to enjoy Eid, we wake up to carry women and children's bodies from under rubble.' Local resident Hassan Alkhor told Al Jazeera that the building belonged to the Abu Sharia family. 'May God hold the Israeli forces and [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu accountable,' he said. The Times of Israel newspaper cited the Israeli military as saying that it had killed top Palestinian fighter Asaad Abu Sharia in the attack. Abu Sharia was the leader of the Mujahideen Brigades, who the military claimed had participated in the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023. Hamas confirmed the killing in a statement shared on Telegram, saying that Abu Sharia's brother, Ahmed Abu Sharia, had also been assassinated in the attack, which it said was 'part of a series of brutal massacres against civilians'. Also on Saturday, Israeli forces killed at least eight Palestinians waiting near an aid distribution site run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in Rafah in southern Gaza. The attack was the latest in a series of deadly incidents around the group's operations that have killed 118 people and left others missing in less than two weeks. Gaza resident Samir Abu Hadid told the AFP news agency that thousands of people had gathered at the al-Alam roundabout near the aid site. 'As soon as some people tried to advance towards the aid centre, the Israeli [forces] opened fire from armoured vehicles stationed near the centre, firing into the air and then at civilians,' Abu Hadid said. One woman told Al Jazeera her husband had been killed in the attack after going to the aid point to get 'a handful of rice for our starving children'. 'He said he felt he was walking towards death, I begged him not to leave. He insisted to find anything to feed our children,' she said. The GHF, a shadowy United States-backed private group engaged by Israel to distribute aid under the protection of its troops and security contractors, began operations in late May, replacing existing networks run by the United Nations and charities that have worked for decades. Critics say the group does not abide by humanitarian principles of neutrality, claiming that its operations weaponise aid, serving Israel's stated aims of ethnically cleansing large swaths of Gaza and controlling the entire enclave. GHF said on Saturday that it was unable to distribute any humanitarian relief because Hamas issued 'direct threats' against its operations. 'These threats made it impossible to proceed today without putting innocent lives at risk,' it said in a statement. Hamas told the Reuters news agency that it had no knowledge of these 'alleged threats'. The United Nations, which has refused to cooperate with the GHF, has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade, with the rate of young children suffering from acute malnutrition nearly tripling. As Israel continued its attacks amid the looming famine, it emerged that health authorities had recorded more than 300 miscarriages over an 80-day period in the enclave. Expectant mothers face an increased risk of miscarriage and premature births, with basic medical supplies such as iron supplements and prenatal vitamins impossible to obtain. Brenda Kelly, a consultant obstetrician at Oxford University Hospital, told Al Jazeera that Gaza was 'losing a future generation of children', alluding to a 'staggering rise' in stillbirths, miscarriages and pre-term births. 'What we're seeing now is the direct fallout of Israel's weaponising of hunger in Gaza – impacting babies' growth and growth restriction is one of the leading causes of miscarriages and stillbirth,' she said. Severe malnutrition among pregnant women is compounded by severe stress and psychological trauma, as well as repeated displacement and a lack of safe shelter, she said. Those babies that do survive face heightened health risks. 'We know that famine experienced in-utero has lifelong consequences for children who then go into adulthood with much higher risks of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as mental health disorders,' she said.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel kills more than 70 in Gaza, including 16 in bombing family building
Israeli raids across Gaza have killed at least 75 Palestinians, with rescuers scrambling to find dozens of bodies under the rubble after the bombing of a residential building in Gaza City described by the enclave's civil defence as a 'full-fledged massacre'. Palestinian Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basel told Al Jazeera that the military gave 'no warning, no alert' before Saturday's strike on the house in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City that left at least 16 people dead, including women and children. 'This is truly a full-fledged massacre … a building full of civilians,' said Basel, who added that approximately 85 people were believed to be trapped under the rubble. 'We woke up to the strikes, destruction, yelling, rocks hitting us,' said Hamed Keheel, a displaced Palestinian at the site, noting that the attack had taken place on the second day of the Eid al-Adha festival. 'This is the occupation,' he said. 'Instead of waking up to cheer our children and dress them up to enjoy Eid, we wake up to carry women and children's bodies from under rubble.' Local resident Hassan Alkhor told Al Jazeera that the building belonged to the Abu Sharia family. 'May God hold the Israeli forces and [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu accountable,' he said. The Israeli military said afterwards that it had killed Asaad Abu Sharia, the leader of the Mujahideen Brigades, who it claimed had participated in the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023, according to a report in the Times of Israel published Saturday. Hamas confirmed the killing in a statement shared on Telegram, saying that Abu Sharia's brother, Ahmed Abu Sharia, had also been assassinated in the attack, which it said was 'part of a series of brutal massacres against civilians'.Also on Saturday, Israeli forces killed at least eight Palestinians waiting near an aid distribution site run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in southern Gaza's Rafah, the latest in a series of deadly incidents around the group's operations that have killed 118 people and left others missing in less than two weeks. Gaza resident Samir Abu Hadid told the AFP news agency that thousands of people had gathered at the al-Alam roundabout near the aid site.'As soon as some people tried to advance towards the aid centre, the Israeli [forces] opened fire from armoured vehicles stationed near the centre, firing into the air and then at civilians,' Abu Hadid said. One woman told Al Jazeera her husband had been killed in the attack after going to the aid point to get 'a handful of rice for our starving children'. 'He said he felt he was walking towards death, I begged him not to leave. He insisted to find anything to feed our children,' she said. The GHF, a shadowy United States-backed private group engaged by Israel to distribute aid under the protection of its troops and security contractors, began operations in late May, replacing existing networks run by the United Nations and charities that have worked for decades. Critics say the group does not abide by humanitarian principles of neutrality, claiming that its operations weaponise aid, serving Israel's stated aims of ethnically cleansing large swaths of Gaza and controlling the entire enclave. GHF said on Saturday that it was unable to distribute any humanitarian relief because Hamas issued 'direct threats' against its operations. 'These threats made it impossible to proceed today without putting innocent lives at risk,' it said in a statement. Hamas told the Reuters news agency that it had no knowledge of these 'alleged threats'. The United Nations, which has refused to cooperate with the GHF, has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade, with the rate of young children suffering from acute malnutrition nearly tripling. As Israel continued its attacks amid the looming famine, it emerged that health authorities had recorded more than 300 miscarriages over an 80-day period in the enclave. Expectant mothers face an increased risk of miscarriage and premature births, with basic medical supplies such as iron supplements and prenatal vitamins impossible to obtain. Brenda Kelly, a consultant obstetrician at Oxford University Hospital, told Al Jazeera that Gaza was 'losing a future generation of children', alluding to a 'staggering rise' in stillbirths, miscarriages and pre-term births. 'What we're seeing now is the direct fallout of Israel's weaponising of hunger in Gaza – impacting babies' growth and growth restriction is one of the leading causes of miscarriages and stillbirth,' she malnutrition among pregnant women is compounded by severe stress and psychological trauma, as well as repeated displacement and a lack of safe shelter, she said. Those babies that do survive face heightened health risks. 'We know that famine experienced in-utero has lifelong consequences for children who then go into adulthood with much higher risks of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as mental health disorders,' she said.
Al Jazeera
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israel kills more than 70 in Gaza, including 16 in bombing family building
Israeli raids across Gaza have killed at least 75 Palestinians, with rescuers scrambling to find dozens of bodies under the rubble after the bombing of a residential building in Gaza City described by the enclave's civil defence as a 'full-fledged massacre'. Palestinian Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basel told Al Jazeera that the military gave 'no warning, no alert' before Saturday's strike on the house in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City that left at least 16 people dead, including women and children. 'This is truly a full-fledged massacre … a building full of civilians,' said Basel, who added that approximately 85 people were believed to be trapped under the rubble. 'We woke up to the strikes, destruction, yelling, rocks hitting us,' said Hamed Keheel, a displaced Palestinian at the site, noting that the attack had taken place on the second day of the Eid al-Adha festival. 'This is the occupation,' he said. 'Instead of waking up to cheer our children and dress them up to enjoy Eid, we wake up to carry women and children's bodies from under rubble.' Local resident Hassan Alkhor told Al Jazeera that the building belonged to the Abu Sharia family. 'May God hold the Israeli forces and [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu accountable,' he said. The Israeli military said afterwards that it had killed Asaad Abu Sharia, the leader of the Mujahideen Brigades, who it claimed had participated in the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023, according to a report in the Times of Israel published Saturday. Hamas confirmed the killing in a statement shared on Telegram, saying that Abu Sharia's brother, Ahmed Abu Sharia, had also been assassinated in the attack, which it said was 'part of a series of brutal massacres against civilians'. Also on Saturday, Israeli forces killed at least eight Palestinians waiting near an aid distribution site run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in southern Gaza's Rafah, the latest in a series of deadly incidents around the group's operations that have killed 118 people and left others missing in less than two weeks. Gaza resident Samir Abu Hadid told the AFP news agency that thousands of people had gathered at the al-Alam roundabout near the aid site. 'As soon as some people tried to advance towards the aid centre, the Israeli [forces] opened fire from armoured vehicles stationed near the centre, firing into the air and then at civilians,' Abu Hadid said. One woman told Al Jazeera her husband had been killed in the attack after going to the aid point to get 'a handful of rice for our starving children'. 'He said he felt he was walking towards death, I begged him not to leave. He insisted to find anything to feed our children,' she said. The GHF, a shadowy United States-backed private group engaged by Israel to distribute aid under the protection of its troops and security contractors, began operations in late May, replacing existing networks run by the United Nations and charities that have worked for decades. Critics say the group does not abide by humanitarian principles of neutrality, claiming that its operations weaponise aid, serving Israel's stated aims of ethnically cleansing large swaths of Gaza and controlling the entire enclave. GHF said on Saturday that it was unable to distribute any humanitarian relief because Hamas issued 'direct threats' against its operations. 'These threats made it impossible to proceed today without putting innocent lives at risk,' it said in a statement. Hamas told the Reuters news agency that it had no knowledge of these 'alleged threats'. The United Nations, which has refused to cooperate with the GHF, has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade, with the rate of young children suffering from acute malnutrition nearly tripling. As Israel continued its attacks amid the looming famine, it emerged that health authorities had recorded more than 300 miscarriages over an 80-day period in the enclave. Expectant mothers face an increased risk of miscarriage and premature births, with basic medical supplies such as iron supplements and prenatal vitamins impossible to obtain. Brenda Kelly, a consultant obstetrician at Oxford University Hospital, told Al Jazeera that Gaza was 'losing a future generation of children', alluding to a 'staggering rise' in stillbirths, miscarriages and pre-term births. 'What we're seeing now is the direct fallout of Israel's weaponising of hunger in Gaza – impacting babies' growth and growth restriction is one of the leading causes of miscarriages and stillbirth,' she said. Severe malnutrition among pregnant women is compounded by severe stress and psychological trauma, as well as repeated displacement and a lack of safe shelter, she said. Those babies that do survive face heightened health risks. 'We know that famine experienced in-utero has lifelong consequences for children who then go into adulthood with much higher risks of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as mental health disorders,' she said.
