Latest news with #IsraeliTroops
Times
7 days ago
- Health
- Times
‘More than 30 killed' in shootings near Gaza aid centres
More than 30 people were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on crowds of Palestinians seeking food from two aid distribution centres in Gaza, according to health officials. One witness claimed that soldiers started shooting 'indiscriminately' on a gathering in the al-Tina area of Khan Yunis, about two miles from a site run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), on Saturday morning. A second incident of gunfire was reported in the Shakoush area northwest of Rafah, a few hundred yards from another GHF hub. Israel's military said it was 'looking into' the claims. The GHF, which was formed to deliver aid to civilians with support from the Israeli army, has not yet commented on the latest reports but has previously disputed figures issued by the Hamas-led government and the UN. Gaza's civil defence agency told the AFP news agency that 22 were killed in Khan Yunis and four in Rafah. Separate figures given by hospital officials at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis put the total number of deaths at 32, including 25 in Khan Yunis and seven in Rafah, the Associated Press reported. 'It was a massacre. The occupation opened fire at us indiscriminately,' Mahmoud Mokeimar told the Associated Press after the incident in Khan Younis. Sanaa al-Jaberi, a 55-year-old woman, said: 'We shouted 'food, food', but they didn't talk to us. They just opened fire.' Another witness, Abdul Aziz Abed, told AFP that he set off to the aid centre at dawn with five of his relatives to get food but was thwarted by the gunfire. 'Every day I go there and all we get is bullets and exhaustion instead of food,' he said. Dr Mohamed Saker, the head of the Nasser hospital's nursing department, told the AP news agency that most of the dead and wounded were shot in their heads and chest. He described the situation at the hospital as 'difficult and tragic' due to the lack of medical supplies. The UN said earlier this week that nearly 900 people had been killed trying to access aid in the six-week period since the GHF took charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, including 674 at or around GHF sites. That figure is disputed by the GHF, who have denied reports of innocent civilians being shot. On Wednesday the organisation admitted that 20 people were killed in a crowd surge at one aid site but blamed agitators affiliated with Hamas for causing the disaster. The GHF said in a statement on Friday that it had successfully distributed 79 million meals since its foundation last May. It claimed its work had been 'made more difficult by a coordinated disinformation campaign led by Hamas' and blamed 'the amplification of those lies from the mainstream media and the United Nations'. Restrictions placed on media access make it difficult to independently verify details and death tolls provided by officials. The Israeli military has acknowledged in the past that its troops had fired warning shots on 'suspicious' people and has blamed militants for provoking the violence. The Israeli government has also rejected allegations reported by the Haaretz newspaper that soldiers had been ordered to shoot at crowds if they arrived at the aid sites too early, too late, or in the wrong place. More than 58,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Hamas started the war in October 2023 by attacking Israel, killing more than 1,100 Israelis and kidnapping more than 200.
Associated Press
7 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Photos show Palestinian suffering as Israeli troops push deeper into central Gaza
Israeli troops for the first time are pushing into parts of a central Gaza city where several aid groups are based, in the latest apparent effort to carve up the Palestinian territory with military corridors. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
The National
21-07-2025
- Health
- The National
'Suffering reaches new depths': Nations condemn Israel's 'drip feed' aid model in Gaza
Israel rejects joint statement published by UK and accuses Hamas of prolonging war At least 22 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza on Monday Israeli troops 'shot Gazans with hands raised' in worst aid massacre yet Director of field hospitals in Gaza detained by Israel, says Health Ministry At least 59,029 Palestinians killed and 142,135 wounded since Gaza war began
The National
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Israeli troops 'shot Gazans with hands raised' in worst aid massacre yet
Israeli troops have been accused of shooting Palestinians who approached a food bank with their hands up, in the bloodiest incident yet linked to aid deliveries to Gaza. One witness told The National that 'gunfire erupted from all directions' as thousands of people surrounded a convoy bringing flour into Gaza on Sunday. Officials in the strip said 93 people were killed. The witness, Musab Abu Omer, said his family and friends 'rushed out from our home' after hearing that lorries carrying flour had arrived as food supplies ran low during an Israeli blockade. 'We hadn't had white bread in more than 14 days. Imagine what it means to go that long without even basic food,' he said. When his relatives arrived, thousands of people were waiting, Mr Abu Omer said. But, as people approached the lorries, gunfire began and shells fell on the crowd, he said. He was shot in the leg and fell to the ground, unable to see his companions. Later, he learnt that four of the young men who had come with him, his cousin and three friends, all under 30, had been killed. 'They went out just to feed their families. This is what happened to them,' he said. 'The world has been watching us starve for months.' Israel disputed the death toll and said its troops fired warning shots to 'remove an immediate threat'. The World Food Programme said the convoy had entered through the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza after assurances from Israel that armed forces would not be present. Rami Abdo, director of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, described the incident as 'a deliberate act of murder.' According to his organisation's documentation, Israeli forces ordered civilians to approach with their hands raised in a clear gesture of surrender, then opened fire as they moved forward. 'This was not crossfire. This was a massacre,' Mr Abdo told The National. 'It reveals the true face of the occupation, a calculated attempt to eliminate a population through starvation, killing, and forced displacement.' Witnesses report that others are missing at the scene, their bodies inaccessible as the threat of gunfire remains in the area. The testimonies come as Israel widens its offensive in Gaza into the Deir Al Balah area. Hunger in Gaza Palestinian aid agency UNRWA reports that all residents of Gaza are now suffering from malnutrition, with widespread food insecurity and starvation. Ismail Al Thawabta, the director of the Government Media Office in Hamas -run Gaza, said the strip 'has entered dangerous levels of deliberate famine, with no intervention from the international community'. Since October 7, 2023, when the war began with Hamas's attack on Israel, dozens of children have died due to malnutrition, with a total of 620 people confirmed dead from starvation and lack of medicine, according to Gaza officials. 'In Gaza, food is no longer a right. It's a distant dream,' Mr Al Thawabta said. 'People search all day for something to eat and return empty-handed.' Omar Hijazi, a 33-year-old father of five, spoke about the daily struggle for survival. 'We can't even find a single loaf of bread in a day,' he said. 'People are collapsing in the streets. We're not talking about nutritious food any more, we're just trying not to die.' Like many others, Mr Hijazi said the war itself has faded into the background. 'We don't talk about bombs or martyrs. We talk about bread and hunger. Because hunger is killing us faster than anything else,' he told The National. Human rights organisations have accused Israel of inflicting conditions that amount to war crimes under international law, including deliberate starvation of civilians. Israel blames Hamas for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Yet the international response remains paralysed, with little movement towards a ceasefire or emergency intervention. 'The entire world is watching the slaughter of Gaza and its killing through starvation and genocide, without moving a muscle or batting an eye, as if the people there are not human, and not covered by international agreements and conventions.' Mr Al Thawabta said.
Washington Post
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Monday briefing: Israeli troops fire on civilians in Gaza; Trump and Epstein; Harvard lawsuit; Microsoft hack; and more
Israeli troops killed 79 Palestinians seeking food, Gaza health officials said. President Donald Trump is losing ground on the economy and immigration. Harvard and the Trump administration will face off in court today. A global hack on Microsoft targeted U.S. agencies. The number of people missing in Kerr County, Texas, dropped to three.
