Latest news with #JehadAlshrafi
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
We all need to speak up over the IDF outrages in Gaza
Relatives of Palestinian child Salem Hussein, 12, killed in an Israeli army bombardment of Gaza, mourn beside his body at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City yesterday. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) I woke up yesterday morning planning to devote part of my column to the atrocities currently being enacted by the Israeli Defence Force (a misnomer if ever there was one) in Gaza when my attention was drawn to a letter in yesterday's edition of this paper. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Penned by Marjorie Ellis Thompson it eloquently put the case for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. I trust that she will forgive me for quoting her, but I found her letter to be a powerful indictment, both of Israel and the passive politicians who are allowing this to happen. She refers to footage of a British surgeon, 'practically in tears' as he says children in Gaza are being targeted 'as if it is a game' where one day they are shot in the head, another day the neck and on yet another day the testicles. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She says that 'Yet we, along with the US and Germany continue to aid and abet this 21st century holocaust.' Israel has embarked upon a programme of state terrorism, leading to a statement from UNICEF's Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Eduoard Beigbeder, who said 'In total more than 50,000 children have reportedly been killed or injured since October 2023. "How many more dead boys and girls will it take? What level of horror must be livestreamed before the international community fully steps up, uses its influence and takes bold, decisive action to force the end of this ruthless killing of children?' Too many people are keeping their own counsel for fear of being labelled anti-semitic, but this has to stop! Israel has used this tactic to great effect for too long. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Criticising Israel's government is not the same as attacking the Jewish religion, indeed many Jews have also protested against the action that the Israeli state is carrying out in their name. We all need to speak up!
Boston Globe
12 hours ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
UN body says Israeli forces have killed over 1,000 aid-seekers in Gaza since May, as hunger worsens
Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid — without providing evidence of widespread diversion — and blames U.N. agencies for failing to deliver food it has allowed in. The military says it has only fired warning shots near aid sites. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor, rejected what it said were 'false and exaggerated statistics' from the United Nations. The Gaza Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, said Tuesday that 101 people, including 80 children, have died in recent days from starvation. During hunger crises, people often die from a combination of malnutrition, illness and deprivation. Advertisement Israel eased a 2½-month blockade in May, allowing a trickle of aid in through the longstanding U.N.-run system and the newly created GHF. Aid groups say it's not nearly enough. Palestinians carried sacks of flour unloaded from a humanitarian aid convoy that reached Gaza City from the northern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. Jehad Alshrafi/Associated Press 'I do it for my children' Dozens of Palestinians lined up Tuesday outside a charity kitchen in Gaza City, hoping for a bowl of watery tomato soup. The lucky ones got small chunks of eggplant. As supplies ran out, people holding pots pushed and shoved to get to the front. Advertisement Nadia Mdoukh, a pregnant woman who was displaced from her home and lives in a tent with her husband and three children, said she worries about being shoved or trampled on, and about heat stroke as daytime temperatures hover above 90 F (32 C). 'I do it for my children,' she said. 'This is famine — there is no bread or flour.' The U.N. World Food Program says Gaza's hunger crisis has reached 'new and astonishing levels of desperation.' Ross Smith, the agency's director for emergencies, told reporters Monday that nearly 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, and a third of Gaza's population is going without food for multiple days in a row. MedGlobal, a charity working in Gaza, said five children as young as 3 months had died from starvation in the past three days. 'This is a deliberate and human-made disaster,' said Joseph Belliveau, its executive director. 'Those children died because there is not enough food in Gaza and not enough medicines, including IV fluids and therapeutic formula, to revive them.' The charity said food is in such short supply that its own staff members suffer dizziness and headaches. Palestinians held onto an aid truck returning to Gaza City from the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Jehad Alshrafi/Associated Press Aid delivery model criticized Of the 1,054 people killed while trying to get food since late May, 766 were killed while heading to sites run by the Israeli- and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to the U.N. human rights office. The others were killed when gunfire erupted around U.N. convoys or aid sites. Thameen al-Kheetan, a spokesperson for the U.N. rights office, says its figures come from 'multiple reliable sources on the ground,' including medics, humanitarian and human rights organizations. He said the numbers were still being verified according to the office's strict methodology. Advertisement Palestinian witnesses and health officials say Israeli forces regularly fire toward crowds of thousands of people heading to the GHF sites. The military says it has only fired warning shots, and GHF says its armed contractors have only fired into the air on a few occasions to try to prevent stampedes. A joint statement 'The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,' read the statement, which was signed by the United Kingdom, France and other countries friendly to Israel. 'The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable.' Israel and the United States rejected the statement, blaming Hamas for prolonging the war by not accepting Israeli terms for a ceasefire and the release of hostages abducted in the militant-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the fighting. Hamas has said it will release the remaining hostages only in return for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel says it will keep fighting until Hamas has been defeated or disarmed. Displaced Palestinians waited for donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. Jehad Alshrafi/Associated Press Strikes on tents sheltering the displaced Israeli strikes killed at least 25 people Tuesday across Gaza, according to local health officials. One strike hit tents sheltering displaced people in the built-up seaside Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The Israeli military said that it wasn't aware of such a strike by its forces. Advertisement The dead included three women and three children, the hospital director, Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, told The Associated Press. Thirty-eight other Palestinians were wounded, he said. An overnight strike that hit crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks in Gaza City killed eight, hospitals said. At least 118 were wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. 'A bag of flour covered in blood and death,' said Mohammed Issam, who was in the crowd and said some people were run over by trucks in the chaos. 'How long will this humiliation continue?' The Israeli military had no immediate comment on that strike. Israel blames the deaths of Palestinian civilians on Hamas, because the militants operate in densely populated areas. Israel renewed its offensive in March with a surprise bombardment after ending an earlier ceasefire. Talks on another truce have dragged on for weeks despite pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7 attack, and killed around 1,200 people. Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive. More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. Magdy reported from Cairo, and Goldenberg from Jerusalem. Associated Press Writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.
Toronto Star
15 hours ago
- Health
- Toronto Star
Photos show Palestinians enduring war and hunger in Gaza
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed from an Israeli army bombardment of Gaza, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) OB flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
Glasgow Times
17 hours ago
- Health
- Glasgow Times
At least 20 dead following latest Israel strikes on Gaza
The expansion of Israel's ground invasion comes as Israel and Hamas have been considering terms for a ceasefire for Gaza that would pause the fighting and free at least some hostages. The latest round of talks has dragged on for weeks with no signs of breakthrough, though negotiators have expressed optimism. With Israel expanding its control over large chunks of Gaza, an expected pullback of troops is a major point of contention in the talks. The Trump administration has been pushing Israel to wrap up the war and has shown signs of impatience. Smoke and flames erupt from an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City (Jehad Alshrafi/AP) On Monday, President Donald Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Mr Trump was 'caught off guard' by a recent Israeli strike on a Catholic church in Gaza. Top Christian clergy visited that church last week and in a press conference Tuesday in Jerusalem called for the war to end. In the latest round of strikes, at least 12 people died when tents sheltering displaced people in the built-up, seaside Shati refugee camp on the western side of Gaza City, were hit, according to the city's Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The dead included three women and three children, Dr Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of the hospital told the Associated Press. Thirty-eight other Palestinians were wounded, he said. The strike tore apart tents, and left some of the dead lying on the ground, according to footage shared by the health ministry's ambulance and emergency service. An overnight strike that hit crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks in Gaza City killed eight, hospitals said. At least 118 were wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes. Israel blames the deaths of Palestinian civilians on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. It accuses the group of prolonging the war because Hamas has not accepted Israel's terms for a ceasefire – including calls to give up power and disarm.
South Wales Argus
17 hours ago
- Health
- South Wales Argus
At least 20 dead following latest Israel strikes on Gaza
The expansion of Israel's ground invasion comes as Israel and Hamas have been considering terms for a ceasefire for Gaza that would pause the fighting and free at least some hostages. The latest round of talks has dragged on for weeks with no signs of breakthrough, though negotiators have expressed optimism. With Israel expanding its control over large chunks of Gaza, an expected pullback of troops is a major point of contention in the talks. The Trump administration has been pushing Israel to wrap up the war and has shown signs of impatience. Smoke and flames erupt from an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City (Jehad Alshrafi/AP) On Monday, President Donald Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Mr Trump was 'caught off guard' by a recent Israeli strike on a Catholic church in Gaza. Top Christian clergy visited that church last week and in a press conference Tuesday in Jerusalem called for the war to end. In the latest round of strikes, at least 12 people died when tents sheltering displaced people in the built-up, seaside Shati refugee camp on the western side of Gaza City, were hit, according to the city's Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The dead included three women and three children, Dr Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of the hospital told the Associated Press. Thirty-eight other Palestinians were wounded, he said. The strike tore apart tents, and left some of the dead lying on the ground, according to footage shared by the health ministry's ambulance and emergency service. An overnight strike that hit crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks in Gaza City killed eight, hospitals said. At least 118 were wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes. Israel blames the deaths of Palestinian civilians on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. It accuses the group of prolonging the war because Hamas has not accepted Israel's terms for a ceasefire – including calls to give up power and disarm.
