Latest news with #MohamedAbuSelmiya
Boston Globe
12-08-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Israeli strikes kill journalists and aid-seekers as Australia backs Palestinian statehood
Israel's military did not immediately respond to questions about the deaths. Earlier on Monday, it said air and artillery units were operating in northern Gaza and in Khan Younis, where resident Noha Abu Shamala told The Associated Press that two drone strikes killed a family of seven in their apartment. Advertisement A dozen more people killed seeking aid Among the dead were at least 12 aid seekers killed by Israeli gunfire while trying to reach distribution points, or awaiting aid convoys, according to officials at two hospitals and witnesses. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said its Saraya Field Hospital received about 30 injured from the Zikim area. Al-Shifa hospital received five bodies and over 70 wounded, said Mohamed Abu Selmiya, the hospital's director. Relatives said casualties included children and an infant. Witnesses to gunfire near the Morag corridor said they saw barrages of bullets and later dead bodies, describing the grim scene as a near-daily occurrence. The AP spoke to five witnesses who were among the crowds in central Gaza, the Teina area and the Morag corridor. All said that Israeli forces had fired toward the crowds. Advertisement 'The occupation (forces) targeted us, as they do every day,' said Hussain Matter, a displaced father of two who was in the Morag corridor. 'Out of nowhere, you find bullets from everywhere.' Ahmed Atta said he helped carry a wounded man from the Teina area who had been shot in his shoulder and was bleeding. 'It's a pattern,' Atta said of the Israeli gunfire toward aid seekers. Aid seekers were killed from 3 kilometers (nearly 2 miles) to just hundreds of meters (yards) from sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to Nasser and Awda hospitals. The United States and Israel support the American contractor as an alternative to the United Nations, which they say allows Hamas to siphon off aid. The U.N., which has delivered aid throughout Gaza for decades when conditions allow, denies the allegations. The latest deaths raise the toll to more than 1,700 people killed while seeking food since the new aid distribution system began in May, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. U.N. agencies generally do not accept Israeli military escorts for aid trucks, citing concerns over neutrality, and its convoys have come under fire amid severe food shortages. The deaths came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called reports about conditions in Gaza a 'global campaign of lies,' and announced plans to move deeper into the territory and push to dismantle Hamas. Five more Palestinians, including a child, died of malnutrition-related causes in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said. Israel increased the flow of supplies two weeks ago amid such concerns. Israeli strike targets and kills Al Jazeera journalists Israel's military targeted an Al Jazeera correspondent with an airstrike Sunday, killing him. The strike killed a total of eight people, including six journalists and two other civilians, according to Shifa Hospital. Press advocates described the attack as a brazen assault on those documenting the war. Advertisement The network said that along with its correspondent, four others of the slain journalists also worked for Al Jazeera. The Israeli military claimed responsibility for the strike. It came less than a year after Israeli army officials first accused correspondent Anas al-Sharif and other Al Jazeera journalists of being members of the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, an allegation that Al Jazeera and al-Sharif have previously dismissed as baseless. Al Jazeera called the strike a 'targeted assassination' while press freedom groups denounced the rising death toll facing Palestinian journalists working in Gaza. Mourners laid the journalists to rest in Gaza City. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals but 50 remain inside Gaza. Israel believes around 20 are still alive. Israel's air and ground offensive has since displaced most of the population, destroyed vast areas and pushed the territory toward famine. It has killed more than 61,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. Besides those killed, 121 adults and 101 children have died of malnutrition-related causes, including five in the past 24 hours, the ministry said. One was a child. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own. Advertisement International reaction Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday added his country to a list moving toward recognition of a state of Palestine, along with France, Britain and Canada. He said his government's decision aimed to build momentum toward a two-state solution, which he called the best path to ending violence and bringing leadership other than Hamas to Gaza. 'The situation in Gaza has gone beyond the world's worst fears,' he said. 'The Israeli government continues to defy international law and deny sufficient aid, food and water to desperate people, including children.' Also on Monday Italy's Premier Giorgia Meloni announced new aid to Gaza in a phone conversation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. She stressed the need to bring hostilities with Israel to an immediate halt and 'shared her deep concern about recent Israeli decisions that appear to be leading to further military escalation,' her office said in a statement. Meloni reiterated that 'the humanitarian situation in Gaza is unjustifiable and unacceptable.' Italy's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto also told the Italian daily La Stampa Monday that Israel's government has 'lost reason and humanity' over Gaza and raised the possibility of imposing sanctions. Egypt seeking talks Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty confirmed Monday that Egypt is pushing for negotiations to reach a deal that would end the war in Gaza, release Israeli hostages, guarantee aid entry and ultimately agree on a political road map that would lead to establishing a Palestinian state. Deploying international forces to support establishing a Palestinian state was previously proposed throughout the war, but Israel has opposed the idea. Advertisement Abdelatty's comments in a news conference in Cairo came as mediators from Egypt and Qatar were working on a new framework that would include the release of all hostages — dead and alive — in one go, in return for an end of the war in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the strip, according to two Arab officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met with the Qatari prime minister in Spain on Saturday to discuss new efforts. ___ Metz reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Fatma Khaled in Cairo and Charlotte Graham-Mclay in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
News18
08-08-2025
- Politics
- News18
6 Palestinians killed, dozens wounded near aid crossing
Agency: Gaza City, Aug 8 (AP) At least six Palestinians were shot dead and more than 140 were wounded at the Israeli-run Zikim Crossing in northern Gaza, where UN aid convoys enter. Dr Mohamed Abu Selmiya, the director of Shifa Hospital, which received the dead and wounded, said all six were killed by Israeli gunfire. A Palestinian witness, who asked not to be named for security concerns, said a small number of looters with knives were among desperate crowds that unloaded a convoy, but that it was less chaotic than on previous days and that more trucks entered. He said Israeli troops still fired toward the crowds. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed while seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza since May, when Israel eased a 2 ½ month blockade. Witnesses, health officials and the UN human rights office say they were killed by Israeli fire. The military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces. Canada's Carney says Gaza takeover plan puts hostages at risk Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says Israel's plan to take over Gaza is wrong and puts the lives of the hostages at a greater risk. 'We join many others in viewing that this is wrong, that this action is not going to contribute in the improvement of the humanitarian situation on the ground. It is going to put the lives of the hostages at greater risk rather than lessoning it," Carney said. 'We reiterate our call for an immediately ceasefire," he said when asked about it Friday. France condemns Israel's plans to take control of Gaza France condemned the plans 'in the strongest possible terms". In a statement from the foreign affairs ministry, France said it 'reiterates its firm opposition to any plan for the occupation of the Gaza Strip and the forced displacement of its population". The ministry said 'such actions would constitute further serious violations of international law and would lead to an absolute dead end." France, which keeps pushing for a two-state solution, insisted that Israel's plans would undermine the 'legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians to live in peace in a viable, sovereign, and contiguous State, and pose a threat to regional stability." 'They would do nothing to contribute to the security of Israel and its citizens, including the safety of the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza," it added. UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Israel's plans to take over Gaza Panama, which holds the council presidency this month, said the meeting will take place at 3 pm EDT on Saturday. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had called for an immediate emergency meeting of the UN's most powerful body to stop Israel from escalating the fighting in Gaza. Panama's UN Mission said the request to the 15-member council for an emergency meeting was made by the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Greece and Slovenia. It was supported by Algeria, Russia, China, Somalia, Guyana, Pakistan, South Korea and Sierra Leone. The United States, Israel's closest ally, did not support the request. Iran condemns Israel's plan to take over Gaza Iran's has condemned Israel's plan to take over Gaza and claimed it is an indication of Israel's intention to carry out 'genocide ' in the Palestinian territory. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei in a statement called Western nations and the US 'accomplices" of Israel and urged the international community to force Israel to stop the move. He also urged Islamic nations to meet immediately to discuss a 'joint act" to help the Palestinians. (AP) SCY SCY (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: August 09, 2025, 01:00 IST News agency-feeds 6 Palestinians killed, dozens wounded near aid crossing Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
