Latest news with #OmarIsleem
NBC News
04-08-2025
- Health
- NBC News
Attack on Palestinian Red Crescent Society's Gaza HQ condemned by global health organizations
The World Health Organization has led condemnation an attack on the Palestine Red Crescent Society's headquarters in Gaza that killed one person and left several others injured. Accusing Israeli forces of 'deliberately' targeting its headquarters in the southern city of Khan Younis in the early hours of Sunday morning, the PRCS — which provides emergency medical services in the besieged enclave — said in a statement that artillery struck the upper floors of its building, which it said was clearly marked with its emblem. As workers tried to evacuate the building, the second floor was hit again, it said, followed by 'direct shelling of the ground floor' as rescue teams fought a fire caused by the bombing. The attack killed one of its staff members, identified as Omar Isleem, and injured two other workers, along with a civilian who had tried to help extinguish a subsequent fire, the PCRS said. Photos published by the PRCS appeared to show significant destruction, with debris covering the floor. 'The repeated strikes during evacuation and rescue operations clearly demonstrate that the shelling was deliberate and systematic,' the organization said. The Israel Defense Forces said it was 'reviewing the claim that a building belonging to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) was damaged, and that uninvolved individuals in the Khan Yunis area were harmed as a result of an IDF strike.' Describing the incident as 'appalling,' World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for a ceasefire in Gaza in a statement on X on Sunday. "We demand that attacks on health and humanitarian workers must stop," he said. In a separate statement, The International Committee of the Red Cross said Sunday that it was 'unacceptable that first responders in Gaza — like Omar and staff and volunteers of the PRCS — go to work every day fearing they may not return to their families.' The United Nations Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territories also expressed 'deep shock and outrage' over the 'continued killings of emergency workers in Gaza.' 'There must be an independent investigation into all killings of civilians,' it said in a separate post shared on X on Sunday, noting that 'deliberate killings of humanitarian workers may amount to war crimes.' The attack came amid a spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza marked by growing starvation and rising deaths from malnutrition due to Israel's offensive and crippling aid restrictions. The PRCS said on Sunday that at least 51 of its staff members and volunteers, including 29 who it said were killed while performing humanitarian duties, were among those killed since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attacks in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage, marking a deadly escalation in a decadeslong conflict.
Sky News
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Gaza latest: Hamas ready to deliver aid to hostages after footage of emaciated Israeli captive sparks outcry
IDF reviewing claim Palestinian killed in shelling of aid group's HQ Israel's military says it's reviewing a claim by the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) that an Israeli attack on its headquarters in Khan Younis killed one of its staff and wounded three others. The humanitarian and aid group said Israeli forces shelled its facility three times at around 1am local time (11pm UK time). Video footage and images released by the organisation showed gaping holes in the building's walls and floors, and rooms strewn with debris. In a statement, the PRCS said: "We are heartbroken to share that our colleague Omar Isleem was killed early this morning. "Our headquarters' location is well known to the occupying forces and clearly marked with the protective red emblem. "This was not a mistake. "We renew our call for accountability and for the protection of all humanitarian and medical personnel." Asked about the shelling, the IDF said it "is reviewing the claim that a building belonging to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) was damaged, and that uninvolved individuals in the Khan Younis area were harmed as a result of an IDF strike". "The incident remains under examination," it added.
Canada News.Net
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Canada News.Net
Targeting the last lifeline': Israel strikes Red Crescent compound
The International Red Cross's affiliated Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has accused Israeli forces of deliberately targeting its headquarters in Khan Younis in a nighttime attack on Saturday, violating international humanitarian law. In an official statement shared on X, the PRCS reported heavy shelling of its compound. Three separate strikes all but destroyed the Red Crescent buildings, killed one worker, and wounded two others. The strikes triggered a widespread fire in the compound. A civilian who was helping extinguish the fire was wounded as well when Israeli forces struck again, for the third time. "The repeated strikes during evacuation and rescue operations clearly demonstrate that the shelling was deliberate and systematic," the PRCS statement said. "Despite being clearly marked with the internationally recognized Red Crescent emblem, the building was deliberately tageted by Israeli forces," the statement reaffirmed. The society not only blamed the Israeli military for the attack, but the world for its silence over what is going on in Gaza. "PRCS holds the international community fully responsible for its continued silence in the face of ongoing violations targeting its personnel, facilitirs, and ambulances, despite the emblem's clear proitection under law," the PRCS statement said. The Red Crescent worker killed on Saturday night, named as Omar Isleem, was the 51st staff member or volunteer killed since the Israeli attacks began on 7 October 2023, following the Hamas-led attacks in Israel on that day. The International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) condemned the attack on its Red Crescent headquarters. "I am outraged and devastated by the horrific news from Gaza," IFRC President Kate Forbes said Sunday in a statement. IFRC Secretary General, Jagan Chapagain, said: "I am horrified and appalled by news of this attack. I cannot stress enough that humanitarian workers and facilities must be protected. It's a moral and legal imperative." For almost two years, the PRCS has been providing ambulance services and critical healthcare under relentless and extremely dangerous conditions in Gaza, caring for the many wounded amidst continuous hostilities. With the healthcare system on the brink of collapse and medical resources nearly depleted, PRCS teams remain a lifeline for civilians in desperate need of life-saving support. Any attack on their facilities or personnel is an attack on humanitarian assistance itself, the IFRC statement said. This incident is a stark reminder of the dire and unacceptable conditions facing humanitarian workers and civilians in Gaza, the statement added. Saturday night's attack coincides with intensified Israeli operations in Gaza and follows the UN's warning of "full-blown famine" in the enclave. Human rights groups accuse Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war—a charge Israel denies. Historical Parallel: "Cast Thy Bread" and the Policy of Starvation The current humanitarian crisis in Gaza has drawn comparisons to lesser-documented atrocities during the 1948 Nakba, including Operation Cast Thy Bread. Declassified Israeli archives reveal that biological warfare units poisoned water wells in Palestinian villages and bread supplies in Gaza, sickening thousands to force mass displacement. Historians like Benny Morris (The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem) and research by Haaretz (2013) confirm these acts, though they remain excluded from mainstream Israeli narratives.
Saudi Gazette
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Palestine Red Crescent says Israeli strike on Gaza HQ kills worker, injures three
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) accused Israeli forces on Sunday of striking its headquarters in southern Gaza, killing one worker and wounding three others. In a statement, the humanitarian group said the early morning attack on its Khan Younis facility sparked a fire in the building, which is 'well known' to the Israeli military and 'clearly marked with the protective red emblem.' It called the strike 'deliberate' and renewed its appeal for accountability and protection of humanitarian and medical staff. The PRCS identified the slain worker as Omar Isleem and said two other staff members were injured, along with a civilian who was attempting to put out the fire. Images shared by the group showed heavy structural damage, debris-filled offices and large bloodstains. When asked about the incident, the Israel Defense Forces told the BBC it had 'no knowledge about neither artillery nor any air strikes' targeting the facility. The attack comes as Gaza's humanitarian crisis deepens. UN figures indicate that at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed since late May while trying to access food, most near Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution sites. Israel disputes the UN's figures and accuses Hamas of fomenting chaos at the aid centres, while denying that its forces intentionally target civilians. Egyptian state media reported Sunday that two fuel trucks were waiting to enter Gaza amid ongoing shortages that have crippled hospitals and aid operations. The Hamas-run health ministry says 175 people, including 93 children, have died from malnutrition. Israel launched its Gaza campaign after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Since then, more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza's health ministry. — BBC
The National
03-08-2025
- Politics
- The National
Palestinian Red Crescent Society 'heartbroken' as aid worker killed in Israeli strike
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PCRS) said worker Omar Isleem had been killed in what it described as a deliberate attack on its building. In a statement, the group said: "Our headquarter's location is well known to the occupying forces and clearly marked with the protective red emblem. This was not a mistake." It added: "We renew our call for accountability and for the protection of all humanitarian and medical personnel." PCRS also shared footage of the building on fire and filled with smoke, with blood stains visible. The IDF told the BBC it had "no knowledge about neither artillery nor any air strikes" in the area. Meanwhile Israeli forces killed at least 23 Palestinians seeking food on Sunday in the Gaza Strip, according to hospital officials. Witnesses described facing gunfire as hungry crowds surged around aid sites as the malnutrition-related death toll surged. Yousef Abed, among the crowds en-route to a distribution point, described coming under what he called indiscriminate fire, looking around and seeing at least three people bleeding on the ground. 'I couldn't stop and help them because of the bullets,' he said. READ MORE: I am a Palestinian. Keir Starmer's recognition plan is an insult Southern Gaza's Nasser Hospital said it had received bodies from near multiple distribution sites, including eight from Teina, about 1.8 miles from a distribution site in Khan Younis run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – a private US and Israeli-backed contractor that took over aid distribution more than two months ago. The hospital also received one body from Shakoush, near a different GHF site in Rafah. Another nine were killed by troops near the Morag corridor who were awaiting trucks entering Gaza through an Israeli border crossing, it said. Three Palestinian eyewitnesses, seeking food in Teina and Morag, said the shootings occurred on the route to the distribution points, which are in military zones secured by Israeli forces. They said they saw soldiers open fire on hungry crowds advancing towards the troops. Further north in central Gaza, hospital officials described a similar episode, with Israeli troops opening fire on Sunday morning towards crowds of Palestinians trying to get to GHF's fourth and northern-most distribution point. 'Troops were trying to prevent people from advancing,' one witness said. 'They opened fire and we fled. Some people were shot.' READ MORE: What 'top lawyers' got wrong on Palestinian recognition At least five people were killed and 27 were injured at GHF's site near the Netzarim corridor, Awda Hospital said. Eyewitnesses seeking food in Gaza have reported similar gunfire attacks in recent days near aid distribution sites, leaving dozens of Palestinians dead. The United Nations reported 859 people were killed near GHF sites from May 27 to July 31, and hundreds more have been killed along the routes of UN-led food convoys.
