Latest news with #Palestinian territory
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Malay Mail
Gaza civil defence: Dozens killed as Israeli troops fire on hungry crowd
GAZA CITY, July 31 — Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 30 people when they opened fire Wednesday on a crowd waiting for humanitarian aid in the north of the Palestinian territory. The Israeli military said it had no knowledge of casualties in the incident north of Gaza City, as the United Nations said that pauses in Israel's offensive against Hamas were not enough to help the population through a deepening hunger crisis. The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, said that four days into Israel's 'tactical pauses', people were still dying from hunger and malnutrition, alongside casualties among those seeking aid. Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 'at least 30 martyrs were killed' and 300 wounded when Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for aid north of Gaza City. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said his facility had received 35 bodies from the shooting, which reportedly struck about three kilometres south-west of the Zikim crossing point for aid trucks entering Gaza. The Israeli army said that dozens of Gazans were seen 'gathering around aid trucks in northern Gaza, and in close proximity to IDF (army) troops operating in the area. 'The troops fired warning shots in the area, not directed at the gathering, in response to the threat posed to them. According to an initial inquiry, the IDF is not aware of any casualties as a result of IDF fire. The details of the incident are still being examined.' Hours earlier, 14 Palestinians were killed in four other incidents, three near aid distribution sites, the civil defence agency said. In two of the incidents, the Israeli army said it had fired warning shots. Pauses not enough Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP cannot independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence and other parties. Gaza has been in the grip of war for almost 22 months and, according to a UN-mandated report, its two-million-plus inhabitants now face an unfolding famine. The war was triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 60,138 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run government's health ministry. Food aid air-drops Amid an international outcry over Gaza's food crisis, Israel has observed a daytime pause in military operations since the weekend on secure routes and in built-up areas to boost aid delivery and distribution. Air drops of food have also been staged by the Jordanian air force, the United Arab Emirates and Britain. France said it plans to start delivering 40 tonnes of aid from Friday. OCHA said that the conditions for delivering aid were 'far from sufficient' to meet the immense needs of its 'desperate, hungry people'. Israel's pauses alone 'do not allow for the continuous flow of supplies required to meet immense needs levels in Gaza', OCHA said in an update. 'For example, for UN drivers to access the Kerem Shalom crossing — a fenced-off area — Israeli authorities must approve the mission, provide a safe route through which to travel, provide multiple 'green lights' on movement, as well as a pause in bombing, and, ultimately, open the iron gates to allow them to enter.' 'Desperate, hungry people' offload the small amounts of aid from the trucks that are able to exit the crossings, it added. Ceasefire talks halted Amid deadlocked talks on a ceasefire, US special envoy Steve Witkoff was scheduled to visit Israel on Thursday. Witkoff has been involved in indirect ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. The discussions broke down last week when Israel and the United States recalled their delegations from Doha. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel and the United States were 'considering alternative options to bring our hostages home'. Witkoff 'will meet with officials to discuss next steps in addressing the situation in Gaza', a US official told AFP. Arab countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt called this week on Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza, in a bid to end the devastating war. — AFP
News.com.au
a day ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Gaza civil defence says 30 killed in food queue by Israeli fire
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 30 people when they opened fire Wednesday on a crowd waiting for humanitarian aid in the north of the Palestinian territory. The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident north of Gaza City, as the United Nations said that pauses in Israel's offensive against Hamas were not enough to help the population through a deepening hunger crisis. The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, said that four days into Israel's "tactical pauses", people were still dying from hunger and malnutrition, alongside casualties among those seeking aid. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that "at least 30 martyrs were killed" as they waited for aid north of Gaza City, and 300 wounded. Bassal said Israeli forces opened fire on the crowd waiting for food. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said his facility had received 35 bodies from the shooting, which reportedly struck about three kilometres (two miles) southwest of the Zikim crossing point for aid trucks entering Gaza. Hours earlier, 14 Palestinians were killed in four other incidents, three near aid distribution sites, the civil defence agency said. In two of the incidents, the Israeli army said it fired warning shots at people approaching the aid sites. - Pauses not enough - While the military did not comment on the incident at Zikim, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office did say that Hamas militants were "stealing" food from the latest deliveries. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP cannot independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence and other parties. Gaza has been in the grip of war for almost 22 months and, according to a UN-mandated report, its two-million-plus inhabitants now face an unfolding famine. The war was triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 60,138 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run government's health ministry. - Food aid air-drops - Amid an international outcry over Gaza's food crisis, Israel has observed a daytime pause in military operations since the weekend on secure routes and in built-up areas to boost aid delivery and distribution. Air drops of food have also been staged by the Jordanian air force, the United Arab Emirates and Britain. France said it plans to start delivering 40 tonnes of aid from Friday. OCHA said that the conditions for delivering aid were "far from sufficient" to meet the immense needs of its "desperate, hungry people". Israel's pauses alone "do not allow for the continuous flow of supplies required to meet immense needs levels in Gaza", OCHA said in an update. "For example, for UN drivers to access the Kerem Shalom crossing -- a fenced-off area -- Israeli authorities must approve the mission, provide a safe route through which to travel, provide multiple 'green lights' on movement, as well as a pause in bombing, and, ultimately, open the iron gates to allow them to enter." "Desperate, hungry people" offload the small amounts of aid from the trucks that are able to exit the crossings, it added. - Ceasefire talks halted - Amid deadlocked talks on a ceasefire, US special envoy Steve Witkoff was to visit Israel on Thursday. Witkoff has been involved in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal. But the discussions broke down last week when Israel and the United States recalled their delegations from Doha. Netanyahu announced the following day that Israel and the United States were "considering alternative options to bring our hostages home". Witkoff "will meet with officials to discuss next steps in addressing the situation in Gaza", a US official told AFP. Arab countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt called this week on Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza, in a bid to end the devastating war.
France 24
3 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Gaza famine warning as Israel resists ceasefire calls
The health ministry figure excludes deaths from hunger in the Palestinian territory gripped by dire humanitarian conditions made worse by Israel's total blockade of aid from March to May. This week, Israel launched a daily pause in fighting and opened secure routes to enable UN and non-governmental agencies to distribute food on Gaza's devastated streets. Hundreds of truckloads of aid have begun to arrive. But Israeli strikes continued overnight, killing 30 people in the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to Gaza's civil defence agency -- and experts warn a humanitarian catastrophe of historic proportions is imminent. "The worst-case scenario of famine is now unfolding in the Gaza Strip," said the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC), a coalition of monitors tasked by the UN to warn of impending crises. Urgent action now The World Food Programme's emergency director, Ross Smith, likened the situation to some of the worst famines of the past century. "This is unlike anything we have seen in this century. It reminds us of previous disasters in Ethiopia or Biafra," Smith said via video-link from Rome. "We need urgent action now." In a statement released ahead of the IPC report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office accused Hamas of distorting casualty figures and accused the group of looting food aid destined for Palestinian civilians. "While the situation in Gaza is difficult and Israel has been working to ensure aid delivery, Hamas benefits from attempting to fuel the perception of a humanitarian crisis," the statement said. "We already allow significant amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza every single day, including food, water and medicine. Unfortunately, Hamas... has been stealing aid from the Gaza population, many times by shooting Palestinians." As late as Sunday, Netanyahu had been insisting there was "no starvation in Gaza" but even his close international ally, US President Donald Trump, has now warned the situation appears to be "real starvation". Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2 after ceasefire talks broke down. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume, amid warnings of a wave of starvation. Then on Sunday, faced with a mounting international chorus of alarm, Israel began a series of "tactical pauses" while allowed aid trucks to cross two border crossings into Gaza, and Jordanian and Emirati planes to airdrop aid. Shipments have ramped up, but for the IPC this effort will not prove enough unless aid agencies are granted "immediate, unimpeded" humanitarian access. "Failure to act now will result in widespread death in much of the Strip," it said, warning that 16 children under the age of five had died of hunger since July 17. "Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths," it said. According to Netanyahu's office, the pause in military operations covers "key populated areas" between 10:00 am (0700 GMT) and 8:00 pm every day. Designated aid convoy routes will be secure from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm. COGAT, an Israeli defence ministry body in charge of civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said more than 200 truckloads of aid were distributed by the UN and aid agencies on Monday. Air strikes Another 260 trucks were permitted to cross into Gaza to deposit aid at collection points, four UN tankers brought in fuel and 20 pallets of aid were airdropped from Jordanian and Emirati planes, COGAT said. Overnight, however, strikes continued. Gaza's civil defence agency said Tuesday that Israeli air strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians, including women and children, in the central Nuseirat district. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the strikes were carried out overnight and into the morning and "targeted a number of citizens' homes" in the Nuseirat refugee camp. The local Al-Awda hospital said it had received "the bodies of 30 martyrs, including 14 women and 12 children". An Israeli military spokesman told AFP that he would need more information to enable him to look into the strikes. With aid experts pushing for a ceasefire to enable a large-scale humanitarian operation, Israel's foreign minister addressed reporters in Jerusalem to denounce what he called a "distorted campaign" of international pressure. Gideon Saar told reporters that if Israel was to halt the conflict while Hamas is still in power in Gaza and still holding hostages it would be a "tragedy for both Israelis and Palestinians".
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kemi Badenoch Says She Believes Israel Is Allowing Humanitarian Aid Into Gaza
Kemi Badenoch has insisted she believes Israel is still getting humanitarian aid into Gaza despite growing fears of famine. The Tory leader's remarks come amid growing concerns that people in the Palestinian territory are facing mass starvation due Israel's blockade of relief. More than 100 non-governmental organisations issued a statement this week saying the 'Israeli government's siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families'. Israel did announce over the weekend that it would allow airdrops of relief into the Palestinian territory, and promised it would implement a 'tactical pause' in its military operation in three parts of Gaza to help ease the humanitarian crisis. But speaking to Sky News this morning, the Tory leader suggested her support for Israel had not wavered despite the international community's fears. Presenter Trevor Phillips asked for Badenoch's reaction to Live Aid organiser Bob Geldof's claim that Israel has been 'lying' about the food crisis in Gaza. She said: 'I disagree with that. What I am seeing is Israel allowing humanitarian aid to go in. This has been an unbelievably difficult situation, it's been heartbreaking seeing some of those pictures, hearing some of those stories. 'What we allow want to see is this awful war coming to an end. And that will happen when those hostages are released and we get a ceasefire.' Phillips asked: 'Have those pictures at all led your pretty much unwavering support for Israel to waver?' 'No, no. War is a difficult situation,' she replied. 'What I see when I see Israel is a country that is trying to defend itself, mostly from Iran and a lot of its proxies – Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis. I think they're in a very difficult situation. 'And what worries me is the length of time this war has been going on makes it very difficult for the people in Palestinian territories and also for Israel, we need to bring things to an end.' Phillips pointed out that polling suggests Brits are moving away from supporting Israel, to which the Tory leader said she is 'somebody who believes in looking at what's actually happening'. 'The right thing is for there to a ceasefire. A lot of people are suffering on both sides, but we must'n't forget how this started,' she claimed. 'On October 7, a massacre occurred. It was an act of war. There are still people who are being held hostage and they need to be brought home. 'All of this could be brought to an end, except that those territories are being run by a terrorist organisation. We cannot allow it to go on.' Asked if there was anything Israel is doing which she would not support, the leader of the opposition said that Israel has a 'responsibility to make sure aid gets through.' But she noted: 'I also know that allowing a terrorist organisation to win is not going to be safe, not just for Israel, but for the rest of the world. 'This is how they get incubated. And then 10, 15, 20 years' time, the rest of us suffer for it. We need to bring this sort of terrorism to an end.' Existing tensions between the Israelis and the Palestinians soared when Palestinian militants Hamas killed 1,200 people on Israeli soil and took a further 251 people hostage. Israel declared war and imposed a blockade on Gaza while also launching missile strikes across the territory. According to the local Hamas-run health ministry, more than 61,000 people have died in Gaza since the conflict began. Labour minister James Murray also told Sky News that the UK would recognise a Palestine state, describing it as a case of 'when not if'. However, he refused to put a clear timeline on it. It comes after French president Emmanuel Macron confirmed he would formally announce Palestine statehood in September. Related... Israel Declares 'Tactical Pause' In Parts Of Gaza As International Unease Over Hunger Grows Israeli Spokesperson Accuses Nick Robinson Of Lying About Gaza In Furious Row Live On Air Germany's Broadcaster Responds To Reports They'll Leave Eurovision If Israel Is Banned
Arab News
5 days ago
- General
- Arab News
UN aid chief welcomes ‘humanitarian pauses' in Gaza
GENEVA: The United Nations' aid chief welcomed Israel's announcement Sunday of secure land routes into Gaza for humanitarian convoys, and said the UN would try to reach as many starving people as possible. 'Welcome announcement of humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow our aid through,' UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher said on X. 'In contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window.' Fletcher's UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned Friday that conditions on the ground in Gaza were 'already catastrophic and deteriorating fast.' 'The starvation crisis is deepening,' it said, warning that hunger and malnutrition increase the risk of illnesses, and adding that the consequences can quickly 'turn deadly.' It said that 'the trickle of supplies that are making it into the Strip are nowhere near adequate to address the immense needs.' OCHA said UN teams were in place to ramp up deliveries into the Palestinian territory 'as soon as they are allowed to do so.' 'If Israel opens the crossings, lets fuel and equipment in, and allows humanitarian staff to operate safely, the UN will accelerate the delivery of food aid, health services, clean water and waste management, nutrition supplies, and shelter materials,' it said. OCHA said constraints imposed by the Israeli authorities had hampered humanitarians' ability to respond. It said that on Thursday, for example, out of 15 attempts to coordinate humanitarian movements inside Gaza, four were 'outright denied,' with another three impeded. One was postponed, and two others had to be canceled, meaning only five missions went ahead. On Friday OCHA issued an aid delivery plan in the event of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
