Latest news with #Sunghay
Daily Tribune
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Tribune
Around 47 injured in chaos, shooting at Gaza aid centre
Around 47 people were injured, largely due to gunshots fired by the Israeli military, during chaotic scenes at a new aid distribution centre in Gaza, a senior UN official said yesterday. Thousands of Palestinians rushed into the centre run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Tuesday, AFP journalists reported, as Israel implemented a new distribution system that bypasses the United Nations. The incident in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip came days after the partial easing of a total aid blockade on the Palestinian territory that Israel imposed on March 2, leading to severe shortages of food and medicine. 'From the information we have, there are about 47 people who have been injured' in Tuesday's incident, Ajith Sunghay, the head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territories, told the UN correspondents' association in Geneva. He added that 'most of those injured are due to gunshots' and based on the information he has, 'it was shooting from the IDF' -- the Israel Defence Forces. Sunghay stressed that his office was still assessing and gathering information on the full picture of events. 'The numbers could go up. We are trying to confirm what has happened to them,' in terms of how seriously people were injured, Sunghay added. Sunghay also expressed concern about the possible medical aid injured people would be able to access. 'Getting medical aid has never been easy in Gaza or in the West Bank because hospitals have been attacked, ambulances have been attacked, health workers have been attacked,' he said. The Israeli military said its troops 'fired warning shots in the area outside' the distribution compound on Tuesday, and that it had re-established 'control over the situation'. A senior military official said the distribution was nonetheless 'a success'.
Gulf Today
4 days ago
- Health
- Gulf Today
At least 47 Palestinians injured in chaos, shooting at new Gaza aid distribution centre
Around 47 people were injured, largely due to gunshots fired by the Israeli military, during chaotic scenes at a new aid distribution centre in Gaza, a senior UN official said on Wednesday. According to the Associated Press, Gaza's Health Ministry said that at least one Palestinian was killed and 48 were wounded when gunshots were fired on the crowd that overran a new aid distribution site in the war-battered enclave. Thousands of Palestinians rushed into the centre run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Tuesday, AFP journalists reported, as Israel implemented a new distribution system that bypasses the United Nations. A truck carrying aid arrives at the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza, on its Israeli side. Reuters The incident in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip came days after the partial easing of a total aid blockade on the Palestinian territory that Israel imposed on March 2, leading to severe shortages of food and medicine. "From the information we have, there are about 47 people who have been injured" in Tuesday's incident, Ajith Sunghay, the head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territories, told the UN correspondents' association in Geneva. He added that "most of those injured are due to gunshots" and based on the information he has, "it was shooting from the IDF" – the Israel Defence Forces. Sunghay stressed that his office was still assessing and gathering information on the full picture of events. "The numbers could go up. We are trying to confirm what has happened to them," in terms of how seriously people were injured, Sunghay added. Sunghay also expressed concern about the possible medical aid injured people would be able to access. "Getting medical aid has never been easy in Gaza or in the West Bank because hospitals have been attacked, ambulances have been attacked, health workers have been attacked," he said. The Israeli military said its troops "fired warning shots in the area outside" the distribution compound on Tuesday, and that it had re-established "control over the situation". A senior military official said the distribution was nonetheless "a success". Agence France-Presse
Roya News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Roya News
‘Just like Auschwitz': Aerial footage of Gaza aid lines sparks outrage
Aerial footage showing thousands of Palestinians crowded into narrow, fenced lanes while awaiting humanitarian aid in Gaza surfaced on Tuesday, igniting a firestorm of controversy across social media platforms, with many users drawing disturbing parallels to scenes from Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust. - Background - An American, "Israeli"-backed organization called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) became the scene of chaos on Tuesday after thousands of Palestinians, many of them hungry and displaced, rushed the facility in search of food. GHF, a relatively unknown group, has recently taken over aid distribution outside the long-established UN system. A photo from the aid distribution surfaced, depicting long queues of men, women, and children packed tightly into metal corridors with barbed fences under the hot sun, awaiting the distribution of food and basic supplies. The stark imagery—corridors of metal fencing, the lack of overhead cover, and the overwhelming density of human bodies—has triggered international condemnation and widespread outrage. According to the UN, at least 47 people were injured in the stampede. A Palestinian medical source confirmed one fatality. Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territories, said most of the injuries resulted from gunfire. 'It was shooting from the IDF,' Sunghay stated, referring to the "Israeli" military. The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) denied responsibility. Speaking to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Colonel Olivier Rafowicz claimed that soldiers only 'fired warning shots into the air, in the area outside' the GHF center. He insisted that 'in no case' did the IOF fire at civilians. The GHF has drawn scrutiny for its opaque operations and for bypassing coordination with major international aid organizations, including the UN. Critics argue this has led to disorganized and unsafe distribution efforts, compounding the suffering of civilians already facing severe food shortages. - Online outrage - On platforms such as X, Instagram, and TikTok, many users are juxtaposing the image with historical photographs from concentration camps during World War II, citing the visual similarities in confinement, desperation, and systemic dehumanization. Others have posted side-by-side comparisons, prompting renewed debates about the language used to describe the suffering of Palestinians under siege. Some are calling this a form of modern apartheid, while others are accusing critics of weaponizing Holocaust imagery for political purposes. PHOTO | "Never Again - Over Again" #FreeGaza — Antifa_Ultras (@ultras_antifaa) May 27, 2025 You don't need to be a prophet. Images like this - of starved Palestinians hammed into fenced cages by Israel - will be remembered for generations as hideous evidence of a terrible crime. And history will remember not just those who cheered it on, but those who stayed silent. — Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) May 27, 2025 After 86 days of ban on food and all supplies, this is the way the Israeli occupation wants Gazans to get aid! — Motasem A Dalloul (@AbujomaaGaza) May 27, 2025 Israel literally put them in cattle pens to recieve a few biscuits after starving them for three months and bombing their tents after turning Gaza to rubble. Treating them like subhumans. This is the organisation bit of genocide. Like the ramp at Auschwitz. — Matthew Bennett (@matthewbennett) May 27, 2025 An open air prison within an open air prison. This is what aid distribution looks like in the joint Israeli / US food scam. This is day one and day 600 of Israel's genocide. — Samira Mohyeddin سمیرا (@SMohyeddin) May 27, 2025 Look how they are treating Palestinians. They've caged them in like cattle as they fight to get to the front for a meal from an israeli checkpoint. This is so inhumane so fucking vile to treat other humans like this!!! — JonnyUtd (@Fx1Jonny) May 27, 2025
The Journal
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Journal
Around 47 people injured during chaos at US-backed aid hub in Gaza, mostly by Israeli gunfire
AROUND FORTY-SEVEN PEOPLE were injured, mostly by Israeli gunfire, as chaos erupted at an aid distribution hub run by a US-Israeli-backed organisation in Gaza yesterday, a UN official has said. The food distribution was organised by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has faced intense criticism from UN agencies and NGOs that already operate in the besieged Palestinian territory. Yesterday, the organisation's new hub near the southern city of Rafah was overrun by hungry people desperate for food. The crowd broke through fences and an Associated Press journalist heard Israeli tank and gun fire, and saw a military helicopter firing flares. 'There are about 47 people who have been injured', said Ajith Sunghay, the head of UN Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territories, adding that 'most of those injured are due to gunshots', and that 'it was shooting from the IDF'. Sunghay stressed that his office was still assessing and gathering information on the full picture of events. 'The numbers could go up. We are trying to confirm what has happened to them,' in terms of how seriously people were injured, Sunghay added. The Israeli military said it had fired 'warning shots'. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged a 'loss of control momentarily' at the centre, but a senior military official said the distribution was nonetheless 'a success'. Palestinians show to the camera food and humanitarian aid packages they received yesterday Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo 'Distraction from atrocities' The new aid distribution model is part of an Israeli plan to take over aid delivery in Gaza, which critics have said only allows Israel to further weaponise food supply. Its former executive director, Jake Wood, announced his resignation on Sunday, saying it was impossible to do his job in line with humanitarian principles. Advertisement The New York Times, citing unnamed Israeli officials, reported last week that a new US-backed aid plan for Gaza had been 'conceived and largely developed by Israelis as a way to undermine Hamas'. The UN has ruled out involvement in the US-Israeli plan, with spokesman Farhan Haq saying that it 'does not accord with our basic principles, including those of impartiality, neutrality, independence'. A group of NGOs, including ActionAid, this month said: 'Aid that is used to mask ongoing violence is not aid, it is in fact humanitarian cover for a military strategy of control and dispossession.' Today, the head of UNRWA – the UN's main aid agency in Palestine – said: 'We have seen yesterday the shocking images of hungry people pushing against fences, desperate for food. It was chaotic, undignified and unsafe.' 'I believe it is a waste of resources and a distraction from atrocities. We already have an aid distribution system that is fit for purpose,' the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said. 'Meanwhile, the clock is ticking towards famine, so humanitarian (work) must be allowed to do its life-saving work now,' Philippe Lazzarini said. Strikes continue Gaza rescuers have said sixteen people were killed in Israeli strikes across the territory. 'Sixteen people have been killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip since dawn', civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. Among them, nine belonged to the family of photojournalist Osama al-Arbeed and were killed in a strike on their home in Gaza's north at 2am, Bassal said. He added that Arbeed was injured, noting that he is a videographer and editor at a local film production organisation. Another six members of the same family were killed in central Gaza in a strike that left 15 people wounded, 'including children'. One other person, a civilian per Bassal, was killed near the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis. The health ministry in Gaza said on yesterday that at least 3,822 people had been killed in the territory since Israel broke a ceasefire on 18 March, taking the war's overall death toll to 53,977, mostly civilians. With reporting from AFP and Press Association Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Dozens injured after gunfire at aid hub in Gaza
At least 47 Palestinians have been injured - mostly by gunfire - when a crowd overwhelmed an aid hub in Gaza, according to a UN official. Gaza's Hamas-run government media office said that three people had been killed during the incident in Rafah, in the south of the enclave. It said that seven others remained missing. On Tuesday, set up by a US and Israeli-backed foundation. People broke through fences at the hub run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been slated by Israel to take over aid operations. Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office for the Palestinian territories, said it appeared that Israeli army fire had caused most of the injuries. Speaking from Switzerland, Mr Sunghay said: "The information that we have is that about 47 people have been injured, it is through gunshots. "We're still gathering information, the numbers could go up. "What we know is that it was shooting from the IDF. But again this is a job we are continuing to do at this time." The Associated Press reported hearing Israeli tank and gunfire and witnessing a military helicopter firing flares. The GHF said its military contractors did not fire on the crowd but "fell back" before later resuming operations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that there had been "some loss of control momentarily" at the hub, but "happily, we brought it under control." He repeated Israel's plans to relocate Gaza's entire population to a "sterile zone" at the southern end of the territory while Israel fights Hamas elsewhere. 'Teaspoon' of aid Palestinians have become desperate for food after nearly three months of an Israeli blockade which has pushed Gaza to the brink of famine. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said last week Israel had only authorised for Gaza what amounts to and more people will die unless there is "rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access". The UN and other humanitarian organisations have rejected the new aid system. They have warned that it will not be able to meet the needs of Gaza's 2.3 million people and allows Israel to use food as a weapon to control the population. The GHF has established four hubs, two of which are said to be operational. They are guarded by private security contractors. Israel said it has established the new aid system to stop Hamas from siphoning off supplies. But it has provided no evidence of systematic diversion, and UN agencies have said they have mechanisms in place to prevent this. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
