Latest news with #US-dispatched
Express Tribune
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Israel kills 50 in Gaza as calls for ceasefire mount
A Palestinian man carries the body of a person killed during a reported Israeli strike on a humanitarian aid distribution warehouse in the Sabra neighbourhood in Gaza City, in the central Gaza Strip, on the grounds of Al-Ahli Arab hospital, also known as the Baptist hospital on June 30, 2025. PHOTO:AFP Listen to article Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 51 people, including 24 at a seafront rest area, as fresh calls grow for a ceasefire in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. The swift resolution of Israel's 12-day war with Iran has revived hopes for a halt to the fighting in Gaza, where more than 20 months of combat have created dire humanitarian conditions for the population of more than two million. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House on July 7, a US official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 51 people, including 24 at a seafront rest area, as fresh calls grow for a ceasefire in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. The swift resolution of Israel's 12-day war with Iran has revived hopes for a halt to the fighting in Gaza, where more than 20 months of combat have created dire humanitarian conditions for the population of more than two million. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House on July 7, a US official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Simultaneously, Israeli forces launched pre-dawn raids across the occupied West Bank, arresting at least 21 Palestinians. Detainees were taken from Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin, and Bethlehem. In Washington, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said US President Donald Trump is in constant communication with Israeli leadership and is committed to ending the war. Read: US approves $510m sale of bomb guidance kits to Israel following Iran conflict 'It's heartbreaking to see the images that have come out from both Israel and Gaza... the president wants to see it end. He wants to save lives,' she told reporters. Trump is set to host Netanyahu next Monday for talks at the White House, with discussions expected to cover Gaza, Iran, and regional security. Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is in Washington this week for talks with senior US officials on regional diplomacy, Gaza, and the aftermath of Israel's 12-day conflict with Iran last month. Earlier on Monday, nearly 40 people were killed in the deadliest single attack of the week, when an Israeli airstrike hit the al-Baqa café, a popular venue along Gaza City's coastal promenade. The site had become one of the few remaining social gathering spaces in the besieged enclave. Read more: US-dispatched flour bags laced with narcotics: Gazan authorities Children were attending a birthday party at the time of the strike. Palestinian journalist Ismail Abu Hatab was also among the dead. On Tuesday, an Israeli military spokesperson told AFP the incident was under review, adding: 'Prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians using aerial surveillance.' A UN report has named over 60 companies it alleges are involved in supporting Israeli settlements and military actions in Gaza, calling the conflict a "genocidal campaign." Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, compiled the report after receiving over 200 submissions from states, companies, academics, and rights groups. 'While life in Gaza is being obliterated... this report shows why Israel's genocide continues: because it is lucrative for many,' Albanese wrote. She accused firms of being 'financially bound to Israel's apartheid and militarism.' The report calls for legal accountability for executives and demands companies cease all dealings with Israel linked to the military campaign. Israel's war on Gaza Despite international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has killed more than 56,500 Palestinians in a deadly onslaught in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Health
- Express Tribune
Gaza accuses Israel of smuggling oxycodone in aid flour bags
Narcotic pills have been found inside US-dispatched flour bags in the Israeli-besieged enclave, Palestinian authorities said. In a statement, Gaza's government media office said prescription painkiller Oxycodone was found by Palestinians inside flour bags they received from US-run aid distribution points in Gaza. 'It is possible that these pills were deliberately ground or dissolved inside the flour itself, which constitutes a direct assault on public health,' it warned. The media office held Israel fully responsible for this "heinous crime" aimed at spreading addiction and destroying the Palestinian social fabric from within. 'This is a part of the ongoing Israeli genocide against the Palestinians,' it said, calling Israel's use of drugs a "soft weapon in a dirty war against civilians.' Read: Israeli strikes kill 37 in Gaza within 24-hours Gaza's Anti-Drug Committee has urged residents to inspect food aid and report any foreign substances, warning that some items from what it described as 'death traps called US-Israeli aid centres' may be contaminated. Israel had crafted a plan to establish four aid distribution points in southern and central Gaza, which Israeli media say aims to evacuate Palestinians from northern Gaza into the south. The Israeli mechanism was opposed by the international community and the UN, which came as an alternative attempt by Israel to bypass the aid distribution through UN channels. Dr Khalil Mazen Abu Nada and pharmacist Omar Hamad elaborated on the findings, raising concerns over the potential misuse of the drug. The most despicable form of genocide has recently come to light with the spread of a drug called Oxycodone among the population. Israel has reportedly been smuggling it in through bags of flour provided as aid. As a pharmacist, let me explain what this drug is: it belongs to the… — Omar Hamad | عُـمَـرْ 𓂆 (@OmarHamadD) June 26, 2025 What is Oxycodone? Oxycodone is typically prescribed for managing severe pain in cancer patients or post-surgical recovery. It is highly addictive and poses serious health risks if misused or consumed unknowingly. 'Weaponisation of food' Meanwhile, the United Nations this week condemned Israel for what it called the 'weaponisation of food' in Gaza, labelling the practice a war crime. It also called on Israeli forces to 'stop shooting at people trying to get food'. According to UN figures, over 410 Palestinians have been killed and at least 3,000 wounded while attempting to access or collect humanitarian aid since the beginning of the Israeli siege. 'Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food,' the UN human rights office said in briefing notes on Tuesday. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed body, began distributing food in Gaza on 26 May after Israel halted all official aid entry for over two months. The UN warned in May that '100 percent of the population' in Gaza is 'at risk of famine'.
