Latest news with #UnitedStates-backed
Scoop
14 hours ago
- Health
- Scoop
Lifting Of Israeli Blockade ‘the Only Way To Avert Mass Starvation' In Gaza: UNRWA Chief
Philippe Lazzarini posted on social media saying that aid distribution 'has become a death trap,' citing reports from international medical staff on the ground and local health authorities who reported at least 31 deaths and more than 150 injured as civilians were lining up to receive aid from the Israel and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – which bypasses existing aid agencies. 'Humiliating system' 'A distribution point by the Israeli-American plan was put far south in Rafah,' Mr. Lazzarini said on X. 'This humiliating system has forced thousands of hungry and desperate people to walk for tens of miles to an area that's all but pulverized due to heavy bombardment by the Israeli army.' He said aid delivery and distribution 'must be at scale and safe. In Gaza, this can be done only through the United Nations including UNRWA.' The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – which uses private contractors and involves Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to secure its sites – has strongly denied that civilians were fired on, accusing Hamas militants of misinformation. Disputed events The IDF said on social media that reports of them firing towards residents receiving aid from the foundation were false: 'Findings from an initial inquiry indicate that the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site.' The IDF posted video which it said showed gunmen shooting at civilians collecting aid, adding that 'Hamas is doing everything in its power to prevent the successful distribution of food in Gaza.' Medical staff at Nasser hospital in nearby Khan Younis told media outlets that around 79 people were admitted on Sunday, mostly with gunshot wounds, along with the bodies of some of those killed. Journalists on the scene posted video footage of bodies being carried on carts along with wounded arrivals. 'Lift the siege' UNRWA chief Lazzarini called on Israel to lift the three-month old aid blockade and allow safe and unhindered access. 'This is the only way to avert mass starvation including among one million children.' Highlighting the difficulties of clearly establishing facts on the ground due to Israel's ban on international media from entering the Gaza Strip, the UNRWA chief said that amid competing narratives and 'disinformation campaigns in full gear,' the ban on eyewitness reporting must be lifted immediately.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
ISIL (ISIS) launches first attacks against new Syrian government
ISIL (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for an attack on the Syrian army, representing the armed group's first strike at government forces since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, according to analysts. In a statement released late on Thursday, ISIL said its fighters had planted an explosive device that struck a 'vehicle of the apostate regime' in southern Syria. The bombing appears to mark an escalation by ISIL, which views the new government in Damascus as illegitimate but has so far concentrated its activities against Kurdish forces in the north. The blast, in the al-Safa desert region of Sweida province on May 22, reportedly killed or wounded seven Syrian soldiers. A second bomb attack, claimed by ISIL earlier this week, targeted fighters from the United States-backed Kurdish-led Free Syrian Army in a nearby area. ISIL said one fighter was killed and three injured. There has been no official comment from the Syrian government, and the Free Syrian Army has yet to of the new Syrian government that replaced al-Assad after his removal in December once had ties to al-Qaeda – a rival of ISIL – but broke with the group nearly a decade ago. However, over the past several months, ISIL has claimed responsibility only for attacks against the Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast. The United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the convoy blast was the first ISIL-claimed operation targeting the new Syrian military. ISIL was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 but maintains sleeper cells, particularly in the country's central and eastern deserts. While the group's capacity has been diminished, the latest attacks suggest it may be seeking to reassert itself amid shifting alliances and weakening state control.
Qatar Tribune
3 days ago
- Health
- Qatar Tribune
Israeli attacks kill over 60 in Gaza as hunger crisis deepens
Agencies Gaza Israeli attacks have killed at least 64 people across Gaza, the Health Ministry said, as starving Palestinians struggle to access the limited amount of aid supplies that have entered the coastal enclave. At least 23 people were killed on Thursday in a series of Israeli attacks on residential buildings in the Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza, according to Gaza's civil defence. Reporting from Deir el-Balah, Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum said casualties from the Bureij attack were transported to al-Awda Hospital and Al-Aqsa Hospital. 'There has been a state of alert in the emergency department as emergency services said they spent at least 30 minutes recovering casualties from the site of the strike,' Azzoum said. At least seven people were killed in strikes on a kindergarten and a home belonging to the Azzam family in Jabalia, northern Gaza, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. Later on Thursday, multiple explosions were reported near a newly opened aid distribution point, run by the previously unknown United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), at the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza. It was not immediately clear what caused the blasts and there were no immediate reports of casualties. The explosions came after 10 people were killed when Israeli forces shot at Palestinians seeking aid at another GHF site in southern Gaza in separate incidents on Tuesday and Wednesday, Gaza's Government Media Office said. Dozens of people were injured when thousands of hungry Palestinians rushed the GHF site in the first incident on Tuesday. The GHF has been accused of helping Israel fulfil its military objectives, while excluding Palestinians, bypassing the United Nations system and failing to adhere to humanitarian principles. The UN and other international aid groups have boycotted the foundation, which they said undermines the principle that humanitarian aid should be distributed independently of the parties to a conflict and based on need. 'This new scheme is surveillance-based rationing that legitimises a policy of deprivation by design,' senior UN aid official for the occupied Palestinian territory, Jonathan Whittall, told reporters in Jerusalem. 'The UN has refused to participate in this scheme, warning that it is logistically unworkable and violates humanitarian principles by using aid as a tool in Israel's broader efforts to depopulate areas of Gaza,' he said. Israel's ambassador to the UN Danny Danon told the Security Council on Wednesday that Israel would allow aid deliveries 'for the immediate future' via both the UN and the GHF. Danon said the UN should 'put their ego aside and cooperate with the new mechanism'. According to the foundation, it handed out the equivalent of 840,262 meals on Tuesday and Wednesday. In a separate incident on Wednesday, the World Food Programme said 'hordes of hungry people' broke into the al-Ghafari warehouse in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, looking for food supplies. 'Initial reports indicate two people died and several were injured in the tragic incident,' WFP said in a statement on X, adding that it was still confirming details. After ending an 11-week blockade last week following growing international pressure, Israel has allowed limited humanitarian supplies to be delivered, but aid groups have warned that the amount is not nearly enough. Sigrid Kaag, the UN's special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the Security Council that the amount of aid Israel had so far allowed the UN to deliver was 'comparable to a lifeboat after the ship has sunk' when everyone in Gaza was facing the risk of famine.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Two dead after crowds rush UN aid warehouse amid Gaza hunger crisis
At least two people have died after crowds of Palestinians stormed a United Nations aid warehouse in central Gaza, as humanitarian supplies slowly trickle into the besieged territory on the brink of famine. The World Food Programme said late on Wednesday that 'hordes of hungry people' broke into the al-Ghafari warehouse in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, looking for food supplies. 'Initial reports indicate two people died and several were injured in the tragic incident,' WFP said in a statement on X, adding that it was still confirming details. 'Gaza needs an immediate scale-up of food assistance. This is the only way to reassure people that they will not starve. WFP urgently calls for safe, unimpeded humanitarian access to enable orderly food distribution across Gaza immediately,' it added. After ending an 11-week blockade last week following growing international pressure, Israel has allowed limited humanitarian supplies to be delivered, but aid groups have warned that the amount is not nearly enough. Sigrid Kaag, the UN's special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the Security Council that the amount of aid Israel had so far allowed the UN to deliver was 'comparable to a lifeboat after the ship has sunk' when everyone in Gaza was facing the risk of ambassador to the UN Danny Danon told the Security Council that Israel would allow aid deliveries 'for the immediate future' via both the UN and the private United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Danon said the UN should 'put their ego aside and cooperate with the new mechanism'. However, the UN and other aid groups have said the private aid plan is not neutral. 'This new scheme is surveillance-based rationing that legitimises a policy of deprivation by design,' senior UN aid official for the occupied Palestinian territories, Jonathan Whittall, told reporters in Jerusalem. 'The UN has refused to participate in this scheme, warning that it is logistically unworkable and violates humanitarian principles by using aid as a tool in Israel's broader efforts to depopulate areas of Gaza,' he said. At least 10 people were killed when Israeli forces shot at Palestinians seeking aid at the GHF site in southern Gaza in separate incidents on Tuesday and Wednesday, Gaza's Government Media Office said. Dozens of people were injured when thousands of hungry Palestinians rushed the GHF site on Tuesday. According to the foundation, it handed out the equivalent of 840,262 meals on Tuesday and Wednesday. In Gaza, Israeli attacks on Thursday killed at least 30 people, medical sources have told Al Jazeera. Among those killed were seven people sheltering at a kindergarten in Jabalia, northern Gaza, medical sources said. Gaza's Ministry of Health said at least 19 people were killed in a series of Israeli attacks on residential buildings in the Bureij refugee camp.
Days of Palestine
4 days ago
- Politics
- Days of Palestine
GMO: At Least 10 Killed by Israeli Forces at U.S.-Backed Aid Distribution Point
DayofPal– At least 10 Palestinians have been killed and more than 60 injured over the past 48 hours after Israeli forces opened fire on civilians gathering for humanitarian aid in southern Gaza, according to the enclave's Government Media Office. The attacks occurred near a distribution point operated by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a United States-backed organization whose involvement in aid delivery has drawn harsh criticism from humanitarian agencies and United Nations officials. In a statement issued Wednesday, the Gaza Government Media Office accused Israeli forces of 'directly targeting hungry Palestinian civilians' who had gathered to receive food and supplies at the GHF's site in Rafah. While the exact timeline and number of separate shooting incidents remain unclear, casualties were reported on both days. 'These locations were transformed into death traps under the occupation's gunfire,' the statement read, calling the shootings a 'heinous crime.' The disturbing scenes come just a day after footage circulated widely online showing thousands of desperate Palestinians corralled into cage-like lines as they clamored for aid at the GHF distribution centre. The GHF, which on Wednesday opened its second of four planned aid centres across Gaza, has faced growing scrutiny over its role in the besieged enclave. The aid delivery model has been roundly condemned by UN officials and members of the humanitarian community, who argue that effective and secure aid distribution could resume if Israel lifted restrictions and allowed seasoned humanitarian agencies to manage the effort. Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), labelled the GHF operation a 'distraction from atrocities' and called for Israel to enable the UN's established aid system to resume its 'life-saving work.' Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting in New York, diplomats from Algeria, France, and the United Kingdom echoed that plea, urging Israel to lift restrictions on aid access and allow unimpeded humanitarian deliveries into Gaza. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, accused Israel of weaponizing aid, stating that it was being used as 'a tool of war.' Al Jazeera's UN correspondent Kristen Saloomey reported that Sigrid Kaag, the UN's Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, and Feroze Sidhwa, a surgeon who recently returned from a humanitarian mission in Gaza, also briefed the council. Both called urgently for a ceasefire and the restoration of full humanitarian operations. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, pushed back on the criticism, accusing the UN of obstructing aid efforts and demanding a retraction from UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher for previously accusing Israel of committing genocide. The Gaza Strip, home to over two million Palestinians, remains under severe humanitarian strain amid ongoing attacks, with food, water, and medical aid in critically short supply. The UN and aid organizations have repeatedly warned that without immediate and unrestricted access, famine and mass civilian casualties are imminent. Shortlink for this post:
