Latest news with #VolkerTurk
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- General
- The Hindu
UN says 'deadly attacks' around Gaza aid sites 'a war crime'
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on Tuesday that "deadly attacks" on civilians around aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip constituted "a war crime". Rescuers in the Palestinian territory said Israeli fire targeting civilians near an aid distribution centre in the southern city of Rafah killed 27 people on Tuesday, raising an earlier toll. It came after a similar incident on Sunday when rescuers said 31 people were killed at the same location, witnesses saying they had been on their way to collect aid. "Deadly attacks on distraught civilians trying to access the paltry amounts of food aid in Gaza are unconscionable," Mr. Turk said in a statement. "For a third day running, people were killed around an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. This morning, we have received information that dozens more people were killed and injured." The U.S.-backed GHF is a recently formed group that Israel has cooperated with to implement a new aid distribution mechanism in Gaza. The United Nations does not work with the foundation because of concerns that it does not meet core humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence. Turk called for a prompt and impartial investigation into each attack, and for those responsible to be held to account. "Attacks directed against civilians constitute a grave breach of international law, and a war crime," he said. "Palestinians have been presented the grimmest of choices: die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available through Israel's militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism. "This militarised system endangers lives and violates international standards on aid distribution, as the United Nations has repeatedly warned."
Observer
5 hours ago
- General
- Observer
Attacks on Gaza aid sites ‘a war crime', says UN
GENEVA: UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on Tuesday that "deadly attacks" on civilians around aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip constituted "a war crime". Rescuers in the Palestinian territory said Israeli fire targeting civilians near an aid distribution centre in the southern city of Rafah killed 27 people on Tuesday, raising an earlier toll. It came after a similar incident on Sunday when rescuers said 31 people were killed at the same location, witnesses saying they had been on their way to collect aid. "Deadly attacks on distraught civilians trying to access the paltry amounts of food aid in Gaza are unconscionable," Turk said in a statement. "For a third day running, people were killed around an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. This morning, we have received information that dozens more people were killed and injured." The US-backed GHF is a recently formed group that Israel has cooperated with to implement a new aid distribution mechanism in Gaza. The United Nations does not work with the foundation because of concerns that it does not meet core humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence. Turk called for a prompt and impartial investigation into each attack, and for those responsible to be held to account. "Attacks directed against civilians constitute a grave breach of international law, and a war crime," he said. "Palestinians have been presented the grimmest of choices: die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available through Israel's militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism. "This militarised system endangers lives and violates international standards on aid distribution, as the United Nations has repeatedly warned." Tuesday's shooting in the southern city of Rafah came as the agency reported 19 people killed in other Israeli attacks in the territory, and as the Israeli army announced three soldiers had been killed in northern Gaza. "Twenty-seven people were killed and more than 90 injured in the massacre targeting civilians who were waiting for American aid in the Al-Alam area of Rafah," said civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal, who earlier said that the deaths occurred "when Israeli forces opened fire with tanks and drones". The Al Alam roundabout is about a kilometre (a little over half a mile) from a centre run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Rania al Astal, 30, said she had gone to the area with her husband to try to get food. "The shooting began intermittently around 5:00 am. Every time people approached Al Alam roundabout, they were fired upon," she said. "But people didn't care and rushed forward all at once — that's when the army began firing heavily." UN chief Antonio Guterres urged an independent investigation into that shooting, calling it "unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food". Israel has come under mounting pressure to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where people are facing severe shortages after Israel imposed a more than two-month blockade on supplies. The blockade was recently eased, but the aid community has urged Israel to allow in more food, faster. The US-backed GHF has opened a handful of aid distribution centres in southern and central Gaza, and says it has distributed more than seven million meals' worth of food. Israel has stepped up its offensive in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war. The Israeli army said three of its soldiers had been killed in combat in northern Gaza, bringing the number of Israeli troops killed in the territory since the start of the conflict to 424. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 4,240 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,510,mostly civilians. — AFP
MTV Lebanon
5 hours ago
- General
- MTV Lebanon
03 Jun 2025 14:12 PM At least 27 Palestinians killed while waiting for aid distribution
Local health authorities in Gaza said on Tuesday that at least 27 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire while waiting for aid distribution near Rafah. The Israeli military said on Tuesday it fired shots at individuals about half a kilometre from the aid distribution site of US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the Gaza Strip. The individuals were moving towards forces in a way that "posed a threat to them", the military said. It said its forces do not prevent Gaza residents from reaching aid despite multiple reports of deadly attacks by Israeli forces near the US centre in recent days. The United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday the impediment of access to food and relief for civilians in Gaza may constitute a war crime. "Attacks directed against civilians constitute a grave breach of international law, and a war crime," The head of the UN agency, Volker Turk, said in a statement. The UN has called for an independent investigation into killings of Palestinians near the US-backed aid centre in south Gaza. In northern Gaza, three Israeli soldiers were killed the Israeli military said Tuesday, in what appears to be the deadliest attack on Israel's forces since it ended a ceasefire with Hamas in March. The military said the three soldiers, all in their early 20s, fell during combat in northern Gaza on Monday, without providing details. Israeli media reported that they were killed in an explosion in the Jabaliya area. The soldiers' deaths were announced hours after Hamas' armed wing said on Monday its fighters were engaging in "fierce clashes" with Israeli forces in the north of the territory. Israel ended the ceasefire in March after Hamas refused to change the agreement to release more hostages sooner. Israeli strikes have killed thousands of Palestinians since then, according to Gaza's health ministry. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people hostage in the October 7, 2023, attack into Israel that ignited the war. They are still holding 58 hostages, a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. Around 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the October 7 attack, including more than 400 during the fighting inside Gaza.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Israel admits firing towards Gazans near US aid centre
Israel has admitted firing 'near' civilians in the vicinity of a Gazan aid centre after 27 people were reportedly killed. The shooting on Tuesday morning is the third in as many days fuelling mounting criticism of Israel's controversial new aid delivery system. On Sunday, more than 30 people died in a similar incident. Witnesses reported civilians being shot from quad-copter drones near the distribution hub, run by American contractors, in the Rafah area of southern Gaza. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman said 'suspects' had ventured towards troops less than a third of a mile from the hub, prompting them to fire warning shots. He said that 'after the suspects failed to retreat, the additional shots were fired towards a few individual suspects who advanced towards the troops'. He added: 'The IDF is aware of reports regarding casualties, and the details of the incident are being looked into.' The International Committee of the Red Cross said its Rafah field hospital had received 165 wounded people, eight of whom later died from their wounds. The hospital also received 19 people who were declared dead on entry. The 27 bodies were transferred to the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, run by the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, which said they had been killed on Tuesday morning. Volker Turk, the UN's human rights chief, said the deadly attacks on civilians around aid distribution sites constituted a 'war crime'. The UN, which used to deliver aid to community pick-up points until access was blocked in early March, will not collaborate with the new system because it claims it breaches humanitarian principles. Israel has strongly attacked recent UN criticism of the aid scheme, accusing it of failing to condemn Hamas sufficiently. There are now four distribution centres run by the Gaza Heath Foundation (GHF) in the largely devastated south of the Strip. The government claimed the new method of distribution was to stop aid being stolen by the terror group. The humanitarian concerns come after Hamas supporters released a video appearing to show a man being savagely tortured for allegedly stealing food, as the group seeks to retain control of the civilian population. Yasser Abu Lubda, a 50-year-old displaced Palestinian from Rafah, said the Tuesday's shooting started in the city's Flag Roundabout area, around one kilometre away from the aid distribution hub, at around 4am. He said he saw several people killed or wounded. Neima al-Aaraj, a woman from Khan Younis, gave a similar account. 'There were many martyrs and wounded,' she said, saying the shooting by Israeli forces was 'indiscriminate'. She said she managed to reach the hub but returned empty-handed, adding: 'There was no aid there. I won't return. Either way we will die.' Rasha al-Nahal, another witness, said that 'there was gunfire from all directions'. She said she counted more than a dozen dead and several wounded along the road. She also found no aid when she arrived at the distribution hub and that Israeli forces 'fired at us as we were returning'. Speaking about Sunday's shooting, a witness, who did not want to be named, said that quad-copter drones had been used to tell Palestinians via loudspeakers to turn back because they had approached the aid site at the wrong time. Mohammed al-Shaer, a 44-year-old witness, said: 'A helicopter and quad-copters started firing at the crowd to prevent them from approaching the tank barrier. There were injuries and deaths. I didn't reach the centre, and we didn't get any food.' The army said it was 'not preventing the arrival of Gazan civilians to the humanitarian aid distribution sites' and described the reports of deaths on Sunday as 'fabrications' by Hamas. GHF said the operations at its site went ahead safely on Tuesday, but added it was aware the military 'is investigating whether a number of civilians were injured after moving beyond the designated safe corridor and into a closed military zone'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Israel admits firing towards Gazans at US aid centre
Israel has admitted firing 'near' civilians in the vicinity of a Gazan aid centre after 27 people were reportedly killed. The shooting on Tuesday morning is the third in as many days fuelling mounting criticism of Israel's controversial new aid delivery system. On Sunday, more than 30 people died in a similar incident. Witnesses reported civilians being shot from quad-copter drones near the distribution hub, run by American contractors, in the Rafah area of southern Gaza. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman said 'suspects' had ventured towards troops less than a third of a mile from the hub, prompting them to fire warning shots. He said that 'after the suspects failed to retreat, the additional shots were fired towards a few individual suspects who advanced towards the troops'. He added: 'The IDF is aware of reports regarding casualties, and the details of the incident are being looked into.' The International Committee of the Red Cross said its Rafah field hospital had received 165 wounded people, eight of whom later died from their wounds. The hospital also received 19 people who were declared dead on entry. The 27 bodies were transferred to the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, run by the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, which said they had been killed on Tuesday morning. Volker Turk, the UN's human rights chief, said the deadly attacks on civilians around aid distribution sites constituted a 'war crime'. The UN, which used to deliver aid to community pick-up points until access was blocked in early March, will not collaborate with the new system because it claims it breaches humanitarian principles. Israel has strongly attacked recent UN criticism of the aid scheme, accusing it of failing to condemn Hamas sufficiently. There are now four distribution centres run by the Gaza Heath Foundation (GHF) in the largely devastated south of the Strip. The government claimed the new method of distribution was to stop aid being stolen by the terror group. The humanitarian concerns come after Hamas supporters released a video appearing to show a man being savagely tortured for allegedly stealing food, as the group seeks to retain control of the civilian population. Yasser Abu Lubda, a 50-year-old displaced Palestinian from Rafah, said the Tuesday's shooting started in the city's Flag Roundabout area, around one kilometre away from the aid distribution hub, at around 4am. He said he saw several people killed or wounded. Neima al-Aaraj, a woman from Khan Younis, gave a similar account. 'There were many martyrs and wounded,' she said, saying the shooting by Israeli forces was 'indiscriminate'. She said she managed to reach the hub but returned empty-handed, adding: 'There was no aid there. I won't return. Either way we will die.' Rasha al-Nahal, another witness, said that 'there was gunfire from all directions'. She said she counted more than a dozen dead and several wounded along the road. She also found no aid when she arrived at the distribution hub and that Israeli forces 'fired at us as we were returning'. Speaking about Sunday's shooting, a witness, who did not want to be named, said that quad-copter drones had been used to tell Palestinians via loudspeakers to turn back because they had approached the aid site at the wrong time. Mohammed al-Shaer, a 44-year-old witness, said: 'A helicopter and quad-copters started firing at the crowd to prevent them from approaching the tank barrier. There were injuries and deaths. I didn't reach the centre, and we didn't get any food.' The army said it was 'not preventing the arrival of Gazan civilians to the humanitarian aid distribution sites' and described the reports of deaths on Sunday as 'fabrications' by Hamas. GHF said the operations at its site went ahead safely on Tuesday, but added it was aware the military 'is investigating whether a number of civilians were injured after moving beyond the designated safe corridor and into a closed military zone'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
