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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
At least 51 Palestinians killed while waiting for aid trucks in Gaza, health officials say
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least 51 Palestinians were killed and more than 200 wounded in the Gaza Strip while waiting for U.N. and commercial trucks to enter the territory with desperately needed food, according to Gaza's Health Ministry and a local hospital. Palestinian witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before opening fire toward the crowd in the southern city of Khan Younis. The Israeli military said soldiers had spotted a gathering near an aid truck that was stuck in Khan Younis, near where Israeli forces were operating. It acknowledged 'several casualties' as Israelis opened fire on the approaching crowd and said authorities would investigate what happened. The shooting did not appear to be related to a new Israeli- and U.S.-supported aid delivery network that rolled out last month and has been marred by controversy and violence. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs, or OCHA, said the people killed were waiting for food rations arriving in U.N. convoys. Also on Tuesday, the main Palestinian telecoms regulatory agency based in the West Bank city of Ramallah reported that Israeli strikes had cut off fixed-line phone service and internet access in central and southern Gaza. Yousef Nofal, an eyewitness, said he saw many people motionless and bleeding on the ground after Israeli forces opened fire. 'It was a massacre,' he said, adding that the soldiers continued firing on people as they fled from the area. Mohammed Abu Qeshfa reported hearing a loud explosion followed by heavy gunfire and tank shelling. 'I survived by a miracle,' he said. The dead and wounded were taken to the city's Nasser Hospital, which confirmed 51 people had been killed. Later Tuesday, medical charity MSF raised the death toll to 59, saying that another 200 had been wounded while trying to receive flour rations in Khan Younis. Samaher Meqdad was at the hospital looking for her two brothers and a nephew who had been in the crowd. 'We don't want flour. We don't want food. We don't want anything,' she said. 'Why did they fire at the young people? Why? Aren't we human beings?' Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on crowds trying to reach food distribution points run by a separate U.S. and Israeli-backed aid group since the centers opened last month. Local health officials say scores have been killed and hundreds wounded. In those instances, the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots at people it said had approached its forces in a suspicious manner. Deadly Israeli airstrikes continued elsewhere in the enclave on Tuesday. Al-Awda Hospital, a major medical center in northern Gaza, reported that it has received the bodies of eight Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike on a house in the central Bureij refugee camp. Israel says the new system operated by a private contractor, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, is designed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid to fund its militant activities. U.N. agencies and major aid groups deny there is any major diversion of aid and have rejected the new system, saying it can't meet the mounting needs in Gaza and that it violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to control who has access to aid. Experts have warned of famine in the territory that is home to some 2 million Palestinians. The U.N.-run network has delivered aid across Gaza throughout the 20-month Israel-Hamas war, but has faced major obstacles since Israel loosened a total blockade it had imposed from early March until mid-May. U.N. officials say Israeli military restrictions, a breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it difficult to deliver the aid that Israel has allowed in. Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for OCHA, said on Tuesday that the aid Israeli authorities have allowed into Gaza since late May has been 'woefully insufficient.' Fuel has not entered Gaza for over 100 days, she said. 'The only way to address it is by sufficient volumes and over sustained periods of time. A trickle of aid here, a trickle of aid there is not going to make a difference.' Israel's military campaign since October 2023 has killed over 55,300 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel launched its campaign aiming to destroy Hamas after the group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 251 hostage. The militants still hold 53 hostages, fewer than half of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo and Krauss from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
Gulf Today
5 hours ago
- Health
- Gulf Today
51 Palestinians killed while waiting for aid trucks in Gaza
At least 51 Palestinians were killed and more than 200 wounded in the Gaza Strip while waiting for UN and commercial trucks to enter the territory with desperately needed food, according to Gaza's Health Ministry and a local hospital. Palestinian witnesses told the media that Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before opening fire toward the crowd in the southern city of Khan Younis. The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It did not appear to be related to a new Israeli- and US-supported aid delivery network that rolled out last month and has been marred by controversy and violence. Israel's military campaign since October 2023 has killed over 55,300 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. Yousef Nofal, an eyewitness, said he saw many people motionless and bleeding on the ground after Israeli forces opened fire. "It was a massacre," he said, adding that the soldiers continued firing on people as they fled from the area. Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian killed in what the Gaza Health Ministry said were Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. Reuters Mohammed Abu Qeshfa said he heard a loud explosion followed by heavy gunfire and tank shelling. "I survived by a miracle," he said. The dead and wounded were taken to the city's Nasser Hospital, which confirmed the toll. Samaher Meqdad was at the hospital looking for her two brothers and a nephew who had been in the crowd. "We don't want flour. We don't want food. We don't want anything," she said. "Why did they fire at the young people? Why? Aren't we human beings?" People react as Palestinian casualties, who were waiting to receive aid, are brought into Nasser hospital following an Israeli strike, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. Reuters Palestinians say they face the choice of starving or risking death as they make their way past Israeli forces to reach the distribution points, which are run by a private contractor, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza says several hundred people have been killed and hundreds more wounded in such shootings since the centers opened. The ministry said 33 Palestinians were killed on Monday trying to reach the GHF centre near the southern city of Rafah and another was killed while headed to a GHF hub in central Gaza. It said four other people who weren't trying to get to distribution centres were killed elsewhere. Palestinians are desperate to feed their families after most food ran out during the 2½ months this year when Israel barred all supplies from entering the territory. Israel has eased the blockade since last month to let in a trickle of aid. Palestinians gather to receive aid supplies in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Monday. Reuters Israeli troops started firing as thousands of Palestinians massed around 4am at the Flag Roundabout before the scheduled opening time of the Rafah food center, according to Heba Jouda and Mohamed Abed, two Palestinians who were in the crowd. People fell to the ground, trying to take cover, they said. "Fire was coming from everywhere,' said Jouda, who has repeatedly made the journey to get food for her family over the past week. "It's getting worse day by day," she said. The Red Cross field hospital nearby received some 200 injured on Monday, the highest single mass casualty event it has seen, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement. Only a day earlier, it said, around 170 were brought to the facility, most of them wounded by gunshots while trying to reach the GHF center. The Health Ministry toll made it the deadliest day around the food sites since June 2, when 31 people were killed. A Palestinian man carries aid supplies, in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Monday. Reuters The Flag Roundabout, hundreds of meters (yards) from the GHF centre, has been the scene of repeated shootings. It is on the route designated by the Israeli military for people to take to reach the centre. Palestinians over the past weeks have said Israeli troops open fire to prevent people from moving past a certain point on the road before the scheduled opening of the centre or because people leave the road. A GHF spokesperson told media on Sunday that "none of the incidents to date have occurred at our sites or during operating hours.' It said the incidents have involved aid-seekers who were moving "during prohibited times ... or trying to take a short cut.' It said it was trying to improve safety measures, including by recently moving the opening times from nighttime to daylight hours. Israel and the United States say the GHF system is intended to replace the UN-led humanitarian operation that has delivered aid across Gaza since the start of the 20-month Israel-Hamas war. Israel contends that the new mechanism is needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid. Palestinians wave as they ride in the back of a truck west of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, on Monday. AFP UN agencies and major aid groups deny that there is widespread theft of aid by Hamas and have rejected the new system. They say it can't meet the population's needs and turns food into a weapon for Israel to carry out its military goals, including moving the more than 2 million Palestinians into a "sterile' enclave in the southern Gaza. Speaking at Britain's House of Commons' Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday, an official with Doctors Without Borders said Israel's claims of extensive diversion by Hamas were "specious and cynical,' and were intended "to undermine a humanitarian system which was actually functioning.' "This is neither a humanitarian enterprise nor a system. This is basically lethal chaos,' Anna Halford, a field coordinator for the group, said when asked by lawmakers about the GHF centres. A Palestinian man walks across the rubble of a building destroyed by an Israeli strike in Deir Al Balah, central Gaza Strip, on Monday. AP Experts warn that Israel's ongoing military campaign and restrictions on aid entry have put Gaza at risk of famine. Israel launched its campaign aiming to destroy Hamas after the group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which the Palestinian group Hamas fighters killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 251 hostage. The fighters still hold 53 hostages, fewer than half of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Associated Press
North Wales Chronicle
5 hours ago
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
Dozens of Palestinians killed while waiting for food trucks in Gaza
Palestinian witnesses told the Associated Press that Israeli forces carried out an air strike on a nearby home before opening fire towards the crowd in the southern city of Khan Younis. The Israeli military said soldiers had spotted a gathering near an aid truck that was stuck in Khan Younis, near where Israeli forces were operating. 'There are reports of several casualties from IDF (Israeli Defence Force) gunfire as the crowd approached. The details are being investigated,' it said. The shooting does not appear to be related to a new Israeli and US-supported aid delivery network that rolled out last month and has been marred by controversy and violence. Yousef Nofal, an eyewitness, said he saw many people motionless and bleeding on the ground after Israeli forces opened fire. 'It was a massacre,' he said, adding that the soldiers continued firing on people as they fled from the area. Mohammed Abu Qeshfa said he heard a loud explosion followed by heavy gunfire and tank shelling. 'I survived by a miracle,' he said. The dead and wounded were taken to the city's Nasser Hospital, which confirmed the toll. Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on crowds trying to reach food distribution points run by a separate US and Israeli-backed aid group since the centres opened last month. Local health officials say scores have been killed and hundreds wounded. In those instances, the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots at people it said had approached its forces in a suspicious manner. Israel says the new system is designed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid to fund its militant activities. UN agencies and major aid groups deny there is any major diversion of aid and have rejected the new system, saying it cannot meet the mounting needs in Gaza and that it violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to control who has access to aid. Experts have warned of widespread famine in Gaza. The UN-run network has delivered aid across Gaza throughout the 20-month Israel-Hamas war but has faced major obstacles since Israel loosened a total blockade it had imposed from early March until mid-May. UN officials say Israeli military restrictions, a breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it difficult to deliver the aid that Israel has allowed in. Israel's military campaign since October 2023 has killed over 55,300 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israel launched its campaign aiming to destroy Hamas after the group's October 7 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage. The militants still hold 53 hostages, fewer than half of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
'Massacre' kills 51 Palestinians waiting for food at controversial aid point
WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES: Eye witnesses describe a 'massacre' after 51 people were killed inside Gaza as they were waiting to get food via a controversial new distribution network system More than 50 Palestinians were killed in Gaza this morning as Israelis opened fire near a food aid distribution point. Eye witnesses described it as 'a massacre'. The attack in the city of Khan Younis left at least 200 others wounded - 21 are in hospital in a critical condition. It's the latest in a series of incidents as Palestinians try to get food via a controversial new distribution system by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation It happened as aid seekers gathered at points leading to a recently established point for the GHF. Witnesses said they had gone to collect food but were met with live ammunition and drone attacks without warning. Survivor Saeed Abu Liba, 38, said: 'Tens of thousands of hungry civilians gathered for the aid. Two Israeli shells were dropped in the middle of the crowd. Dozens of civilians, including children, were killed, and no one could help or save lives.' Yousef Nofal said he saw many people motionless and bleeding on the ground after Israeli forces opened fire. He said: 'It was a massacre' claiming soldiers continued firing on people as they fled from the area. Mohammed Abu Qeshfa said he heard a loud explosion followed by heavy gunfire and tank shelling. He said: "I survived by a miracle." The dead and wounded were taken to the city's Nasser Hospital, which confirmed the toll. Samaher Meqdad was at the hospital looking for her two brothers and a nephew who had been in the crowd. "We don't want flour. We don't want food. We don't want anything," she said. "Why did they fire at the young people? Why? Aren't we human beings?" The Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said: 'Israeli drones fired at the citizens. 'Some minutes later, Israeli tanks fired several shells at the citizens, which led to a large number of martyrs and wounded.' Dr Mohammed Saqer, head of nursing at Nasser hospital, said nearly 700 casualties had been treated in hospitals. The doctor described the situation as a 'mass casualty' incident that occurred when 'tanks attacked the people who were waiting for food and humanitarian aid' Dr Saqer said: "Most of the cases are in serious conditions due to the tanks' missiles and now the situation at Nasser medical complex is out of control. "We can't deal with such a high number of cases, so we asked the hospitals around Khan Younis city to support us and send ambulances to transfer cases to those hospitals. Until now, we are suffering a lot due to lack of medical supplies and instruments in addition to the lack of medical and nursing staff. "We are trying to control the situation but now we can't do anything more because the situation is really horrible and out of our control."
Irish Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Daily Mirror
Dozens of Palestinians killed and 200 wounded while waiting for food trucks
At least 51 Palestinians have been killed and more than 200 wounded in the Gaza Strip while waiting for UN and commercial trucks to enter the territory with desperately needed food, according to Gaza's Health Ministry and a local hospital. Palestinian witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli forces carried out an air strike on a nearby home before opening fire toward the crowd in the southern city of Khan Younis. It did not appear to be related to a new Israeli and US-supported aid delivery network that rolled out last month and has been marred by controversy and violence. Yousef Nofal, an eyewitness, said he saw many people motionless and bleeding on the ground after Israeli forces opened fire. 'It was a massacre,' he said, adding that the soldiers continued firing on people as they fled from the area. Mohammed Abu Qeshfa said he heard a loud explosion followed by heavy gunfire and tank shelling. 'I survived by a miracle,' he said. Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on crowds trying to reach food distribution points run by a separate US and Israeli-backed aid group since the centres opened last month. Local health officials say scores have been killed and hundreds wounded. In those instances, the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots at people it said had approached its forces in a suspicious manner. Israel says the new system is designed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid to fund its militant activities. UN agencies and major aid groups deny there is any major diversion of aid and have rejected the new system, saying it cannot meet the mounting needs in Gaza and that it violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to control who has access to aid. Experts have warned of widespread famine in Gaza. The UN-run network has delivered aid across Gaza throughout the 20-month Israel-Hamas war but has faced major obstacles since Israel loosened a total blockade it had imposed from early March until mid-May. UN officials say Israeli military restrictions, a breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it difficult to deliver the aid that Israel has allowed in. Israel's military campaign since October 2023 has killed over 55,300 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israel launched its campaign aiming to destroy Hamas after the group's October 7 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage. The militants still hold 53 hostages, fewer than half of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
