Latest news with #aid seekers
Al Jazeera
4 days ago
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Israeli forces kill more than 80 people across Gaza as starvation worsens
Israeli attacks have killed at least 83 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip amid a deepening hunger crisis, medical sources have told Al Jazeera, as hospitals in the besieged territory have recorded eight more deaths from starvation and malnutrition. Among those killed on Tuesday were 58 aid seekers who were shot by Israeli forces as they approached aid distribution sites operated by the US- and Israeli-backed GHF. Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said the 'same exact scenario plays out in Gaza every single day' since GHF distribution sites began operating in May. 'Palestinians are approaching these distribution sites, waiting for food, but the Israeli forces are opening fire,' Khoudary said. She quoted sources at al-Shifa Hospital as saying the number of injured people who have been transferred from the distribution point near northern Gaza's Zikim crossing 'is very large'. 'Injuries are coming with bullets in parts of their bodies that are very hard to treat, including their heads, necks and also their chests,' Khoudary said. 'The cycle of violence is the same in all three distribution locations.' The GHF has been heavily criticised by the United Nations and other humanitarian organisations for failing to provide enough aid and for the dire security situation at and around its aid distribution sites. So far, more than 1,560 Palestinians seeking aid have been killed by Israeli forces while trying to receive food amid the Israeli-induced starvation crisis. The attacks come as aid agencies and health officials warn of a sharp rise in starvation, particularly among children and the elderly. According to Gaza's Ministry of Health, eight more people have died of starvation or malnutrition in the latest 24-hour reporting period, including a child. This brings the total number of Palestinians who have died from hunger or malnutrition since Israel's war began to 188, including 94 children. On Monday, Israel allowed 95 aid trucks into the Strip, far below the 600 trucks per day needed to meet minimum survival needs, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). The daily average now stands at 85 trucks. Gaza's Government Media Office has once again warned of an intensifying humanitarian catastrophe and in a statement said most of the limited aid has been looted due to 'security chaos being sowed by the Israeli occupation as part of a systematic policy of engineering chaos and starvation'. Full Israeli takeover? Despite intense international pressure for a ceasefire to ease hunger and the appalling conditions in the besieged Palestinian enclave, efforts to mediate a truce between Israel and Hamas have collapsed. Instead, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks poised to announce plans to fully occupy the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media reports. Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Tuesday that he had held a 'limited security discussion' lasting about three hours, during which military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir 'presented the options for continuing the campaign in Gaza'. An Israeli official told the Reuters news agency that Defence Minister Israel Katz and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, an aide of Netanyahu, would attend a meeting later this week to decide on a strategy to take to the cabinet. Israeli media reported that the cabinet is to convene on Thursday. Israel's Channel 12, quoting an official from Netanyahu's office, said the prime minister was leaning towards taking control of the entire territory, which the Israeli army has mostly reduced to rubble. The United Nations on Tuesday called reports about a possible decision to expand Israel's military operations throughout the Gaza Strip 'deeply alarming' if true. 'International law is clear in the regard, Gaza is and must remain an integral part of the future Palestinian state', UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told a UN Security Council meeting. On Tuesday, Israeli tanks pushed into central Gaza, but it was not clear if the move was part of a larger ground offensive. Palestinians living in the last quarter of territory where Israel has not yet taken military control via ground incursions or forced evacuations said any new push would be catastrophic. 'If the tanks pushed through, where would we go? Into the sea? This will be like a death sentence to the entire population,' said Abu Jehad, a Gaza wood merchant. More than 61,020 Palestinians, including at least 18,430 children, have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October 2023, according to Gaza health authorities. Forty-nine captives, including 27 who are believed to be dead, are still being held by Hamas, according to Israeli authorities. Israel's deadly assault has also forced nearly all of Gaza's more than 2 million people from their homes and caused what a global hunger monitor last week called an unfolding famine.
Al Jazeera
21-07-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
LIVE: Israel pounds Gaza as Palestinians mourn aid seekers killed at Zikim
Israeli forces continue to pound Gaza a day after killing at least 115 Palestinians, including 79 aid seekers at the Zikim crossing and 13 others at GHF-run sites. Gaza's Health Ministry announces 19 deaths from starvation in the last 24 hours as the UN warns that the hunger crisis in the Palestinian enclave has reached 'a new level of desperation'.
Al Jazeera
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israel bombards Gaza, killing 78, as truce talks stall
Israeli forces have continued to pound the besieged Gaza Strip, killing at least 78 Palestinians, including several aid seekers, as ceasefire talks stall amid a deepening fuel and hunger crisis. An Israeli attack near an aid distribution point in Rafah in southern Gaza killed at least five people who were seeking aid on Monday, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. The killings raised the death toll of Palestinians killed near aid sites run by the controversial Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to 838, according to Wafa. In Khan Younis, also in southern Gaza, an Israeli strike on a displacement camp killed nine people and wounded many others. In central Gaza's Bureij refugee camp, four people were killed when an Israeli air strike hit a commercial centre, Wafa said. Israeli forces also resumed stepping up attacks in northern Gaza and Gaza City. Israeli media reported an ambush in Gaza City, with a tank hit by rocket fire and later, with small arms. A helicopter was seen evacuating casualties. The Israeli military later confirmed that three soldiers were killed in the incident. Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said Israeli forces responded with 'massive air strikes in the vicinity of [the] Tuffah and Shujayea neighbourhoods, levelling residential buildings'. The Wafa news agency said at least 24 Palestinians were killed in Gaza City and dozens more were wounded. The attacks come as UN agencies continue to plead for more aid to be allowed into Gaza, where famine looms and a severe fuel shortage has brought the already battered healthcare sector to its knees. Gaza's water crisis has also intensified since Israel blocked nearly all fuel shipments into the enclave on March 2. With no fuel, desalination plants, wastewater treatment facilities and pumping stations have largely shut down. Egypt's foreign minister said on Monday that the flow of aid into Gaza has not increased despite an agreement last week between Israel and the European Union that should have had that result. 'Nothing has changed [on the ground],' Badr Abdelatty told reporters ahead of the EU-Middle East meeting in Brussels. 'A real catastrophe' The EU's top diplomat said on Thursday that the bloc and Israel agreed to improve Gaza's humanitarian situation, including increasing the number of aid trucks and opening crossing points and aid routes. When asked what steps Israel has taken, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar referred to an understanding with the EU but did not provide details on the implementation. Asked if there were improvements after the agreement, Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi told reporters that the situation in Gaza remains 'catastrophic'. 'There is a real catastrophe happening in Gaza resulting from the continuation of the Israeli siege,' he said. Meanwhile, stuttering ceasefire talks entered a second week on Monday, with mediators seeking to close the gap between Israel and Hamas. The indirect negotiations in Qatar appear to still remain deadlocked after both sides blamed the other for blocking a deal for the release of captives and a 60-day ceasefire. An official with knowledge of the talks said they were 'ongoing' in Doha on Monday, the AFP news agency reported. 'Discussions are currently focused on the proposed maps for the deployment of Israeli forces within Gaza,' the source reportedly said. 'Mediators are actively exploring innovative mechanisms to bridge the remaining gaps and maintain momentum in the negotiations,' the source added on condition of anonymity. Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who says he wants to see the Palestinian group destroyed, of being the main obstacle. 'Netanyahu is skilled at sabotaging one round of negotiations after another, and is unwilling to reach any agreement,' the group wrote on Telegram. Netanyahu is under growing pressure to end the war, with military casualties rising and public frustration mounting. He also faces backlash over the feasibility and ethics of a plan to build a so-called 'humanitarian city' from scratch on the ruins of southern Gaza's Rafah to house 600,000 Palestinians if and when a ceasefire takes hold. Israel's security establishment is reported to be unhappy with the plan, which the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said amounts to plans for a 'concentration camp'.
Al Jazeera
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
At least 72 killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza as truce talks stall
Israeli forces have continued to pound the besieged Gaza Strip, killing at least 72 Palestinians, including several aid seekers, as ceasefire talks stall amid a deepening fuel and hunger crisis. An Israeli attack near an aid distribution point in Rafah in southern Gaza killed at least five people who were seeking aid on Monday, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. The killings raised the death toll of Palestinians killed near aid sites run by the controversial Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to 838, according to Wafa. In Khan Younis, also in southern Gaza, an Israeli strike on a displacement camp killed nine people and wounded many others. In central Gaza's Bureij refugee camp, four people were killed when an Israeli air strike hit a commercial centre, Wafa said. Israeli forces also resumed stepping up attacks in northern Gaza and Gaza City. Israeli media reported an ambush in Gaza City, with a tank hit by rocket fire and later, with small arms. A helicopter was seen evacuating casualties. The Israeli military later confirmed that three soldiers were killed in the incident. Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said Israeli forces responded with 'massive air strikes in the vicinity of [the] Tuffah and Shujayea neighbourhoods, levelling residential buildings'. The Wafa news agency said at least 24 Palestinians were killed in Gaza City and dozens more were wounded. The attacks come as UN agencies continue to plead for more aid to be allowed into Gaza, where famine looms and a severe fuel shortage has brought the already battered healthcare sector to its knees. Gaza's water crisis has also intensified since Israel blocked nearly all fuel shipments into the enclave on March 2. With no fuel, desalination plants, wastewater treatment facilities and pumping stations have largely shut down. Egypt's foreign minister said on Monday that the flow of aid into Gaza has not increased despite an agreement last week between Israel and the European Union that should have had that result. 'Nothing has changed [on the ground],' Badr Abdelatty told reporters ahead of the EU-Middle East meeting in Brussels. 'A real catastrophe' The EU's top diplomat said on Thursday that the bloc and Israel agreed to improve Gaza's humanitarian situation, including increasing the number of aid trucks and opening crossing points and aid routes. When asked what steps Israel has taken, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar referred to an understanding with the EU but did not provide details on the implementation. Asked if there were improvements after the agreement, Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi told reporters that the situation in Gaza remains 'catastrophic'. 'There is a real catastrophe happening in Gaza resulting from the continuation of the Israeli siege,' he said. Meanwhile, stuttering ceasefire talks entered a second week on Monday, with mediators seeking to close the gap between Israel and Hamas. The indirect negotiations in Qatar appear to still remain deadlocked after both sides blamed the other for blocking a deal for the release of captives and a 60-day ceasefire. An official with knowledge of the talks said they were 'ongoing' in Doha on Monday, the AFP news agency reported. 'Discussions are currently focused on the proposed maps for the deployment of Israeli forces within Gaza,' the source reportedly said. 'Mediators are actively exploring innovative mechanisms to bridge the remaining gaps and maintain momentum in the negotiations,' the source added on condition of anonymity. Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who says he wants to see the Palestinian group destroyed, of being the main obstacle. 'Netanyahu is skilled at sabotaging one round of negotiations after another, and is unwilling to reach any agreement,' the group wrote on Telegram. Netanyahu is under growing pressure to end the war, with military casualties rising and public frustration mounting. He also faces backlash over the feasibility and ethics of a plan to build a so-called 'humanitarian city' from scratch on the ruins of southern Gaza's Rafah to house 600,000 Palestinians if and when a ceasefire takes hold. Israel's security establishment is reported to be unhappy with the plan, which the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said amounts to plans for a 'concentration camp'.
