Latest news with #aidrestrictions
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Gaza hospitals say 18 killed by Israeli fire as aid site shootings continue to rise
Hospitals in Gaza say Israeli fire killed more than a dozen people on Saturday, eight of them while trying to get food, as malnutrition-related deaths continue to rise in the territory. The bloodshed comes a day after Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, visited an aid distribution site run by the Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Global outrage has grown over Israel's restrictions on aid and the deadly unrest surrounding the GHF sites, with daily reports of shootings at all four locations since the group took over aid distribution at the end of May. The UN says 859 Palestinians have been killed during that time in the vicinity of these sites, and more than 500 have been killed along the routes of food convoys. Health officials reported that Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least 18 Palestinians on Saturday, including three who were in the area around a distribution site. Nasser hospital also said Israeli forces killed five Palestinians who were among crowds awaiting aid in the south. In a statement to the Associated Press, GHF said 'nothing (happened) at or near our sites'. Both the GHF and the Israeli army have said they only shoot if there is a threat, or fire warning shots to disperse crowds. Doctors in Gaza have reported treating an increasing number of gunshot and shrapnel wounds in patients who were trying to get food at the aid sites. 'We weren't close to them [the troops] and there was no threat,' a witness, Abed Salah, who was among crowds close to the GHF site near Netzarim corridor, told AP. 'I escaped death miraculously.' Officials added that 10 of Saturday's casualties were killed by strikes in central and southern Gaza, with five people killed in two separate strikes on tents sheltering displaced people. The US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who accompanied Witkoff on the trip on Friday, claimed the GHF sites were delivering 'more than one million meals a day' and called the distribution 'an incredible feat'. Reports from aid workers, doctors, and journalists in Gaza paint a different story, with UN-backed food security experts saying this week that the 'worst-case scenario of famine' is now playing out in Gaza. Seven Palestinians died of malnutrition-related causes over the past 24 hours, including a child, the territory's health ministry said on Saturday. This brings the total deaths among children from causes related to malnutrition in Gaza to 93 since the war began. Sign up to First Thing Our US morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion After international outcry, airdrops of aid have resumed, and several European countries have announced plans to join the Jordan-led coalition orchestrating the drops, but aid groups say this delivers only a fraction of what aid trucks can supply – and are also dangerous. What is really needed, they say, is to open the land borders and restore the full flow of aid. 'If there is political will to allow airdrops – which are highly costly, insufficient + inefficient, there should be similar political will to open the road crossings,' Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, wrote on X on Saturday. The German government, traditionally a staunch ally of Israel, joined calls for Israel to deliver more aid on Saturday, saying that the current amount remains 'very insufficient'. The criticism came after the German military completed its first food airdrops into Gaza. In Tel Aviv, Witkoff joined families of hostages protesting, as they urged the Israeli government to end the war and release their loved ones. Yotam Cohen, brother of 21-year-old hostage Nimrod Cohen, told AFP: 'The war needs to end. The Israeli government will not end it willingly. It has refused to do so.' Negotiations between Hamas and Israel aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and a deal for the release of hostages ended in deadlock last week, with Witkoff blaming Hamas for a 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'. Hamas said on Saturday that it would not lay down arms unless an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state is established.
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Gaza hospitals say 18 killed by Israeli fire as aid site shootings continue to rise
Hospitals in Gaza say Israeli fire killed more than a dozen people on Saturday, eight of them while trying to get food, as malnutrition-related deaths continue to rise in the territory. The bloodshed comes a day after Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, visited an aid distribution site run by the Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Global outrage has grown over Israel's restrictions on aid and the deadly unrest surrounding the GHF sites, with daily reports of shootings at all four locations since the group took over aid distribution at the end of May. The UN says 859 Palestinians have been killed during that time in the vicinity of these sites, and more than 500 have been killed along the routes of food convoys. Health officials reported that Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least 18 Palestinians on Saturday, including three who were in the area around a distribution site. Nasser Hospital also said Israeli forces killed five Palestinians who were among crowds awaiting aid in the south. In a statement to the Associated Press, GHF said 'nothing (happened) at or near our sites'. Both the GHF and the Israeli army have said they only shoot if there is a threat, or fire warning shots to disperse crowds. Doctors in Gaza have reported treating an increasing number of gunshot and shrapnel wounds in patients who were trying to get food at the aid sites. 'We weren't close to them [the troops] and there was no threat,' a witness, Abed Salah, who was among crowds close to the GHF site near Netzarim corridor, told AP. 'I escaped death miraculously.' Officials added that 10 of Saturday's casualties were killed by strikes in central and southern Gaza, with five people killed in two separate strikes on tents sheltering displaced people. The US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who accompanied Witkoff on the trip on Friday, claimed the GHF sites were delivering 'more than one million meals a day' and called the distribution 'an incredible feat'. Reports from aid workers, doctors, and journalists in Gaza paint a different story, with UN-backed food security experts saying this week that the 'worst-case scenario of famine' is now playing out in Gaza. Seven Palestinians died of malnutrition-related causes over the past 24 hours, including a child, the territory's health ministry said on Saturday. This brings the total deaths among children from causes related to malnutrition in Gaza to 93 since the war began. Sign up to First Thing Our US morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion After international outcry, airdrops of aid have resumed, and several European countries have announced plans to join the Jordan-led coalition orchestrating the drops, but aid groups say this delivers only a fraction of what aid trucks can supply – and are also dangerous. What is really needed, they say, is to open the land borders and restore the full flow of aid. 'If there is political will to allow airdrops – which are highly costly, insufficient + inefficient, there should be similar political will to open the road crossings,' Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, wrote on X on Saturday. The German government, traditionally a staunch ally of Israel, joined calls for Israel to deliver more aid on Saturday, saying that the current amount remains 'very insufficient'. The criticism came after the German military completed its first food airdrops into Gaza. In Tel Aviv, Witkoff joined families of hostages protesting, as they urged the Israeli government to end the war and release their loved ones. Yotam Cohen, brother of 21-year-old hostage Nimrod Cohen, told AFP: 'The war needs to end. The Israeli government will not end it willingly. It has refused to do so.' Negotiations between Hamas and Israel aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and a deal for the release of hostages ended in deadlock last week, with Witkoff blaming Hamas for a 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'. Hamas said on Saturday that it would not lay down arms unless an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state is established.
The National
30-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
UK Jewish body calls for open Gaza aid amid Starmer row
The UK's largest Jewish body has called for across-the-board access for aid shipments into the Gaza Strip in a statement critical of Israeli restrictions. The message on the plight of Gazans came as the community group pushed back against UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's pledge to recognise Palestine. The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the Israeli pause in fighting to allow aid was 'essential if long overdue', after a special meeting on Tuesday was called following Mr Starmer's announcement. 'We need to see a rapid, uninhibited, and sustained increase in aid through all available channels, and we need to see all agencies co-operating in this endeavour,' said the board's president, Phil Rosenberg. It is the BoD's first statement on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, weeks after internal rifts over the organisation's position on the war deepened. However, it also challenged Mr Starmer's pledge that he would recognise a Palestinian state next month if Israel does not agree to a ceasefire. The board said the promise risked 'putting gestures ahead of substance', which could also 'empower or reward Hamas'. 'We are therefore seeking clarification that the UK Government will not recognise a Palestinian state while Hamas fails to meet UK demands, including accepting a ceasefire and releasing the hostages,' Mr Rosenberg said. 'Recognising a Palestinian state without a diplomatic agreement risks putting gestures ahead of substance. 'However, our primary concern regarding the government's announcement is to avoid empowering or rewarding Hamas, or giving it incentives to continue evading a ceasefire,' he added. The pushback is shared by former hostage Emily Damari, a British-Israeli who was held in Gaza by Hamas for more than a year. Ms Damari said Mr Starmer's pledge was not 'on the right side of history'. 'Prime Minister Starmer is not standing on the right side of history. Had he been in power during World War II, would he have advocated recognition for Nazi control of occupied countries like Holland, France, or Poland?' she wrote on social media. 'This is not diplomacy – it is a moral failure. Shame on you, Prime Minister.' The board has faced escalating internal tension in the past three months over its public stance on the Israel-Gaza war, which critics say failed to reflect the diversity of views among British Jews regarding the conflict. Last month, five members of the BoD who had written an open letter to the FT criticising Israel's renewed military campaign in Gaza from March this year were suspended for two years. The BoD said at the time that it did not take issue with members' criticism of the war, but with the fact that their letter had been presented as a statement from the organisation itself. Yet the rift has caused a small but growing number of British Jews to feel disillusioned with the organisation, which has historically been the community's representative to British officialdom. The campaign group Na'amod, a movement of British Jews seeking an end to the war and a solution to the Palestinian issue, organised a protest outside the Foreign Office earlier this week calling for 'forceful action' on Israel 'to stop Israel's starvation, displacement and bombing of Palestinians in Gaza'.
The Independent
28-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Israeli strikes kill at least 34 people in Gaza, officials say, as some aid restrictions are eased
Israeli strikes killed at least 34 Palestinians in multiple locations across Gaza on Monday, local health officials said, a day after Israel eased aid restrictions in the face of a worsening humanitarian crisis in the territory. Israel announced Sunday that the military would pause operations in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi for 10 hours a day until further notice to allow for the improved flow of aid to Palestinians in Gaza, where concern over hunger has grown, and designate secure routes for aid delivery. Israel said it would continue military operations alongside the new humanitarian measures. The Israeli military had no immediate comment about the latest strikes, which occurred outside the time frame for the pause Israel declared would be held between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. Aid agencies have welcomed the new aid measures, which also included allowing airdrops into Gaza, but said they were not enough to counter the rising hunger in the Palestinian territory. Images of emaciated children have sparked outrage around the world, including from Israel's close allies. U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday called the images of emaciated and malnourished children in Gaza 'terrible.' Israel has restricted aid to varying degrees throughout the war. In March, it cut off the entry of all goods, including fuel, food and medicine to pressure Hamas to free hostages. Israel partially lifted those restrictions in May but also pushed ahead on a new U.S.-backed aid delivery system that has been wracked by chaos and violence. Traditional aid providers also have encountered a similar breakdown in law and order surrounding their aid deliveries. Most of Gaza's population now relies on aid. Accessing food has become a challenge that some Palestinians have risked their lives for. The Awda hospital in central Gaza said it received the bodies of seven Palestinians who it said were killed Monday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The hospital said 20 others were wounded close to the site. Elsewhere, a woman who was seven months pregnant was killed along with 11 others after their house was struck in the Muwasi area, west of the southern city of Khan Younis. The woman's fetus survived after a complex surgery, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. One strike hit a two-story house in the western Japanese neighborhood of Khan Younis, killing at least 11 people, more than half of them women and children, said the Nasser Hospital, which received the casualties. The Israeli military and GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment on those strikes. In its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. It still holds 50, more than half Israel believes to be dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says over half of the dead are women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. ___
Washington Post
28-07-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Israeli strikes kill at least 34 people in Gaza, officials say, as some aid restrictions are eased
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes killed at least 34 Palestinians in multiple locations across Gaza on Monday, local health officials said, a day after Israel eased aid restrictions in the face of a worsening humanitarian crisis in the territory. Israel announced Sunday that the military would pause operations in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi for 10 hours a day until further notice to allow for the improved flow of aid to Palestinians in Gaza, where concern over hunger has grown, and designate secure routes for aid delivery. Israel said it would continue military operations alongside the new humanitarian measures. The Israeli military had no immediate comment about the latest strikes, which occurred outside the time frame for the pause Israel declared would be held between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. Aid agencies have welcomed the new aid measures, which also included allowing airdrops into Gaza, but said they were not enough to counter the rising hunger in the Palestinian territory. Images of emaciated children have sparked outrage around the world, including from Israel's close allies . U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday called the images of emaciated and malnourished children in Gaza 'terrible.' Israel has restricted aid to varying degrees throughout the war. In March, it cut off the entry of all goods, including fuel, food and medicine to pressure Hamas to free hostages. Israel partially lifted those restrictions in May but also pushed ahead on a new U.S.-backed aid delivery system that has been wracked by chaos and violence. Traditional aid providers also have encountered a similar breakdown in law and order surrounding their aid deliveries. Most of Gaza's population now relies on aid. Accessing food has become a challenge that some Palestinians have risked their lives for. The Awda hospital in central Gaza said it received the bodies of seven Palestinians who it said were killed Monday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The hospital said 20 others were wounded close to the site. Elsewhere, a woman who was seven months pregnant was killed along with 11 others after their house was struck in the Muwasi area, west of the southern city of Khan Younis. The woman's fetus survived after a complex surgery, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. One strike hit a two-story house in the western Japanese neighborhood of Khan Younis, killing at least 11 people, more than half of them women and children, said the Nasser Hospital, which received the casualties. The Israeli military and GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment on those strikes. In its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. It still holds 50, more than half Israel believes to be dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says over half of the dead are women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at .
