Latest news with #civildefense
SBS Australia
2 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Israel seeks 10,000 more troops amid conscription row; airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached dire lows, with residents enduring severe shortages of food and other essentials, even after a more than two-month Israeli blockade on aid was recently eased. Source: AAP / Mohammed Saber / EPA Israeli strikes killed at least 38 people in Gaza as the Palestinian territory observed the Eid al-Adha holiday , according to local authorities, as Israel's military plans to call up tens of thousands more troops for its offensive. Gaza's civil defence agency reported Israeli attacks across the besieged enclave on Friday as Palestinians observed the Eid al-Adha under the shadow of war for a second consecutive year. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday's strikes, Agence France-Presse reported. It comes as the humanitarian situation in Gaza reaches dire new lows, with residents enduring severe shortages of food and other essentials, even after a more than two-month Israeli blockade on aid was recently eased with a controversial new program . In Israel, military spokesman Effie Defrin said four Israeli soldiers were killed as they "were operating in the Khan Yunis area, in a compound belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation". "Around six in the morning, an explosive device detonated, causing part of the structure to collapse," he said, adding that five other soldiers were wounded, one of them severely. "The losses suffered today by the occupation in Khan Younis ... illustrate what the occupation forces will face wherever they are present," said a statement attributed to Abu Obeida, spokesman for the armed of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, while urging the Israeli public to "force its leaders to end the war of extermination or prepare to receive more of its sons in coffins". Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended his condolences to the soldiers' families, saying they "sacrificed their lives for the safety of all of us". The deaths bring to 429 the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since the start of the ground offensive in late October 2023, according to Agence France-Presse. Israel recently stepped up its Gaza campaign in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas — the Palestinian military and political group that rules Gaza — whose 7 October 2023 attack sparked the war, a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict. But the ramping up of its offensive comes amid a row over the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews — an issue that's threatened to sink Netanyahu's government. Ultra-Orthodox religious parties have warned they will pull out of Netanyahu's coalition if the prime minister fails to make good on a promise to codify in law the military exemption for their community. At the same time, much of the public has turned against the exemption amid the increasing strain put on reservists' families by repeated call-up orders during the war. Asked by a reporter about the issue of ultra-Orthodox conscription, Defrin said: "This is the need of the moment, an operational necessity". The army was short around 10,000 soldiers, he added, including about 6,000 in combat roles, adding that "tens of thousands more notices will be issued in the upcoming draft cycle". In April, a military representative told a parliamentary committee that of 18,000 draft notices sent to ultra-Orthodox individuals, only 232 received a positive response. Netanyahu's office announced shortly after 1am on Friday that he had met with a lawmaker from his Likud party who has recently pushed for a bill aimed at increasing the ultra-Orthodox enlistment and toughening sanctions on those who refuse. The premier's office said "significant progress was made", with "unresolved issues" to be ironed out later. Netanyahu also faced scrutiny after he admitted to supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes Hamas. Knesset member and ex-defence minister Avigdor Liberman had told the Kan public broadcaster that the government, at Netanyahu's direction, was "giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons". The European Council on Foreign Relations think tank describes the group a "criminal gang operating in the Rafah area that is widely accused of looting aid trucks". The marking of Eid al-Adha also comes as aid distribution in Gaza was halted after the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said overcrowding had made it unsafe to continue operations, in the latest disruption to its troubled relief effort. In a day of confusing messaging, the GHF — the organisation that has sought to replace United Nation's distribution of aid to Gaza— first announced its distribution sites in southern Gaza were closed, then it revealed that it had actually handed out food, before saying that it had had to close its gates as a precautionary measure. "The distribution was conducted peacefully and without incident; however, it was paused due to excessive crowding that made it unsafe to proceed," it said in a statement. Food shortages have made it all but impossible for many Gazans to celebrate Eid al-Adha, which fell on Friday and is traditionally marked with huge family meals and gifts of new clothes. Suad al-Qarra told Agence France-Presse from Nasser Hospital on Friday that her son never got a chance to wear his new clothes. "He went to get dressed and there was an explosion," she said, her soft voice breaking. "I took him to the hospital and (they) found him dead." "They took the children from us," she continued. "I bought him Eid clothes yesterday and he didn't wear them, instead he wears a white shroud." In the Muslim faith, Eid commemorates the sacrifice Ibrahim — known to Christians and Jews as Abraham — was about to make by killing his son, before the angel Gabriel intervened and offered him a sheep to sacrifice instead. Hamas' unprecedented 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. According to the Gaza health ministry, at least 4,402 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18 after a brief truce, taking the war's overall toll to 54,677, mostly civilians. The United Nations has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave, with the rate of young children suffering from acute malnutrition nearly tripling. In 2021 the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes in the Palestinian territories dating back to 2014, including the recent attacks of both Israel and Hamas. The ICC has also issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and his former defence chief, alleging that the two are criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza". Hamas in its entirety is listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union and seven other countries, including Australia. But the UN Assembly rejected classifying Hamas as a terrorist group in a 2018 vote.
CNA
5 days ago
- Health
- CNA
Red Cross confirms 27 killed in Gaza after gunfire on aid seekers
GAZA CITY: The International Committee of the Red Cross said its field hospital in Gaza's Rafah city recorded 27 deaths on Tuesday (Jun 3), matching a toll given by rescuers after Israeli forces opened fire near an aid centre. "Early this morning, the 60-bed Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah received a mass casualty influx of 184 patients. This includes 19 cases who were declared dead upon arrival and eight more who died due to their wounds shortly after," the ICRC said. The organisation added in a statement that survivors of the early morning incident said they had been "trying to reach an assistance distribution site". Gaza's civil defence agency earlier said 27 people were killed after Israeli troops fired on a crowd near a US-backed aid distribution centre. The Israeli military said some people moving towards the aid centre had left the designated route, prompting "warning fire". "After the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects," a military statement added. Army spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a televised statement that the "suspects... were approaching in a way that endangered... the safety of the soldiers". "The incident is being investigated", he added. The ICRC said Tuesday's shooting caused "the highest number of weapon-wounded patients received in a single incident" since the field hospital opened more than a year ago. "The unprecedented scale and frequency of recent mass casualty incidents treated at the field hospital is deeply worrying and illustrates the harrowing reality that civilians in Gaza are being forced to endure," it added. A similar shooting incident occurred near the same aid centre on Sunday, when rescuers reported 31 killed by Israeli gunfire and a military source acknowledged "warning shots were fired towards several suspects".
Al Arabiya
25-05-2025
- Al Arabiya
Gaza rescuers say eight killed in Israeli strikes
Rescuers in Gaza said eight people were killed and several more wounded in Israeli air strikes across the Palestinian territory on Sunday. Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said five people were killed in a strike on a home in Jabalia, in the north. Two more people, including a pregnant woman, were killed in an attack targeting tents sheltering displaced people around Nuseirat in central Gaza, he added. A strike in the main southern city of Khan Younis also killed one person, Bassal said. The Israeli military has stepped up its Gaza operations in recent days in what it has described as a renewed push to destroy Hamas. On Saturday afternoon, the military said it had carried out strikes on more than 100 targets throughout Gaza over the past day. Gaza's health ministry said Saturday that at least 3,747 people had been killed in the territory since a ceasefire collapsed on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,901, mostly civilians. Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Al Arabiya
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
UN chief says Gaza war in ‘cruelest phase' as aid trucks looted
The United Nations chief said Friday that Palestinians were enduring 'the cruelest phase' of the war in Gaza, where more than a dozen food trucks were looted following the partial easing of a lengthy Israeli blockade. Aid was just beginning to trickle back into the war-torn territory after Israel announced it would allow limited shipments to resume as it pressed a newly expanded offensive aimed at destroying Hamas. Gaza civil defense agency official Mohammed al-Mughayyir told AFP at least 71 people were killed, while 'dozens of injuries, and a large number of missing persons under the rubble have been reported as a result of Israeli air strikes' on Friday. UN chief Antonio Guterres said 'Palestinians in Gaza are enduring what may be the cruelest phase of this cruel conflict,' adding that Israel 'must agree to allow and facilitate' humanitarian deliveries. He pointed to snags, however, noting that of the nearly 400 trucks cleared to enter Gaza in recent days, only 115 were able to be collected. 'In any case, all the aid authorized until now amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required,' he added in a statement. 'Meanwhile, the Israeli military offensive is intensifying with atrocious levels of death and destruction,' he said. The World Food Programme said Friday that 15 of its 'trucks were looted late last night in southern Gaza, while en route to WFP-supported bakeries.' 'Hunger, desperation, and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming, is contributing to rising insecurity,' the UN body said in a statement, calling on Israeli authorities 'to get far greater volumes of food assistance into Gaza faster.' Aid shipments to the Gaza Strip restarted on Monday for the first time since March 2, amid mounting condemnation of the Israeli blockade, which has resulted in severe shortages of food and medicine. 'I appeal to people of conscience to send us fresh water and food,' said Sobhi Ghattas, a displaced Palestinian sheltering at the port in Gaza City. 'My daughter has been asking for bread since this morning, and we have none to give her.' COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, said that 107 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on Thursday. But Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Friday that the UN had brought in 500 to 600 per day on average during a six-week ceasefire that broke down in March. 'No one should be surprised let alone shocked at scenes of precious aid looted, stolen or 'lost',' he said on X, adding that 'the people of Gaza have been starved' for more than 11 weeks. The Israeli military said that over the past day, its forces had attacked 'military compounds, weapons storage facilities and sniper posts' in Gaza. 'In addition, the (air force) struck over 75 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip,' it added. The military said on Friday afternoon that air raid sirens were activated in communities near Gaza, later reporting that 'a projectile that crossed into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip was intercepted' by the air force. In Gaza's north, al-Awda hospital reported Friday that three of its staff were injured 'after Israeli quadcopter drones dropped bombs' on the facility. The civil defense agency later said it had successfully contained a fire at the hospital. An AFP journalist saw large plumes of smoke billowing above destroyed buildings in southern Gaza after Israeli bombardments. 'Have mercy on us,' said a distraught Youssef al-Najjar, whose relatives were killed in an air strike in the main southern city of Khan Yunis. 'We are exhausted from the displacement and the hunger – enough!' Israel resumed operations in Gaza on March 18, ending the ceasefire that began on January 19. On Friday, Gaza's health ministry said at least 3,673 people had been killed in the territory since then, taking the war's overall toll to 53,822, mostly civilians. Hamas's October 2023 attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Arab News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
UN chief says Gaza war in ‘cruelest phase' as aid trucks looted
GAZA CITY: The United Nations chief said Friday that Palestinians were enduring 'the cruelest phase' of the war in Gaza, where more than a dozen food trucks were looted following the partial easing of a lengthy Israeli was just beginning to trickle back into the war-torn territory after Israel announced it would allow limited shipments to resume as it pressed a newly expanded offensive aimed at destroying civil defense agency official Mohammed Al-Mughayyir told AFP at least 71 people were killed, while 'dozens of injuries, and a large number of missing persons under the rubble have been reported as a result of Israeli air strikes' on chief Antonio Guterres said 'Palestinians in Gaza are enduring what may be the cruelest phase of this cruel conflict,' adding that Israel 'must agree to allow and facilitate' humanitarian pointed to snags, however, noting that of the nearly 400 trucks cleared to enter Gaza in recent days, only 115 were able to be collected.'In any case, all the aid authorized until now amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required,' he added in a statement.'Meanwhile, the Israeli military offensive is intensifying with atrocious levels of death and destruction,' he World Food Programme said Friday that 15 of its 'trucks were looted late last night in southern Gaza, while en route to WFP-supported bakeries.''Hunger, desperation, and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming, is contributing to rising insecurity,' the UN body said in a statement, calling on Israeli authorities 'to get far greater volumes of food assistance into Gaza faster.'Aid shipments to the Gaza Strip restarted on Monday for the first time since March 2, amid mounting condemnation of the Israeli blockade, which has resulted in severe shortages of food and medicine.'I appeal to people of conscience to send us fresh water and food,' said Sobhi Ghattas, a displaced Palestinian sheltering at the port in Gaza City.'My daughter has been asking for bread since this morning, and we have none to give her.'COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, said that 107 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Friday that the UN had brought in 500 to 600 per day on average during a six-week ceasefire that broke down in March.'No one should be surprised let alone shocked at scenes of precious aid looted, stolen or 'lost',' he said on X, adding that 'the people of Gaza have been starved' for more than 11 Israeli military said that over the past day, its forces had attacked 'military compounds, weapons storage facilities and sniper posts' in Gaza.'In addition, the (air force) struck over 75 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip,' it military said on Friday afternoon that air raid sirens were activated in communities near Gaza, later reporting that 'a projectile that crossed into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip was intercepted' by the air Gaza's north, Al-Awda hospital reported Friday that three of its staff were injured 'after Israeli quadcopter drones dropped bombs' on the civil defense agency later said it had successfully contained a fire at the AFP journalist saw large plumes of smoke billowing above destroyed buildings in southern Gaza after Israeli bombardments.'Have mercy on us,' said a distraught Youssef Al-Najjar, whose relatives were killed in an air strike in the main southern city of Khan Yunis.'We are exhausted from the displacement and the hunger — enough!'Israel resumed operations in Gaza on March 18, ending the ceasefire that began on January Friday, Gaza's health ministry said at least 3,673 people had been killed in the territory since then, taking the war's overall toll to 53,822, mostly October 2023 attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
