Latest news with #civilians
Fox News
an hour ago
- General
- Fox News
Tensions rise as Israel strongly denies firing on Palestinians at Gaza humanitarian site
Drone footage released by the Israel Defense Forces shows armed and masked people in Gaza shooting civilians, Israel said Sunday, amid claims, which have been staunchly denied, that the IDF killed dozens of people collecting humanitarian aid. The IDF said it was releasing additional information amid false reports that its soldiers fired upon civilians at an aid distribution site. "Findings from an initial inquiry indicate that the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site and that reports to this effect are false," the IDF said in a statement. "The IDF is cooperating with the American Civil Organization (GHF) and international aid organizations in order to enable the distribution of aid to the Gazan residents — and not to Hamas." The agency also said that Hamas has done everything it can to disrupt food distribution efforts in the Gaza Strip. Israel quickly pushed back amid reports that at least 26 Palestinians were killed and some 175 were wounded while attempting to get food, according to officials from the Hamas-run health ministry and witnesses. Witnesses said Israeli forces fired on crowds around 1,000 yards away from an aid site run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). A Palestinian journalist told the BBC that thousands had gathered near the aid site outside Gaza's southern city of Rafah when Israeli tanks approached and opened fire on the crowd. The GHF has denied previous accounts of chaos and gunfire around its sites, which are in Israeli military zones where independent access is limited. Israel has long said that Hamas routinely prevents aid from reaching civilians, while also deliberately putting them in harms' way. "Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization that starves and endangers the population in order to preserve its control over the Gaza Strip. As part of its brutal behavior and its attempts to disrupt humanitarian aid, Hamas directly harms the residents of Gaza," the IDF said Sunday. IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Hamas is spreading false rumors and "fake news" to stop Israel from distributing aid. "I urge not to believe every rumor spread by Hamas," he said while in Rafah. "We will investigate each and every one of those incidents and each and every one of those allegations. We are a professional military." In a separate incident overnight, the IDF said troops fired warning shots in the direction of several people advancing toward them near a humanitarian aid distribution site. "Overnight, approximately one kilometer away from the humanitarian aid distribution site, and outside the operating hours of the humanitarian aid distribution site, IDF troops acted to prevent several suspects from approaching the troops. During the activity, warning shots were fired toward several suspects who advanced toward the troops. There is no connection between this incident and the false claims made against the IDF."
Malay Mail
3 hours ago
- General
- Malay Mail
Mullivaikkal: Sri Lanka's Gaza Strip — smaller, forgotten, and still bleeding — Che Ran
JUNE 2 — Just an hour ago, I passed through Mullivaikkal. And like every time before, it felt like my lungs forgot how to breathe. The air is too still, too silent, like the entire landscape is holding its breath. Even the wind seems reluctant to move, as though it too remembers what happened here. The coconut trees sway quietly, but there's no music in them — only mourning. The sand is soft underfoot, but it feels wrong, like it's made of ash, not soil. I don't know if ghosts are real, but if they are, they live here — unnamed, unburied, and unatoned for. You don't walk through Mullivaikkal. You move through it like a funeral procession, even when you're alone. Because this isn't just a village — it's a mass grave. It's a crime scene. It's the final chapter of a war that ended in blood, silence, and shame. In May 2009, the Sri Lankan government declared this patch of coastline a 'No-Fire Zone.' But what followed was not peace. It was precision slaughter. Shells rained down on hospitals. Civilians were bombed in tents. A makeshift medical station run by doctors was shelled repeatedly — despite its coordinates being handed directly to the military and the Red Cross. The UN estimates over 40,000 civilians died in those final weeks, though some reports place the number closer to 70,000. Satellite images showed bodies strewn along the lagoon. Mothers clutching their dead children. Fathers carrying the remains of their families, weeping into nothingness. There were stories of people starving, trapped between a narrowing front line and an ocean that offered no escape. The Sri Lankan Army marched forward, and the Liberation Tigers refused to retreat, even as civilians begged for mercy. But there was none. Only fire. And yet — no one has been held accountable. There has been no independent investigation. No war crimes tribunal. Just flag-waving. Just denial. In the South, they mark May 19 as 'Victory Day.' In the North, it is a day of funeral rites and unfinished prayers. Every time I pass through Mullivaikkal, I don't feel anger. I feel hollow. Like a part of me was left here in 2009, even though I wasn't physically present. That's the thing about genocide—it brands itself into your DNA. Into your dreams. Into the way your mother cries in her sleep. Into the silence of survivors who still, to this day, whisper their stories in fear. A Tamil resident points to what is left of a bunker built by civilians to escape fighting between government troops and Tamil rebels during the final stages of the Island's separatist war in Mullivaikkal, in north-eastern Sri Lanka on May 17, 2024. — AFP pic But here's what they don't tell you about silence: it eventually screams. The world wants us to 'move on.' To 'forgive.' To 'heal.' But healing without truth is just forgetting with better PR. And forgetfulness is a privilege we, as Sri Lankans, can no longer afford. This isn't about vengeance. This isn't about division. It's about memory. Because when the last witness dies, so too does the chance of justice. That is why we remember Mullivaikkal. That is why we speak. Even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts. Mullivaikkal is our Gaza Strip. Smaller. Untelevised. Forgotten. But it still bleeds. And that blood is on all of us — until we say: Never again. Not to anyone. Not anywhere. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
LBCI
6 hours ago
- General
- LBCI
Israel's army says 'did not fire at civilians' at or near Gaza aid center
The Israeli army said Sunday that it "did not fire at civilians" within or around a U.S.-backed aid center in southern Gaza, hours after rescuers blamed Israeli fire for dozens of deaths and injuries near the site. "In recent hours, false reports have been spread, including serious allegations against the military regarding fire toward Gazan residents in the area of the humanitarian aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip," the army said in a statement. "Findings from an initial inquiry indicate that the military did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site and that reports to this effect are false." AFP
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Russians kill 2 civilians and injure 15 in Donetsk and Kherson oblasts
Russian attacks killed one civilian in Kherson Oblast and one civilian in Donetsk Oblast on 31 May. Source: Kherson Oblast Military Administration; Donetsk Oblast Military Administration Details: Eight more civilians sustained injuries in Kherson Oblast. Russian forces attacked critical and social infrastructure, as well as residential areas of settlements across the oblast. Five apartment buildings and seven houses were damaged. The Russians also damaged a gas pipeline, outbuildings and a car. In Donetsk Oblast, one civilian was killed in the town of Rodynske. Seven people were injured in the oblast during the day: two in Sloviansk, two in Novodonetske and one each in Rodynske, Pokrovsk and Mykolaipillia. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia Oblast injure 7 people, damage critical infrastructure
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated. Russia launched a series of attacks on Zaporizhzhia Oblast overnight, injuring seven people from May 31-June 1 and damaging critical infrastructure and residential buildings, local officials reported. Two civilians, a 53-year-old woman and 21-year-old man, were injured as a result of Russian strikes on the village of Verkhnya Tersa in the evening of May 31, regional governor Ivan Fedorov reported. Both people received medical attention. A house in Verkhnya Tersa was also destroyed as a result of the attack. A fire broke out and buildings near the at the impact site were damaged. The attacks continued into the next day, with Russia targeting a critical infrastructure facility in Zaporizhzhia. Russian later launched seven Shahed drones on June 1, injuring an additional person and damaging private homes, Fedorov reported. Most recently, four more people were injured as a result of Russian shelling in the Polohivskyi district, according to Governor Fedorov's latest report. In total, Russia launched 501 strikes on 17 settlements in Zaporizhzhia Oblast so far on June 1. Situated in southeastern Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia Oblast has been partially occupied since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. The region capital, the city of Zaporizhzhia, remains under Ukrainian control and is frequently targeted by Russian forces. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russia reports 2nd consecutive day of Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
