Gaza: Eleven killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid, rescuers say

Eleven Palestinians seeking aid were among at least 33 killed by Israeli gunfire and strikes across Gaza on Wednesday, rescuers and medics say.A spokesman for the Hamas-run civil defence agency said Israeli forces "opened fire and launched several shells" at thousands of people who were queuing for desperately needed food supplies on the main Salah al-Din Road.The Israeli military said troops operating in the Nuseirat area fired warning shots overnight after a group approached them in a manner that posed a potential threat, but that it was unaware of any injuries.Another 19 people were killed in three Israeli air strikes in northern and southern Gaza, according to the civil defence agency.
They included eight who died when a home was hit in the Zeitoun area of Gaza City, it said.Regarding the air strikes, the Israeli military said it was "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities" in the territory.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said on Wednesday afternoon that at least 140 people had been killed over the previous 24 hours.The ministry reported on Tuesday that 51 people were killed while waiting for aid in the southern city of Khan Younis, while the UN cited partner organisations working on health as putting the death toll at more than 60.Eyewitnesses told the BBC that Israeli tanks and drones opened fire as crowds gathered near a charity community centre and a warehouse belonging to the UN's World Food Programme.The Israeli military acknowledged that its troops were in the area and said the details of the incident were under review.In a separate incident on Tuesday, the civil defence agency said another seven people seeking aid were killed and many others were injured on Rashid Street north-west of Gaza City.A doctor at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City told Reuters news agency that the fatalities were the result of Israeli air strikes and that the injuries were caused by gunfire.Umm Fida Masoud said her son "went to bring a bag of flour and came back [injured] in a bag".Meanwhile, a local journalist posted footage that he said showed his cousin celebrating after collecting a bag of flour for his family."A 50kg bag. I pulled it out from under the truck, inches from death," he declares.
Almost 400 people have been killed while trying to get aid since 26 May, when the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) opened the first of its three distribution centre, according to the health ministry.The GHF, which uses US private security contractors, aims to bypass the UN as the main supplier of aid to the 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza.The UN and other aid groups refuse to co-operate with the new system, saying it contravenes the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence.They also warn that Gaza's population faces catastrophic levels of hunger after an 11-week total Israeli blockade that was partially eased a month ago.The US and Israel say GHF's system will prevent aid being stolen by Hamas, which the group denies doing.On Wednesday, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) condemned it as "lame, medieval and lethal"."Inviting starving people to their death is a war crime. Those responsible of this system must be held accountable," Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X."This is a disgrace and a stain on our collective consciousness." The GHF has not commented, but it said in a statement that it had so far distributed 30 million meals across its three distribution centres "without incident"."We remain focused on a singular mission: to feed the people of Gaza - and we are committed to scaling our efforts to reach even more in need," it added.The WFP meanwhile warned that the 9,000 tonnes of food aid it had dispatched over the past four weeks was "a tiny fraction" of what was needed in Gaza.It also said the desperate need for food was causing large crowds to gather along well-known transport routes, hoping to intercept and access humanitarian supplies while in transit."Only a massive scale-up in food distributions can stabilize the situation, calm anxieties and rebuild the trust within communities that more food is coming," it said.Israeli military body Cogat reported that 85 lorry loads of aid entered southern and northern Gaza via the Kerem Shalom and Erez West crossings on Tuesday, 66 of which were collected. Another 380 lorry loads of aid were waiting for collection by the UN, it said.The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.At least 55,637 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.

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The Guardian

5 hours ago

• The Guardian

Israel, we're begging you: please let aid organisations do our jobs in Gaza

Abed Al Rahman, just a boy, carried the weight of his family's hunger as he stepped into the streets of Gaza in search of bread. He had his father's money, but when he saw the tide of people pushing towards a food distribution site in Rafah, hunger pulled him into their flow. Almost immediately, the site descended into chaos. Gunfire. Drones. Then in a flash, shrapnel from a tank shell ripped through his little body. When I met him at a hospital in Khan Younis – where painkillers, like food, are scarce – the 13-year-old was in agony. 'I have shrapnel inside my body that they couldn't remove,' he told me. 'I am in real pain; since 6am I have been asking for a painkiller.' As he recounted the chaos, his father's composure shattered, and tears rolled down his face. Was he going to lose his son simply because Abed Al Rahman wanted his family to eat? Abed Al Rahman had been trying to get food from a new private and militarised distribution site in Gaza. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is funnelling aid through a handful of southern sites guarded by private contractors and Israeli soldiers. With so few distribution points, those who can make the trek are forced to travel long, dangerous distances – risking their lives for grossly inadequate amounts of supplies. In the first week of the GHF's operation, there were five mass-casualty events in the vicinity of distribution sites as desperate civilians were met by gun and tank fire. Children have been killed. The UN's aid chief, Tom Fletcher, said the sites made 'starvation a bargaining chip' and were 'a fig leaf for further violence and displacement'. A system that bypasses the UN has, in fact, bypassed humanity. Indeed, politicised aid distribution is unsafe for everyone involved – last week, the GHF said eight of its local team members and volunteers had been killed. And while it's critical that there is a focus on this lethal lack of aid for Palestinians, the daily killing and maiming of children has become an afterthought. This is my fifth mission to Gaza since the horrors of 7 October, and in all that time almost nothing has been done to stop the world's deadliest conflict for children in recent memory. There have been more than 50,000 children reported killed or injured in 20 months. Fifty thousand. On the same morning I met Abed Al Rahman, I spoke with 24-year-old Sheima, also hospitalised. She, too, went to one of the GHF distribution sites. Different day, same story: her family was denied humanitarian aid for months. Consumed by hunger, her father too sick to travel, Sheima reached a site. Again, gunfire. Boxes of food thrown to the dirt. 'I saw dead bodies on the ground,' she told me. 'People stepping over them, just trying to get some food.' In the mayhem, Sheima became entangled in wire – her leg and arm torn open as she tried to flee. She didn't get any food. 'Even though I almost died, I would go again,' she said. 'I'm the eldest in my family – we need food to survive. I wish to die with a full stomach, not from starvation.' These raw testimonials reinforce two critical questions. First, when UN and international non-governmental organisations warehouses outside Gaza are jam-packed with lifesaving supplies, why is there still a lethal lack of humanitarian aid in Gaza? And second, will these few sites run by private contractors solve the crisis? On the first point, after a total blockade on all supplies going into Gaza from early March until 19 May, Unicef and the World Food Programme are now permitted to bring in limited quantities of only a few selected items. Meanwhile, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification warned last month that all 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza are facing life-threatening food insecurity. Lack of access to clean water has been pushed to lethal levels. Amid incessant bombardments, drastic aid restrictions and mass displacement of the civilian population, the risk of famine is not just possible, but increasingly likely for families in Gaza. From the end of the ceasefire to May this year, malnutrition admissions among children aged under five surged by nearly 150%, with a steep rise in severe cases. This isn't just a trend – it's an urgent warning. And to the second question, can the GHF prevent famine? The reality is, far too little aid is being distributed from far too few distribution points, all amid concerns that families travelling from northern Gaza to reach sites in the south will not be allowed to return. This is not how you avert famine. Before the collapse of the most recent ceasefire, the UN operated a highly effective aid delivery system in Gaza. And during the ceasefire, we were delivering assistance from more than 400 distribution points across the territory. Access to food, safe water, medicines and shelter skyrocketed. Unicef even went door-to-door to reach malnourished children. Unicef continues to call for a ceasefire, protection of children, the release of hostages and full aid access. We know what it takes to deliver for children in emergencies – it is the same in every crisis and every conflict since the second world war. Children need nutritious food at scale, safety, clean water and dignity. Not security operators. Not indiscriminate fire. Not chaos. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. We delivered aid at scale during the ceasefire, and we can do it again. We just need to be allowed to do our jobs. Abed Al Rahman died of his injuries on 17 June 2025, after this article was written. James Elder is Unicef's global spokesperson

Sky News

19 hours ago

• Sky News

IDF does not 'deliberately target hospitals', says former Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz

A former Israeli defence minister has told Sky News it is "absolutely not true" that the country's military deliberately targets hospitals. In an interview with Yalda Hakim, Benny Gantz - who quit Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet last year - also said he has "nothing against" the people of Iran or Gaza. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said at least 94% of all hospitals in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed. A total of 917 healthcare workers in medical facilities have been killed, the WHO said last month. Asked about the figures, and if the Israeli military deliberately targets healthcare buildings, Mr Gantz replied: "This is absolutely not true." He said that when the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) targeted al Shifa hospital in Gaza earlier in the war, it "did everything in our capacity to ensure nobody was getting hurt". Mr Gantz continued: "Those hospitals are a coverage, they are being used by Hamas to put all their infrastructure under those hospitals, underneath those schools. "We alert them and evacuate it, then we do what we have to do. We do not deliberately go and hit a hospital just because it's a hospital. There's no way we're doing it." 27:55 The Israelis' military action in Gaza began after Hamas's attacks on 7 October 2023. Israel last week started launching airstrikes on targets in Iran as tensions between the countries escalated. Describing himself as a "man of peace", Mr Gantz said: "I have nothing against the people of Iran as much as I don't have anything against the people of Gaza. "I do hope that one day they can live with something they can live with and we can live beside. "Until then, we must continue to operate to free our hostages, to make sure that Hamas is not threatening is anyone and we can move forward." He said of Israel's military action: "Yes we are fighting for own security [..] but aren't we serving strategically the region? Aren't we serving strategically the global society?" His comments came after an Israeli airstrike on a camp in north Gaza killed a total of 19 people on Thursday, according to the director of al Shifa hospital. They included three children and five women, Mohamed Abu Selmiyah said. Since the war began in October 2023, a total of 55,706 people have been killed Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has said.

Scottish Sun

a day ago

• Scottish Sun

Iran launched DELIBERATE missile blitz on Israeli hospital but patients were moved at the last minute, president reveals

Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BABIES were among hundreds of hospital patients who cheated death when an Iranian missile blitzed an Israeli hospital, the nation's president told The Sun. Isaac Herzog revealed that the chiefs decided to move critical care units into a basement bunker just hours before the terrorist regime 'deliberately targeted' the hospital. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 14 Smoke rises from Soroka Medical Centre in Beersheba, Israel Credit: Reuters 14 The hospital was damaged following a missile strike from Iran Credit: Reuters 14 Firefighters work in a building of the Soroka hospital complex after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran in Beersheba, Israel Credit: AP 14 A view of the damage is seen from the inside Credit: Getty 14 Sun Foreign Editor Nick Parker speaks to Israeli President Herzog at the Presidential Palace in Jerusalem Credit: Doug Seeburg And in an exclusive interview with The Sun, the embattled Israeli leader branded his fanatic enemy 'disgusting and horrendous' as the Middle East conflict raged on. Appalled Mr Herzog, 64, vented his outrage at the presidential palace in Jerusalem after visiting shocked patients and staff at Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba. A huge explosion early today sent a mushroom cloud over the complex and set the roof on fire as terrified patients cowered in makeshift basement wards. They had been moved there just hours earlier by hospital chiefs as Iran's Islamist regime fired a barrage of 30 ballistic missiles from more than 1,000 miles away. Tensions rise Middle East REACTOR BLAST Iran's nuke reactor destroyed as shock satellite pic shows gaping hole Mr Herzog told The Sun: 'I was there this morning following the destruction by an Iranian missile - straight on the hospital where people were in treatment. 'The director general of the hospital decided only last night to remove all the units above ground to underground. 'They would have been killed for sure, because you see the building was totally demolished.' Mr Herzog said Soroka tends to two million patients every year, treating Israelis, Palestinians and sick and injured people from nearby Gaza. He paid tribute to the resilience of medics yesterday while revealing his shock at the scale of the damage. Mr Herzog said: 'Glass was strewn all over the place - windows and doors - total devastation, but I went underground and the hospital functions beautifully. Trump 'has APPROVED Iran attack plans & is ready to give orders' as Israel 'strikes reactor' & Tehran hits hospital 'Professor Mahmoud Abu Shakra, a great Israeli Muslim, was leading the emergency care unit underground. 'That's Israel for you. We have immense resilience. And we will recover, we will rebuild, and we will move on. 'It shows how cruel the Iranians are - the emergency care units full of babies were there, and this missile was aimed directly at the hospital. 'It was deliberate - we know it because we have intelligence. 'We know that they are carrying out crimes against humanity and war crimes all the time. 'They decided to harass us. They want to drive us crazy, so they send those missiles, but they get us wrong because we are a very strong nation, and we know how exposed they are. 'They are making a huge mistake.' 14 Herzog vented his outrage at the presidential palace in Jerusalem after visiting shocked patients and staff at Soroka Hospital Credit: Doug Seeburg 14 A view of the damage is seen at Soroka Medical Centre after it was hit by a missile launched from Iran during retaliatory strikes in Beersheba Credit: Getty 14 A view of the Soroka Medical Centre after the strike Credit: AP 14 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands amid debris outside the Soroka Hospital Credit: AFP 14 Mr Herzog rejected comparisons to Israeli attacks on hospitals in Gaza and insisted medical sites in the besieged enclave were targeted because terror bases were hidden beneath them. He said: 'All the aid that went into Gaza from Western countries, from us, by the way, too - all that money went to build a terror infrastructure of the worst kind. 'That was deployed on October 7th - and it's all in tunnels out there, which are full of ammunition and our hostages.' Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz raged that evil Iranian kingpin Ayatollah Ali Khamenei must die after the missile struck the hospital. He said: "Khamenei openly declares that he wants Israel destroyed – he personally gives the order to fire on hospitals. 'He considers the destruction of the state of Israel to be a goal, 'Such a man can no longer be allowed to exist.' 14 Smoke billows from Soroka Hospital in Beersheba in southern Israel Credit: AFP 14 BEERSHEBA, ISRAEL – JUNE 19: A view of the destruction after an Iranian missile hits Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel on June 19, 2025. (Photo by Tsafrir Abayov/Anadolu via Getty Images) Credit: Getty 14 Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz raged that evil Iranian kingpin Ayatollah Ali Khamenei must die Credit: AFP Katz's threat was echoed by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who said Israel was ready to "remove" the nuclear threat from Iran. Asked during a visit to bombed Soroka Hospital if Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was a potential target, Netanyahu said: "No one is immune.' "By the end of this operation, there will be no nuclear threat to Israel, nor will there be a ballistic missile threat.' It comes as Iran warned the US will be sparking an "all-out war" in the Middle East if they join Israel in dropping bombs on Iranian nuclear sites. The US president is yet to say if he will directly launch an attack, but is reportedly considering striking Iran's key underground nuclear site in the coming days. Trump has become heavily involved in the conflict over the last 72 hours. When asked about US bombing Iran, he said: "I may do it, I may not do it." It is believed that the US may choose to back Israeli strikes on Iran's Fordow nuclear development area. Will Trump strike Iran? By Sayan Bose, Foreign News Reporter DONALD Trump is all but poised to join Israel's campaign of bombing Iran as they both seek to obliterate Tehran's nuclear program. The White House said on Thursday that Trump will decide on whether the US will get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict in the next two weeks. It comes as Tel Aviv has been carrying out air strikes targeting various nuclear and military facilities in Tehran and other parts of Iran. The goal, as they say, is to thwart the Iranian regime's efforts to produce nuclear weapons. The Trump administration previously said it had no plans to join the conflict. However, winds in Washington began blowing the other way after Trump cut short his G7 visit in Canada and said he needed to focus on the Middle East. And has repeatedly insisted it was not to pursue peace talks with Iran "in any way, shape or form" - a stark shift in his previous policy of striking up a nuclear deal. Don also went on to share a slew of posts on Truth Social suggesting he may be considering strikes against Iran. He wrote: "Our patience is wearing thin," before calling out Tehran for an unconditional surrender. Trump also called for an emergency situation room meeting yesterday with his top Washington aides, though details of those meetings have not yet been revealed. But Trump's statements, coupled with America's military movements, suggest the US forces may soon strike Iran. As Trump rushed back to meet his National Security Council, he vowed he was chasing something "better than a ceasefire", which would force Iran into a "complete give up". He refused to specify the endgame, but ominously warned: "You're going to find out over the next few days." A spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry said that a US intervention in the Middle East would be "a recipe for all-out war in the region. This would likely be done by a fearsome 15-ton mega bomb known as a Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bomb that can penetrate deep inside the ground before blowing up. Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office Trump did say the US is the only nation capable of blitzing the key nuke site. But he added: "That doesn't mean I'm going to do it - at all." Trump also gave a two-word warning to Iran's Supreme Leader after he revealed Tehran was trying to run back to the negotiating table since the conflict broke out. 14 When a White House reporter asked Trump about Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's declaration that he will "never surrender", Trump simply responded: "Good luck." Trump even stepped up his rhetoric towards Khamenei as he said the US knows where he is hiding but will not kill him 'for now'. Khamenei responded to the constant threats by saying: "The battle begins." He warned that the US will face hell if it enters the war and drops a single bomb on Tehran. 'This nation will never surrender,' Khamenei said in a speech read on state television. 'America should know that any military intervention will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage.'