Israel flattens remains of Rafah ruins as latest strikes on Gaza hit 3 homes
UN agencies say Gazans on precipice of mass hunger and disease, with conditions reported at their worst
Image | ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/GAZA
Caption: A Palestinian man sits on debris while covering his face with his hand at the site of an Israeli strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday. (Hatem Khaled/Reuters)
Israel's army is flattening the remaining ruins of the city of Rafah on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip, residents say, in what they fear is a part of a plan to herd the population into confinement in a giant camp on the barren ground.
No food or medical supplies have reached the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip in nearly two months, since Israel imposed what has since become its longest ever total blockade of the territory, following the collapse of a six-week ceasefire.
Israel relaunched its ground campaign in mid-March and has since seized swathes of land and ordered residents out of what it says are "buffer zones" around Gaza's edges, including all of Rafah, which comprises around 20 percent of the Strip.
Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Saturday that the military was setting up a new "humanitarian zone" in Rafah, to which civilians would be moved after security checks to keep out Hamas fighters. Aid would be distributed by private companies.
The Israeli military has yet to comment on the report and did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Residents said massive explosions could now be heard unceasingly from the dead zone where Rafah once stood as a city of 300,000 people.
"Explosions never stop, day and night, whenever the ground shakes, we know they are destroying more homes in Rafah. Rafah is gone," Tamer, a Gaza City man displaced in Deir al-Balah, farther north, told Reuters by text message.
He said he was getting phone calls from friends as far away as across the border in Egypt whose children were being kept awake by the explosions.
Abu Mohammed, another displaced man in Gaza, told Reuters by text: "We are terrified that they could force us into Rafah, which is going to be like a cage of a concentration camp, completely sealed off from the world."
27 Palestinians reported killed in latest strikes
Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight into Monday killed at least 27 Palestinians, according to local health officials. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
An airstrike hit a home in Beit Lahiya, killing 10 people, including a Palestinian prisoner, Abdel-Fattah Abu Mahadi, who had been released as part of the ceasefire. His wife, two of their children and a grandchild were also killed, according to the Indonesian Hospital, which received the bodies.
Another strike hit a home in Gaza City, killing seven people, including two women, according to the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service. Two other people were wounded.
Late Sunday, a strike hit a home in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing at least 10 people, including five siblings as young as four years old, according to the Health Ministry. Two other children were killed along with their parents, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.
Gaza on precipice of mass hunger, disease: UN
Israel, which imposed its total blockade on Gaza on March 2, says enough supplies reached the territory in the previous six weeks of the truce that it does not believe the population is at risk. It says it cannot allow in food or medicine because Hamas fighters would exploit it.
United Nations agencies say Gazans are on the precipice of mass hunger and disease, with conditions now at their worst since the war began on Oct.7, 2023, when Hamas fighters attacked Israeli communities.
The UN's highest court began holding hearings on Monday into Israel's obligation to facilitate humanitarian aid to the territories it occupies.
WATCH | At least 23 killed in overnight strikes on school shelter last week:
Media Video | Deadly Israeli strikes set tents ablaze in Gaza City school-turned-shelter
Caption: At least 23 Palestinians sheltering inside of a school in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City were killed in Israeli strikes overnight Wednesday. The strikes set fire to tents and classrooms, leaving behind extensive damage.
Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages.
Talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt have so far failed to extend the ceasefire, during which Hamas released 38 hostages and Israel released hundreds of prisoners and detainees.
Fifty-nine Israeli hostages are still held in Gaza; fewer than half of them believed to be alive. Hamas says it would free them only under a deal that ends the war; Israel says it will agree only to temporary pauses in fighting unless Hamas is completely disarmed, which the fighters reject.
In Doha, Qatar's prime minister said on Sunday that efforts to reach a new ceasefire in Gaza had made some progress.
On Friday, the World Food Program said it had run out of food stocks in Gaza after the longest closure the Gaza Strip had ever faced.
Some residents toured the streets looking for weeds that grow naturally on the ground; others picked up dry leaves from trees. Desperate enough, fishermen turned to catching turtles, skinning them and selling their meat.
The Gaza war started after Hamas-led fighters killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages to Gaza in the October, 2023 attacks, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's offensive on the enclave has killed more than 51,400, according to Palestinian health officials.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Internet and phone outage in much of Gaza disrupts humanitarian operations and deepens isolation
CAIRO (AP) — A breakdown in communications networks in central and southern Gaza has cut many Palestinians off from the outside world for the past week, further straining aid efforts and emergency services amid continuing Israeli bombardment. Israeli strikes damaged a main connection, cutting off communications in large areas of the strip since Tuesday, according to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The telecom company Paltel said Friday that internet and landline services were restored in some areas in southern Gaza, including Khan Younis, with repairs ongoing in other southern and central areas. Paltel warned in a statement to AP that ongoing attacks on the main network could make future maintenance impossible, especially due to a shortage of essential materials and resources. The Gaza Strip has experienced at least 10 communications partial and full outages since the war began in October 2023, according to Palestinian telecom company Paltel. This week's outage has impacted aid efforts, emergency services, suspended academic classes, and cut off displaced Palestinians from the rest of the territory. Palestinians in Gaza rely heavily on cell service, as unsafe roads and fuel shortages limit movement across the enclave. Humanitarians say those in affected areas will struggle to access information on aid and medical services or call for ambulances. 'Telecoms have been used as a weapon of war against civilians,' said Juliette Touma, communications director at UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugee that is the main service provider in Gaza. The IDF didn't immediately respond to request for comment. The vast majority of UNRWA workers don't have connectivity in the areas affected by the outages. As a result, they and other aid workers have struggled to deliver aid and coordinate with one another, Touma told the AP. 'Sometimes we get a signal when a team member has the courage to go on the rooftop of a building, which is extremely dangerous under strikes, and they send us a message that they're alive. I can't tell you how much of a relief it is, but they're more sporadic and less regular,' said Touma. Some people rely on E-sims, but they are not compatible with all devices and can only work in certain areas. Unreliable mobile service Over 70% of telecommunications networks in Gaza has been partially or completely destroyed as of August 2024 since the war began, according to statistics released by the Palestinian Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Economy, cited by the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute. However, Paltel said technical teams offered some technical solutions that would restore services. When they hear nearby strikes, Palestinians without connection don't know whether evacuation orders are issued and where should they relocate to, said Shaina Low, the Norwegian Refugee Council's communications adviser. 'This also means that people are isolated. They can't communicate with their family and friends inside of Gaza and understand what the current situation is or get external support from networks outside,' she said. Limited or unreliable mobile service has made it difficult for ambulances and civil defense teams to reach people in need of life-saving assistance, Low added. Fikr Shalltoot, Gaza director for the group Medical Aid for Palestinians, said its doctors working in hospitals and clinics in effected areas can't document or share their work with managers. 'Targeted daily' Meanwhile, with Gaza's university campuses heavily damaged, the internet has become the only way to continue education. But outages have forced educators to cancel classes and exams. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. 'It is, unfortunately, like a never-ending vicious cycle of suffering because when this issue is resolved in the north, the problem appears in the south,' said Mohammed Shbair, vice president for administrative and financial affairs, at al-Azhar University in Gaza. 'Students cannot reach universities because they are destroyed, and they can't even reach areas where the internet is available in cafes or displacement tents, as they are now being targeted daily and systematically by Israeli strikes,' said Shbair, an associate professor of public law. Online banking, a key alternative amid cash shortages, has also become unavailable. Palestinians who rely on online transfers to pay suppliers can no longer do so under the current conditions, according to Low. The outage complicates humanitarian operations and adds to the 'toxic stress' families face daily, said UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram. 'In a context of incessant bombardments, mass casualty events linked to food distributions, rising malnutrition and dwindling access to clean water, connectivity is a real lifeline for families in Gaza,' she said.
Toronto Star
a day ago
- Toronto Star
Catholics call for environmental action at Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian Catholic worshippers laid down an eco-friendly carpet in front of the world-famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and called for the protection of the environment ahead of UN climate talks in the Amazon. Tapestries are a fixture of the Corpus Christi religious feast when Catholics celebrate what they believe is the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Catholics call for environmental action at Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian Catholic worshippers laid down an eco-friendly carpet in front of the world-famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and called for the protection of the environment ahead of UN climate talks in the Amazon. Tapestries are a fixture of the Corpus Christi religious feast when Catholics celebrate what they believe is the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This year, the colorful carpet was made from approximately 460 kilos (1,014 pounds) of recycled plastic caps. Over the past few years the Christ the Redeemer sanctuary has increasingly used the attention the iconic statue generates to spotlight environmental concerns. 'These caps could be polluting the environment. Today they're here as a carpet,' said Marcos Martins, environmental manager and educator at the sanctuary. 'It's the circular economy: we take the material, we're reusing it here and then we're going to reuse it again with an exhibition.' Just after day break and before the first flock of tourists arrived Thursday, Cardinal Orani João Tempesta led celebrations at the site overlooking Guanabara Bay and Rio's famed Sugarloaf mountain. The caps are 'a good reminder of our co-responsibility with ecology, of our concern for the environment, which are very characteristic of Christ the Redeemer,' Rio's archbishop told journalists. Thursday's celebration also paid homage to the late Pope Francis and his Laudato Si', a landmark environmental encyclical in which he cast care for the environment in stark moral terms. In the papal letter Francis called for a bold cultural revolution to correct what he said was a 'structurally perverse' economic system in which the rich exploited the poor, turning Earth into a pile of 'filth' in the process. 'The COP30 is coming up and we've just had the U.N. Ocean Conference. Nothing makes more sense than Christ being a great spokesperson for this issue,' said Carlos Lins, the sanctuary's marketing director. Earlier this month, the sanctuary held workshops, discussion groups and actions focusing on environmental preservation. The statue — perched on the Corcovado mountain — is itself located in the Tijuca National Park. Brazil has been hit by a series of environmental disasters in recent years, including severe droughts in the Amazon, wildfires in the Pantanal and flooding in the south. This week heavy rains killed at least two people in the southern region Rio Grande do Sul, just over a year after it was hit by the worst flooding on record. Scientists say extreme weather is happening more frequently due to human-caused climate change. ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
