Israeli Attacks Kill 44 Palestinians in Gaza, UN Warns of Water Shortage
CAIRO/GENEVA, June 20 (Reuters) – Israeli fire killed at least 44 Palestinians in Gaza on Friday, many who were seeking food aid, local officials said, while the United Nations' children's agency said the scarcity of drinking water was at a crisis point.
At least 25 people awaiting aid trucks were killed by Israeli action south of Netzarim in central Gaza, the Hamas-run local health authority said.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs a month-old U.S.-backed food distribution system, operates an aid site there, and aid trucks from other organisations including the U.N. also move through the area.
Commenting on the incident, the Israeli military said troops fired warning shots at suspected militants who advanced in a crowd towards them. Israeli aircraft then fired a missile and 'eliminated the suspects,' it said in a statement.
The military said it was aware that people other than the suspected militants were hurt and it was conducting a review. GHF said the incident did not occur at or near its distribution location.
Separately, Gaza medics said at least 19 other people were killed in Israeli military strikes across the enclave on Friday, including 12 people in a house in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile the U.N.'s children's agency UNICEF warned in Geneva that a shortage of fuel to operate wells and desalination plants in Gaza meant the enclave 'is facing what would amount to a man-made drought.'
'Children will begin to die of thirst … Just 40% of drinking water production facilities remain functional,' UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters. 'We are way below emergency standards in terms of drinking water.'
UNICEF also reported a 50% increase in children aged six months to 5 years admitted for treatment of malnutrition from April to May in Gaza, and half a million people going hungry.
FOOD AID
In a statement, Hamas, which says Israel uses hunger as a weapon against Gaza's civiians, accused Israel of systematically targeting Palestinians seeking food. Israel denies this and contends Hamas steals aid, which the group denies.
In recent weeks, Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on Palestinians gathered at aid distribution points, resulting in dozens of civilian deaths and injuries. Humanitarian groups say the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation system forces people to risk their lives by entering combat zones to access food.
Israel has said its actions were necessary to control crowds that posed a threat to its troops or to prevent breaches of restricted zones. But witnesses and human rights groups say many of the shootings appeared unprovoked and occurred without warning.
UNICEF said GHF was 'making a desperate situation worse'. GHF said in a statement on Thursday it had so far distributed nearly three million meals across three of its aid sites without incident.
The Red Cross said the 'vast majority' of patients that arrived at its Gaza field hospital during mass casualty incidents since the GHF aid system launched on May 27 had reported that they were wounded while trying to access aid at or around distribution points.
The Gaza war was triggered when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 55,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, while displacing almost the entire population of more than 2 million and causing a hunger crisis.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
9 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Israeli Attacks Kill 44 Palestinians in Gaza, UN Warns of Water Shortage
CAIRO/GENEVA, June 20 (Reuters) – Israeli fire killed at least 44 Palestinians in Gaza on Friday, many who were seeking food aid, local officials said, while the United Nations' children's agency said the scarcity of drinking water was at a crisis point. At least 25 people awaiting aid trucks were killed by Israeli action south of Netzarim in central Gaza, the Hamas-run local health authority said. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs a month-old U.S.-backed food distribution system, operates an aid site there, and aid trucks from other organisations including the U.N. also move through the area. Commenting on the incident, the Israeli military said troops fired warning shots at suspected militants who advanced in a crowd towards them. Israeli aircraft then fired a missile and 'eliminated the suspects,' it said in a statement. The military said it was aware that people other than the suspected militants were hurt and it was conducting a review. GHF said the incident did not occur at or near its distribution location. Separately, Gaza medics said at least 19 other people were killed in Israeli military strikes across the enclave on Friday, including 12 people in a house in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip. Meanwhile the U.N.'s children's agency UNICEF warned in Geneva that a shortage of fuel to operate wells and desalination plants in Gaza meant the enclave 'is facing what would amount to a man-made drought.' 'Children will begin to die of thirst … Just 40% of drinking water production facilities remain functional,' UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters. 'We are way below emergency standards in terms of drinking water.' UNICEF also reported a 50% increase in children aged six months to 5 years admitted for treatment of malnutrition from April to May in Gaza, and half a million people going hungry. FOOD AID In a statement, Hamas, which says Israel uses hunger as a weapon against Gaza's civiians, accused Israel of systematically targeting Palestinians seeking food. Israel denies this and contends Hamas steals aid, which the group denies. In recent weeks, Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on Palestinians gathered at aid distribution points, resulting in dozens of civilian deaths and injuries. Humanitarian groups say the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation system forces people to risk their lives by entering combat zones to access food. Israel has said its actions were necessary to control crowds that posed a threat to its troops or to prevent breaches of restricted zones. But witnesses and human rights groups say many of the shootings appeared unprovoked and occurred without warning. UNICEF said GHF was 'making a desperate situation worse'. GHF said in a statement on Thursday it had so far distributed nearly three million meals across three of its aid sites without incident. The Red Cross said the 'vast majority' of patients that arrived at its Gaza field hospital during mass casualty incidents since the GHF aid system launched on May 27 had reported that they were wounded while trying to access aid at or around distribution points. The Gaza war was triggered when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 55,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, while displacing almost the entire population of more than 2 million and causing a hunger crisis.
Japan Today
15 hours ago
- Japan Today
Israeli strikes kill 44 Palestinians in Gaza
A mourner reacts next to a covered body, during the funeral of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire yesterday, while they sought aid in northern Gaza, according to Gaza's health ministry, at Al-Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, June 19, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Olivia Le Poidevin Israeli fire killed at least 44 Palestinians in Gaza on Friday, many of whom had been trying to get food, local officials said, while the United Nations' children's agency warned of a looming man-made drought in the enclave as its water systems collapse. At least 25 people awaiting aid trucks were killed by Israeli fire south of Netzarim in central Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run local health authority said. Asked by Reuters about the incident, the Israel Defense Force said its troops had fired warning shots at suspected militants who advanced in a crowd towards them. An Israeli aircraft then "struck and eliminated the suspects", it said in a statement, adding that it was aware of others being hurt in the incident and was conducting a review. Separately, Gazan medics said at least 19 others were killed in other Israeli military strikes across the enclave, including 12 people in a house in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip, taking Friday's total death toll to at least 44. In a statement on Friday, the Islamist Hamas group, which says Israel is using hunger as a weapon against the population of Gaza, accused Israel of systematically targeting Palestinians seeking food aid across the enclave. Israel denies this and accuses Hamas of stealing food aid, which the group denies. Meanwhile UNICEF, the U.N.'s children's agency, warned in Geneva of drought conditions developing in Gaza. "Children will begin to die of thirst ... Just 40% of drinking water production facilities remain functional," UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters. "We are way below emergency standards in terms of drinking water." UNICEF also reported a 50% increase in children aged six months to 5 years admitted for treatment of malnutrition from April to May in Gaza, and half a million people going hungry. FOOD AID Elder, who was recently in Gaza, said he had many testimonials of women and children injured while trying to receive food aid, including a young boy who was wounded by a tank shell and later died of his injuries. A lack of public clarity on when the sites - some of which are in combat zones - are open is causing mass casualty events, he added. The route near Netzarim has become dangerous since the start of a new U.S.-backed aid distribution system run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), witnesses told Reuters, with desperate Gazans heading to a designated area late at night to try and get something from aid supplies due to be handed out after dawn. The route has also been used by aid trucks sent by the United Nations and aid groups, and people have also been heading there in the hope of grabbing bags off trucks. UNICEF said GHF was "making a desperate situation worse". On Thursday, at least 70 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes, including 12 people who tried to approach a site operated by the GHF in the central Gaza Strip. In an email to Reuters, GHF accused Gazan health officials of regularly releasing inaccurate information. It said Palestinians do not access the nearby GHF site via the Netzarim corridor. The statement did not address a question about whether GHF was aware of Thursday's incident. The GHF said in a statement on Thursday it had so far distributed nearly three million meals across three of its aid sites without incident. The Red Cross told Reuters that the "vast majority" of patients that arrived at its Field Hospital during mass casualty incidents had reported that they were wounded while trying to access aid, at or around aid distribution points. Between May 27 and Thursday, the aid group received 1,874 patients wounded by weapons, according to Red Cross figures. The Gaza war was triggered when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 55,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, while displacing almost the entire population of more than 2 million and causing a hunger crisis. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
NHK
2 days ago
- NHK
UNICEF: 50,000 children in Gaza have died or been injured since Oct. 2023
A senior official of the United Nations Children's Fund says 50,000 children in the Gaza Strip have died or been injured since fighting between Israel and Hamas erupted in October 2023. UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Kitty van der Heijden made the comment in an exclusive interview with NHK in Tokyo on Thursday. She noted that there is increasing malnutrition in Gaza and a medical care system on the verge of collapse. Van der Heijden said personnel of UN-led aid delivery programs have been ''unable to reach children that need us'' since Israel imposed a complete blockade in March. She called on all parties to the conflict to stop the violence and allow UN staff to resume aid deliveries in Gaza "so that children finally can find a little bit of hope." Van der Heijden described the current global situation as ''the worst time to be a child.'' She said one in every six children in the world ''is either living in conflict or running away" from it, which is unprecedented in the history of UNICEF. Regarding the conflict between Israel and Iran, van der Heijden said children on both sides have died and suffered injuries. She added that UNICEF, along with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, is calling on the two countries to exercise the maximum restraint.
