'Simply apocalyptic' and 'too risky': Papers react to Gaza aid distribution deaths
With the press focused on news of the ongoing war between Israel and Iran, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is deteriorating. The New York Times reports that seeking aid has gotten "just too risky" for some Gazans. "I'll never try again" reads the headline, quoting a Palestinian man who says he saw many dead and injured people while trying to get aid. He tried to get supplies twice and didn't manage to get anything both times, the paper reports. According to The New York Times, more than 70 Palestinians were killed on Monday and Tuesday while trying to reach aid distribution points. Left-wing French daily Le Monde headlines with "In Gaza, humiliation and death to get food". The paper says that dozens of people die every day while trying to reach aid. The paper then talks about a video filmed on June 11 of starving Gazans on their feet for hours, waiting for the start of the aid distribution. When it finally begins, Le Monde describes an image of a "wild, desperate stampede". An Israeli activist interviewed by the paper describes the video as "simply apocalyptic", saying that "this is the hell we've created in Gaza". Finally, the British daily The Guardian has an editorial on what it calls "Gaza's engineered famine". "Stop arming the slaughter – or lose the rule of law", writes the paper. It says that while Palestinians starve, Western governments "defend Israel and dismantle the very rules they claim to uphold".
We turn next to Kosovo, where it's been 26 years after the massacre carried out by Serbs in Pristina during the 1998-1999 war. Balkan Insight reports in collaboration with the BIRN (Balkan Investigative Reporting Network) that the trial over the Pristina massacre finally started on Monday. The analysis says it's still unclear whether justice is being served. Many of the defendants didn't show up in court and are being tried in absentia because they are out of reach to the Kosovo authorities. The paper says there is almost no judicial cooperation with the Serbian legal authorities. Pristina Insight reports that one Serb has since been found guilty of wartime rape of an ethnic Albanian woman. He has been sentenced to 15 years in jail. The trial was held behind closed doors to protect the victim's identity. The paper says that few wartime rape survivors in Kosovo have spoken out about what they went through because of the social stigma around sexual abuse that remains hard to break.
In Brazil, actions threatening the Amazon contradict President Lula's environmental promises. The Conversation writes about Brazil's "bill of devastation" that's pushing the Amazon towards a tipping point in terms of temperature and longer dry seasons. The bill has Lula's implicit approval, despite his climate ambitions. The bill is said to relieve "low-impact projects" of unnecessary bureaucracy. But the paper says it will allow the state to attract investment by loosening environmental restrictions. Another project is putting the river in danger. French left-wing L'Humanité reports that Brazil is auctioning off oil and gas concessions "to the delight of the oil and gas industry". The concessions will be around the mouth of the Amazon River. Environmentalists believe that Brazil's credibility on climate issues has been seriously damaged and thatLula is betting on oil and gas expansion to stimulate economic growth.
Finally, Brad Pitt has been working on a new film with a straightforward title: F1: The Movie. The Telegraph calls it Pitt's new 'spectacular racing drama' that's like "Barbie for Dads". Pitt's pre-premiere fashion is also dividing the papers The Times calls it "Brad's midlife crisis wardrobe" and according to Harper's Bazaar, he has unleashed his "inner fashion guy" with his latest outfits – velvet blue vest, an all-yellow fit and a tie-dye ensemble.
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