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Egypt Independent
4 days ago
- Health
- Egypt Independent
Dozens killed by Israeli fire as they sought desperately needed aid in Gaza, Palestinian health ministry says
CNN — At least 51 people were killed and more than 200 others injured by Israeli fire as they waited for aid trucks to arrive in Khan Younis in southern Gaza early Tuesday morning, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said. The incident marks the highest reported number of people killed while seeking aid over the past few weeks in the enclave. In total, nearly 400 Palestinians have been killed near aid centers since Israel lifted an 11-week total blockade on Gaza and allowed a trickle of aid to enter, according to the health ministry. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a Tuesday statement that 'a gathering was identified adjacent to an aid distribution truck that got stuck in the area of Khan Younis, and in proximity to IDF troops operating in the area.' The IDF said it was 'aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals from IDF fire following the crowd's approach,' that 'details of the incident are under review,' and that it 'regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible to them while maintaining the safety of our troops.' One eyewitness, Mohammed Abu Abed, said that a group of people was hit by an airstrike. He told CNN: 'We were waiting for flour trucks. Suddenly, we were among the people and were hit by two missiles that tore apart people's bodies, remains, pieces of flesh everywhere. I don't know what to say; they killed the people, unarmed people who had nothing on them.' Wounded Palestinians are brought to Nasser Medical Complex, in southern Gaza, on June 17, 2025. Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu/Getty Images 'They went to bring bread for their children, just bread or flour. They killed us in cold blood,' Abu Abed said. The IDF told CNN it was 'unaware' of an airstrike in that area on Tuesday. Video from the scene in Khan Younis on Tuesday shows dozens of bodies lying on the ground, covered in blood. The latest scenes of death, violence and desperation underline a grim existence for over 2.1 million people living in Gaza – which the United Nations has warned is edging closer to famine. Humanitarian organizations say that aid currently entering the enclave is only a tiny fraction of what is needed, with the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – the main supplier of aid in Gaza – coming under global scrutiny since it opened its distribution points late last month. Palestinians en route to GHF distribution sites have repeatedly been fired upon since its inception, according to the health ministry, with some 3,000 people injured in addition to the fatalities. On Tuesday, eight people were also killed after coming under Israeli fire near an aid distribution site west of Rafah, the ministry said. The GHF denied media reports that Tuesday's incident had occurred at one of the Foundation's distribution sites, calling the reports 'categorically untrue.' 'To date, not a single incident has occurred at or in the surrounding vicinity of GHF sites nor has an incident occurred during our operating hours,' GHF said. The GHF, an Israeli-US backed private contractor, has been criticized by multiple international aid agencies for setting up its distribution centers amid active combat zones. The organization has repeatedly said there has been no violence at their sites. But the GHF acknowledged earlier this month that there have been Palestinian casualties in the surrounding areas, which the organization described as 'well beyond our secure distribution site.' A spokesman referred further questions to the Israeli military. The IDF has not yet responded to CNN's question on Tuesday's incident in Rafah. On Tuesday, Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on X: 'Israel has weaponized food and blocked lifesaving aid. I urge immediate, impartial investigations into deadly attacks on desperate civilians trying to reach food distribution centres.' One of those killed in Khan Younis on Tuesday was a 20-year-old man, who had traveled there in hope of returning with food for his family. Speaking through tears, his mother said: 'He didn't go for a picnic. He went to bring food for his siblings and father.' A young Palestinian, who was injured while seeking aid, is treated at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Tuesday. AFP/Getty Images Nearby, at Nasser Medical Complex, hospital staff said that the entire ward was crowded with casualties. Video from the hospital showed dozens of people arriving with wounds, with others inside the hospital waiting for treatment as they laid on the floor. One intensive care doctor told Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), an aid organization based in the United Kingdom, that the hospital had received on Tuesday 'a large number of injured and killed from the Israeli army's targeting of aid distribution points in Khan Younis.' 'The situation here is catastrophic beyond imagination,' the doctor said, adding that the morgue was completely full and that additional bodies had been placed outside the building. 'We are trying our best, but the numbers are overwhelming,' he said. CNN's Oren Liebermann contributing reporting.
Egypt Independent
01-06-2025
- Health
- Egypt Independent
At least 31 Palestinians killed after Israeli forces open fire near Gaza aid distribution center, health workers say
CNN — At least 31 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured amid chaotic scenes at an aid distribution site run by a US-backed private foundation in southern Gaza on Sunday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The health ministry blamed the Israeli military for the deaths. Some witnesses claimed that security personnel at the distribution hub had also opened fire. The health ministry said that more than 200 casualties had reached hospitals, including dozens with serious injuries. It added that all those killed had been shot in the head or chest. In a brief response to a CNN inquiry, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was 'unaware of injuries caused by IDF fire within the Humanitarian Aid distribution site. The matter is still under review.' It added that 'there were no casualties among our forces.' 'Crowds of citizens headed to receive food aid' from the site in the Rafah area when Israeli forces opened fire, said a paramedic from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), the only medical professionals present in the area. But the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which runs the site, told CNN: 'There was no gunfire in the (distribution) center and also not in the surrounding area.' The GHF is a private foundation backed by Israel and the US. It was set up amid Israeli accusations that Hamas is stealing aid in Gaza and profiting from sales, though Israel hasn't presented any evidence publicly. Humanitarian organizations say there is no evidence of this. An injured man is brought to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis on Sunday, after Israeli forces reportedly opened fire near an aid distribution center in southern Gaza. Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu/Getty Images United Nations aid agencies have criticized the GHF's aid mechanism, saying it violates humanitarian principles and raises the risks for Palestinians. UN aid groups, such as UNRWA, typically check identification and rely on a database of registered families when distributing aid. But the GHF is not screening Palestinians at aid distribution sites, despite Israeli officials saying that additional security measures were a core reason for the creation of the new program. Palestinians carry boxes and bags containing food and humanitarian aid, delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Khan Younis, on Sunday. Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Criticism has been mounting against both Israel and the GHF after chaos broke out last week when tens of thousands of starving Palestinians arrived at two new food distribution sites. According to Palestinian Ministry of Health figures from before Sunday's incident, 11 people have been killed and dozens injured since the aid distribution sites have opened. The GHF said on Thursday that no one had been killed or injured since the distribution of aid began last week. In a statement issued earlier Sunday, before CNN reached out about the incident in Rafah, the GHF said it would 'continue scaling, with plans to build additional sites across Gaza, including in the northern region, in the weeks ahead.' The statement added that it had provided more than 4.7 million meals in six days, including delivering 16 truckloads of food on Sunday morning, providing over 887,000 meals. However, a mixed picture appears on the ground, with claims of the aid distributed believed to be inaccurate. Aid was distributed 'without incident,' read the GHF statement, with the group adding it was 'aware of rumors being actively fomented by Hamas suggesting deaths and injuries today.' This is a developing story and will be updated.
The Intercept
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Intercept
How to Write About Palestine
A man carries a dead child at Nasser Hospital, Khan Yunis, Gaza on May 24, 2025. Photo:Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu/Getty Images Begin on October 7th, 2023. Nothing important happened before this date. History began on October 7th. Never say the word occupation and avoid using terms like, 'apartheid,' 'segregation' and 'illegal settlements.' Avoid writing about the wall. If you do, preface its existence by talking about terrorism and security. Terrorism and security are very important words. Use them a lot in reference to Palestinians. Remind your audience that Palestine is a 'complicated' situation. Avoid the word genocide — for legal and technical reasons of course. If you must use the word, put it in quotes. Do not describe the escalation of Israeli hostility as an assault on the people of Gaza. Instead, use words like 'war,' and 'conflict,' because that makes it easier to avoid the g-word. When reporting on the dead, always use the passive voice and don't mention how they were killed, or by whom. As often as possible remind your readers of October 7th . When writing about Palestinians, do not forget to center Israeli feelings. Although the Israeli miliary is dropping bombs and killing Palestinians, the real story is about the persecution of Israelis in the wake of October 7th. Avoid making everything even more complicated pointing out that antisemitism is a European invention. Writing about Palestine mainly involves writing about Hamas. Writing about Hamas is almost as important as writing about October 7th. Hamas is a person, a thing, a monster, a ghost. Hamas is in every home. Hamas is in tunnels and hospitals. Hamas is in tents sleeping next to patients in wheelchairs. Hamas is in ambulances that are buried with paramedics. Hamas infiltrated World Food Kitchen and all the soup kitchens and schools, even the children's souls have been infiltrated by Hamas. Palestinian children try to get a ration of hot food from a charity kitchen set up at a camp for displaced people in Gaza City, on May 21, 2025. Photo: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images The October 7th Hamas attack can be described in any of the following ways: horrific brutal gruesome murderous shocking atrocious harrowing graphic terrifying On the other hand, when writing about attacks on Palestinians no adjectives should be used. It's better to simply write something like, 'More than 90 killed in Gaza strikes.' You do not want readers to think you're taking a side. When writing about Palestine, do not let facts get in the way of telling a good story. To this end, ignore Palestinian sources. They may be biased. On the other hand, the Israeli military is a highly credible source of information. If the Israeli army says nothing happened, then nothing happened. When the army claims their troops didn't rape Palestinian women or use civilians as human shields, or shoot children in the head with sniper guns, continue to publish their denials without comment. Linking countries that fund weapons to the armies that use them fosters transparency. So, when you write about attacks on Tel Aviv, it is important to mention that the missiles were fired by Iran-backed Hezbollah. Do the same when you write about the Houthis. Do not follow the same protocols when it comes to Israel. The American-backed Israeli army makes its own decisions about when to drop American and British bombs. When talking about Muslim communities, throw around phrases like 'terrorist hotbed,' and 'Hamas sympathizers.' This works even when those communities are in the UK or America. Repeatedly demonize people who peacefully protest for Palestine. Center the voices of people living in Western countries who feel unsafe when they hear the phrase 'from the river to the sea.' Don't ask your readers to imagine how unsafe children actually living, wounded and dying in Gaza and the West Bank feel. Do not ask them to think about whether mothers feel safe as they enter labor. Do not write one single paragraph asking whether fathers burying their children have a right to feel unsafe in Gaza. When writing about Palestine, try not to zoom into individual stories or write about the intimate details of people's lives. Keep your focus on Hamas militants. In fact, when writing about Palestine try not to interview Palestinians at all. They might be Hamas or Hamas sympathizers. If you must interview a Palestinian, always begin by asking them to condemn October 7th. After this, be sure to ask them to confirm that Israel has a right to exist. Ask the same leading questions of anyone who looks like an Arab, or is Muslim, or who seems to sympathize with Palestinians. Sometimes they will throw the question back at you and ask if you think Palestine has a right to exist. Ignore this line of questioning as it only leads to trouble. When all else fails, remember: Begin on October 7th, 2023. Nothing important happened before this date. History began on October 7th. This piece borrows its satirical form from How to Write About Africa by the late Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina . Many of the details and critiques of the media examples are from the excellent report put out by the Australian Islamophobia Register in December 2023. Written by Dr Susan Carland, A War of Words: Preliminary Media Analysis of the Gaza War is a great resource. There are many articles online that can help you read more critically. Search 'media bias Palestine' and you'll find dozens of reports.
CBS News
27-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Death toll in Gaza rises to 52,000, territory's health ministry says, as Israel continues offensive
Palestinian officials said the war in Gaza has killed more than 52,000 people, as Israel continues its renewed offensive on the territory after ending its ceasefire with Hamas in March. The overall toll of 52,243 includes nearly 700 bodies for which the documentation process was recently completed, the Hamas-run health ministry said in its latest update. It comes after the hospitals in the Gaza Strip received the remains of 51 Palestinians over the past 24 hours, who were killed in Israeli strikes. Palestinians and civil defense teams conduct search and rescue operations in the damaged areas following the Israeli army's attack on settlements west of the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on April 27, 2025. Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas, a designated terrorist group by the U.S. and Israel, by launching a surprise bombardment on the territory on March 18 and has since been carrying out daily waves of strikes. Ground forces have expanded a buffer zone and encircled the southern city of Rafah, and now control around 50% of the territory. Israel has also sealed off the territory's 2 million Palestinians from all imports, including food and medicine, for nearly 60 days. Aid groups say supplies will soon run out and that thousands of children are malnourished. Palestinians are now mainly living off canned vegetables, rice, pasta and lentils. Meat, milk, cheese and fruit have disappeared. Bread and eggs are scarce. The few vegetables or other items in the market have skyrocketed in price, unaffordable for most. The Al-Najjar family eats peas with rice in their family tent in Muwasi, on the outskirts of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Friday, April, 25, 2025. Abdel Kareem Hana / AP "We can't get anything that provides any protein or nutrients," Mariam al-Najjar said. Israeli authorities say the renewed offensive and tightened blockade are aimed at pressuring Hamas to release hostages abducted in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed or disarmed, and all the hostages are returned. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as called for in the now-defunct ceasefire reached in January. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday that talks with Hamas in recent days had shown the group is more open to an agreement that goes beyond a ceasefire and aims for a lasting resolution with Israel, Reuters reported. This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising following explosions inside the Palestinian territory on April 27, 2025. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and took 251 people hostage. Most have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Gaza's Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, says women and children make up most of the Palestinian deaths but does not say how many were militants or civilians. It says another 117,600 people have been wounded in the war. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. The military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and it blames Hamas for their deaths because the militants operate in densely populated areas. Israel jets strike Lebanon Israel jets struck Beirut's southern suburbs Sunday after issuing a warning about an hour earlier, marking the third Israeli strike on the area since a ceasefire took effect in late November. There were no immediate reports of casualties. In the warning, the Israeli military said it was targeting Hezbollah facilities in the Hadath area and urged residents to move at least 300 meters from the site before the strike. Two warning strikes followed. In a statement following the strike, the Israeli military said it targeted a precision-guided missile storage facility for Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorist organization designated by the U.S. and Israel. It added that storing such equipment is a violation of the agreement reached to end the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Hezbollah has not responded to the strikes. Smoke billows from Israeli strikes following evacuation orders in Beirut's southern suburb on April 27, 2025. -/AFP via Getty Images President Joseph Aoun condemned the Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, calling on the United States and France, as guarantors of the ceasefire, to "assume their responsibilities" and pressure Israel to halt its attacks. He warned that Israel's continued actions "undermine stability" and risk exposing the region to serious security threats. During the last Israel-Hezbollah conflict, Israeli drones and fighter jets regularly pounded the southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has wide influence and support. Israel views the area, where it has assassinated several of Hezbollah's top leaders, including chief Hassan Nasrallah last September, as a militant stronghold, and accuses the group of storing weapons there. Sunday's strike follows two earlier attacks on the capital's southern suburbs, the first taking place on March 28, when Israel also issued a warning, and the second on April 1, when an unannounced strike killed four people, including a Hezbollah official. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Kassem recently warned that if Israel's attacks on Lebanon continued and if Lebanon's government doesn't act to stop them, the group would eventually resort to other alternatives. Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that ended the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war, Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw from all Lebanese territory by late January, while Hezbollah had to end its armed presence south of the Litani River along the border with Israel.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Was Never Going to Last
Palestinians are among the rubbles of their houses in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on Tuesday, March 18, after Israel launched a wave of airstrikes. Credit - Abed Rahim Khatib—Anadolu/Getty Images The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas negotiated in mid-January seems to have been written on tissue. It frayed midway through the first of three phases, when Israel declined to negotiate for the second phase. Since then, it was only a countdown until the first hours of Tuesday morning, when the Israel Defense Forces executed a swift and punishing series of airstrikes throughout Gaza. By Thursday, the IDF's ground operation got underway with a three-part pincer move, operating in the north of Gaza, in the Strip's midriff around the Netzarim corridor (from which it had redeployed as part of the deal), and in Rafah in southern Gaza. At least 400 Gazans were killed on the first day of strikes, in what was one of the deadliest single-day tolls of the war, the Associated Press reported. The toll climbed to as many as 700 by Friday, according to Palestinian health officials. Social media is awash in photos of dead babies. The IDF says it is routing out terror infrastructure and picking off specific Hamas military and political leaders; Palestinians say they are taking down anyone in the vicinity. Hamas and the Houthis have revived rocket fire at Israel. Where is all this leading? Ironically, it was much easier to predict where things would go two months ago, when the ceasefire deal was agreed, than it is now. From the moment the details of the agreement became known, analysts gave the deal a poor prognosis. The first phase involved the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, while the two sides suspended the fighting and Israel withdrew from heavily populated areas and from the Netzarim corridor. The second phase was to include a sustainable ceasefire and full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and further hostage and prisoner release. The third phase would have ended the war and seen the release of the remains of Israeli captives and Palestinians. But there were two signs that the deal would never reach beyond its first phase. Read More: A Roadmap to Lasting Peace Between Israelis and Palestinians The first was that leaders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's most important coalition partners, the Religious Zionist and Jewish Power parties, made clear that they would bolt the coalition if the fighting stopped—they want to capture and resettle Gaza. When the deal was finally signed, Itamar Ben Gvir, who runs Jewish Power, resigned from Netanyahu's government, weakening his coalition. Betzalel Smotrich, who runs the Religious Zionist party, remained in government but insisted that Israel must restart the war or he too would leave—which would mean scrapping either the deal or the government. The second was Israel's history of decision-making, particularly when it comes to Palestinians: Phased deals don't usually work. Case in point is the phased, conditional Oslo peace process during the 1990s that Palestinians saw as a path to an eventual Palestinian state and a permanent end to the conflict, neither of which materialized. Did Hamas want to complete the current ceasefire deal more than Israel? Most likely yes. Gaza is in ruins, nearly 50,000 people have been killed in the war, and polls show that Palestinian hostility toward Hamas has risen. The group holds two main cards for credibility among Palestinians: forcing Israel to release Palestinian prisoners, and being the only Palestinian faction able to end the war. Beyond that, Hamas' only recourse to staying in power is brute force. The first phase of the ceasefire went through. But then Israel declined to open negotiations for the second phase, after Trump took office and began talking about expelling 2 million Palestinians in Gaza. Netanyahu became emboldened to resist the second phase; Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff began negotiating that phase seemingly from scratch, introducing a new ceasefire plan different from the one both sides agreed to in January. Now Netanyahu is facing an avalanche of domestic political crises. There is a budget deadline this month that could sink his government; mass street protests have resumed, with tens of thousands calling for a new ceasefire and criticizing Netanyahu for failing to get the remaining hostages home. Israelis on some level have known more conflict was coming. A February poll by the Institute for National Security Studies found just 40% thought the deal would reach the second phase; more thought the chances were low (46%). Yet no one knows what happens next. How long will this resurgent war go on? Israel hasn't been able to eliminate Hamas nor secure the release of most hostages through military pressure throughout the war—why would it be able to do so now? Do exhausted Israeli reservists have the morale for a forever war, and does a forever war lead to a complete military re-occupation of Gaza, alongside the continued expansion of settlements and de facto annexation in the West Bank? If the Israeli government has answers, it's not saying. For its part, will Hamas accept a U.S.-backed 'bridge plan' to restore the ceasefire and extend it into April, to allow time for continued negotiations? Or will Israeli demands to simply release all hostages and oust Hamas under heavy military pressure work this time around? There is a better path: ending the occupation through Palestinian self-determination and statehood, possibly anchored in regional normalization deals between Israel and Arab states. That would guarantee Israel's security and contribute greatly to a more peaceful Middle East. But those with the power to make peace a reality, apparently prefer to make war. Contact us at letters@
