Latest news with #GazaHealthMinistry
BreakingNews.ie
2 hours ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Palestinian chef Sami Tamimi: I want to bring the spotlight to the food and people of my country
Chef and author Sami Tamimi says his mission is to 'keep talking about Palestine', its food, culture and people. 'It helps it not to disappear,' says the 57-year-old, 'as a Palestinian who has a voice, as a food writer, I feel that we must use all the tools we have to keep it alive.' Advertisement Palestinian food is 'very important' to promote, he believes, 'because we've been erased'. Israel's military campaign since October 2023 has killed over 55,300 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It came after the Hamas group's attack on southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. 'It's horrific, it's totally heartbreaking what's happening. I feel slightly helpless in a way,' says the chef, well known for co-founding the Ottolenghi restaurant and deli group, and writing several books with Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi. (Ola O Smit/PA) He hopes the publication of his new cookbook, Boustany – translating to 'my garden' in Arabic, and focussing on vegetable dishes of Palestine and the dishes of his roots – will help in a small way to 'bring some spotlight on the country, the food, the people and the place'. Advertisement Born and raised in Jerusalem (Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since the 1967 war while Palestine claim the city as their capital), he says: 'A big chunk of the Tamimi family in Palestine as based in Hebron [in the southern West Bank], my mum's side,' he explains, and his grandparents' house was surrounded by a large 'boustan', a garden filled with fruits and vegetables that his grandmother meticulously tended to. Born in 1968, Tamimi says: 'My parents didn't talk about what happened a year before. I didn't speak Hebrew until 16 or 17 because there was no interaction between Palestinians and Israelis in Jerusalem.' He was one of seven, plus another five half siblings from his father's second marriage after his mother died in childbirth when he was just seven years old. Tamimi later lived in Tel Aviv for 12 years working in restaurants, before moving to the UK in 1997 – 'It was a bit weird for a Palestinian in Tel Aviv at the time,' he notes. Advertisement (Ola O Smit/PA) Tamimi happened to be visiting Jerusalem when the October 7 attacks occurred. 'I was on a work trip, everything happened two nights after I arrived. I was stuck there for a few days and I managed to [get] to the border to Jordan and get a flight back to London,' he says, 'I couldn't see my family, I had to leave because it was kind of unsafe.' And so, 'The responsibility of writing these recipes and stories has weighed heavily on my shoulders,' he writes in the book. Food and shared meal times is an enormous part of Palestinian culture, he explains. Known for their warm hospitality and strong community bonds, 'Palestinian homes are like, doors open and people are welcome to [care]. Before mobile phones, people just show up and it's really nice. [You] cook more than they need, because you never know if somebody's going to show up. You will always have to offer them food, even if they just come for a short visit. 'Everyone's kind of invited.' Advertisement And although his father cooked too, 'It's mainly females who cook in my culture so I wasn't exposed to cooking as a child – I had to train myself and learn how to cook. 'When I established myself as a chef, I realised that I wanted to cook Palestinian because it's really important to keep it alive first of all, and this is the food that I enjoyed eating as well and cooking. It's my culture, it's people, the place that I came from, it's my family, it's all of that.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sami Tamimi سامي التميمي (@sami_tamimi) Like the Middle Eastern cuisines of surrounding Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, Palestinian food is 'heavy on vegetables, grains, pulses, herbs, it's very connected to farming, to seasons, it's connected to the surroundings – people tend to forage quite a lot.' 'If you want to compare Lebanese to Palestinian cooking, Palestinian cooking is a bit more robust, and the flavouring is slightly more earthy.' Advertisement Grains and vegetables are transformed using ingredients including olive oil, garlic, lemon, sumac, zaatar, tahini, and different molasses, like grapes, dates and pomegranate. While sage, mallow, chicory, purslane, carob and cactus fruit are often foraged – a deeply traditional practice. While 'mooneh', translating to 'pantry' in Arabic, is the process of preserving seasonal goods, typically through drying and pickling. 'Summer is quite hot there so the season of vegetables and fruit is really short, so people find ways to preserve in the form of pickles, or nowadays they freeze quite a lot to keep things going for the rest of the year.' Couscous fritters with preserved lemon yoghurt are based on a dish his mum used to cook – 'Most recipes are based on memories' – and you're never too far from a dip in any Middle Eastern cuisine. Tamami transforms turnip tops by fermenting them for a creamy dip, and shows how to make green kishk, a fermented yoghurt and bulgar dip. Breakfasts are 'a treasured communal tradition,' he writes, and you'll still find the likes of olive oil, zaatar and tahini in the first meal of the day – 'in almost every meal' in fact. Big plates are traditionally laid out and shared, and he celebrates that with recipes like aubergine and fava beans with eggs, or cardamom pancakes with tahini, halva and carob. And sweet dishes – making use of the available fruit (think apricot, orange and almond cake, and sumac roast plums – are eaten all through the day. He smiles: 'I was lucky enough to grow up in Jerusalem where you can snack all day!' (Ebury/PA) Boustany by Sami Tamimi is published by Ebury. Photography by Ola O Smit. Available now
New Indian Express
9 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
UN: Violence against children in conflict reached 'unprecedented levels' in 2024, with Gaza worst
The U.N. kept Israeli forces on its blacklist of countries that violate children's rights for a second year, citing 7,188 verified grave violations by its military, including the killing of 1,259 Palestinian children and injury to 941 others in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry has reported much higher figures, but the U.N. has strict criteria and said its process of verification is ongoing. Guterres said he is 'appalled by the intensity of grave violations against children in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel,' and 'deeply alarmed' by the increase in violations, especially the high number of children killed by Israeli forces. He reiterated his calls on Israel to abide by international law requiring special protections for children, protection for schools and hospitals, and compliance with the requirement that attacks distinguish between combatants and civilians and avoid excessive harm to civilians. The U.N. also kept Hamas, whose surprise Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the blacklist. Israel's U.N. Mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In Congo, the U.N. reported 4,043 verified grave violations against 3,418 children last year. In Somalia, it reported 2,568 violations against 1,992 children. In Nigeria, 2,436 grave violations were reported against 1,037 children. And in Haiti, the U.N. reported 2,269 verified grave violations against 1,373 children. In the ongoing war following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations kept the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups on its blacklist for a third year. The secretary-general expressed deep concern at 'the sharp increase in grave violations against children in Ukraine' — 1,914 against 673 children. He expressed alarm at the violations by Russian forces and their affiliates, singling out their verified killing of 94 Ukrainian children, injury to 577 others, and 559 attacks on schools and 303 on hospitals. In Haiti, the U.N. put a gang, the Viv Ansanm coalition, on the blacklist for the first time. Gangs have grown in power since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. They are now estimated to control 85% of the capital and have moved into surrounding areas. In May, the U.S. designated the powerful coalition representing more than a dozen gangs, whose name means 'Living Together,' as a foreign terrorist organization. Secretary-General Guterres expressed deep 'alarm' at the surge in violations, especially incidents of gang recruitment and use, sexual violence, abduction and denial of humanitarian aid.
The Advertiser
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Gaza war pushes violence against children to new levels
Violence against children caught up in multiple and escalating conflicts reached "unprecedented levels" last year, with the highest number of violations in Gaza and the West Bank, Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti. The United Nations annual report on Children in Armed Conflict detailed "a staggering 25 per cent surge in grave violations" against children under the age of 18 from 2023, when the number of such violations rose by 21 per cent. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "Children bore the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks, and were affected by the disregard for ceasefires and peace agreements and by deepening humanitarian crises." He cited warfare strategies that included attacks on children, the deployment of increasingly destructive and explosive weapons in populated areas, and "the systematic exploitation of children for combat." Guterres said the United Nations verified 41,370 grave violations against children — 36,221 committed in 2024 and 5,149 committed earlier but verified last year. The violations include killing, maiming, recruiting and abducting children, sexual violence against them, attacking schools and hospitals and denying youngsters access to humanitarian aid. The UN kept Israeli forces on its blacklist of countries that violate children's rights for a second year, citing 7,188 verified grave violations by its military, including the killing of 1,259 Palestinian children and injury to 941 others in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry has reported much higher figures, but the UN has strict criteria and said its process of verification is ongoing. Guterres said he is "appalled by the intensity of grave violations against children in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel," and "deeply alarmed" by the increase in violations, especially the high number of children killed by Israeli forces. He reiterated his calls on Israel to abide by international law requiring special protections for children, protection for schools and hospitals, and compliance with the requirement that attacks distinguish between combatants and civilians and avoid excessive harm to civilians. The UN also kept Hamas, whose October 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the blacklist. In Congo, the UN reported 4,043 verified grave violations last year and 2,568 violations in Somalia. In Nigeria, 2,436 grave violations were reported. And in Haiti, the UN reported 2,269 verified grave violations. In the ongoing war following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations kept the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups on its blacklist for a third year. The secretary-general expressed deep concern at "the sharp increase in grave violations against children in Ukraine" — 1,914 against 673 children. He expressed alarm at the violations by Russian forces and their affiliates, singling out their verified killing of 94 Ukrainian children, injury to 577 others, and 559 attacks on schools and 303 on hospitals. In Haiti, the UN put a gang, the Viv Ansanm coalition, on the blacklist for the first time. Secretary-General Guterres expressed deep "alarm" at the surge in violations, especially incidents of gang recruitment and use, sexual violence, abduction and denial of humanitarian aid. The report said sexual violence jumped by 35 per cent in 2024, including a dramatic increase in the number of gang rapes, but stressed that the numbers are vastly underreported. "Girls were abducted for the purpose of recruitment and use, and for sexual slavery," the UN chief said. In Congo, the UN reported 358 acts of sexual violence against girls — 311 by armed groups and 47 by Congo's armed forces. And in Somalia, 267 children were victims of sexual violence, 120 of them carried out by Al-Shabab extremists. According to the report, armed groups were responsible for almost 50 per cent of the violations of children and government forces the main perpetrator of the killing and maiming of children, school attacks and denial of humanitarian access. "The cries of 22,495 innocent children who should be learning to read or play ball — but instead have been forced to learn how to survive gunfire and bombings — should keep all of us awake at night," said Virginia Gamba, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict. Violence against children caught up in multiple and escalating conflicts reached "unprecedented levels" last year, with the highest number of violations in Gaza and the West Bank, Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti. The United Nations annual report on Children in Armed Conflict detailed "a staggering 25 per cent surge in grave violations" against children under the age of 18 from 2023, when the number of such violations rose by 21 per cent. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "Children bore the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks, and were affected by the disregard for ceasefires and peace agreements and by deepening humanitarian crises." He cited warfare strategies that included attacks on children, the deployment of increasingly destructive and explosive weapons in populated areas, and "the systematic exploitation of children for combat." Guterres said the United Nations verified 41,370 grave violations against children — 36,221 committed in 2024 and 5,149 committed earlier but verified last year. The violations include killing, maiming, recruiting and abducting children, sexual violence against them, attacking schools and hospitals and denying youngsters access to humanitarian aid. The UN kept Israeli forces on its blacklist of countries that violate children's rights for a second year, citing 7,188 verified grave violations by its military, including the killing of 1,259 Palestinian children and injury to 941 others in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry has reported much higher figures, but the UN has strict criteria and said its process of verification is ongoing. Guterres said he is "appalled by the intensity of grave violations against children in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel," and "deeply alarmed" by the increase in violations, especially the high number of children killed by Israeli forces. He reiterated his calls on Israel to abide by international law requiring special protections for children, protection for schools and hospitals, and compliance with the requirement that attacks distinguish between combatants and civilians and avoid excessive harm to civilians. The UN also kept Hamas, whose October 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the blacklist. In Congo, the UN reported 4,043 verified grave violations last year and 2,568 violations in Somalia. In Nigeria, 2,436 grave violations were reported. And in Haiti, the UN reported 2,269 verified grave violations. In the ongoing war following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations kept the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups on its blacklist for a third year. The secretary-general expressed deep concern at "the sharp increase in grave violations against children in Ukraine" — 1,914 against 673 children. He expressed alarm at the violations by Russian forces and their affiliates, singling out their verified killing of 94 Ukrainian children, injury to 577 others, and 559 attacks on schools and 303 on hospitals. In Haiti, the UN put a gang, the Viv Ansanm coalition, on the blacklist for the first time. Secretary-General Guterres expressed deep "alarm" at the surge in violations, especially incidents of gang recruitment and use, sexual violence, abduction and denial of humanitarian aid. The report said sexual violence jumped by 35 per cent in 2024, including a dramatic increase in the number of gang rapes, but stressed that the numbers are vastly underreported. "Girls were abducted for the purpose of recruitment and use, and for sexual slavery," the UN chief said. In Congo, the UN reported 358 acts of sexual violence against girls — 311 by armed groups and 47 by Congo's armed forces. And in Somalia, 267 children were victims of sexual violence, 120 of them carried out by Al-Shabab extremists. According to the report, armed groups were responsible for almost 50 per cent of the violations of children and government forces the main perpetrator of the killing and maiming of children, school attacks and denial of humanitarian access. "The cries of 22,495 innocent children who should be learning to read or play ball — but instead have been forced to learn how to survive gunfire and bombings — should keep all of us awake at night," said Virginia Gamba, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict. Violence against children caught up in multiple and escalating conflicts reached "unprecedented levels" last year, with the highest number of violations in Gaza and the West Bank, Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti. The United Nations annual report on Children in Armed Conflict detailed "a staggering 25 per cent surge in grave violations" against children under the age of 18 from 2023, when the number of such violations rose by 21 per cent. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "Children bore the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks, and were affected by the disregard for ceasefires and peace agreements and by deepening humanitarian crises." He cited warfare strategies that included attacks on children, the deployment of increasingly destructive and explosive weapons in populated areas, and "the systematic exploitation of children for combat." Guterres said the United Nations verified 41,370 grave violations against children — 36,221 committed in 2024 and 5,149 committed earlier but verified last year. The violations include killing, maiming, recruiting and abducting children, sexual violence against them, attacking schools and hospitals and denying youngsters access to humanitarian aid. The UN kept Israeli forces on its blacklist of countries that violate children's rights for a second year, citing 7,188 verified grave violations by its military, including the killing of 1,259 Palestinian children and injury to 941 others in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry has reported much higher figures, but the UN has strict criteria and said its process of verification is ongoing. Guterres said he is "appalled by the intensity of grave violations against children in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel," and "deeply alarmed" by the increase in violations, especially the high number of children killed by Israeli forces. He reiterated his calls on Israel to abide by international law requiring special protections for children, protection for schools and hospitals, and compliance with the requirement that attacks distinguish between combatants and civilians and avoid excessive harm to civilians. The UN also kept Hamas, whose October 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the blacklist. In Congo, the UN reported 4,043 verified grave violations last year and 2,568 violations in Somalia. In Nigeria, 2,436 grave violations were reported. And in Haiti, the UN reported 2,269 verified grave violations. In the ongoing war following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations kept the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups on its blacklist for a third year. The secretary-general expressed deep concern at "the sharp increase in grave violations against children in Ukraine" — 1,914 against 673 children. He expressed alarm at the violations by Russian forces and their affiliates, singling out their verified killing of 94 Ukrainian children, injury to 577 others, and 559 attacks on schools and 303 on hospitals. In Haiti, the UN put a gang, the Viv Ansanm coalition, on the blacklist for the first time. Secretary-General Guterres expressed deep "alarm" at the surge in violations, especially incidents of gang recruitment and use, sexual violence, abduction and denial of humanitarian aid. The report said sexual violence jumped by 35 per cent in 2024, including a dramatic increase in the number of gang rapes, but stressed that the numbers are vastly underreported. "Girls were abducted for the purpose of recruitment and use, and for sexual slavery," the UN chief said. In Congo, the UN reported 358 acts of sexual violence against girls — 311 by armed groups and 47 by Congo's armed forces. And in Somalia, 267 children were victims of sexual violence, 120 of them carried out by Al-Shabab extremists. According to the report, armed groups were responsible for almost 50 per cent of the violations of children and government forces the main perpetrator of the killing and maiming of children, school attacks and denial of humanitarian access. "The cries of 22,495 innocent children who should be learning to read or play ball — but instead have been forced to learn how to survive gunfire and bombings — should keep all of us awake at night," said Virginia Gamba, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict. Violence against children caught up in multiple and escalating conflicts reached "unprecedented levels" last year, with the highest number of violations in Gaza and the West Bank, Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti. The United Nations annual report on Children in Armed Conflict detailed "a staggering 25 per cent surge in grave violations" against children under the age of 18 from 2023, when the number of such violations rose by 21 per cent. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "Children bore the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks, and were affected by the disregard for ceasefires and peace agreements and by deepening humanitarian crises." He cited warfare strategies that included attacks on children, the deployment of increasingly destructive and explosive weapons in populated areas, and "the systematic exploitation of children for combat." Guterres said the United Nations verified 41,370 grave violations against children — 36,221 committed in 2024 and 5,149 committed earlier but verified last year. The violations include killing, maiming, recruiting and abducting children, sexual violence against them, attacking schools and hospitals and denying youngsters access to humanitarian aid. The UN kept Israeli forces on its blacklist of countries that violate children's rights for a second year, citing 7,188 verified grave violations by its military, including the killing of 1,259 Palestinian children and injury to 941 others in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry has reported much higher figures, but the UN has strict criteria and said its process of verification is ongoing. Guterres said he is "appalled by the intensity of grave violations against children in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel," and "deeply alarmed" by the increase in violations, especially the high number of children killed by Israeli forces. He reiterated his calls on Israel to abide by international law requiring special protections for children, protection for schools and hospitals, and compliance with the requirement that attacks distinguish between combatants and civilians and avoid excessive harm to civilians. The UN also kept Hamas, whose October 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the blacklist. In Congo, the UN reported 4,043 verified grave violations last year and 2,568 violations in Somalia. In Nigeria, 2,436 grave violations were reported. And in Haiti, the UN reported 2,269 verified grave violations. In the ongoing war following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations kept the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups on its blacklist for a third year. The secretary-general expressed deep concern at "the sharp increase in grave violations against children in Ukraine" — 1,914 against 673 children. He expressed alarm at the violations by Russian forces and their affiliates, singling out their verified killing of 94 Ukrainian children, injury to 577 others, and 559 attacks on schools and 303 on hospitals. In Haiti, the UN put a gang, the Viv Ansanm coalition, on the blacklist for the first time. Secretary-General Guterres expressed deep "alarm" at the surge in violations, especially incidents of gang recruitment and use, sexual violence, abduction and denial of humanitarian aid. The report said sexual violence jumped by 35 per cent in 2024, including a dramatic increase in the number of gang rapes, but stressed that the numbers are vastly underreported. "Girls were abducted for the purpose of recruitment and use, and for sexual slavery," the UN chief said. In Congo, the UN reported 358 acts of sexual violence against girls — 311 by armed groups and 47 by Congo's armed forces. And in Somalia, 267 children were victims of sexual violence, 120 of them carried out by Al-Shabab extremists. According to the report, armed groups were responsible for almost 50 per cent of the violations of children and government forces the main perpetrator of the killing and maiming of children, school attacks and denial of humanitarian access. "The cries of 22,495 innocent children who should be learning to read or play ball — but instead have been forced to learn how to survive gunfire and bombings — should keep all of us awake at night," said Virginia Gamba, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict.
Perth Now
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Gaza war pushes violence against children to new levels
Violence against children caught up in multiple and escalating conflicts reached "unprecedented levels" last year, with the highest number of violations in Gaza and the West Bank, Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti. The United Nations annual report on Children in Armed Conflict detailed "a staggering 25 per cent surge in grave violations" against children under the age of 18 from 2023, when the number of such violations rose by 21 per cent. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "Children bore the brunt of relentless hostilities and indiscriminate attacks, and were affected by the disregard for ceasefires and peace agreements and by deepening humanitarian crises." He cited warfare strategies that included attacks on children, the deployment of increasingly destructive and explosive weapons in populated areas, and "the systematic exploitation of children for combat." Guterres said the United Nations verified 41,370 grave violations against children — 36,221 committed in 2024 and 5,149 committed earlier but verified last year. The violations include killing, maiming, recruiting and abducting children, sexual violence against them, attacking schools and hospitals and denying youngsters access to humanitarian aid. The UN kept Israeli forces on its blacklist of countries that violate children's rights for a second year, citing 7,188 verified grave violations by its military, including the killing of 1,259 Palestinian children and injury to 941 others in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry has reported much higher figures, but the UN has strict criteria and said its process of verification is ongoing. Guterres said he is "appalled by the intensity of grave violations against children in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel," and "deeply alarmed" by the increase in violations, especially the high number of children killed by Israeli forces. He reiterated his calls on Israel to abide by international law requiring special protections for children, protection for schools and hospitals, and compliance with the requirement that attacks distinguish between combatants and civilians and avoid excessive harm to civilians. The UN also kept Hamas, whose October 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the blacklist. In Congo, the UN reported 4,043 verified grave violations last year and 2,568 violations in Somalia. In Nigeria, 2,436 grave violations were reported. And in Haiti, the UN reported 2,269 verified grave violations. In the ongoing war following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations kept the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups on its blacklist for a third year. The secretary-general expressed deep concern at "the sharp increase in grave violations against children in Ukraine" — 1,914 against 673 children. He expressed alarm at the violations by Russian forces and their affiliates, singling out their verified killing of 94 Ukrainian children, injury to 577 others, and 559 attacks on schools and 303 on hospitals. In Haiti, the UN put a gang, the Viv Ansanm coalition, on the blacklist for the first time. Secretary-General Guterres expressed deep "alarm" at the surge in violations, especially incidents of gang recruitment and use, sexual violence, abduction and denial of humanitarian aid. The report said sexual violence jumped by 35 per cent in 2024, including a dramatic increase in the number of gang rapes, but stressed that the numbers are vastly underreported. "Girls were abducted for the purpose of recruitment and use, and for sexual slavery," the UN chief said. In Congo, the UN reported 358 acts of sexual violence against girls — 311 by armed groups and 47 by Congo's armed forces. And in Somalia, 267 children were victims of sexual violence, 120 of them carried out by Al-Shabab extremists. According to the report, armed groups were responsible for almost 50 per cent of the violations of children and government forces the main perpetrator of the killing and maiming of children, school attacks and denial of humanitarian access. "The cries of 22,495 innocent children who should be learning to read or play ball — but instead have been forced to learn how to survive gunfire and bombings — should keep all of us awake at night," said Virginia Gamba, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict.
Nahar Net
a day ago
- Health
- Nahar Net
18 killed by Israeli fire near Gaza aid distribution site
Gaza's civil defense agency said that Israeli forces on Thursday killed at least 18 people, including 15 who had gathered near an aid distribution site in central Gaza. Civil defence official Mohammad al-Mugghayyir told AFP that "18 people have been killed due to ongoing Israeli shelling on the Gaza Strip since dawn today, 15 of whom were waiting for aid", adding that the remaining three were killed by shelling near Gaza City. - 69 dead in past 24 hours - The Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday that hospitals had received 69 bodies and 221 wounded people in the last 24 hours. It said 55,706 Palestinians have been killed and another 130,101 wounded since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, without saying how many were civilians or combatants. The war began with Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, when Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. They still hold 53 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead.
