Latest news with #foodsecurity
Japan Times
an hour ago
- General
- Japan Times
As death toll rises, Gazans make life-risking journeys to seek food
Like thousands of other Palestinians in Gaza, Hind Al-Nawajha takes a dangerous, kilometers-long journey every day to try to get some food for her family, hoping she makes it back alive. Accompanied by her sister, Mazouza, the mother-of-four had to duck down and hide behind a pile of rubble on the side of the road as gunshots echoed nearby. "You either come back carrying (food) for your children and they will be happy, or you come back in a shroud, or you go back upset (without food) and your children will cry," said Nawajha, 38, a resident of Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza. "This is life, we are being slaughtered, we can't do it anymore." In the past two days, dozens of Palestinians have also been killed by Israeli fire as they tried to get food from aid trucks brought into the enclave by the United Nations and international relief agencies, Gaza medics said. On Thursday, medics said at least 40 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes, including 12 people who tried to approach a site operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the central Gaza Strip, the latest in near-daily reports of killings of people seeking food. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire as they tried to get food from aid trucks brought into the enclave, Gaza medics said. | bloomberg Twenty-eight people were killed in separate Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip, medics said. One of those strikes killed at least 12 people, including women and children, near a mosque in Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, they added. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on Thursday's incident. In recent days, the Israeli military said its forces had opened fire and fired warning shots to disperse people who approached areas where troops were operating, posing a threat. It said it was reviewing reports of casualties among civilians. Israel has been channeling much of the aid it is now allowing into Gaza through a new U.S.— and Israeli-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates a handful of distribution sites in areas guarded by Israeli forces. The Gaza health ministry said hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to reach GHF sites since late May. The United Nations rejects the GHF delivery system as inadequate, dangerous and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. Israel says it is needed to prevent Hamas fighters from diverting aid, which Hamas denies. Women mourn during a funeral for Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in Gaza on Thursday. | REUTERS There was no immediate GHF comment on Thursday's incident. On Wednesday, the GHF said in a statement it had distributed 3 million meals across three of its aid sites without an incident. 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 55,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, while displacing almost the entire population of more than 2 million and causing a hunger crisis. The Norwegian Refugee Council warned on Thursday that more than 1 million people were without adequate shelter, saying equipment such as tents and tarpaulins had been blocked by Israel from entering since March 1. Nawajha returned empty-handed on Wednesday from her journey to find food, flopping down exhausted on the dusty ground outside the tent in Gaza City, where she has been displaced and sheltering with her family. She and her sister have been camping by the road for the past 20 days. They say they try to force their way into the distribution site where trucks carrying aid arrive, but are often outmuscled by men, who sometimes fight over sacks of flour coming off U.N. trucks. "(When) there is no food, as you can see, children start crying and getting angry," said Nawajha. "When we are for three, four kilometers or more on our legs ... Oh my ... our feet are bruised and our shoes are torn off."
Forbes
11 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Cyberattack On Whole Foods Supplier Disrupts Supply Chain Again
SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 11: A shelf is seen bare in the frozen foods section of a Whole Foods ... More store on June 11, 2025 in San Rafael, California. United Natural Foods, the primary food distributor to Whole Foods, has paused deliveries to Whole Foods stores after a cyberattack crippled its system. Some Whole Foods stores are experiencing empty shelves and freezers. (Photo by) On June 5, 2025, a cyberattack forced United Natural Foods Inc., the primary distributor for Whole Foods Market, to shut down its systems and halt deliveries to more than 30,000 grocery stores across North America. Nearly two weeks later, the company is still operating on a limited basis, relying on workarounds and manual processes. This was not a minor glitch but a direct hit to the digital backbone of the food supply chain. Grocery stores were deemed essential infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic, with workers hailed as frontline heroes. Now, in 2025, the breach at UNFI raises a chilling question: what a biological virus could not shut down, could a cyberattack succeed in crippling? If malicious actors can freeze the software that moves food, they can empty shelves, disrupt lives and trigger cascading economic impacts. 'Food security is national security,' one lawmaker warned earlier this year. Congress appears to agree and has introduced the bipartisan Farm and Food Cybersecurity Act of 2025. What happened, and what could have been done to stop it? Whole Foods Market locations across the U.S. experienced product shortages after a cyberattack on ... More its primary distributor, United Natural Foods Inc., disrupted supply chains in June 2025. UNFI, based in Providence, Rhode Island, is North America's largest publicly traded wholesale grocery distributor. The company operates more than 50 distribution centers and supplies approximately 30,000 locations, including supermarkets, independent grocers and food service providers. On June 5, the company detected unauthorized activity on its systems and immediately activated its incident response plan. As a precaution, it took portions of its network offline, which disrupted order processing, fulfillment and shipment capabilities. Law enforcement and external cybersecurity experts were called in to assist with the investigation. The outage was swift and severe. Automated systems for ordering and inventory went dark, forcing cancellations of employee shifts and a return to manual processes. Business operations were impacted across the board, resulting in significant delivery delays. UNFI did not publicly disclose the breach until June 9, when it filed an 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company warned that disruptions would continue and outlined its reliance on manual workarounds to maintain critical grocery shipments while digital systems remained down. The downstream impact on retailers was immediate. Whole Foods Market, which depends heavily on UNFI, saw noticeable shortages in key categories. Refrigerated and perishable sections in many stores went empty. Store employees posted apology signs for out-of-stock items and explained delays. Customers posted photos of empty shelves across multiple locations. Independent grocers and regional chains also reported missed or delayed shipments. Many scrambled to find backup suppliers. Some succeeded, but others simply ran out of stock, leaving consumers with fewer options. Even the United States military's Defense Commissary Agency was affected. Fifty-three commissary stores reported delays. While some mitigated the issue with manual ordering, many still faced inventory shortfalls. A single breach had turned into a national supply chain shock. With just-in-time inventory models and limited buffers, grocers were vulnerable to even short-term digital outages. The result was fewer choices for shoppers and deeper concerns for the industry. As of mid-June, UNFI has not confirmed the source or type of cyberattack. The company has avoided calling it ransomware, and no group has claimed responsibility. Still, experts widely agree that the attack shares several characteristics typical of ransomware events, including a full system shutdown, containment procedures and prolonged disruption. While unproven, the consensus is that ransomware is the most likely explanation, especially given the sharp rise in attacks against the food and retail sectors. In similar cases, attackers have encrypted systems and demanded payment in exchange for restored access. On a June 10 earnings call, UNFI Chief Executive Officer Sandy Douglas said only that the company was managing through the incident and focused on safe restoration. The company has shared few details. It remains unclear whether any data was stolen or whether negotiations are ongoing. The lack of attribution could indicate behind-the-scenes engagement with law enforcement, which is common in complex ransomware cases. Until the investigation is complete, the grocery sector remains on high alert. The breach underscores just how vulnerable essential supply chains have become. The attack on UNFI is part of a broader trend of attacks on the food supply chain. Recent high-profile incidents include: Cybercriminals have proven they can cause real-world consequences across the food sector. 'The cyberattack on United Natural Foods is not an isolated incident but part of a growing trend,' said Jeff Wichman, incident response director at Semperis. The risk is no longer hypothetical. The attack has sparked urgent conversations throughout the grocery industry. Key priorities include: Cybersecurity is no longer optional. Food supply chains are essential and increasingly targeted. Resilience must be a top priority across every tier of the industry. By mid-June, UNFI had resumed shipments from most distribution centers and made progress restoring systems. Still, many operations rely on manual processes, and product shortages persist in some regions. The impact is ongoing and visible. This breach should serve as a turning point. Whole Foods and other retailers must invest in both digital defenses and supply chain resilience. Distributors must act with urgency. In the business of feeding families, downtime is unacceptable. The next attack could hit harder and spread faster. The time to prepare is now.
CBC
12 hours ago
- Health
- CBC
As death toll mounts, Gazans make life-risking journeys to seek food, aid
Social Sharing Like thousands of other Palestinians in Gaza, Hind Al-Nawajha takes a dangerous, kilometres-long journey every day to try to get some food for her family, hoping she makes it back alive. Accompanied by her sister, Mazouza, the mother-of-four had to duck down and hide behind a pile of rubble on the side of the road as gunshots echoed nearby. "You either come back carrying [food] for your children and they will be happy, or you come back in a shroud. Or you go back upset [without food] and your children will cry," said Nawajha, 38, a resident of Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza. "This is life; we are being slaughtered, we can't do it anymore." In the past two days, dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire as they tried to get food from aid trucks brought into the enclave by the United Nations and international relief agencies, Gaza medics said. On Thursday, medics said at least 51 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes, including 12 people who tried to approach a site operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the central Gaza Strip, the latest in near-daily reports of killings of people seeking food. The Israeli military said there were several attempts by "suspects" to approach forces in the area of Netzarim in a manner that endangered them. It said forces fired warning shots to prevent suspects from approaching them, and it was currently unaware of injuries in the incident. In an email, GHF criticized Gazan health officials, accusing them of regularly releasing inaccurate information. GHF said that Palestinians do not access the nearby GHF site via the Netzarim corridor. It did not address questions about whether GHF was aware that such an incident had occurred. Women, children killed in separate Israeli strikes Thirty-nine people were killed, meanwhile, in separate Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip, medics said. One of those strikes killed at least 19 people in a tent in the Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, they added. Heba Ziada, 32, said her sister was killed in the strike on Al-Shati, which struck the entrance of a market in the refugee camp. "My sister was 14 years old. What did she do wrong?" Ziada told CBC News freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife on Thursday. Another strike killed at least 14 people and damaged several houses in Jabaliya, in the north of the enclave, medics said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on those attacks. In recent days, the Israeli military said its forces had opened fire and fired warning shots to disperse people who approached areas where troops were operating, posing a threat. It said it was reviewing reports of casualties among civilians. Returning empty-handed after trying to find food Israel has been channelling much of the aid it is now allowing into Gaza through the new U.S.- and Israeli-backed GHF, which operates a handful of distribution sites in areas guarded by Israeli forces. Gaza's Health Ministry said hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to reach GHF sites since late May. The United Nations rejects the GHF delivery system as inadequate, dangerous and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. Israel says it is needed to prevent Hamas fighters from diverting aid, which Hamas denies. On Wednesday, the GHF said in a statement it had distributed three million meals across three of its aid sites without an incident. WATCH | A number of Palestinians trying to reach Rafah aid site killed on Monday: 'We saw death': Palestinians describe violence near GHF aid sites on Monday 3 days ago Duration 1:10 At least 20 people were killed and 200 others wounded in Israeli fire near an aid distribution site in Rafah on Monday, according to medics. The deaths are the latest in mass shootings that have killed at least 300 Palestinians in the past several weeks, Gaza's Health Ministry says, as they try to access food through the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's distribution system. The Gaza war was triggered when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct.7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 55,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, while displacing almost the entire population of more than two million and causing a hunger crisis. The Norwegian Refugee Council warned Thursday that more than one million people were without adequate shelter in Gaza, saying equipment such as tents and tarpaulins had been blocked by Israel from entering since March 1. Nawajha returned empty-handed on Wednesday from her journey to find food, flopping down exhausted on the dusty ground outside the tent in Gaza City, where she has been displaced and sheltering with her family. She and her sister have been camping by the road for the past 20 days. They say they try to force their way into the distribution site where trucks carrying aid arrive, but are often outmuscled by men, who sometimes fight over sacks of flour coming off UN trucks. "[When] there is no food, as you can see, children start crying and getting angry," said Nawajha. "When we are for three, four kilometres or more on our legs... Oh my … our feet are bruised and our shoes are torn off."
Irish Times
12 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘We are being slaughtered': Gazans risk their lives on desperate journeys for food
Like thousands of other Palestinians in Gaza , Hind Al-Nawajha takes a dangerous, miles-long journey every day to try to get some food for her family, hoping she makes it back alive. Accompanied by her sister, Mazouza, the mother of four ducked down and hid behind a pile of rubble on the roadside as gunshots echoed nearby. 'You either come back carrying [food] for your children and they will be happy, or you come back in a shroud, or you go back upset [without food] and your children will cry,' said the 38-year-old, a resident of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. 'This is life, we are being slaughtered, we can't do it any more.' READ MORE In the past two days, dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire as they tried to get food from aid trucks brought into the enclave by the United Nations (UN) and international relief agencies, Gaza-based medics said. On Thursday, medics said at least 51 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes, including 12 people who tried to approach a site operated by the US - and Israeli -backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the central Gaza Strip, the latest in near-daily reports of people being killed while seeking food. Palestinian children gather at a hot meal distribution point in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip. Photograph: Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images The Israeli military said there were several attempts by 'suspects' to approach its forces in the Netzarim area in the central Gaza Strip in a manner that endangered them. It said forces fired warning shots to prevent suspects from approaching them and it was currently unaware of injuries in the incident. In an email, GHF criticised Gazan health officials, accusing them of regularly releasing inaccurate information. It said Palestinians do not access the nearby GHF site via the Netzarim corridor, but it did not address questions about whether it was aware that such an incident had occurred. Thirty-nine people were killed, meanwhile, in separate Israeli air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip, medics said. One of those strikes killed at least 19 people, including women and children, in a tent in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, they added. [ Gaza's last hospitals battle to save patients amid severe depletion of life-saving medical items Opens in new window ] Another strike killed at least 14 people and damaged several houses in Jabalia, in the north of the enclave, medics said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on those attacks. In recent days, the Israeli military said its forces had opened fire and used warning shots to disperse people who it said posed a threat when approaching areas where troops were operating. It said it was reviewing reports of civilian casualties. Israel has been channelling much of the aid it is now allowing into Gaza through the GHF, which operates a handful of distribution sites in areas guarded by Israeli forces. A plume of smoke billows in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip after an Israeli air strike on Thursday. Photograph: Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images The Gaza health ministry says hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to reach GHF sites since late May. The UN rejects the GHF delivery system as inadequate, dangerous and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. Israel says it is needed to prevent Hamas fighters from diverting aid, an allegation Hamas denies. The GHF said in a statement on Wednesday that it had distributed three million meals across three of its aid sites without incident. The Gaza war was triggered when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7th, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. [ I showed my friends in Israel this photo of a starving baby in Gaza and asked them if they knew Opens in new window ] Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 55,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, while displacing almost the entire population of more than 2 million and causing a hunger crisis. The Norwegian Refugee Council warned on Thursday that more than one million people were without adequate shelter, saying equipment such as tents and tarpaulins had been blocked by Israel from entering since March 1st. Nawajha returned empty-handed on Wednesday from her journey to find food, flopping down exhausted on the dusty ground outside the tent in Gaza City where she has been sheltering with her family for the past 20 days. They say they try to force their way into the distribution site when trucks carrying aid arrive, but are often outmuscled by men, who sometimes fight over sacks of flour coming off UN trucks. '[When] there is no food, as you can see, children start crying and getting angry,' said Nawajha. 'When we are for three, four kilometres or more on our legs ... Oh my ... our feet are bruised and our shoes are torn off.' – Reuters
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
As death toll rises, Gazans make life-risking journeys to seek food
By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA/CAIRO (Reuters) -Like thousands of other Palestinians in Gaza, Hind Al-Nawajha takes a dangerous, miles-long journey every day to try to get some food for her family, hoping she makes it back alive. Accompanied by her sister, Mazouza, the mother-of-four had to duck down and hide behind a pile of rubble on the side of the road as gunshots echoed nearby. "You either come back carrying (food) for your children and they will be happy, or you come back in a shroud, or you go back upset (without food) and your children will cry," said Nawajha, 38, a resident of Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza. "This is life, we are being slaughtered, we can't do it anymore." In the past two days, dozens of Palestinians have also been killed by Israeli fire as they tried to get food from aid trucks brought into the enclave by the United Nations and international relief agencies, Gaza medics said. On Thursday, medics said at least 51 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes, including 12 people who tried to approach a site operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the central Gaza Strip, the latest in near-daily reports of killings of people seeking food. The Israeli military said there were several attempts by "suspects" to approach forces in the area of Netzarim in the central Gaza Strip, in a manner that endangered them. It said forces fired warning shots to prevent suspects from approaching them, and it was currently unaware of injuries in the incident. In an email, GHF criticized Gazan health officials, accusing them of regularly releasing inaccurate information. GHF said that Palestinians do not access the nearby GHF site via the Netzarim corridor. It did not address questions about whether GHF was aware that such an incident had occurred. Thirty-nine people were killed, meanwhile, in separate Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip, medics said. One of those strikes killed at least 19 people, including women and children, in a tent in Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, they added. Another strike killed at least 14 people and damaged several houses in Jabalia, in the north of the enclave, medics said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on those attacks. In recent days, the Israeli military said its forces had opened fire and fired warning shots to disperse people who approached areas where troops were operating, posing a threat. It said it was reviewing reports of casualties among civilians. SLEEPING BY THE ROAD Israel has been channelling much of the aid it is now allowing into Gaza through a new U.S.- and Israeli-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates a handful of distribution sites in areas guarded by Israeli forces. The Gaza health ministry said hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to reach GHF sites since late May. The United Nations rejects the GHF delivery system as inadequate, dangerous and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. Israel says it is needed to prevent Hamas fighters from diverting aid, which Hamas denies. On Wednesday, the GHF said in a statement it had distributed 3 million meals across three of its aid sites without an incident. 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 55,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, while displacing almost the entire population of more than 2 million and causing a hunger crisis. The Norwegian Refugee Council warned on Thursday that more than 1 million people were without adequate shelter, saying equipment such as tents and tarpaulins had been blocked by Israel from entering since March 1. Nawajha returned empty-handed on Wednesday from her journey to find food, flopping down exhausted on the dusty ground outside the tent in Gaza City, where she has been displaced and sheltering with her family. She and her sister have been camping by the road for the past 20 days. They say they try to force their way into the distribution site where trucks carrying aid arrive, but are often outmuscled by men, who sometimes fight over sacks of flour coming off U.N. trucks. "(When) there is no food, as you can see, children start crying and getting angry," said Nawajha. "When we are for three, four kilometres or more on our legs... Oh my... our feet are bruised and our shoes are torn off."
