Israeli airstrike on Gaza kills seven working for food aid NGO

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Written by Super User

Category: MENA

Published: 03 April 2024

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By Nidal Al-Mughrabi

OCCUPIED GAZA STRIP - Citizens from Australia, Britain and Poland were among seven people working for celebrity chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza on Monday, the NGO said.

The workers, who also included Palestinians and a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, were travelling in two armoured cars emblazoned with the WCK logo and another vehicle, WCK said in a statement.

Israel has long denied it is hindering the distribution of urgently needed food aid in Gaza, saying the problem is caused by the inability of international aid groups to get it to those in need.

Despite co-ordinating movements with the Israeli Defence Force, the convoy was hit as it was leaving its Deir al-Balah warehouse, after unloading more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza by sea, WCK said.

"This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war," said Erin Gore, chief executive of World Central Kitchen.
"This is unforgivable."

The Israeli military said it was doing a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of what it called a tragic incident and pledged an investigation by "an independent, professional and expert body".

"The IDF makes extensive efforts to enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, and has been working closely with WCK in their vital efforts to provide food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza," the military said.

Israel has been under mounting international pressure to alleviate the severe hunger in Gaza, which has been devastated by months of fighting that has laid waste to much of the enclave and forced most of the population from their homes.

The United Nations and other international groups have accused Israel of hindering aid distribution with bureaucratic obstacles and failing to ensure the security of food convoys, underlined by a disaster on Feb. 29, in which around 100 people were killed as they waited for an aid delivery.

Hamas, the Islamist group that controlled Gaza, has said the main problem with aid distribution was Israeli targeting of aid workers. Following the latest incident, it issued a statement saying the attack aimed to terrorise workers of international humanitarian agencies, deterring them from their missions.

Last week, the World Court ordered Israel to take all necessary and effective action to ensure basic food supplies to the enclave's Palestinian population and halt spreading famine.

In response, Israeli officials accused the United Nations and other international bodies of "failure" over the problems in getting aid to hungry people in Gaza, saying they lack the logistical capacity to perform their jobs.

Andres, who started WCK in 2010 by sending cooks and food to Haiti after an earthquake, earlier said he was heartbroken and grieving for the families and friends of those who died.

"The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing," he said on social media.

"It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now."

AUSTRALIA CONFIRMS DEATH

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the death of 44-year-old aid worker Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom and said his government had contacted Israel to demand those responsible be held accountable.

"This is a human tragedy that should never have occurred, that is completely unacceptable and Australia will seek full and proper accountability," he told a press conference on Tuesday.

Albanese said innocent civilians and humanitarian workers needed to be protected and reiterated his call for a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza along with more aid to help those suffering from "tremendous deprivation".

Poland, which also lost a citizen, issued a statement objecting to the "disregard for international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians, including humanitarian workers."

Video obtained by Reuters showed a large hole in the roof of a four wheel drive WCK vehicle and its burned and torn interior, as well as paramedics moving bodies into a hospital and displaying the passports of three of those killed.

"We are heartbroken and deeply troubled by the strike that killed @WCKitchen aid workers in Gaza," U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said on social media.

"Humanitarian aid workers must be protected as they deliver aid that is desperately needed, and we urge Israel to swiftly investigate what happened."
WCK said it was pausing its operations in the region immediately and would make decisions soon about the future of its work.

WCK delivers food relief and prepares meals for people in need. It said last month it had served more than 42 million meals in Gaza over 175 days.

WCK was involved in the first shipment of aid to Gaza via a sea corridor from Cyprus in March. A second WCK maritime aid shipment of 332 tons arrived in Gaza early this week.

Since starting operations in 2010, the organisation has delivered food for communities hit by natural disasters, refugees at the U.S. border, healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and people in conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

Israelis stage largest protest since war began to increase pressure on Netanyahu

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Written by Super User

Category: MENA

Published: 01 April 2024

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By WAFAA SHURAFA and MELANIE LINDMAN

JERUSALEM — Tens of thousands of Israelis thronged central Jerusalem on Sunday in the largest anti-government protest since the country went to war in October. Protesters urged the government to reach a cease-fire deal to free dozens of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas militants and to hold early elections.

Israeli society was broadly united immediately after Oct. 7, when Hamas killed some 1,200 people during a cross-border attack and took 250 others hostage. Nearly six months of conflict have renewed divisions over the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though the country remains largely in favor of the war.

Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas and bring all the hostages home, yet those goals have been elusive. While Hamas has suffered heavy losses, it remains intact.

Roughly half the hostages in Gaza were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November. But attempts by international mediators to bring home the remaining hostages have failed. Talks resumed on Sunday with no signs that a breakthrough was imminent.

Hostages’ families believe time is running out, and they are getting more vocal about their displeasure with Netanyahu.

“We believe that no hostages will come back with this government because they’re busy putting sticks in the wheels of negotiations for the hostages,” said Boaz Atzili, whose cousin, Aviv Atzili and his wife, Liat, were kidnapped on Oct. 7. Liat was released but Aviv was killed, and his body is in Gaza. “Netanyahu is only working in his private interests.”

PROTESTERS HAVE MANY GRIEVANCES

Protesters blame Netanyahu for the failures of Oct. 7 and say the deep political divisions over his attempted judicial overhaul last year weakened Israel ahead of the attack. Some accuse him of damaging relations with the United States, Israel’s most important ally.

Netanyahu is also facing a litany of corruption charges which are slowly making their way through the courts, and critics say his decisions appear to be focused on political survival over the national interest. Opinion polls show Netanyahu and his coalition trailing far behind their rivals if elections were held today.

Unless his governing coalition falls apart sooner, Netanyahu won’t face elections until spring of 2026.

Many families of hostages had refrained from publicly denouncing Netanyahu to avoid antagonizing the leadership and making the hostages’ plight a political issue. But as their anger grows, some now want to change course — and they played a major role in Sunday’s anti-government protest.

The crowd on Sunday stretched for blocks around the Knesset, or parliament building, and organizers vowed to continue the demonstration for several days. They urged the government to hold new elections nearly two years ahead of schedule. Thousands also demonstrated Sunday in Tel Aviv, where there was a large protest the night before.

Netanyahu, in a nationally televised speech before undergoing hernia surgery later Sunday, said he understood families’ pain. But he said calling new elections — in what he described as a moment before victory — would paralyze Israel for six to eight months and stall the hostage talks. For now, Netanyahu’s governing coalition appears to remain firmly intact.

Some hostage families agree that now is not the time for elections.

“I don’t think that changing the prime minister now is what will advance and help my son to come home,” Sheli Shem Tov, whose son Omer was kidnapped from a music festival, told Israel’s Channel 12. “To go to elections now will just push to the side the most burning issue, which is to return the hostages home.”

In his Sunday address, Netanyahu also repeated his vow for a military ground offensive in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than half of territory’s population of 2.3 million now shelters after fleeing fighting elsewhere. “There is no victory without going into Rafah,” he said, adding that U.S. pressure would not deter him. Israel’s military says Hamas battalions remain there.

In another reminder of Israel’s divisions, a group of reservists and retired officers demonstrated in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood.

Ultra-Orthodox men for generations have received exemptions from military service, which is compulsory for most Jewish men and women. Resentment over that has deepened during the war. Netanyahu’s government has been ordered to present a new plan for a more equitable draft law by Monday.

Netanyahu, who relies heavily on the support of ultra-Orthodox parties, last week asked for an extension.

The Bank of Israel said in its annual report on Sunday that there could be economic damage if large numbers of ultra-Orthodox men continue not to serve in Israel’s military.

ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE HITS TENT CAMP AT HOSPITAL

Also Sunday, an Israeli airstrike hit a tent camp in the courtyard of a crowded hospital in central Gaza, killing two Palestinians and wounding another 15, including journalists working nearby.

An Associated Press reporter filmed the strike and aftermath at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where thousands of people have sheltered. The Israeli military said it struck a command center of the Islamic Jihad militant group.

Tens of thousands of people have sought shelter in Gaza’s hospitals, viewing them as relatively safe from airstrikes. Israel accuses Hamas and other militants of operating in and around medical facilities, which Gaza’s health officials deny.

Israeli troops have been raiding Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest, for nearly two weeks and say they have killed scores of fighters, including senior Hamas operatives. Gaza’s Health Ministry said more than 100 patients remain with no potable water and septic wounds, while doctors use plastic bags for gloves.

Not far from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, dozens of members of Gaza’s tiny Palestinian Christian community gathered at the Holy Family Church to celebrate Easter, with incense wafting through the rare building that appeared untouched by war.

“We are here with sadness,” attendee Winnie Tarazi said. About 600 people shelter in the compound.

GAZA’S DEATH TOLL NEARS 33,000 AND HUNGER GROWS

The United Nations and partners warn that famine could occur in devastated, largely isolated northern Gaza. Humanitarian officials say deliveries by sea and air are not enough and that Israel must allow far more aid by road. Egypt has said thousands of trucks are waiting.

Israel says it places no limits on deliveries of humanitarian aid. It has blamed the U.N. and other international agencies for the failure to distribute more aid.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday that at least 32,782 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war. The ministry’s count does not differentiate between civilians and fighters, but it has said that women and children make up around two-thirds of those killed.

Israel says over one-third of the dead are militants, though it has not provided evidence, and it blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the group operates in residential areas.

Amid concerns about a wider conflict in the region, Lebanese state media reported that an Israeli drone struck a car in the southern Lebanese town of Konin.

A Lebanese security official told The Associated Press that Hezbollah militant Ismail al-Zain was killed, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Israel’s military called al-Zain a “significant commander.” Hezbollah confirmed the death.

Late Sunday, a Palestinian attacker stabbed three people in southern Israel, seriously wounding them, said the Hatzalah rescue service. Police said the attacker was shot, but gave no further details on his condition.

Gaza conflict creating traumatised generation of child amputees, warn medics

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Written by Super User

Category: MENA

Published: 28 March 2024

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LONDON - Israel’s relentless pounding of the Gaza Strip has led to more wounded civilians undergoing amputations than in any conflict of recent times, medical charities believe.

As fighting continues inside the besieged enclave despite a UN Security Council ceasefire resolution, many fear the unprecedented intensity of the bombardment over six months means there will be more amputees per capita than there were in Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan.

Although precise data is unavailable, a significant proportion of the 75,000 people whom the local Health Ministry says have been injured since the Hamas terror attacks on October 7 last year require prosthetic limbs.

Humanity & Inclusion (HI), also known as Handicap International, has reported that 70 to 80 per cent of those being admitted to the 12 hospitals which are still partially functioning inside Gaza have lost limbs or suffered spinal cord injuries.

Many of the 10,000 people it has assessed have had to undergo amputations, including hundreds of children.

In January, UNICEF estimated that around 1,000 children in Gaza have lost one or both their legs – equivalent to 10 children losing legs every day.

That number has undoubtedly risen massively as the Israeli onslaught continues unabated through densely populated areas, leaving many individual catastrophes behind.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) co-ordinator Marie-Aure Perreaut Revial witnessed the pitiful sight of scores of children having their limbs amputated in the al-Aqsa hospital only last week.

“It is completely devastating to see,” she admitted. “Babies as young as one year old are being amputated. These are babies that have never learned to walk, and now they never will walk [unaided].

“I saw many patients who arrived at the hospital who had already lost their legs and their arms. And then there were others badly injured in a blast who had to be amputated because the lack of access to healthcare and post-operative care means their wounds will otherwise be infected.”

With little indication of Israel loosening its tight control of border crossing points for more medical evacuations, agencies fear that thousands of those maimed who have not yet been operated on risk infection.
Limb injuries ‘have to wait’

In Gaza, where just under half of the population are under 18, a substantial proportion of the young will grow up hampered by a war-inflicted disability because their stumps cannot be surgically prepared for prosthetic fitting.

“A generation of child amputees is emerging,” said Aseel Baidoun, Director Advocacy and Campaigns for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).

“We know that Gaza’s collapsed medical system is too over stretched to give children with long term injuries the intricate follow-up care they need to salvage their still-growing, truncated bones.

“I have heard from surgeons with MAP’s emergency medical teams in Gaza that hospitals are so overwhelmed already that they can only treat patients needing life-saving procedures, such as neurosurgical or vascular injuries, while limb injuries have to wait.”

Official figures put the number of Ukrainians who have undergone amputations since Russia’s full-scale invasion two years ago at 20,000. Some believe the real number might be much higher, up to 50,000.

Over the course of the First World War, historians estimate that in Germany the number of amputations totalled 67,000, while in Britain it was 41,000.

New weapons being used on a previously unimaginable scale, coupled with problems like frostbite and infection in the trenches, contributed to so many soldiers losing their limbs.