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Israeli troops kill at least 17 in Gaza, say local officials, as Greta Thunberg deported Israeli troops kill 17, say Gaza officials, as UN experts decry ‘obliteration’ of education
(about 7 hours later)
Palestinians reportedly killed while trying to reach food sites, after Madleen aid yacht crew taken into custody Palestinians reportedly killed while trying to reach food sites, while Israel accused of war crime in targeting schools
Middle East crisis – latest updates Israeli troops killed at least 17 Palestinians trying to reach food distribution sites on Tuesday, health authorities in Gaza said, as UN experts accused Israel’s military of committing war crimes including the “obliteration” of Gaza’s education system.
Israeli troops killed at least 17 Palestinians trying to reach food distribution sites on Tuesday morning, local health authorities in Gaza said, as Israeli authorities deported Greta Thunberg and at least three other activists who had attempted to sail to the territory with aid. More than 130 people have been shot dead over the past two weeks in a series of brutally repetitive attacks on desperate crowds trying to access food handouts. Hundreds of others have been injured.
The Madleen yacht was seized by Israeli authorities on Monday and towed to the port of Ashdod, where the 12 crew members, who also included the French MEP Rima Hassan, were taken into police custody. Some are still in Israel, where they will face deportation hearings. After 11 weeks of total siege and a continuing blockade, many in Gaza are so hungry they are still risking their lives to walk to centres run by the secretive US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the hope of getting some supplies.
The ship was attempting to bring a symbolic shipment of aid to Gaza, which faces a looming famine after more than 11 weeks of total siege and ongoing severe restrictions on food entering the territory. The most vulnerable, including the sick, elderly people and those weakest from hunger, cannot even attempt the dangerous journey.
Israel has attempted to shift most food distribution away from humanitarian organisations including UN agencies to a secretive US- and Israel-backed logistics startup that has never worked in a conflict zone at scale. “This system does not intend to address hunger,” Philippe Lazzarini, the head of Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said in a post on social media.
Dozens of people have been killed as they tried to collect food from the handful of sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which are secured by armed guards and under the protection of the Israeli military. “Aid deliveries & distribution must be at scale & safe. In Gaza, this can be done only through the United Nations including Unrwa. We have the expertise, the knowledge and community trust.”
The latest deaths came early on Tuesday morning when Israeli gunfire killed at least 17 people and injured dozens more as they approached a site in central Gaza, health authorities in the territory said. Israel has attempted to shift most food distribution away from humanitarian organisations including UN agencies to GHF, a logistics startup that has never worked in a conflict zone at scale.
The GHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Israeli military said it was aware of reports of injuries after it fired warning shots towards “suspects” in the Wadi Gaza area whom its troops deemed a threat. “The warning shots were fired hundreds of meters from the aid distribution site, prior to its opening hours,” a spokesperson said. The military said the numbers released by local health authorities did not align with the information they had collected. GHF hands out food at sites secured by armed guards and under the protection of the Israeli military. Shootings have targeted people travelling to the centres, not inside them or in their immediate vicinity.
Israel has been under heavy international pressure over hunger in Gaza, with the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announcing that he had lifted the siege after warnings from longstanding friends of Israel that the “starvation crisis” there was damaging Israel’s international standing. The killings on Tuesday came hours before GHF began operations, and outside its site, the foundation said in a statement. It has asked the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to “do more” to keep people safe and suggested Palestinians hoping to get food without being shot dead should check social media for safety tips.
In an apparent response to the huge amount of publicity generated by the Madleen even before it set sail, Israel’s foreign ministry on Monday attacked the crew as “celebrities” on a “selfie yacht”. “It is vital that aid seekers stay on the dedicated passage and closely follow instructions from our Facebook posts,” the GHF statement said. The spokesperson did not respond to a question about how Gaza’s many people who no longer have regular access to electricity or internet connections should seek safety updates.
After Israeli forces took control of the boat, it posted an image of Thunberg being offered food and claimed she was “in good spirits” while she was held incommunicado. The Israeli military said it was aware of reports of injuries on Tuesday morning after troops fired “warning shots” towards “suspects” in the Wadi Gaza area whom its troops deemed a threat. “The warning shots were fired hundreds of metres from the aid distribution site,” a spokesperson said.
In a video prepared before the boat was intercepted Thunberg said that if she lost communication supporters should assume she had been kidnapped and advocate for her release. The spokesperson said the numbers of casualties reported in Gaza did not “align” with information on injuries from an initial IDF inquiry.
The boat arrived in the port city of Ashdod after dark fell, where its crew were given a choice between consenting to deportation or staying in police custody and facing a tribunal. The 17 deaths on Tuesday morning brought to 144 the total number of Palestinians who local health authorities say have been killed trying to get food from GHF centres since they first opened.
All rejected the claim that they had entered Israel illegally, because Israeli forces seized the boat in international waters then brought them to an Israeli port by force. Some chose to sign strategically, so they could leave and advocate for the others when they are brought to court. Hours after that attack Israeli authorities deported Greta Thunberg and other activists who had attempted to sail to the territory on the Madleen yacht with food and medical aid.
Israel’s foreign ministry shared pictures of Thunberg boarding a morning flight to France, and said the other crew members were being held at Ben Gurion airport. All rejected the claim that they had entered Israel illegally, because Israeli forces seized the boat in international waters then brought them to an Israeli port by force.
In an apparent response to the huge amount of publicity generated by the Madleen even before it set sail, Israel’s foreign ministry on Monday denounced the crew as “celebrities” on a “selfie yacht”.
Although they were never expected to reach Gaza, whose shores are guarded by Israel’s navy, the ship intensified international focus on hunger in Gaza.Although they were never expected to reach Gaza, whose shores are guarded by Israel’s navy, the ship intensified international focus on hunger in Gaza.
The UN has been able to bring only limited supplies of flour into Gaza since Israel lifted a total siege three weeks ago, and most of that had been taken by starving Palestinians or looted by armed gangs before the UN could distribute it, the deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Monday. Israel has been under heavy pressure over hunger in Gaza, with the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announcing that he had lifted the siege last month after warnings from longstanding allies that the “starvation crisis” there was damaging Israel’s international standing.
The UN has been allowed to transport 4,600 metric tonnes of wheat flour into Gaza for the last three weeks. If shared equally that would provide about one week’s supply of bread to the roughly 2.3 million people living in Gaza, under WFP guidelines, but it would need to be eaten with other food to meet minimum daily calorie needs. However, his government has said most food supplies allowed into the territory should go through the GHF.
Haq said aid groups in Gaza estimated that between 8,000 and 10,000 tonnes of wheat flour were needed to give each family in Gaza a bag and ease desperation. The UN has been able to bring only limited supplies of flour into Gaza since Israel lifted the total siege three weeks ago, and most of that had been taken by starving Palestinians or looted by armed gangs before the UN could distribute it, the deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Monday.
Israel’s broader military campaign has made education impossible in Gaza, through damage and destruction to more than 90% of school and university buildings, according to a report from the UN’s independent commission of inquiry into the occupied Palestinian territories.
More than 658,000 children in Gaza have been prevented from attending school since the war began. Israeli forces have also destroyed more than half of all religious and cultural sites in Gaza, including archaeological sites, a museum and the Great Omari mosque.
These attacks were part of a “widespread and relentless assault” on the Palestinian people in which Israel’s military had committed war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination, the report found.
“We are seeing more and more indications that Israel is carrying out a concerted campaign to obliterate Palestinian life in Gaza,” said Navi Pillay, the chair of the commission.
“Israel’s targeting of the educational, cultural and religious life of the Palestinian people will harm the present generations and generations to come, hindering their right to self-determination.”