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Gaza officials say Israeli forces killed 27 heading to aid site

Update Gaza officials say Israeli forces killed 27 heading to aid site
Displaced Palestinians return from a food distribution center in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 1, 2025. Gaza rescuers said Israeli gunfire killed at least 10 Palestinians near a US-backed aid distribution site on June 1, shortly after Washington rejected a Hamas ceasefire proposal as “totally unacceptable.” (AFP)
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Updated 03 June 2025

Gaza officials say Israeli forces killed 27 heading to aid site

Gaza officials say Israeli forces killed 27 heading to aid site
  • Israel says it fired near suspects, looking into reports of casualties
  • United Nations has rejected new aid system, saying it doesn’t address Gaza’s mounting hunger crisis

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip: Palestinian health officials and witnesses say Israeli forces fired on people as they headed toward an aid distribution site on Tuesday, killing at least 27, in the third such incident in three days.

The army said it fired “near a few individual suspects” who left the designated route, approached its forces and ignored warning shots.

The near-daily shootings have come after an Israeli and US-backed foundation established aid distribution points inside Israeli military zones, a system it says is designed to circumvent Hamas.

The United Nations has rejected the new system, saying it doesn’t address Gaza’s mounting hunger crisis and allows Israel to use aid as a weapon.

The Israeli military said it was looking into reports of casualties on Tuesday.

It previously said it fired warning shots at suspects who approached its forces early Sunday and Monday, when health officials and witnesses said 34 people were killed.

The military denies opening fire on civilians or blocking them from reaching the aid sites.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates the sites, says there has been no violence in or around them. On Tuesday,

it acknowledged that the Israeli military was investigating whether civilians were wounded “after moving beyond the designated safe corridor and into a closed military zone,” in an area that was “well beyond our secure distribution site.”

‘Either way we will die’

The shootings all occurred at the Flag Roundabout, around a kilometer (1,000 yards) from one of the GHF’s distribution sites in the now mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah.

The entire area is an Israeli military zone where journalists have no access outside of army-approved embeds.

At least 27 people were killed early Tuesday, according to Zaher Al-Waheidi, the head of the Gaza Health Ministry’s records department.

Hisham Mhanna, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said its field hospital in Rafah received 184 wounded people, 19 of whom were declared dead on arrival and eight more who later died of their wounds.

The 27 dead were transferred to Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis. Yasser Abu Lubda, a 50-year-old displaced Palestinian from Rafah, said the shooting started around 4 a.m. in the city’s Flag Roundabout area, around one kilometer (1,000 yards) away from the aid distribution hub.

He said he saw several people killed or wounded. Neima Al-Aaraj, a woman from Khan Younis, gave a similar account.

“There were many martyrs and wounded,” she said, saying the shooting by Israeli forces was “indiscriminate.”

She said she managed to reach the hub but returned empty-handed.

“There was no aid there,” she said. “After the martyrs and wounded, I won’t return,” she said.

“Either way we will die.” Rasha Al-Nahal, another witness, said “there was gunfire from all directions.”

She said she counted more than a dozen dead and several wounded along the road.

She said she also found no aid when she arrived at the distribution hub, and that Israeli forces “fired at us as we were returning.” 3 Israeli soldiers killed in northern Gaza

The Israeli military meanwhile said Tuesday that three of its soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip, in what appeared to be the deadliest attack on Israel’s forces since it ended a ceasefire with Hamas in March.

The military said the three soldiers, all in their early 20s, fell during combat in northern Gaza on Monday, without providing details.

Israeli media reported that they were killed in an explosion in the Jabaliya area.

Israel ended the ceasefire in March after Hamas refused to change the agreement to release more hostages sooner.

Israeli strikes have killed thousands of Palestinians since then, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people hostage in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel that ignited the war.

They are still holding 58 hostages, a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s military campaign has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants.

The ministry is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government.

Its toll is seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts, though Israel has challenged its numbers.

Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. Around 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the Oct. 7 attack, including more than 400 during the fighting inside Gaza.


Bahrain elected to Arab seat at UN Security Council for 2026-2027, succeeding Algeria

Bahrain elected to Arab seat at UN Security Council for 2026-2027, succeeding Algeria
Updated 5 min 49 sec ago

Bahrain elected to Arab seat at UN Security Council for 2026-2027, succeeding Algeria

Bahrain elected to Arab seat at UN Security Council for 2026-2027, succeeding Algeria

NEW YORK CITY: The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday elected Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia, and Liberia to the 15-member UN Security Council for two-year terms starting on Jan. 1, 2026.

The Security Council is the only UN body that can make legally binding decisions such as imposing sanctions and authorizing use of force. It has five permanent veto-wielding members: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

The remaining 10 members are elected, with five new members joining every year. Bahrain, Colombia, the DRC, Latvia, and Liberia — who were all elected in uncontested slates — will replace Algeria, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Guyana and Slovenia.

To ensure geographical representation, seats are allocated to regional groups. But even if candidates are running unopposed in their group, they still need to win the support of more than two-thirds of the General Assembly.

Bahrain received 186 votes, DRC 183 votes, Liberia 181 votes, Colombia 180 votes and Latvia 178 votes.

The General Assembly on Monday elected former German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock as president of the 193-member body for its 80th session, which begins in September.


UAE’s foreign minister, Australian counterpart reaffirm friendship

UAE’s foreign minister, Australian counterpart reaffirm friendship
Updated 9 sec ago

UAE’s foreign minister, Australian counterpart reaffirm friendship

UAE’s foreign minister, Australian counterpart reaffirm friendship
  • Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Penny Wong review issues 50 years on from establishing diplomatic relations

LONDON: Foreign ministers of the UAE and Australia have reaffirmed the friendship of their countries, some 50 years on from establishing diplomatic relations.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Penny Wong stressed in a phone call their mutual commitment to strengthening areas of cooperation in support of both countries’ development goals, the Emirates News Agency reported.

The parties also reviewed regional and international issues of mutual interest and expressed their commitment to continue cooperating to achieve growth.

Abu Dhabi and Canberra are celebrating 50 years since establishing diplomatic relations in March 1975.


Jordan condemns Israeli settler incursion into Al-Aqsa, reaffirms responsibility for mosque

Jordan condemns Israeli settler incursion into Al-Aqsa, reaffirms responsibility for mosque
Updated 41 min 19 sec ago

Jordan condemns Israeli settler incursion into Al-Aqsa, reaffirms responsibility for mosque

Jordan condemns Israeli settler incursion into Al-Aqsa, reaffirms responsibility for mosque
  • Hundreds of Israeli settlers entered Al-Aqsa compound in the Old City, which is part of occupied East Jerusalem
  • Jordanian Foreign Ministry said settler incursion would not be possible without protection, facilitation of Israeli police

LONDON: The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by extremist Israeli settlers, describing the action as provocative.

On Monday and Tuesday, hundreds of Israeli settlers entered the compound in the Old City, which is part of occupied East Jerusalem. The ministry described the setters’ behavior as “inflammatory acts that aim to impose new temporal and spatial divisions at the mosque.”

Settlers regularly tour the site under the protection of Israeli police and are often accompanied by government officials and far-right ministers.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sufian Qudah said that the settlers’ incursion “would not be possible without the protection and facilitation of the Israeli police,” demanding that the Israeli authorities “halt their irresponsible and dangerous practices.”

On Tuesday, some settlers performed Talmudic rituals in Al-Aqsa compound known as “epic prostration,” in which the worshipper bows low to the ground in a display of humility and reverence, the Petra news agency reported.

Qudah emphasized that the 144-dunam area of Al-Aqsa Mosque is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims. He highlighted that the Jerusalem Endowments Council, which operates under Jordan’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, is the only legal authority responsible for managing and regulating Al-Aqsa’s affairs, Petra added.


Palestinian appeals for blood donations unanswered in Gaza due to widespread hunger, malnutrition

Palestinian appeals for blood donations unanswered in Gaza due to widespread hunger, malnutrition
Updated 03 June 2025

Palestinian appeals for blood donations unanswered in Gaza due to widespread hunger, malnutrition

Palestinian appeals for blood donations unanswered in Gaza due to widespread hunger, malnutrition
  • Nearly 2 million Palestinians face imminent risk of widespread hunger as Israel has mostly restricted access to sufficient humanitarian aid
  • Hospitals across Gaza are experiencing a critical shortage of essential medications, surgical supplies, and diagnostic imaging equipment

LONDON: Palestinian medics are facing challenging conditions while treating patients and the injured in the Gaza Strip amid ongoing Israeli attacks in the coastal enclave.

Health and medical staff have reported to the Wafa news agency that their appeals for community blood donations have gone largely unanswered due to widespread hunger and malnutrition, while life-saving resources are rapidly depleting in many hospitals.

Nearly 2 million Palestinians face an imminent risk of widespread hunger as Israel has mostly restricted access to sufficient humanitarian aid since it resumed its military actions in March.

Hospitals across Gaza are experiencing a critical shortage of essential medications, surgical supplies, and diagnostic imaging equipment, hindering doctors from carrying out emergency procedures necessary to save lives, Wafa added.

Operating rooms, intensive care units, and emergency departments are struggling under the pressure of a growing number of critically injured patients, and fuel is running out to generate power.

On Monday, Palestinian medical sources in Gaza revealed that 41 percent of kidney failure patients have died since October 2023 amid ongoing Israeli attacks and restrictions on humanitarian and medical aid.

Israeli forces destroyed the Noura Al-Kaabi Dialysis Center in northern Gaza over the weekend, one of the few specialized facilities providing kidney dialysis to 160 patients.


UN chief urges Yemen’s Houthis to release aid workers

UN chief urges Yemen’s Houthis to release aid workers
Updated 03 June 2025

UN chief urges Yemen’s Houthis to release aid workers

UN chief urges Yemen’s Houthis to release aid workers
  • “I renew my call for their immediate and unconditional release,” Guterres said
  • “The UN and its humanitarian partners should never be targeted, arrested or detained while carrying out their mandates”

DUBAI: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday demanded Yemen’s Houthi militants release dozens of aid workers, including UN staff, a year after their arrest.

The Iran-backed militants, who control much of the war-torn country, detained 13 UN personnel and more than 50 employees of aid groups last June.

“I renew my call for their immediate and unconditional release,” Guterres said in a statement issued by the office of his special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg.

“The UN and its humanitarian partners should never be targeted, arrested or detained while carrying out their mandates for the benefit of the people they serve,” he added.

A decade of civil war has plunged Yemen into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with more than half of the population relying on aid.

The arrests prompted the United Nations to limit its deployments and suspend activities in some regions of the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country.

The Houthis at the time claimed an “American-Israeli spy cell” was operating under the cover of aid groups — an accusation firmly rejected by the UN.

Guterres also lamented the “deplorable tragedy” of the death in detention of a World Food Programme staffer in February.

The Houthis have kidnapped, arbitrarily detained and tortured hundreds of civilians, including aid workers, during their war against a Saudi-led coalition supporting the beleaguered internationally recognized government.