Gaza accuses Israel, US of lacing flour aid with opioids, calls it ‘soft weapon’ in war
Gaza: In a startling allegation amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, Gaza’s Government Media Office has claimed that humanitarian flour bags distributed in the region contain narcotics, specifically the opioid Oxycodone. The statement, issued Saturday, accused Israel and the United States of weaponizing humanitarian aid to deliberately inflict social harm on the besieged Palestinian population.
According to the Hamas-run authority, at least four civilians reported finding narcotic pills inside flour sacks provided through aid channels linked to US- and Israeli-supported distribution centres. It further alleged that in some cases, the opioids may have been ground and mixed directly into the flour, posing a grave threat to public health.
In a Telegram post quoted by Al Jazeera, Gaza’s Government Media Office stated: “We hold the Israeli occupation fully responsible for this heinous crime of spreading addiction and destroying the Palestinian social fabric from within. It is part of a systematic policy that constitutes an extension of the genocide it is waging against our Palestinian people.”
The office accused Israel of deploying narcotics as a “soft weapon in a dirty war against civilians,” labelling it a war crime and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.
The claims have triggered serious concerns about the integrity of humanitarian operations in Gaza. The involvement of US-run distribution networks has deepened the controversy, especially as Palestinians already argue that current aid meets less than 1% of Gaza’s basic needs.
The Israeli government has not issued an official response to these claims. However, Israeli media reports indicate that authorities plan to establish alternative aid routes in southern and central Gaza, bypassing UN-led efforts, a move criticized by the United Nations and global relief organizations.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that since May 27, Israeli forces have killed at least 549 Palestinians and injured over 4,000 near food trucks and aid centres. Since the start of the Israeli military offensive in October 2023, the total death toll in Gaza has surpassed 56,300—most of them women and children.
The growing list of war crime allegations includes ongoing investigations by international judicial bodies. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Simultaneously, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is hearing a genocide case against Israel.
Gaza's statement concluded with an urgent appeal: “This is not just about humanitarian aid being corrupted. It is about a deliberate attack on the minds and bodies of our people. The world must take notice and act.”
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
