Officials say 85 Palestinians seeking aid killed in Gaza as Israel widens evacuation orders
Deir Al-Balah (Gaza Strip), Jul 20 (AP): At least 85 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach food at locations across Gaza on Sunday, the territory's Health Ministry said, on the deadliest day yet for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war.
There was new alarm as Israel's military issued evacuation orders for areas of central Gaza, one of the few areas where it has rarely operated with ground troops and where many international organisations trying to distribute aid are located.
One aid group said several groups' offices were told to evacuate immediately. There was no immediate Israeli comment on that.
The largest death toll was in devastated northern Gaza, where living conditions are especially dire. At least 79 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel, Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Health Ministry's records department, told The Associated Press.
The UN World Food Programme said 25 trucks with aid had entered for “starving communities” when it encountered massive crowds that came under gunfire.
A UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to comment on the incident to the media, said Israeli forces opened fire toward the crowds who tried to take food from the convoy. Footage taken by the UN and shared with the AP showed Palestinian men running as the sound of automatic gunfire could be heard.
“Suddenly, tanks surrounded us and trapped us as gunshots and strikes rained down. We were trapped for around two hours,” said Ehab Al-Zei, who had been waiting for flour. “I will never go back again. Let us die of hunger, it's better.”
Nafiz Al-Najjar, who was injured, said tanks and drones targeted people “randomly” and he saw his cousin and others shot dead.
Israel's military said soldiers had shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat, and it was aware of some casualties. But it said the numbers reported by officials in Gaza were far higher than its initial investigation found.
The military accused Hamas group of creating chaos and endangering civilians.
More than 150 people were wounded overall, with some in critical condition, hospitals said.
Al-Waheidi said another six Palestinians were killed in the Shakoush area, hundreds of metres north of a hub of the recently created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US- and Israel-backed group, in the southern city of Rafah.
Witnesses and health workers say hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli fire while trying to access the group's aid distribution sites.
Separately, seven Palestinians were killed while sheltering in tents in Khan Younis in the south, including a five-year-old boy, according to the Kuwait Specialised Field Hospital, which received the casualties.
Evacuation orders cut road across Gaza
The new evacuation orders cut access between the central city of Deir al-Balah and Rafah and Khan Younis in the narrow territory. The military also reiterated evacuation orders for northern Gaza.
The United Nations has been in contact with Israeli authorities to clarify whether UN facilities in the southwestern part of Deir al-Balah are included in the evacuation order, according to a different UN official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to speak to the media.
The official said that in previous instances, UN facilities were spared from evacuation orders.
The latest order covers an area stretching from a previously evacuated area all the way to the Mediterranean coast and will severely hamper movement for aid groups and civilians in Gaza.
The Medical Aid for Palestinians group in a statement said several humanitarian organisations' offices and guesthouses had been “ordered to evacuate immediately” and nine clinics, including the MAP one, had been forced to shut down. It was not immediately clear what other groups were affected.
Military spokesman Avichay Adraee called for people to head to the Muwasi area, a desolate tent camp with little infrastructure on Gaza's southern coast that Israel's military has designated a humanitarian zone.
The announcement came as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that expanding Israel's military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas in negotiations.
Earlier this month, Israel's military said it controlled more than 65 per cent of Gaza.
Palestinian death toll nears 59,000
Gaza's population of more than 2 million Palestinians are in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, now relying largely on the limited aid allowed into the territory. Many people have been displaced multiple times.
Ambulances in front of three major hospitals in Gaza sounded their alarms simultaneously Sunday in an urgent appeal as the hunger crisis grows. The Health Ministry posted pictures on social media of doctors holding signs about malnourished children and the lack of medication.
Hamas triggered the war when fighters stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023 killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty remain in Gaza, but fewer than half are thought to be alive.
Israel's military offensive has killed more than 58,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't say how many fighters have been killed but says more than half of the dead have been women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
The Hostages Family Forum, a grassroots organisation that represents many families of hostages, condemned the new evacuation announcement and demanded that Netanyahu and Israel's military explain what they hope to accomplish in central Gaza, accusing Israel of operating without a clear plan.
“Enough! The Israeli people overwhelmingly want an end to the fighting and a comprehensive agreement that will return all of the hostages,” the forum said. On Saturday night, during a weekly protest, tens of thousands marched in Tel Aviv to the branch of the US Embassy, demanding an end to the war.
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Junior Hockey World Cup: IndiGo crisis disrupts travel plans of players' families, fans
Chennai (PTI): For Kate, the dream was simple -- to watch her son Fahy Noah play for the Australian team in the Junior Hockey World Cup here and visit the Taj Mahal.
But her plans, like those of many others, have been upended by the operational crisis that has hit IndiGo, India's largest domestic airline.
"I am here for the first time and India is so kind and welcoming. We were hoping to see the Taj Mahal, but with the IndiGo problems, we are a bit scared now," Kate, who has come from Brisbane, told PTI outside the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here.
"One family went on a rest day and got stuck overnight. I think we will have to cancel all our travel plans now, though seeing the Taj Mahal was on my bucket list for long," she said.
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This is the first time that 24 teams are participating in the Junior Hockey World Cup, being held in Chennai and Madurai from November 28 to December 10. For most players and their families, it is their maiden trip to India. Many NRIs have also flown in to support the Indian team.
However, the widespread flight delays and cancellations have thrown schedules into chaos. IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights last week, citing regulatory changes in the pilots' flight duty and regulations norms. This resulted in lakhs of passengers getting stuck at airports across the country.
Laura, who has come from Belgium with her entire family to support her son, said they are now travelling by road.
"We are happy to be here in this beautiful country. We went to Munnar and Madurai, and now we are planning to go to Puducherry and Mahabalipuram by road," she said.
"We had taken IndiGo flights earlier, but some other families who travelled on different days got stuck and somehow managed to come back by train. So we are not flying anywhere in India now. Road travel only and then back to Brussels next week," she said.
For 87-year-old Kenyan hockey legend Avtar Singh Sohal, a four-time Olympian and a lifelong supporter of Indian hockey, the crisis was particularly distressing. He spent 12 gruelling hours at the Chandigarh airport on December 4 before finally reaching Chennai just in time for the quarterfinals.
"Our IndiGo flight was delayed by 12 hours. We were at the airport from 7 am to 7 pm. They kept giving excuses -- the aircraft has not arrived, the pilot is not available. We had no idea what was actually happening," he said.
Accompanying Sohal was 85-year-old Tarlok Singh Mandair, a former treasurer of the English Hockey Association, who had flown in from London.
"It was a horrible experience. They kept changing the timings from 12 noon to 4 pm and we finally took off at 7:20 pm. They gave us sandwiches which were not even good," Mandair recalled.
"Our return flight is also on IndiGo, but now we are exploring other options," he said.
Jujhar Singh Plaha, 86, from London, who was on the same flight, said his excitement has turned into anxiety.
"We were so excited about this trip; hockey is our first love. But this (IndiGo crisis) spoiled our mood. Now we are worried about returning because at our age, we cannot travel long distances by train or road," he said.
Jason, the father of Australian player Roger Lachlan, has had an eventful trip to India so far -- beginning with the rain in Chennai triggered by Cyclone Ditwah.
"We are from Hobart -- home of Ricky Ponting and David Boon. We arrived after a cyclone, which caused heavy rain. Now the sun is out and we are enjoying ourselves," he said with a smile.
Jason, too, has shelved all further travel plans.
"No sightseeing now. We will just eat, swim and head back. I am loving masala dosa, masala tea and curries," he said.
Some fans from Bengaluru, who had booked their flight tickets months in advance, decided not to take a risk. They opted for refunds and drove down to Chennai on Sunday to catch the semifinal.
"With flight uncertainty and trains full, we drove down. We did not want to miss India in the semis," said Vinod Chinnappa, who drove for six hours to come here.
Even officials have not been spared by the flight disruptions.
Digvijay Singh, an official of the Hockey India League franchise, waited eight hours at the Patna airport to catch a flight to Chennai.
"I did not want to miss the India-Belgium quarterfinal, so I waited. I finished all episodes of (web series) Family Man at the lounge," he said.
"I had gone to Patna from Delhi for a meeting earlier in the day and then needed to connect to Chennai," Singh said.
With the World Cup set to wrap up in two days, uncertainty about people's plans to return home looms large.
With prices of alternative flights rising and train seats nearly impossible to find, fans, officials, families and journalists are monitoring travel apps as closely as match updates.
If the situation does not improve soon, returning home could be as challenging as winning matches on the field.
