Ο υπουργός Άμυνας Ισραήλ Κατζ δήλωσε την Κυριακή ότι το Ισραήλ δεν θα επιτρέψει σε κανέναν να σπάσει τον ναυτικό αποκλεισμό του παλαιστινιακού εδάφους, ο οποίος, όπως είπε, είχε ως στόχο να αποτρέψει τη Χαμάς από την εισαγωγή όπλων.
Η Τούνμπεργκ, ακτιβίστρια για το κλίμα, είναι μεταξύ των 12 ακτιβιστών που βρίσκονται στο Madleen, το οποίο λειτουργεί ο Συνασπισμός του Στόλου της Ελευθερίας. Το πλοίο αναχώρησε από τη Σικελία την περασμένη Κυριακή σε μια αποστολή που στοχεύει στη ρήξη του θαλάσσιου αποκλεισμού της Γάζας και στην παροχή ανθρωπιστικής βοήθειας, ευαισθητοποιώντας παράλληλα για την αυξανόμενη ανθρωπιστική κρίση στον παλαιστινιακό θύλακα.
Οι ακτιβιστές είχαν δηλώσει ότι σχεδίαζαν να φτάσουν στα χωρικά ύδατα της Γάζας ήδη από την Κυριακή.
Η Ρίμα Χασάν, Γαλλίδα βουλευτής του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου παλαιστινιακής καταγωγής, είναι μεταξύ των άλλων που βρίσκονται στο πλοίο. Της απαγορεύτηκε η είσοδος στο Ισραήλ λόγω της αντίθεσής της στις ισραηλινές πολιτικές απέναντι στους Παλαιστίνιους.
Μετά από έναν τρίμηνο πλήρη αποκλεισμό που στόχευε στην πίεση της Χαμάς, το Ισραήλ άρχισε να επιτρέπει την είσοδο κάποιας βασικής βοήθειας στη Γάζα τον περασμένο μήνα, αλλά οι εργαζόμενοι σε ανθρωπιστικές οργανώσεις έχουν προειδοποιήσει για λιμό εκτός εάν σταματήσει ο αποκλεισμός και ο πόλεμος. Μια προσπάθεια του Στόλου της Ελευθερίας τον περασμένο μήνα να φτάσει στη Γάζα δια θαλάσσης απέτυχε, αφού ένα άλλο σκάφος της οργάνωσης δέχθηκε επίθεση από δύο μη επανδρωμένα αεροσκάφη (drones) ενώ έπλεε σε διεθνή ύδατα ανοιχτά της Μάλτας. Η οργάνωση κατηγόρησε το Ισραήλ για την επίθεση, η οποία προκάλεσε ζημιές στο μπροστινό μέρος του πλοίου.
srael’s defense minister has vowed to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching the Gaza Strip.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that Israel wouldn’t allow anyone to break its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, which he said was aimed at preventing Hamas from importing arms.Thunberg, a climate campaigner is among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The vessel departed Sicily last Sunday on a mission that aims to break the sea blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, while raising awareness over the growing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.
The activists had said they planned to reach Gaza’s territorial waters as early as Sunday.
Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, is among the others onboard. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.
After a three-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade and the war end.
An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group’s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.
- Witnesses say nearby Israeli troops have opened fire, and more than 80 people have been killed, according to Gaza hospital officials
DEIR AL BALAH: Palestinian health officials and witnesses say at least
five people were killed and others were wounded by Israeli fire as they
headed toward two aid distribution points in the Gaza Strip run by an
Israeli and US-backed group. Israel’s military said it fired warning
shots at people who approached its forces.
Four bodies were brought to Nasser Hospital in Gaza’s southern city of
Khan Younis. Palestinian witnesses there said Israeli forces had fired
on them at a roundabout that is around a kilometer (half-mile) from a
site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the nearby city of
Rafah.
The Israeli military said it fired warning shots at people it said were
suspects who had advanced toward its forces and ignored warnings to
turn away. It said the shooting occurred in an area in southern Gaza
that is considered an active combat zone at night.
Meanwhile, Al-Awda Hospital said in a statement that it received the
body of a 42-year-old man and 29 people who were wounded near another
GHF aid distribution point, in central Gaza. The military said it fired
warning shots in the area at around 6:40 a.m. but did not see any
casualties.
A GHF spokesperson said there was no violence in or around its
distribution sites, all three of which delivered aid on Sunday. The
group had closed them temporarily last week to discuss safety measures
with the Israeli military and has warned people to stay on designated
access routes. The spokesperson spoke on condition of anonymity in line
with regulations.
Deadly shootings near new aid hubs
The past two weeks have seen frequent shootings near the new hubs where
thousands of desperate Palestinians are being directed to collect food.
Witnesses say nearby Israeli troops have opened fire, and more than 80
people have been killed, according to Gaza hospital officials. Israel’s
military has said it fired warning shots or, in some instances, near
individuals approaching its forces.
Witnesses said Sunday’s shooting in southern Gaza occurred at around 6
a.m., when they were told the site would open. Many had headed toward it
early to try and get desperately needed food before the crowds.
Adham Dahman, 30, who was at Nasser Hospital with a bandage on his
chin, said a tank had fired toward them. “We didn’t know how to escape,”
he said. “This is trap for us, not aid.”
Zahed Ben Hassan, another witness, said someone next to him was shot in
the head. He said that he and others pulled the body from the scene and
managed to flee to the hospital.
“They said it was a safe area from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. ... So why did
they start shooting at us?” he said. “There was light out, and they have
their cameras and can clearly see us.”
The military had announced on Friday that the sites would be open
during those hours, and that the area would be a closed military zone
from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m.
Risk of famine
The hubs are set up inside Israeli military zones — where independent
media have no access — and are run by GHF, a new group of mainly
American contractors. Israel wants it to replace a system coordinated by
the United Nations and international aid groups.
Israel and the United States accuse the militant Hamas group of
stealing aid, while the UN denies there is any systematic diversion. The
UN says the new system is unable to meet mounting needs and allows
Israel to use aid as a weapon by determining who can receive it and
forcing people to relocate to where the aid sites are positioned.
The UN system has meanwhile struggled to deliver aid — even after
Israel eased its complete blockade of Gaza last month. UN officials say
their efforts are hindered by Israeli military restrictions, the
breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting.
Experts warned earlier this year that Gaza was at critical risk of
famine if Israel did not lift its blockade and halt its military
campaign, which Israeli officials have said will continue until all the
hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into
exile.
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return
for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal
from Gaza. Talks mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar have been
deadlocked for months.
Israel says a spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defense is a Hamas member
In a separate development, the Israeli military accused a spokesperson
for Gaza’s Civil Defense of being an active Hamas member, according to
documents it said were recovered during operations inside Gaza.
The Associated Press was not able to independently verify the
documents, which purport to show that Mahmoud Bassal joined Hamas in
2005. Bassal did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Civil Defense are first responders who operate under the Hamas-run
government and often are first to arrive at the scenes of Israeli
strikes.
Hamas started the war with its massive attack on southern Israel on
Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinians militants killed some 1,200 people,
mostly civilians, and took another 251 people hostage. They are still
holding 55 hostages, fewer than half of them alive, after most of the
rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel has recovered dozens of bodies, including three in recent days,
and rescued eight living hostages over the course of the war.
Israel’s military campaign has killed over 54,000 Palestinians,
according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It has said women and children make
up most of the dead but does not say how many civilians or combatants
were killed. Israel says it has killed over 20,000 militants, without
providing evidence.
The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90
percent of its population. The territory’s roughly 2 million
Palestinians are almost completely reliant on international aid because
nearly all of Gaza’s food production capabilities have been destroyed.
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