Flowerbud News

Tag: Gaza

  • Mideast in Pictures: Wounded and displaced, Gaza’s disabled boy struggles to survive

    Mideast in Pictures: Wounded and displaced, Gaza’s disabled boy struggles to survive

     

    GAZA:  (Xinhua)/Flowerbudnews- Akram Sharif al-Fayoumi was only 11 years old when an Israeli military strike tore through the Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza City in August 2024, leaving him without his left arm and his right leg. He now lives in a tent.

    Like thousands of children across Gaza, Akram has joined a generation marked by permanent physical loss. At least 21,000 children in the territory have been disabled since the conflict began, among them thousands who have undergone amputations, according to the United Nations human rights office. The office said those injuries have resulted largely from the use of explosive weapons in densely populated residential areas.

    For many of those children, survival has given way to a new and grinding struggle. Medical supplies are scarce.

    Rehabilitation services are overwhelmed or nonexistent. Prosthetics and assistive devices are rarely available. Akram and his family remain displaced in western Gaza City, where he waits, as so many others do, with little clarity about what comes next.

     

     

  • Gaza Death Toll from Israeli War Hits 72,300 – Health Ministry

    Gaza Death Toll from Israeli War Hits 72,300 – Health Ministry

    – At least 704 people killed, over 1,900 injured by Israeli fire since ceasefire, ministry says

    Amer Fouad Solyman

    GAZA CITY, Palestine / ISTANBUL

    The Palestinian death toll in Gaza from Israel’s deadly war since October 2023 has reached 72,280 people, with 172,014 others wounded, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

    In a statement, the ministry said that two people were killed and a third was injured by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours.

    According to the ministry, at least 704 people have been killed and 1,914 others injured by Israeli fire since a ceasefire deal took effect on Oct. 10, 2025.

    The ministry explained that local authorities managed to recover 756 bodies from the rubble since the ceasefire.

    The Israeli war has displaced almost the entire population of Gaza and caused widespread destruction affecting 90% of civilian infrastructure, with reconstruction costs estimated by the United Nations at about $70 billion.

    *Writing by Lina Altawell

  • Report claims ‘substantial evidence’ that the Israeli army carried out a double-tap strike in the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab.

    Report claims ‘substantial evidence’ that the Israeli army carried out a double-tap strike in the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab.

     

    Campaign group Avaaz’s report claims ‘substantial evidence’ that the Israeli army carried out a double-tap strike in the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab.
    Rajab and two Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics were killed after an ambulance tried to save her on 29 January 2024, fleeing Israeli bombardment after Israel forced residents to leave the north [GETTY]

    The Israeli army used a “double tap” strike when killing five-year-old Hind Rajab in 2024, analysis by a global campaign group found, as calls for accountability continue two years after the Palestinian’s killing.

    The US-based Avaaz NGO revealed that a reconstruction of the ambulance mission approved to aid Rajab showed “substantial evidence of a deliberate ‘double tap’ tactic” in a report shared exclusively with Al Jazeera.

    The tactic means carrying out two strikes on the same target and is often used to kill or injure medics and civilians who are rushing to aid people from the first attack.

    “The brief brings together the timeline of events up to and beyond Hind’s death, showing what Israeli forces must have been aware of at each stage, and the frequent opportunities they had to pull back from murder,” Avaaz told the network.

    The group said its report documents over 40 human rights violations and ties together how those violations are evidence of a double-tap attack on the hospital workers.

    “Each violation builds to an alarming possibility: Israel is not only killing Palestinians – it is systematically killing those who try to save them,” the group said.

    “The message is clear: If the medical community tries to help, it will be extinguished.”

    The group highlight that the Israeli army knew when the paramedics would arrive to Hind’s aid, with the ambulance receiving permission from COGAT, an arm of the Israeli military. Avaaz adds that the vehicle was not attacked in a way it could have been perceived as a warning shot if the military thought otherwise, saying it “points to lethal targeting”.

    The report also says that since three hours had passed between the initial attack on Rajab’s car and the final attack on the ambulance, it shows the Israeli army had an opportunity for “situational awareness, communication, and command decision-making”.

    Avaaz said the double strike constitutes a war crime, calling for the International Criminal Court to bring justice to those responsible.

    “What I have done is establish a legal framework for the previous investigation. I think it is very important that we also look at what happened to the ambulance workers as well as what happened to Hind and her family,” Sarah Andrew, legal director of Avaaz, told Al Jazeera.

    Rajab and two Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics were killed after an ambulance tried to save her on 29 January 2024, fleeing Israeli bombardment after Israel forced residents to leave the north.

    Rajab was trapped in a car surrounded by six corpses of her family. Recordings between her and dispatchers from the Palestinian Red Crescent show Rajab pleading for help, begging for the ambulance to come and save her.

    After the ambulance and a route were finally approved, the site was targeted by an Israeli strike, causing international outrage and condemnation.

    The bodies of the nine victims were recovered 12 days later, with Rajab’s family car found to be laden with 335 bullet holes.

    While the Israeli military tried to deny its forces were present during the initial attack, investigations identified several Israeli Merkava tanks being present in the vicinity of the car, along with no evidence that the army engaged in fire with Palestinian fighters.

    Israel steps up assassinations in Gaza despite ‘ceasefire’

    Journalists from Al Jazeera were forced to pack up and leave while covering the arson attack on four Jewish community ambulances in north London in the UK, with the Met police intervening to diffuse the situation. Videos posted online show a group of men surrounding and confronting the crew, chanting "go home" and "Al Jazeera off our streets". One member of the crowd said, "No one wants Al Jazeera here," and "Al Jazeera is not wanted here, with another saying, "Go back to Qatar", referring to where the ne
    google newsFollow the Middle East’s top stories in English at The New Arab on Google News

    Tags

    Recommended for You

    More In News

    Most Viewed

    Egypt’s crackdown on gold miners sparks fears of Sudan spillover

    Israel ‘tortures Gaza toddler’ to force ‘confession’ from father

    French telemarketing ban ‘threatens’ 50,000 Moroccan workers

    What are the latest air travel cancellations due to Iran war?

    Pakistan signals shift away from Iran towards Saudi Arabia

    Iranians mark Nowruz and Eid al-Fitr despite war and inflation

     

     

  • Gaza hospitals on brink as Israel stops vital medicines, equipment coming in

    Gaza hospitals on brink as Israel stops vital medicines, equipment coming in

     

    Gaza’s health ministry says remaining hospitals can no longer treat patients as shortages worsen and Israeli attacks continue

    Most of Gaza’s health infrastructure has been destroyed by Israel [Getty]

    Gaza’s remaining functioning hospitals have become little more than forced waiting stations for thousands of patients and wounded people facing an unknown fate, the enclave’s Ministry of Health said, amid continued Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement and renewed attacks across the territory on Saturday.

    The ministry said the remaining operational hospitals are no longer able to meet medical needs due to severe shortages of medicines and supplies, warning that the healthcare system is on the brink of total collapse.

    It reported that 46% of essential medicines, 66% of medical consumables, and 84% of laboratory and blood bank supplies have been completely depleted, leaving even basic painkillers unavailable.

    According to the ministry, services for cancer patients, blood diseases, surgery, intensive care, and primary healthcare are among the most severely affected.

    It said limited quantities of medicines entering Gaza fall far short of actual needs, stressing that temporary emergency measures are insufficient and renewing urgent appeals for immediate international intervention to replenish medical stocks.

    90% of healthcare facilities damaged or destroyed
    In a separate report, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said Israeli attacks have destroyed around 90% of Gaza’s healthcare facilities either fully or partially, forcing them out of service. Of Gaza’s 38 hospitals, only 18 are partially operational.

    Most of the facilities are concentrated in the central areas and Deir al-Balah, while northern Gaza faces an almost complete absence of specialised medical services.

    The report added that more than 1,240 doctors, nurses, and paramedics have been killed since the start of the war.

    Around 11,000 cancer patients are facing life-threatening conditions due to the depletion of chemotherapy drugs and the shutdown of radiotherapy equipment, while dialysis centres are struggling with equipment failures and shortages of filters and solutions.

    The health ministry said more than 1.5 million cases of infectious diseases have been recorded, including viral hepatitis, acute gastrointestinal infections, and skin diseases, largely due to the destruction of sewage networks and water contamination.

    It added that around 18,000 wounded and chronically ill patients are in critical condition and urgently require medical evacuation abroad, while only about 1% of those in need are permitted to leave each month.

    Continued attacks
    The health crisis is unfolding as Israeli forces continue military operations across the Gaza Strip, despite the ceasefire agreement that came into force in October. On Friday evening, several Palestinians were injured in renewed airstrikes and gunfire targeting multiple areas.

    One Palestinian was wounded by Israeli gunfire in the town of al-Qarara, northeast of Khan Younis, while five others were injured after heavy fire from Israeli tanks struck displacement tents in the al-Buraq neighbourhood, south of the city. Another person was shot in central Deir al-Balah.

    Israeli warplanes also completely destroyed a multi-storey residential building near the Asqula roundabout in the al-Zeitoun neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, after issuing a brief evacuation warning only minutes before the attack. Earlier on Friday, two Palestinians were killed by Israeli shelling and gunfire in northern Gaza.

    Israeli helicopter gunships opened heavy fire on Rafah in the south of the Strip, while military vehicles targeted areas east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Palestinian media also reported gunfire from Israeli forces near al-Bureij refugee camp and along the coast of Khan Younis in the early hours of Saturday.

    The Gaza health ministry said that since the ceasefire came into effect last October, 574 Palestinians have been killed and 1,518 injured. Since the start of the Israeli assault in October 2023, the death toll has reached 71,851, with 171,626 injured.

  • Like Bosnia, Like Gaza – Down the Memory Lane

    Like Bosnia, Like Gaza – Down the Memory Lane

     

    By Fahmi Howeydi, (a famous Egyptian writer and journalist.)

    “Hand over your weapons so we can slaughter you like sheep, and then take your lands!!”
    Written by: Fahmi Howeydi, a famous Egyptian writer and journalist.
    If you have not understood what happened in Bosnia, you will not be able to understand what is happening in Gaza!
    Understand Bosnia first, then you will understand Gaza and what is happening there—do not be surprised!
    The genocide war launched by the Serbs against the Muslims of Bosnia resulted in the killing of 300,000 Muslims.

    60,000 women and children were raped.
    1.5 million people were forcibly displaced from their homes.
    Do we remember that?
    Or have we forgotten?
    Or do we not know it at all?
    A CNN broadcaster asked about the memory of the Bosnian massacre and questioned the famous journalist Christiane Amanpour:
    “Is history repeating itself?”
    Amanpour replied:
    * “It was a completely savage war — killings, sieges, and starvation against Muslims. Europe refused to intervene, claiming: ‘It is a civil war.’ This was a huge lie!”

    * The killings lasted for nearly 4 years.
    * The Serbs destroyed more than 800 mosques, some from the 16th century.
    * They burned the historical library of Sarajevo.
    The United Nations intervened by setting up protection zones for Muslim cities like Gorazde, Srebrenica, and Zepa, but these zones did not provide real protection — they were besieged and attacked!

    * Thousands of Muslims were placed in torture camps — starved until they were just skin and bones.
    * When a Serbian commander was asked why,
    He replied: “Because they do not eat pork!”
    The Guardian newspaper published a map showing 17 locations of rape camps for Muslim women — some located inside Serbia itself.

    * The Serbs raped children.
    * A 4-year-old girl was raped — and The Guardian wrote:
    “A young girl whose only crime was being a Muslim.”
    In the town of Zepa:
    * The killer Mladić invited a Muslim leader, offered him a cigarette, and made him laugh a little…
    * Then slaughtered him on the spot.
    Srebrenica is the most infamous massacre:
    * UN soldiers were eating and playing with the Serbs.
    * Some even traded food to women in exchange for sexual favors.
    * Srebrenica was under siege for 2 years.
    * Food supplies were seized by the Serbs.
    * Then the West betrayed them:
    They pressured the Muslims to hand over their weapons in exchange for safety!
    The Muslims obeyed, exhausted and starving.
    But after that, the Serbs invaded the city:
    * They separated men from women.
    * 12,000 men and boys were taken — all slaughtered and brutally tortured!

    Forms of brutality:
    * A Serb would step on a Muslim and carve a cross on his face while he was alive.
    * Others begged to be killed quickly because of the unbearable pain.
    * A mother held a Serb’s hand begging him to spare her child — he cut off her hand, then slaughtered the child in front of her.

    And we Muslims were watching, hearing, eating, laughing, and continuing life as normal.
    After the Srebrenica massacre, the killer Radovan Karadžić entered the city as a victor and declared:
    “Srebrenica has always been Serbian — now it has returned to our hands!”

    * The Serbs raped Muslim women and held them until they gave birth.
    * The goal?
    “We want them to bear Serbian children,” one of them said.
    When we remember Bosnia, Sarajevo, Banja Luka, and Srebrenica…
    We say loudly:
    * We will not forget the Balkans.
    * We will not forget Granada.
    * We will not forget Palestine.
    And here, we write in the ink of shame:
    * The stance of “Boutros Boutros-Ghali,” the elderly Christian Orthodox former UN Secretary-General, who openly sided with his Serbian brothers.
    But sadly, even after 30 years, we have not learned the lesson.
    Finally:
    * The Serbs targeted to kill:
    Scholars,
    Imams,
    Intellectuals,
    Businessmen.
    * They were imprisoned, then slaughtered, and their bodies thrown into rivers.
    Historical stories are not told to children so they sleep, but to men so they wake up!
    And today they want Hamas to surrender to the Jews so they can be slaughtered like sheep — and sadly, some Arab states participate in and support this plan.
    May Allah protect everyone who reads and shares this article.

     

  • 48 Palestinians killed on Saturday in Israeli attacks across Gaza as humanitarian condition worsens

    48 Palestinians killed on Saturday in Israeli attacks across Gaza as humanitarian condition worsens

     

    GAZA/JERUSALEM, (Xinhua)/Flowerbudnews — At least 48 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, as the Israeli army continues to deepen its military operation in the neighborhoods of Gaza City, according to Gaza’s civil defense authority.

    Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense authority in Gaza, told Xinhua that 48 bodies arrived at hospitals across Gaza on Saturday after Israeli attacks struck residential homes and tents sheltering displaced people since dawn.

    Basal said that among the dead, three were killed by Israeli gunfire in front of an aid distribution center in the central Netzarim axis.

    Meanwhile, Israeli forces are advancing deeper into Gaza City. Witnesses told Xinhua that the Israeli army was launching intensive raids in surrounding neighborhoods and detonating drone-dropped bombs between houses amid heavy artillery shelling and gunfire.

    The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Saturday that its troops “continue operational activity against the terrorist organizations throughout the Gaza Strip.”

    “Over the past day, the air force struck approximately 120 terror targets, including military structures, terrorists, and additional terrorist infrastructure,” it added.

    Humanitarian and international organizations warned of the almost complete collapse of the health system in Gaza due to the escalation of the military operation, amid fears for the remaining residents of the city, estimated at 400,000 people, of worsening humanitarian conditions.

    Umm Rafik Salem, a mother of three who remained in Gaza, told Xinhua that the situation in the city was “becoming more difficult in light of the military escalation and the scarcity of food, medical and supplies.”

    Salem, 42, added, “Markets are scarce of goods. Vendors and kitchens that used to provide free food were displaced to the south.”

    Gaza City is also facing a water crisis, with available supplies meeting less than 25 percent of daily needs, according to Assem Al-Nabih, spokesperson for the Gaza Municipality.

    Al-Nabih told Xinhua that about 15,000 cubic meters of water are currently supplied each day through Israeli water company Mekorot — an unstable amount — in addition to around 10,000 cubic meters drawn from local wells.

    Israel has been waging a large-scale war in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, following a surprise attack carried out by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel, which, according to Israeli authorities, resulted in the death of about 1,200 people and the detention of 251 hostages.

    The two-year war has killed nearly 66,000 Palestinians, according to the health authorities in the Gaza Strip, in addition to significant destruction of buildings and infrastructure.

  • At least 55 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza Strip: sources

    At least 55 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza Strip: sources

    GAZA, (Xinhua)/FLOWERBUDNEWS:  — At least 55 Palestinians were killed across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday due to Israeli attacks, according to official and local Palestinian sources.

    Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense, told Xinhua that 22 people, including children and women, were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting warehouses belonging to the Gaza Municipality, which housed dozens of displaced families in eastern Gaza City.

    Basal added that Civil Defense teams are still working to recover victims from under the rubble.

    “A massive explosion occurred in the early hours of the morning, killing and wounding a large number of people instantly. Several bodies remain under the rubble,” said local eyewitness Anwar Ershi.

    There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the airstrike.

    Meanwhile, Basal said 15 more people were killed in separate airstrikes on the Al-Sahaba and Shuja’iyya neighborhoods and the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, and six others died in an airstrike on the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

    He added that 12 people were killed in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, including eight who were shot by Israeli forces while trying to obtain food outside an aid distribution center south of the city.

    The casualties come amid ongoing Israeli ground operations, with Israeli tanks advancing into the Al-Sabra and Tal al-Hawa neighborhoods in southern Gaza City, as well as the Al-Nasr and Sheikh Radwan neighborhoods in the north, amid artillery shelling and gunfire, according to local sources and eyewitnesses.

    Local witnesses reported that the Israeli army has been detonating explosive-laden military vehicles, causing widespread destruction to residential buildings.

    Israeli public radio Kan said the army has expanded its military operations in northern Gaza City over the past two days. The report added that these moves could split the northern Gaza Strip into two parts, creating a fourth axis dividing the enclave.

    On Wednesday, Hamas called on countries worldwide to impose a comprehensive boycott of Israel and isolate it legally, politically, and economically, a day after Spain approved a full arms embargo on Israel in response to the ongoing war in Gaza.

     

     

  • Five more Palestinians, including three children, starved to death by Israel

    Five more Palestinians, including three children, starved to death by Israel

     

    –  Three of the five deaths were of children, bringing the total number of people starved to death by Israel to 387, including 138 children.

    MENA

     

    Israel has continued to block the free entry of aid into Gaza, causing the enclave to plunge into famine [Getty]

    Five more Palestinians have starved to death in the past 24 hours due to Israel’s siege on the enclave, Gaza’s health ministry said on Sunday.

    The ministry said that three of the five deaths were children, bringing the total number of Palestinians starved to death by Israel to 387, including 138 children.

    Palestinian health authorities have recorded 109 deaths from starvation since the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declared famine in Gaza City last month. The number of deaths is expected to rise due to Israel’s decimation of Gaza’s health system, deteriorating living conditions and the continued genocide, which is now in its 23rd month.

    The United Nations officially declared famine in Gaza on 22 August, making it the first place in the Middle East outside of Africa to receive such a classification. The UN report highlighted that Israel’s actions in Gaza are the cause of the famine.

    Israel continues to obstruct the free entry of aid into Gaza, with the enclave’s Government Media Office reporting that the total amount of aid that entered in July was at best 15 percent of the population’s basic needs.

    UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram warned in an interview with Anadolu that the famine is at risk of worsening in Gaza City, which Israel is attempting to invade and fully occupy. Ingram warned that the famine could spread to the central Gaza Strip if action is not taken urgently.

    “The last refuge for families in the northern Gaza Strip is fast becoming a place where childhood cannot survive,” Ingram warned earlier this week.

    The UN official also described seeing children in hospitals with their “bodies riddled by shrapnel”.

    “The unthinkable is not looming. It is already here. The escalation is underway,” Ingram said.

  • UN humanitarians say Israeli offensive in Gaza City would be “beyond catastrophic”

    UN humanitarians say Israeli offensive in Gaza City would be “beyond catastrophic”

     

    UN hum

     

    UNITED NATION: (Xinhua)/Flowerbudnews– The consequences of the announced Israeli plan to take over Gaza City would be “beyond catastrophic,” UN humanitarians warned Thursday.

    “The impact of a full-blown offensive would be beyond catastrophic — not only for those in the city but for the entire Gaza Strip,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. “Some neighborhoods have already seen deadly attacks in recent days.”

    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters ahead of a Security Council meeting: “Israel’s initial steps to militarily take over Gaza City signal a new and dangerous phase. Hundreds of thousands of civilians, already exhausted and traumatized, would be forced to flee yet again, plunging families into even deeper peril. This must stop.”

    OCHA said partners tracking population movements reported that approximately 1,300 people have fled from northern to southern Gaza in the last two days, bringing to 20,000 the number of north-south displacements since Aug. 14, when the Israeli plan was announced.

    World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain called for faster approvals to move supplies into and within Gaza, for the safety of people to reach aid and for humanitarian workers to reach those in need.

    “Gaza is at a breaking point. Desperation is soaring — and I saw it firsthand.” McCain said. “We must urgently be able to revive our vast and trusted network of 200 food distribution points across the Strip, community kitchens and bakeries.”

    She visited the Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis governorates, where she saw a nutrition clinic that was keeping children alive, and spoke with displaced mothers who described their daily struggle to survive, often searching for scraps of food but finding nothing.

    McCain’s trip follows the announcement that famine is present in the Gaza governorate, affecting more than 500,000 people. It is likely to spread to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis governorates by the end of September.

    OCHA said the United Nations and its partners are bringing food assistance into Gaza daily, a moderate increase in the amount of humanitarian and commercial goods entering the strip, but far below what’s needed to support 2 million people, many in extreme hunger.

    For the first time since March, the Food and Agriculture Organization said it was able to provide vital animal feed to herders in Deir al-Balah. The agency said that 200 herders received two 100-kilogram sacks each, a crucial step to protect livestock and help curb the spread of famine.

    OCHA said that delays and obstructions to humanitarian movements within Gaza continue, with movements that are approved by Israeli authorities still taking hours to complete.

    “Between last Wednesday and this Tuesday, out of 89 attempts to coordinate movements with Israeli authorities across the Gaza Strip, only 59 percent were facilitated,” including the transfer of fuel and the collection of medical, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene supplies, as well as staff movements and rotations, the humanitarian office said.

    “Another 26 percent were initially approved but then impeded on the ground, 8 percent were denied outright, and 7 percent had to be withdrawn by the organizers,” OCHA said.