KSrelief participates in 5th UN Conference on Least Developed Countries

KSrelief Participates in 5th UN Conference on Least Developed Countries.(SPA)
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Updated 09 March 2023
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KSrelief participates in 5th UN Conference on Least Developed Countries

  • Kingdom’s delegation is set to take part in a number of plenary sessions and high-level meetings, in addition to hosting as many as three side events

RIYADH: A delegation from Saudi Arabia participated on Tuesday in the fifth UN Conference on the least developed countries in Doha.
The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center team (KSrelief) was headed by assistant supervisor general of planning and development, Aqeel bin Jamaan Al-Ghamdi who took part in
a discussion on “investment in people in the least developed countries,” and another on the sustainable development after the pandemic and the capacity to build.
KSrelief have also organized an event on the sidelines of the conference titled, “international partnerships and external assistance”, with the participation of the Saudi Fund for Development and the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen.
Al-Ghamdi presented a brief about Saudi Arabia’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the assistance Saudi Arabia offered to international community to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic to countries with vulnerable healthcare systems.
Al-Ghamdi also met representatives of humanitarian and relief organizations participating in the conference.
Throughout the conference, the Kingdom’s delegation is set to take part in a number of plenary sessions and high-level meetings, in addition to hosting as many as three side events.
The Kingdom is a major contributor in providing aid to many of the least developed countries in line with the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Saudi Arabia ranked first among donor countries in offering official development assistance to low and medium-income countries, with a total of SR26.71 billion ($7.12 billion), revealed Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, citing data published by Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.


Doug Ghim clings to one-shot lead at John Deere Classic

Updated 21 min 5 sec ago
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Doug Ghim clings to one-shot lead at John Deere Classic

  • Ghim, a 29-year-old Illinois native, is hoping to land his maiden PGA Tour victory in his home state
  • The round of the day belonged to defending champion Davis Thompson, whose bogey-free 63 catapulted him to 11 under

SILVIS, Illinois: Doug Ghim shot a 3-under par 68 and held onto a one-stroke lead over Max Homa and a group of contenders at the John Deere Classic on Friday in Silvis, Illinois

Homa is part of a five-way tie for second after also posting a 68 late Friday afternoon at TPC Deere Run. He matched Ghim at 12 under with a birdie at the par-5 17th hole, but after finding a bunker off the 18th tee he failed to save par and dropped back a shot.

Ghim, a 29-year-old Illinois native, is hoping to land his maiden PGA Tour victory in his home state.

“They couldn’t make it today but I’m anticipating family coming (Saturday), and I’m excited about that,” Ghim said.

Ghim made an eagle for the second straight round, holing out from 179 yards away at the par-4 15th.

“I guess holing out two days in a row is always nice,” he said. “It’s been couple years since I think I holed out from the fairway. To get two back-to- back days is a great.”

He reached 13 under for the tournament with back-to-back birdies at Nos. 4-5, but Ghim bogeyed his closing hole, No. 9.

Homa entered the week an abysmal No. 122 in the FedEx Cup standings amid a disappointing season, but now he’s in the mix for his first win since 2023.

“I don’t think really much changes” on the weekend, Homa said. “I mean, just play the golf course. You’re going to have to shoot really low. If you went out there and tried to do something specific, I’m not so sure that is going to work. Somebody can go out there and shoot 11-under out there and jump everybody.

“So just go do what we did today and play another round of golf. Just keep waiting until the back nine on Sunday basically.”

The round of the day belonged to defending champion Davis Thompson, whose bogey-free 63 catapulted him to 11 under. Tied with Homa and Thompson are Brian Campbell (66), David Lipsky (67) and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo (66).

“(On Thursday) I hit a lot of great putts early but they were just burning the edges,” said Thompson, who made four birdies on each nine Friday. “Then I was able to make a few on the back nine (Thursday) and just ride that momentum into today.”

Colombia’s Camilo Villegas (66) and Si Woo Kim of South Korea (67) are part of a group at 10 under as the second round finished up late Friday.

Rickie Fowler dropped four shots in a four-hole span on his back nine, with two bogeys and a double bogey, but he birdied No. 17 to finish up a 1-over 72 and get to 5 under, which wound up being the cut line at the end of the day.

Notable names who missed the cut included Tom Kim of South Korea (4 under), Australian Jason Day (2 under), J.T. Poston (1 under) and Canadian Adam Hadwin (2 over).


Germany off to winning start after beating Poland 1-0 in Women’s Euro 2025

Updated 26 min 58 sec ago
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Germany off to winning start after beating Poland 1-0 in Women’s Euro 2025

  • Germany are one of three big contenders for overall victory in Switzerland alongside world champions Spain and holders England
  • Peter Gerhardsson’s team are now unbeaten in 13 games after a second straight win over the Danes, with Sweden running out emphatic 6-1 winners in the Nations League last month

ST. GALLEN, Switzerland: Germany made a winning start to their Women’s Euro 2025 campaign with Friday’s 2-0 win over Poland which moved the eight-time continental champions top of Group C.

Christian Wueck’s side lead Sweden, 1-0 winners in a Scandinavian derby with Denmark, on goal difference after coming through a hard-fought group opener in St. Gallen thanks to goals in the second half from Jule Brand and Lea Schueller.

Germany are one of three big contenders for overall victory in Switzerland alongside world champions Spain and holders England.

But the “Frauenteam” were far from their best for most of the match, with Wueck frequently bellowing at his charges to up their game.

And they lost captain Giulia Gwinn to what looked like a knee injury before half-time following a nasty fall in a challenge with Ewa Pajor.

“She’s injured her knee and will undergo an MRI tomorrow, at which point we’ll know what’s happened,” said Wueck.

“It was a tough, hard-fought victory. Poland made it very, very difficult for us with their style of play... We’re happy with the result and we know that we can do better.”

Germany had won all six previous encounters with Poland but the game was even until Brand cut inside and unleashed an unstoppable shot six minutes after half-time.

And Brand was on hand in the 66th minute with a perfect cross for Bayern Munich striker Schueller, who made sure of the points with a simple header.

Germany have now won six matches on the bounce, scoring 26 goals in that run, but looked some way below the standard shown by tournament favorites Spain on Thursday, with England facing France on Saturday.

Poland acquitted themselves admirably in their European Championship debut but Barcelona’s Pajor, who has scored 51 goals for club and country this season, was uncharacteristically wasteful with her finishing.

Pajor walloped a great chance at Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger just before Schueller doubled Germany’s lead and did the same with a close-range header with nine minutes remaining.

Filippa Angeldahl scored Sweden’s winner in the 55th minute in Geneva after exchanging passes with Kosovare Asllani and firing into the far corner.

Sweden should have doubled their lead 10 minutes later when Madelen Janogy headed Hanna Lundkvist’s pinpoint cross narrowly wide, while moments before Stina Blackstenius was denied by Frederikke Thogersen’s brilliant goalline clearance.

“It was an enormous sense of joy and relief. There are so many nerves when you start a tournament that it was a wonderful feeling to score that goal,” Angeldahl told reporters.

Peter Gerhardsson’s team are now unbeaten in 13 games after a second straight win over the Danes, with Sweden running out emphatic 6-1 winners in the Nations League last month.

Sweden kept a tight handle on Denmark’s skipper Pernille Harder, although she did smash an effort off the crossbar with nine minutes remaining.

The Bayern Munich forward was also involved when VAR decided not to award a penalty to Denmark in the opening minutes for a potential handball by Madelen Janogy, who was marking Parder.


Sabalenka fights off Raducanu, Alcaraz marches on, Keys and Osaka crash at Wimbledon

Updated 30 min 12 sec ago
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Sabalenka fights off Raducanu, Alcaraz marches on, Keys and Osaka crash at Wimbledon

  • A record 36 seeds in the men’s and women’s singles failed to reach round three and the upsets continued Friday as women’s sixth seed Madison Keys and four-time major winner Naomi Osaka departed

LONDON: Women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka fought off inspired home favorite Emma Raducanu in a cauldron-like Center Court atmosphere to keep her Wimbledon quest on track but it was the end of the road for two other Grand Slam champions on Friday.

Sabalenka edged a ferocious contest under the roof after requiring eight set points in the opening set and then roaring back from a 4-1 deficit in a sizzling second.

“Wow! What an atmosphere, my ears are still hurting, it was super loud,” a relieved Sabalenka said on court after wrapping up the win on her third match point.

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, chasing a third successive Wimbledon title, was also put through the wringer by Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff before sealing a last-16 spot with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.

A record 36 seeds in the men’s and women’s singles failed to reach round three and the upsets continued on Friday as women’s sixth seed Madison Keys, the Australian Open champion, and four-time major winner Naomi Osaka departed.

Japan’s Osaka looked every bit the Grand Slam great for a set before losing 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. American Keys racked up 31 unforced errors in a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Germany’s Laura Siegemund, at 37 the oldest woman left in the singles draw.

Sabalenka is the only top-10 seed left in the top half of the draw and, with only three remaining in the bottom, she might be starting to think this could be her year.

If she does win the trophy to add to her two Australian Opens and one US Open, she will look back on Friday night under the Center Court roof as perhaps the turning point.

Had she lost the opening set the partisan crowd might well have roared former US Open champion Raducanu to victory.

Even after clinching the first set with a deft volley, Sabalenka found herself in trouble as 40th-ranked Raducanu blazed ahead and had a point for a 5-1 lead. But she then switched on the after burners to overwhelm the flagging Briton.

“Emma played such incredible tennis and she pushed me really hard to get this win,” said the 27-year-old Belarusian. “I had to fight for every point to get this win.”

Home hopes

Raducanu’s loss ended hope of a British hat-trick on day five after Sonay Kartal and Cameron Norrie sailed through to the last 16 in impressive fashion.

Local favorite Kartal moved on with a remarkable display against French qualifier Diane Parry, claiming nine games in a row to come from 1-4 down to win 6-4, 6-2.

Norrie kept the home flag flying in the men’s singles by beating Italian Mattia Bellucci 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-3 to set up a meeting with Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry, who overcame Brazilian wonder kid Joao Fonseca 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4).

Kartal had earlier reeled off nine games in a row after a slow start to beat French qualifier Diane Parry 6-4, 6-2 and set up a clash with Russian Pavlyuchenkova.

French Open winner Alcaraz extended his winning run to 21 matches by beating Struff but it was a Jekyll and Hyde performance as he again showed vulnerability.

“I was suffering in every service game... 0-30s and breakpoints down. It was stressful. Every time he could push me, he did. I was trying to survive,” Alcaraz said.

The 22-year-old will face Russian 14th seed next after he beat French qualifier Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.

Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Amanda Anisimova ensured there would be some Fourth of July celebrations for Americans.

After being taken the distance in his first two matches, fifth seed Fritz had a slightly easier ride as he beat Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1 to reach the last 16 where he will face unseeded Australian Jordan Thompson.

Despite spending more than nine hours on court, Fritz said he felt fresh ahead of his Sunday assignment with Thompson.

“This is going to sound crazy,” said Fritz, who has been suffering tendinitis in his knee and had to deal with a bruised arm after a fall. “My body is actually feeling better after each match. I feel like somehow it felt the worst after my first round but now it’s getting better.”

Anisimova, the 13th seed, also reached the fourth round with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 win over Hungarian Dalma Galfi.

Shelton, who was left seething after his second-round clash with Rinky Hijikata was suspended late on Thursday with him about to serve for the match, needed around one minute to finish the job on Friday, hitting three aces and an unreturned second serve to take his place in the last 32.

French showman Gael Monfils also had to resume his match but the 38-year-old could not prevent a 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6(5) 6-4 defeat by Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.

“I don’t really know. I wish I could win this match today but that’s sport. I’m going to rest a couple of days and go back on court and try to be ready for the US tour.”

It was the end of the road for Monfils’s wife Elina Svitolina too as the Ukrainian 14th seed fell 6-1 7-6(4) against 24th seed Elize Mertens.


Trump says Putin understands US sanctions may be coming

Updated 31 min 10 sec ago
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Trump says Putin understands US sanctions may be coming

  • Trump on Friday discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the possibility of sending Patriot air defense missiles to Kyiv
  • Russia had earlier stepped up its attacks on Ukraine on the day Putin and Trump discussed talked by phone about a ceasefire

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he has discussed sanctions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is worried about them and understands they might be forthcoming.

Trump, who spoke on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, also told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had discussed the possibility of sending Patriot air defense missiles to Kyiv.

Trump spoke with Zelensky a day Russia stepped up its attack on Ukraine, sending waves of drones and missiles on Kyiv overnight in what Ukrainian officials described as the largest aerial assault since Russia’s invasion began more than three years ago. One person was killed and at least 26 others, including a child, were wounded.

Asked Friday night by reporters about the call, Trump said, “We had a very good call, I think.”

The two leaders how Ukrainian air defenses might be strengthened, possible joint weapons production between the US and Ukraine, and broader US-led efforts to end the war with Russia, according to a statement by Zelenksy.

When asked about finding a way to end the fighting, Trump said: “I don’t know. I can’t tell you whether or not that’s going to happen.”

The US has paused some shipments of military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defense missiles. Ukraine’s main European backers are considering how they can help pick up the slack. Zelensky says plans are afoot to build up Ukraine’s domestic arms industry, but scaling up will take time.

‘I’m very disappointed’
The attack on Kyiv began the same day a phone call took place between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Asked if he made any progress during his call with Putin on a deal to end the fighting in Ukraine, Trump said: “No, I didn’t make any progress with him today at all.”
“I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin because I don’t think he’s there. I don’t think he’s looking to stop (the fighting), and that’s too bad,” Trump said.
According to Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, the Russian leader emphasized that Moscow will seek to achieve its goals in Ukraine and remove the “root causes” of the conflict.
“Russia will not back down from these goals,” Ushakov told reporters after the call.
Russia’s army crossed the border on Feb. 24, 2022, in an all-out invasion that Putin sought to justify by falsely saying it was needed to protect Russian-speaking civilians in eastern Ukraine and prevent the country from joining NATO.
Zelensky has repeatedly called out Russian disinformation efforts.

 

Russia has been stepping up its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities. Less than a week ago, Russia launched what was then the largest aerial assault of the war. That strategy has coincided with a concerted Russian effort to break through parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where Ukrainian troops are under severe pressure.
Russia launched 550 drones and missiles across Ukraine during the night, the country’s air force said. The majority were Shahed drones, but Russia also launched 11 missiles in the attack.
Alya Shahlai, a 23-year-old Kyiv wedding photographer, said that her home was destroyed in the attack.
“We were all in the (basement) shelter because it was so loud, staying home would have been suicidal,” she told The Associated Press. “We went down 10 minutes before and then there was a loud explosion and the lights went out in the shelter, people were panicking.”
Five ambulances were damaged while responding to calls, officials said, and emergency services removed more than 300 tons of rubble.
Trump, Zelensky talks
In Friday’s call, Zelensky said he congratulated Trump and the American people on Independence Day and thanked the United States for its continued support.
They discussed a possible future meeting between their teams to explore ways of enhancing Ukraine’s protection against air attacks, Zelensky said.
He added that they talked in detail about defense industry capabilities and direct joint projects with the US, particularly in drone technology. They also exchanged views on mutual procurement, investment, and diplomatic cooperation with international partners, Zelensky said.
Peace efforts have been fruitless so far. Recent direct peace talks have led only to sporadic exchanges of prisoners of war, wounded troops and the bodies of fallen soldiers. No date has been set for further negotiations.
Ukrainian officials and the Russian Defense Ministry said another prisoner swap took place Friday, though neither side said how many soldiers were involved. Zelensky said most of the Ukrainians had been in Russian captivity since 2022. The Ukrainian soldiers were classified as “wounded and seriously ill.”

Constant buzzing of drones
The Ukrainian response needs to be speedy as Russia escalates its aerial attacks. Russia launched 5,438 drones at Ukraine in June, a new monthly record, according to official data collated by The Associated Press. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said earlier this week that Russia also launched more than 330 missiles, including nearly 80 ballistic missiles, at Ukrainian towns and cities that month.
Throughout the night, AP journalists in Kyiv heard the constant buzzing of drones overhead and the sound of explosions and intense machine gun fire as Ukrainian forces tried to intercept the aerial assault.
“Absolutely horrible and sleepless night in Kyiv,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on social media platform X. “One of the worst so far.”
Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko described “families running into metro stations, basements, underground parking garages, mass destruction in the heart of our capital.”
“What Kyiv endured last night, cannot be called anything but a deliberate act of terror,” she wrote on X.
Kyiv was the primary target of the countrywide attack. At least 14 people were hospitalized, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Zelensky called the Kyiv attack “cynical.” In Moscow, the Defense Ministry claimed its forces targeted factories producing drones and other military equipment in Kyiv.
Russia strikes 5 Ukrainian regions
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 270 targets, including two cruise missiles. Another 208 targets were lost from radar and presumed jammed.
Russia successfully hit eight locations with nine missiles and 63 drones. Debris from intercepted drones fell across at least 33 sites.
In addition to the capital, the Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Kyiv regions also sustained damage, Zelensky said.
Emergency services reported damage in at least five of Kyiv’s 10 districts.
 


Trump says there could be a Gaza deal next week after Hamas gives ‘positive’ response

Updated 05 July 2025
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Trump says there could be a Gaza deal next week after Hamas gives ‘positive’ response

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Friday it was good that Hamas said it had responded in “a positive spirit” to a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire proposal.
He told reporters aboard Air Force One there could be a deal on a Gaza ceasefire by next week but that he had not been briefed on the current state of negotiations.

Hamas said Friday it has given a “positive” response to the latest proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza but said further talks were needed on implementation.
It was not clear if Hamas’ statement meant it had accepted the proposal from Trump for a 60-day ceasefire. Hamas has been seeking guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war, now nearly 21 months old. Trump has been pushing hard for a deal to be reached, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit the White House next week to discuss a deal.
The Hamas statement came as Israeli airstrikes killed 15 Palestinians in Gaza early Friday, while a hospital said another 20 people died in shootings while seeking aid.
The UN human rights office said it has recorded 613 Palestinians killed within the span of a month in Gaza while trying to obtain aid. Most were killed while trying to reach food distribution points run by an Israeli-backed American organization, while others were massed waiting for aid trucks connected to the United Nations or other humanitarian organizations, it said.
Efforts ongoing to halt the war
Trump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, during which the US would “work with all parties to end the war.” He urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen.
In its statement late Friday, Hamas said it “has submitted its positive response” to Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
It said it is “fully prepared to immediately enter into a round of negotiations regarding the mechanism for implementing this framework.” It did not elaborate on what needed to be worked out in implementation.
A Hamas official said the ceasefire could start as early as next week but he said talks were needed first to work out how many Palestinian prisoners would be released in return for each freed Israeli hostage and to specify the amount of aid that will enter Gaza during the truce. Hamas has said it wants aid to flow in greater quantities through the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the response with the press.
The official also said that negotiations would start from the first day of the truce on a permanent ceasefire and full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in return for the release of remaining hostages. He said that Trump has guaranteed that the truce will be extended beyond 60 days if needed for those negotiations to reach a deal. There has been no confirmation from the United States of such a guarantee.
Previous rounds of negotiations have run aground over Hamas demands of guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war’s end, while Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the destruction of the militant group.
“We’ll see what happens. We’re going to know over the next 24 hours,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One late Thursday when asked if Hamas had agreed to the latest framework for a ceasefire.
20 killed Friday while seeking aid
Officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said at least three Palestinians were killed Friday while on the roads heading to food distribution sites run by the Israeli-backed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in southern Gaza.
Since GHF began distributions in late May, witnesses have said almost daily that Israeli troops open fire toward crowds of Palestinians on the roads leading to the food centers. To reach the sites, people must walk several kilometers (miles) through an Israeli military zone where troops control the road.
The Israeli military has said previously it fires warning shots to control crowds or at Palestinians who approach its troops. The GHF has denied any serious injuries or deaths on its sites and says shootings outside their immediate vicinity are under the purview of Israel’s military.
On Friday, in reaction to the UN rights agency’s report, it said in a statement that it was investigating reports of people killed and wounded while seeking aid. It said it was working at “minimizing possible friction between the population” and Israeli forces, including by installing fences and placing signs on the routes.
Separately, witnesses have said Israeli troops open fire toward crowds of Palestinians who gather in military-controlled zones to wait for aid trucks entering Gaza for the UN or other aid organizations not associated with GHF.
On Friday, 17 people were killed waiting for trucks in eastern Khan Younis in the Tahliya area, officials at Nasser Hospital said.
Three survivors told the AP they had gone to wait for the trucks in a military “red zone” in Khan Younis and that troops opened fire from a tank and drones.
It was a “crowd of people, may God help them, who want to eat and live,” said Seddiq Abu Farhana, who was shot in the leg, forcing him to drop a bag of flour he had grabbed. “There was direct firing.”
Airstrikes also hit the Muwasi area on the southern end of Gaza’s Mediterranean coast, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians driven from their homes are sheltering in tent camps. Of the 15 people killed in the strikes, eight were women and one was a child, according to the hospital.
Israel’s military said it was looking into Friday’s reported airstrikes. It had no immediate comment on the reported shootings surrounding the aid trucks.
UN investigates shootings near aid sites
The spokeswoman for the UN human rights office, Ravina Shamdasani, said the agency was not able to attribute responsibility for the killings. But she said “it is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points” operated by GHF.
In a message to The Associated Press, Shamdasani said that of the total tallied, 509 killings were “GHF-related,” meaning at or near its distribution sites.
In a statement Friday, GHF cast doubt on the casualty figures, accusing the UN of taking its casualty figures “directly from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry”and of trying “to falsely smear our effort.”
Shamdasani, the UN rights office spokesperson, told the AP that the data “is based on our own information gathering through various reliable sources, including medical, human rights and humanitarian organizations.”
Rik Peeperkorn, representative of the World Health Organization, said Nasser Hospital, the biggest hospital operating in the south, receives dozens or hundreds of casualties every day, most coming from the vicinity of the food distribution sites.
The International Committee of the Red Cross also said in late June that its field hospital near one of the GHF sites has been overwhelmed more than 20 times in the previous months by mass casualties, most suffering gunshot injuries while on their way to the food distribution sites.
Also on Friday, Israel’s military said two soldiers were killed in combat in Gaza, one in the north and one in the south. Over 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the war began, including more than 400 during the fighting in Gaza.
The Israeli military also issued new evacuation orders Friday in northeast Khan Younis in southern Gaza and urged Palestinians to move west ahead of planned military operations against Hamas in the area. The new evacuation zones pushed Palestinians into increasingly smaller spaces by the coast.
The Health Ministry in Gaza said the number of Palestinians killed in the territory has passed 57,000. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is run by medical professionals employed by the Hamas government, and its numbers are widely cited by the UN and international organizations.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages.