Supporters of Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan attend the launch of her presidential campaign in Dar es Salam on August 28. She was declared the winner Saturday in the election. File photo by Anthony Siami/EPA
Nov. 1 (UPI) — Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Saturday was declared the winner of the presidential election amid unrest in the African nation over her candidacy and exclusion of her rivals.
Samia, 65, received 31.9 million votes, which was 97.66% of the total in Wednesday’s election among 17 parties, the electoral commission said.
Almost 87% of the country’s 37.6 million registered voters turned out, in sharp contrast with the 50% who voted in 2020.
Tanzania, which has a population of 71 million, is in eastern Africa and is bordered by the Indian Ocean on the east and south of the Equator.
“We thank the security forces for ensuring that the violence did not stop voting,” Samia, who came into office in 2021 as Tanzania’s first female president, said in a victory celebration in Dodoma. “These incidents were not patriotic at all.”
Although the politician from Zanzibar said the election was “free and democratic,” election observers and European Parliament members say the election was rife with irregularities, according to The New York Times.
Samia’s two main opposition contenders were barred from running.
Tundu Lissu, of the Party for Democracy and Progress, is being held on treason charges, which he denies, and Luhaga Mpina of the Alliance for Change and Transparency was excluded on legal technicalities.
During the unrest, Internet nationwide was been shut down and a curfew is in place.
On Friday, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterrescalled for “a thorough and impartial investigation into all allegations of excessive use of force” and Tanzanian authorities to uphold accountability and transparency in the post-election unrest.
There were no protests on Saturday, one day after demonstrators in several cities took to the streets, tearing down Samia’s posters and attacked police and polling stations.
Foreign Minister Mahmoud Kombo Thabit said the violence was a “few isolated pockets of incidents here and there.”
And electoral commission chief Jacobs Mwambegele said the election was run smoothly.
“I would like to thank all election stakeholders, especially political parties, candidates for various positions, your friends and members for conducting civilized campaigns and maintaining peace and tranquility throughout the campaign,” he said.
Tanzania’s semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar elects its own government.
Hussein Mwinyi, who is the incumbent president, won with nearly 80% of the vote.
Sania was vice president and became president when John Magufuli died on March 17, 2021, of a heart condition at 61.
Her ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi, and its predecessor, Tanu, have dominated the country’s politics and have never lost an election since independence from Britain.
The mainland territory of Tanganyika gained independence in 1961 and the islands of Zanzibar became independent as a constitutional monarchy two years later.
In 1964, they merged to become the United Republic of Tanzania.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations is “prepared to move now” and deliver food, water, medical, and other assistance to Palestinians in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire deal built off United States President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan aimed at ending Israel’s war on Gaza.
“This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line”, Trump said on his Truth Social platform, announcing the ceasefire agreement late on Wednesday.
Under the first phase of the plan, Hamas and other Palestinian factions are required to release 20 Israeli captives held in Gaza who are believed to be alive, and the bodies of 28 others in the Palestinian territory. Israel is required to release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners it holds in its jails, based on a list shared by Hamas. This includes hundreds of people from Gaza whom Israel has arrested since the start of the war in October 2023.
In a separate phone interview with Fox News on its Hannity programme, Trump said Israeli captives held in Gaza could be released on Monday.
Israel and Hamas subsequently confirmed the agreement, though key differences remain over their interpretations of how Trump’s broader plan is to unfold.
The announcement followed three days of indirect talks between Hamas and Israel in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. Senior officials from Qatar, Turkiye, Egypt and the US had joined the delegations from Israel and Hamas on Wednesday for those talks.
The ceasefire has not come into force yet, but the announcement of the deal prompted messages of congratulations and hope from regional and world leaders.
Here are some of them:
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio updates President Trump on the Gaza proposal during a roundtable on antifa on September 22, at the White House in Washington, DC, October 8, 2025 [Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters]
US President Donald Trump
“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan,” Trump said on Truth Social, soon after he received a note from Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the middle of a press briefing, telling the president that a deal was close to being struck.
“All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
Speaking to Sean Hannity on the phone on Fox News, Trump claimed that the world will see “people getting along and Gaza will be rebuilt”, adding that it is going to be a “different world” and that there will be “wealth spent in Gaza”.
“I’m very confident there’ll be peace in the Middle East.”
Trump has hinted that he might travel to Egypt as soon as this weekend.
“I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday,” he told reporters at the White House earlier on Wednesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
“A big day for Israel,” Netanyahu said in a statement from his Jerusalem office.
“Tomorrow I will convene the government to approve the agreement and bring all our dear hostages home,” he said, thanking Israeli soldiers for “their courage and sacrifice”.
He extended his “heartfelt thanks” to Trump and his team “for their dedication to this sacred mission of freeing our hostages”.
“With God’s help, together we will continue to achieve all our goals and expand peace with our neighbors”.
Hamas
“We highly appreciate the efforts of our brothers and mediators in Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, and we also value the efforts of US President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war completely and achieving a full withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip,” Hamas said in a statement.
“We call on President Trump, the guarantor states of the agreement, and all Arab, Islamic, and international parties to compel the occupation government to fully implement its obligations under the agreement and to prevent it from evading or delaying the implementation of what has been agreed upon.
“We salute our great people in the Gaza Strip, in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and throughout our homeland and the diaspora, who have demonstrated unparalleled honor, courage, and heroism — confronting the fascist occupation projects that targeted them and their national rights. These sacrifices and steadfast positions have thwarted the Israeli occupation’s schemes of subjugation and displacement.
“We affirm that the sacrifices of our people will not be in vain, and that we will remain true to our pledge — never abandoning our people’s national rights until freedom, independence, and self-determination are achieved.”
I welcome the announcement of an agreement to secure a ceasefire & hostage release in Gaza, based on the proposal put forward by @POTUS. I commend the diplomatic efforts of the United States, Qatar, Egypt & Türkiye in brokering this desperately needed breakthrough.
“I welcome the announcement of an agreement to secure a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza, based on the proposal put forward by President Donald J Trump. I commend the diplomatic efforts of the United States, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey in brokering this desperately needed breakthrough,” Guterres said in a statement.
“I urge all concerned to abide fully by the terms of the agreement. All hostages must be released in a dignified manner. A permanent ceasefire must be secured. The fighting must stop once and for all.”
The leader of the UN stressed the need for “immediate and unimpeded entry of humanitarian supplies and essential commercial materials into Gaza” so that the suffering could end.
“The United Nations will support the full implementation of the agreement and will scale up the delivery of sustained and principled humanitarian relief, and we will advance recovery and reconstruction efforts in Gaza,” Guterres added.
He mentioned how the peace talks should be the starting point to “achieving a two-state solution that enables Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security”.
“I urge all stakeholders to seize this momentous opportunity to establish a credible political path forward towards ending the occupation, recognizing the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people … The stakes have never been higher.”
Qatar
Qatar has led mediation efforts to end the war over the past two years. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani headed to Egypt to participate in the ceasefire talks, underscoring the urgency of efforts to end the war.
“The mediators announce that tonight an agreement was reached on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid,” Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said after the announcement of the ceasefire deal.
Talking about the agreement, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said on X that “details will be announced later”.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
Starmer urged that the agreement on the first stage of Trump’s plan for Gaza must be implemented in full without delay.
“I welcome the news that a deal has been reached on the first stage of President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza. This agreement must now be implemented in full, without delay, and accompanied by the immediate lifting of all restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza,” he said in a statement.
We welcome the agreement on the first phase of President Trump’s peace plan. This is also a reflection of the strong leadership of PM Netanyahu.
We hope the release of hostages and enhanced humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza will bring respite to them and pave the way…
Modi welcomed the first phase agreement, calling it a step towards lasting peace in the region.
“We welcome the agreement on the first phase of President Trump’s peace plan. This is also a reflection of the strong leadership of PM Netanyahu,” Modi said in a post on X.
“We hope the release of hostages and enhanced humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza will bring respite to them and pave the way for lasting peace.”
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters
“Hamas needs to release all of the hostages and Israel must withdraw their troops to the agreed-upon line,” Peters said in a statement.
“This is an essential first step towards achieving lasting peace. We urge Israel and Hamas to continue working towards a complete resolution.”
Al Jazeera’s James Bays challenged UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres about why he has not referred to Israel’s war on Gaza as a genocide. On Tuesday a UN commission of inquiry concluded Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
Aug. 31 (UPI) — At least 11 United Nations employees in Yemen were abducted by Houthi-controlled authorities Sunday after they raided World Food Program facilities in the capital Sanaa.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced and condemned the abduction in a statement that also demanded the “immediate and unconditional release” of those detained.
The U.N.’s WFP provides life-saving food assistance to children and mothers in a country considered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises due to the nearly 12-year civil war between the Houthi militants and the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
The raid followed Israeli airstrikes on Houthi-controlled Sanaa on Friday, which killed its prime minister, Ahmed al-Rawai, along with several other ministers.
Sunday’s arrests increases the number of U.N. workers detained by the Houthis to 23, some whom have been in captivity since 2021 and 2023, Hans Grundberg, U.N. special envoy for Yemen, said in a separate statement.
“The work of U.N. personnel is designed and conducted under the principles of neutrality, impartiality, independence and humanity,” Grundberg said.
“These arrests violate the fundamental obligation to respect and protect their safety, dignity and ability to carry out their essential work in Yemen.”
Both Guterres and Grundberg confirmed that U.N. property had been confiscated by the Houthis during their Sunday raid, though exactly what taken was not detailed.
Both officials also demanded that the Iran-backed Houthis unconditionally release all U.N. personnel and staff from national and international NGOs, civil society organizations and diplomatic missions who have been taken over the years.
“The personnel of the U.N. and its partners must never be targeted, arrested or detained while carrying out their duties for the U.N.,” Guterres said.
“The safety and security of U.N. personnel and property as well as the inviolability of U.N. premises must be guaranteed at all times.”
The UN chief says he values China’s support, where he is attending the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
Published On 30 Aug 202530 Aug 2025
Chinese President Xi Jinping has told United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that China supports the global organisation playing a central role in international affairs and that it upholds “true multilateralism”, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
As the rotating chair, Xi will preside over the summit, which marks the fifth annual SCO summit hosted by China.
Leaders from more than 20 countries and heads of 10 international organisations will attend the summit.
Among the participants will be Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masood Pezeshkian and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Xi will also meet Erdogan on the sidelines of the crucial summit.
The summit’s agenda includes promoting the “Shanghai Spirit”, improving internal mechanisms, and fostering multilateral cooperation in areas such as security, economics and culture.
A joint signing of the new Tianjin Declaration and the approval of a strategy for the next decade are other expected outcomes.
The summit will issue statements marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in World War II against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, and the 80th founding anniversary of the UN, aside from adopting a string of outcome documents on strengthening security, economic, people-to-people and cultural cooperation.
Founded in 2001, the SCO is a political and security alliance comprising 10 members: China, Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus.
The Chinese leader will also host Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a large-scale military parade on September 3 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Asia.
Aug. 13 (UPI) — Britain, Germany and France told U.N. officials that snapback sanctions are on the table if Iran does not sit down to negotiate over its nuclear weaponry.
The letter delivered to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, signed by the three foreign ministers, indicated the E3 was prepared to enforce severe sanctions if Iran did not agree to limit it’s nuclear program and gave Iranian officials until the end of the month.
“We have made it clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism,” read a letter in part signed by Britain’s David Lammy, Jean-Noel Barrot of France and Germany’s Johann Wadephul.
The sixth round of American-Iranian negotiations were abandoned in June after a joint U.S.-Israeli attack on known parts of Iran’s nuclear facilities. The 12-day conflict escalated regional tension amid Israel’s war in Gaza and spiked oil prices.
The “snapback” guardrail built into Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, officially titled the “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” was set to trigger if an instance arose in which Iran committed an act of “significant non-performance.”
Signed by Tehran with Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, the European Union and United States it removed sanctions and curbed Iran’s nuclear program. Initially the United States left the JCPOA in 2018 during U.S. President Donald Trump‘s first term in the White House.
Iran, however, has periodically violated parts of the agreement for years and the snapback mechanism threatened more than once by Europe and the E3 as far back as 2019 nearly four years after the deal was inked.
In addition to limiting Iranian nuclear activities, it thawed U.S. sanctions against Tehran that hampered its economy for years.
On Wednesday, Germany’s Wadephul said Iran “must never acquire a nuclear weapon” and reiterated that the E3 had “every right” to resort to snapback.
“Iran has the opportunity to return to diplomacy and resume full cooperation with the IAEA,” he wrote in an X post a little before 11 a.m. local time.
1 of 2 | A satellite image shows a view of craters and ash on a ridge at Iran’s Fordo underground uranium enrichment facility after U.S. airstrikes June 21. Satellite Image 2025 Maxar Technologies/EPA
July 4 (UPI) — U.N. nuclear inspectors on Friday departed from Iran two days after the Middle Eastern nation suspended cooperation with the program and weeks after the United States and Israel bombed nuclear sites.
Rafael Grossi, the inspector general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, had aimed to assess the uranium-enrichment facilities and see whether alleged nuclear bomb efforts had been set back.
IAEA hasn’t reported the inspectors findings.
They remained in the capital, Tehran, during the conflict between Israel and Iran.
“An IAEA team of inspectors today safely departed from Iran to return to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict,” the U.N. agency posted Friday on X.
“IAEA Director General rafaelmgrossi reiterated the crucial importance of the IAEA discussing with Iran modalities for resuming its indispensable monitoring and verification activities in Iran as soon as possible.”
On Wednesday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian signed legislation that halts cooperation with the agency, blocking oversight of Iran’s nuclear program.
Inspectors will not be allowed to visit nuclear sites without approval from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Iranian lawmakers gave two conditions for resuming cooperation, according to state media. The safety of its nuclear program and scientists is secured, and an acknowledgment about its right under international law to enrich uranium.
The spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Iranian law was “obviously concerning.”
“I think the secretary-general has been very consistent in his call for Iran to cooperate with the IAEA, and, frankly, for all countries to work closely with the IAEA on nuclear issues,” Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
Iran has been critical of a resolution on June 12 by the IAEA that accused Iran of non-compliance with its nuclear obligations.
This was one day before Israel attacked.
Iran and the United States had been engaged in talks for a nuclear deal. The U.S. used B-2 bombers to send missiles deep underground.
“We are for diplomacy,” Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, told NBC News on Thursday, adding the U.S. government needs “to convince us that they are not going to use military force while we are negotiating. That is an essential element for our leadership to be in a position to decide about the future round of talks.”
President Donald Trump, who doesn’t want Iran to be enriching uranium, said that the U.S. bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites “obliterated” the program.
Grossi earlier said that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium remains unaccounted for, and the program may have been delayed only a few months, and not years.
“It can be, you know, described in different ways, but it’s clear that what happened in particular in Fordo, Natanz, Isfahan, where Iran used to have and still has, to some degree, capabilities in terms of treatment, conversion and enrichment of uranium have been destroyed to an important degree,” Grossi said in a CBS News interview on Saturday. “Some is still standing. So there is, of course, an important setback in terms of those of those capabilities.”
Iran has contended its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes but the agency reported in May that Iran stockpiled about 900 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% purity, enough to build nine bomb. That’s up 50% since February.
In December, the IAEA said Iran was rapidly moving closer to the 90% threshold needed for weapons-grade material.
In 2018, Trump unilaterally exited the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and reimposed harsh sanctions during his first term in office.
In 2015, Iran reached a deal with the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Russia, China and the European Union.
June 9 (UPI) — World leaders at a United Nations conference in France called for an end to ocean-plundering activity with a global agreement likely on the horizon.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the UN’s third ocean conference Monday in Nice with over 120 nations and more than 50 heads of state taking part in the five-day gathering.
“The ocean is the ultimate share resource,” Guterres said to global representatives at the port of Nice. “But we are failing it.”
He said oceans are absorbing 90% of excess heat fro greenhouse gas emissions and buckling under the strain of overfishing, rising temperatures, plastic pollution, acidification, dying coral reefs and collapsing marine life.
The conference co-hosted by France and Costa Rica was focused on ratifying the 2023 High Seas Treaty, which required 60 other countries to sign-on to before it becomes a binding international law.
Rising seas, accordion to Guterres, could soon “submerge deltas, destroy crops, and swallow coastlines — threatening many islands’ survival.”
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron revealed that the milestone was within reach.
“The sea is our first ally against global warming,” Macron said in his opening speech.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said if the world neglects the ocean and its treated “without respect” then it “will turn on us,” she said, adding there will be “ever more violent storms” that ravage the world’s coastlines.
Last month, the European Union ratified the treaty.
“The ocean is our greatest ally, whether you live here in Europe, or anywhere in the world,” said von der Leyen.
The treaty sets a global commitment to protect at least 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030, and provides countries with meaningful tools and ways to create protected ocean areas and conduct evaluations of such things as the damage of commercial activities like deep sea mining to marine life.
The United States was not present at the meeting as a State Department spokesman said it was “at odds” with current U.S. policy.
Macron said 15 other countries have “formally committed to joining” in addition to the more than 50 countries.
“So that’s a win,” said the French president, at one point saying the ocean “is not for sale” in an apparent swipe at U.S. President Donald Trump.
Meanhwile, von der Leyen said Monday that Europe would contribute more than $45 million to the Global Ocean Programme.
“So I ask you all today: Please speed up ratification, because our ocean needs us to play (our) part,” she said.
June 3 (UPI) — At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured early Tuesday near an aid hub run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in southern Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
The Hamas-run ministry said in a social media update that the people were waiting at an area designated as an aid distribution point in Rafah and that 27 bodies and 90 injured had been brought to hospitals, “some of them in a critical condition.”
The statement did not say how the victims were killed and injured, but the incident follows the deaths of at least 31 Palestinians and injuring of more than 200 after Israel Defense Forces allegedly opened fire on a crowd at the same location Sunday.
The IDF said on its official account on X on Tuesday that troops fired warning shots to deter “several suspects moving toward them, deviating from the designated routes” leading to the aid site. When the suspects failed to turn back, the soldiers directed additional fire toward individuals continuing to advance toward their positions.
The IDF said it was aware of Tuesday’s reports of casualties and was looking into the details.
“The IDF allows the American Civil Organization (GHF) to operate independently in order to enable the distribution of aid to the Gazan residents — and not to Hamas. IDF troops are not preventing the arrival of Gazan civilians to the humanitarian aid distribution sites. The warning shots were fired approximately half a kilometer away from the humanitarian aid distribution site toward several suspects who advanced toward the troops in such a way that posed a threat to them,” the military’s statement read.
However, an overseas volunteer doctor working in a nearby hospital told the BBC it had been “total carnage” since just before 4 a.m. local time and that they had been deluged with injured people.
“I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday. It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,” he said.
The IDF has categorically denied any involvement in Sunday’s incident, insisting an initial investigation had found “the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site.”
The Gaza Health Foundation, set up to run the new U.S.-Israeli mechanism for delivering humanitarian assistance into Gaza, which bypasses the United Nations and other aid agencies, also denied the reports of Sunday’s violence, saying aid had been distributed without incident and that there had been no injuries or fatalities.
However, GHF has been plagued by problems since it began operations in Gaza a week ago with thousands of hungry Gazans swamping its Tel al-Sultan Secure Distribution Site One from day one.
The scheme aims to prevent aid from allegedly being stolen and resold by Hamas to fund its military operations against Israel, but the U.N. and legacy aid agencies have roundly condemned it as being in breach of humanitarian ethics and “weaponizing” the issue of aid.
GHF’s two top officials, Executive Director and former U.S. Marine Jake Wood and Chief Operating Officer David Burke, both resigned in the days before the scheme began operating.
Burke has not publicly commented on his decision, but Wood said he resigned because the scheme was out of step with the key humanitarian principles of “humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.”
Israeli forces have opened fire again on Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid from a distribution site in Gaza, killing at least three people and injuring more than 30, as the United Nations demands an independent investigation into the repeated mass shootings of aid seekers in the strip.
The shooting erupted at sunrise on Monday at the same Israeli-backed aid point in southern Gaza where soldiers had opened fire just a day earlier, according to health officials and witnesses.
“The Israeli military opened fire on civilians trying to get their hands on any kind of food aid without any kind of warning,” Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
“This is a pattern that’s been widely condemned by international aid organisations because it enhances the breakdown of civil order without ensuring humanitarian relief can be received by those desperately in need.”
Witnesses said Israeli snipers and quadcopter drones routinely monitor aid sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by Israel and the United States.
A Red Cross field hospital received about 50 people wounded in the latest shooting, including two who were dead on arrival, said Hisham Mhanna, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross. Most had been hit by bullets or shrapnel. A third body was taken to Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis.
Moataz al-Feirani, 21, said he was shot in the leg while walking with thousands of others towards the food site.
“We had nothing, and they [the Israeli military] were watching us,” he told The Associated Press news agency, adding that surveillance drones circled overhead. The shooting began about 5:30am (02:30 GMT) near the Flag Roundabout, he said.
The pattern of deadly violence around the GHF aid distribution site has triggered mounting international outrage, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday demanded an independent inquiry into the mass shooting of Palestinians.
“It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,” he said. “I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable.”
The Israeli military has denied targeting civilians, claiming its soldiers fired “warning shots” at individuals who “posed a threat”.
The GHF has also denied the shootings occurred although doubts about its neutrality have intensified since its founding executive director, former US marine Jake Wood, resigned before operations even began after he questioned the group’s “impartiality” and “independence”.
Critics said the group functions as a cover for Israel’s broader campaign to depopulate northern Gaza as it concentrates aid in the south while bypassing established international agencies.
Aid is still barely trickling into Gaza after Israel partially lifted a total siege that for more than two months cut off food, water, fuel and medicine to more than two million people.
Thousands of children are at risk of dying from hunger-related causes, the UN has previously warned.
At least 51 people killed in 24 hours
Elsewhere in the territory, Israeli air attacks continued to hammer residential areas.
In Jabalia in northern Gaza, Israeli forces killed 14 people, including seven children, in an attack on a home, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence agency. At least 20 people remained trapped under the rubble.
Two more Palestinians were killed and several wounded in another attack in Deir el-Balah, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, while a drone attack in Khan Younis claimed yet another life.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that at least 51 Palestinians have been killed and 503 injured in Israeli attacks across the territory in the latest 24-hour reporting period alone.
Palestinian children wait for food at a distribution point in Nuseirat in central Gaza on June 2, 2025 [AFP]
Despite growing international condemnation, Israel’s military on Monday ordered the displacement of even more civilians from parts of Khan Younis, warning it would “operate with great force”.
Roughly 80 percent of the strip is now either under Israeli military control or designated for forced evacuation, according to new data from the Financial Times, as Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are crammed into an ever-shrinking patch of land in southern Gaza near the Egyptian border.
Israel has made little secret of its aim to permanently displace Gaza’s population as officials openly promote “voluntary migration” plans.
The Financial Times reported that the areas Palestinians are being pushed into resemble a “desert wasteland with no running water, electricity or even hospitals”.
Satellite images showed Israeli forces clearing land and setting up military infrastructure in evacuated areas.
Analysts who reviewed dozens of recent forced evacuation orders said the trend has accelerated since the collapse of a truce in March.
“The Israeli government has been very clear with regards to what their plan is about in Gaza,” political analyst Xavier Abu Eid told Al Jazeera.
