Israel-Hamas war: Gaza residents say the ‘suffering of people is huge’ as they tell of desperate need for more food
A Gazan resident says the “suffering of the people” in the Palestinian territory is “huge” as the stark reality of their desperation for food and other supplies is laid bare in new footage captured by Sky News.
An elderly man says he has eaten food off the floor, while a young girl says she and her family moved as she “had nothing to eat”.
The United Nations estimates that nearly 85% of the territory’s 2.3 million population have been displaced from their homes by the fighting between the ruling Hamas group and Israeli forces since the war was sparked by Hamas’s massacre on 7 October last year.
Also, one in four of the enclave’s residents face starvation, with only a trickle of food, water, medicine and other aid entering through the Israeli siege.
Some 576,000 people are at catastrophic or starvation levels, according to the UN.
People clamber for food in Rafah, Gaza
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In a street in Rafah, southern Gaza, people have come together to help those most in need, serving small pots of rice.
Khokho Bila Ahmed al Gathi tells Sky News that he and others, including “Good Samaritans”, prepare two big pots of food.
But he says: “This is not enough for the whole area… The suffering of the people is huge.”
In the footage, he picks up a small pot containing rice and says: “This for 30 people!? No. May God take our revenge. Those who can help the people in need should do so.
“The suffering here is real, we used to hear about things like this before but now it is real. We are living it now.”
Khokho Bila Ahmed al Gathi said the food he helps make is not enough for the area
Khokho Bila Ahmed al Gathi in Rafah, Gaza
He also states “40% of the people get food, including those who travel far distances to get here [but] 60% of the people leave unhappy without getting any food”.
“This is because it is not enough for all. We can cook only two to three big pots of food.
“Even if we make it 10 pots it will still not be enough, this is because the area is very densely populated.”
The footage shows dozens of people queuing up to try to get their small pots filled.
An elderly man said he would eat food off the floor – ‘anything that is edible’
An elderly man says he had been helped by an aid programme but “the help is not enough, the aid is not enough”.
He also says he has eaten food off the floor – “anything that is edible”.
“Look at my hands with the pot in my hand… the time I was waiting to get this food. I forced myself to the front with the pot and got the food. It was not enough. I told them to put more in. They said ‘no’.”
The desperate man says there was “a lack of everything” and “it’s not enough, I swear it is not enough”.
“Look at all the people, they all want it, all the people are queuing and it is not enough, they tell us to leave.”
He says he will eat whatever he can find, “even if it’s a piece of bread I will pick it up and eat it. I eat food off the floor, anything that is edible I will pick up and eat”.
“I don’t care what it is, I only care that I need to eat.”
Jodi Lubad said she came to Rafah as she had nothing to eat
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Also, an 11-year-old girl called Jodi Lubad says she and her family came to Rafah about a week ago after being displaced from northern Gaza.
She says: “We have come… to take food because we do not have any food nor do we have any wood to cook food with, we have nothing to eat.”
Meanwhile, US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said the UN will carry out an “assessment mission” to determine what needs to be done to allow displaced Palestinians to return to their homes in the north of Gaza.
Since the war began, Israel’s assault in Gaza has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians, about two-thirds of them women and children, and more than 58,000 have been wounded, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
Israel has vowed to continue its offensive until it has destroyed Hamas throughout the territory, in response to the 7 October attacks when Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people, mainly civilians, in southern Israel and kidnapped around 250 others.
World
European leaders to meet in Ukraine for ‘coalition of the willing’ talks – and issue call to Russia
Sir Keir Starmer will join other European leaders in Kyiv on Saturday for talks on the “coalition of the willing”.
The prime minister is attending the event alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It will be the first time the leaders of the four countries will travel to Ukraine at the same time – on board a train to Kyiv – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kiev. Pic: Reuters
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for the coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement voicing support for Ukraine and calling on Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
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The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
World
Ten explosions near international airport in India-administered part of Kashmir, officials say
Ten explosions have been heard near Srinagar International Airport in India-administered parts of Kashmir, officials have told Reuters news agency.
The blasts followed blackouts caused by multiple projectiles, which were seen in the sky above the city of Jammu earlier on Friday.
Explosions were also heard in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, in the neighbouring Punjab state, according to Reuters.
An Indian military official told the agency that “drones have been sighted” and “they are being engaged”.
It comes as tensions between India and Pakistan across the line of control around the region of Kashmir have boiled over this week, leading to fears of a wider conflict.
On Wednesday morning, India carried out missile strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered parts of the disputed region.
The retaliation came weeks after 26 people, mainly Indian tourists, were shot dead by gunmen in an India-administered part of Kashmir last month.
The government in India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites, while Pakistan said it was not involved in the April attack and the sites were not militant bases.
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Around 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides – which have not been independently verified.
India also suspended its top cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, as a result of rising tensions, while the Pakistan Super League moved the remainder of its season to the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a conference on Friday that the US is in constant contact with both India and Pakistan.
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Conclaves are famously unpredictable affairs – and once again the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the new pope caught many by surprise.
The newly elected Pope Leo XIV won the consensus of the 133 cardinal electors after only four ballots – a fast process for a diverse college of cardinals.
Though his name had circulated among some Vatican watchers, other cardinals had emerged as clear front-runners, including Pietro Parolin – the Vatican’s number two who would have been the first Italian in almost 50 years to become pontiff – or Luis Tagle, a Filipino cardinal looking to become the first Asian pope.
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Instead, it was the first North American to win the highly secretive process.
So, what went on behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel?
Until Thursday lunchtime, Cardinal Parolin was ahead, gathering between 45 and 55 votes, sources say.
A substantial number, but well short of the 89 votes he needed for a two-thirds majority.
At this point, Cardinal Prevost had between 34 and 44 votes.
But as the Italian struggled to grow his support during the first three rounds of voting, he stepped down from the race, endorsing Prevost instead, Sky News understands.
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An internal battle between Luis Tagle and Pablo Virgilio David – both cardinals hailing from Asia – cancelled out both of their chances.
And a contender from Africa – the most conservative sector of the church – was never likely for a conclave where the overwhelming majority of cardinals had been appointed by Francis, a progressive pontiff, sources say.
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An American pope has long been seen as highly improbable, given the geopolitical power of the US.
But Cardinal Prevost was able to draw from across the groups making up the electors: moderate US cardinals, South American cardinals and many European cardinals all coalesced around him.
Italian newspaper La Repubblica said Prevost “certainly attracted cross-party preferences, both ideologically and geographically”.
“In the conclave he was the least American of Americans: Born in Chicago, he lived 20 years in Peru,” the newspaper said.
It added: “As a man used to teamwork, Prevost appeared to many as the right man to make the papacy evolve into a more collegial form.”
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