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Tag Archives: Israel
Dozens reportedly killed near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation hub in 3rd consecutive day of violence
At least 27 Palestinians were fatally shot and 161 others wounded on Tuesday as they tried to reach a food distribution center in Gaza run by a controversial U.S.-backed group, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. It was the third day of deadly violence reported near a humanitarian hub run by the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private organization accused by the United Nations of weaponizing aid.
“We were shocked by the numbers of injuries. A horrific number,” one ambulance driver said as the wounded were rushed to the Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. “All the injuries were directly to the head and chest. Many of them young people who went to get aid from the American foundation.”
Little information has been made public about GHF’s operations. CBS News has been told by one source that it has employed at least 300 American contractors, all heavily armed, who have been given “as much ammunition as they can carry.”
Hatem Khaled/REUTERS
GHF said Tuesday that its operations continued without disruption at its four hubs in Gaza, though it acknowledged reports of violence, which it said took place, “well beyond our secure distribution site and operations area.”
In a statement, the Israeli military, which has taken control of an increasing portion of Gaza in recent weeks, said its troops had fired warning shots near the aid hub on Tuesday morning, and that it was aware of reports of casualties and was looking into them.
“During the movement of the crowd along the designated routes toward the aid distribution site — approximately half a kilometer [0.3 miles] from the site — IDF troops identified several suspects moving toward them, deviating from the designated access routes,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. “The troops carried out warning fire, and after the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects who advanced toward the troops.”
The IDF said it “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.”
GHF said in a statement on Tuesday that it had distributed a total of more than 7 million meals since it started operations about a week ago, and that “aid distribution was conducted safely and without incident at our site today.”
“We understand that IDF is investigating whether a number of civilians were injured after moving beyond the designated safe corridor and into a closed military zone. This was an area well beyond our secure distribution site and operations area. We recognize the difficult nature of the situation and advise all civilians to remain in the safe corridor when traveling to our distribution sites.”
Among those killed this week was Reem Akhras, a mother of eight who was shot on her way to retrieve an aid parcel from a GHF hub, her family said. A CBS News team in Gaza attended her funeral Tuesday morning.
“You went to get us food, Mom,” Akhras’ young daughter cried, sobbing over her body. “We will never forgive them, Mom. Not in this life or the next.”
Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, called the situation in Gaza “unconscionable” and demanded a “prompt and impartial investigation” into the deaths around the GHF hubs.
“Palestinians have been presented the grimmest of choices: die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available through Israel’s militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism,” Türk said in a statement Tuesday. “This militarized system endangers lives and violates international standards on aid distribution, as the United Nations has repeatedly warned.”
“The wilful impediment of access to food and other life-sustaining relief supplies for civilians may constitute a war crime,” Türk said. “The threat of starvation, together with 20 months of killing of civilians and destruction on a massive scale, repeated forced displacements, intolerable, dehumanizing rhetoric and threats by Israel’s leadership to empty the Strip of its population, also constitute elements of the most serious crimes under international law.”
contributed to this report.
More deadly violence near humanitarian site in Gaza
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Dozens shot and killed trying to reach aid in Gaza
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Boulder attack suspect threw Molotov cocktails at people rallying for Israeli hostages, officials say. Here’s what we know.
Eight people were injured in an attack Sunday in Boulder, Colorado, where peaceful demonstrators were marching to support Israeli hostages in Gaza, authorities said.
The incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which described it as targeted. The suspect, 45-year-old Mohamed Soliman, was taken into custody. He is facing multiple felony charges as well as a federal hate crime charge.
Here is what we know so far.
What happened in Boulder?
The attack occurred at around 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the outdoor Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, near the historic County Courthouse in the city’s downtown. It was the site of a march held to advocate for the hostages who were taken from southern Israel by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, and have yet to be released.
Witnesses said the suspect used a “makeshift flamethrower” and Molotov cocktails to harm demonstrators, leaving multiple people with burns, according to the FBI. The eight who suffered injuries had been standing outside of the courthouse. In the aftermath, a burn scar was visible in front of the courthouse building.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polish, who is Jewish, condemned the attack, calling it a “heinous and targeted act on the Jewish community.”
The FBI’s Colorado office said those who attended the march were participating in a scheduled, weekly event. Organized by the group Run for Their Lives, local branches hold community walks and runs in different cities within Colorado, around the country and internationally.
“We are a local chapter of the global initiative Run For Their Lives,” reads the description of the Boulder chapter’s Facebook page. “We do an 18 minute weekly walk to show international solidarity with the hostages taken from Israel during the 10/7 massacre, and still being held in Gaza. We will walk until they are all released.”
Rachel Amaru, an organizer at Run for Their Lives in Boulder, called the attack “blatantly antisemitic” in comments to CBS Colorado. It took place less than two weeks after two Israeli Embassy employees were killed in a shooting outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., which is also being investigated as a hate crime.
Omer Shachar, a co-leader of Run for Their Lives Denver, told CBS News the group contacted Boulder police several times about security concerns around the event prior to Sunday. CBS News has reached out to Boulder police for comment.
Who was injured in the Boulder attack?
Police said the victims of the Boulder attack included four women and four men, whose ages range from 52 to 88. One of them was seriously injured, according to Boulder Police Chief Stephan Redfearn, who said the person had been hospitalized in critical condition.
The 88-year-old is a Holocaust refugee who fled Europe, according to Rabbi Israel Wilhelm, the Chabad director at the University of Colorado Boulder. Wilhelm described her as a “very loving person.”
Another victim is a professor at the university, the rabbi said.
Two of the injured were flown by helicopter to the burn unit at UCHealth, and four others were taken to Boulder Community Health, according to police and the hospitals. All of the patients at Boulder Community Health had either been discharged or transferred elsewhere later Sunday night, the hospital said, although it did not specify how many were discharged versus transferred.
Who is the Boulder attack suspect?
The suspect was identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, FBI Special Agent in Charge Mike Michalek said Sunday. He is facing multiple felony charges and a federal hate crimes charge.
Witnesses allegedly heard Soliman yell “Free Palestine” during the attack, according to Michalek, who said it was “clear this is a targeted act of violence.” Two sources told CBS News that witnesses who spoke to investigators also alleged the suspect shouted “End Zionist” during the attack.
The suspect told investigators he “researched on YouTube how to make Molotov Cocktails, purchased the ingredients to do so, and constructed them,” an affidavit filed by the Department of Justice says.
He also “stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead,” the affidavit says.
Soliman is an Egyptian national, government officials confirmed to CBS Colorado. Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the suspect first arrived in the United States in August 2022, originally on a non-immigrant visa that expired in February 2023. She said he filed for asylum a month after arriving in the U.S., in September 2022, but did not provide details about the outcome of that immigration case or whether it was resolved.
Soliman had recently been living in Colorado Springs, about 100 miles south of Boulder.
After the attack, authorities evacuated three blocks of Pearl Street for the rest of the day as they probed a vehicle of interest in the area, which an FBI official later said belonged to the suspect. On Sunday night, the FBI said it was “conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity related to the attack” in El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs.
FBI Director Kash Patel, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard have referred to the incident as a terrorist attack.
“The @ODNIgov’s National Counterterrorism Center is working with the FBI and local law enforcement on the ground investigating the targeted terror attack against a weekly meeting of Jewish community members who had just gathered in Boulder, CO to raise awareness of the hostages kidnapped during Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7,” Gabbard wrote in a social media post.
Soliman’s former employer, an independently owned medical clinic in Centennial, Colorado, called Veros Health, told CBS News that he had a valid work visa while employed there from May 2023 to August 2023.
“We can confirm that Mohamed Soliman worked with Veros from May 2023 to August 2023. He was hired in our accounting department,” Roni Mushovic, a regional business leader at Vero, said in a statement, noting that Soliman underwent the hiring process through ADP, which handles human resources for the clinic.
“At the time of hire, he was confirmed to have a valid work Visa, which was noted to expire on March 2025,” Mushovic said.
Prior to Sunday’s attack, Soliman was driving for Uber, which required him to have a valid Social Security number, CBS News has learned. According to an Uber spokesperson, he passed a background check and provided a photo ID and Social Security number when the company hired him in the spring of 2023, and passed another background check “about nine months ago.”
Andrew Haubner and
contributed to this report.
More than 50 killed, 200 injured in Gaza while trying to get humanitarian aid, officials say
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Israeli U.N. Ambassador Condemns Colorado Terror Attack: ‘This Is Terrorism’
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon responded to reports of an attack at Park Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado, which left several pro-Israel people injured, and he noted that the attack is “terrorism.”
“Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border — it is already burning the streets of America,” Danon said in a post on X. “Today, in Boulder, Colorado, Jewish people marched with a moral and humane demand: to return the hostages. In response, the Jewish protesters were brutally attacked, with an attacker throwing a Molotov cocktails at them.”
Danon continued: “Make no mistake — this is not a political protest, this is terrorism. The time for statements is over. It is time for concrete action to be taken against the instigators wherever they may be.”
Danon’s post came after several reports that multiple people had been injured and burned after a suspect reportedly used Molotov cocktails to attack people taking part in a pro-Israel walk to support hostages held by Hamas.
Witnesses told CBS News:
Witnesses at the scene told CBS Colorado that the suspect attacked people with Molotov cocktails who were participating in a walk to remember the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza.
One witness stated that he “saw a fire and then saw a cloud of smoke” and added that there had been a woman “burning on the ground” along with two other people who had been “impacted by burns on their legs,” KDVR reported:
A man who was on Pearl Street at the time of the attack said he saw a fire and then saw a cloud of smoke. He said that when they got to the scene, there was a woman “burning on the ground” and two other people impacted by burns on their legs.
He said the incident occurred during “some kind of religious protest.”
One witness of the attack gave an “account” of what had happened at the Pearl Street Mall in a thread on X.
“My account of what happened at Pearl Street today,” the person wrote. “Self proclaimed Palestinian man (in his 50s best guess) lighting people on fire with gasoline (from gardening tool) and throwing Molotov cocktails. Burned about 6 people aged mostly over 70.”
The person continued to claim that the attack was “definitely premeditated.”
“Definitely premeditated as it happened during the typical Sunday scheduled peaceful/silent walk holding Jewish hostage signs and Israeli flags,” the person continued. “Walk has been happening every Sunday sine 10/7/23.”
“Man shouted ‘You f*cking Zionists kill my people so I kill you!’” the person added.
FBI Director Kash Patel responded to the news of the attack and stated that the agency is “aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado.”
“We are aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado,” Patel wrote in a post on X. “Our agents and local law enforcement are on the scene already, and we will share updates as more information becomes available.”
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) also responded to the news of the attack, stating that he is “monitoring the situation.” Polis noted that “hate-filled acts of any kind” are unacceptable.
“I am closely monitoring the situation in Boulder, and my thoughts go out to the people who have been injured and impacted by this heinous act of terror,” Polis wrote in a post on X. “Hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable. While details emerge, the state works with local and federal law enforcement to support this investigation. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”
Videos on social media show the alleged suspect shouting “end Zionists” and “Palestine is Free.”
Dozens killed in attack near Gaza aid delivery point, witnesses blame IDF, Israel denies involvement
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Report: Boulder Terror Attack Suspect Is Illegal Alien Admitted Under Biden
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials have revealed that the suspect behind the Park Street Mall attack in Boulder, Colorado, is an illegal alien who entered the United States under the Biden administration.
Fox News’s Bill Melugin revealed that “three senior” DHS sources said Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, is “an Egyptian national in the U.S. illegally,” and has overstayed his visa after entering the United States under the Biden administration.
Melugin added that he was “told” Soliman “arrived at LAX on 8/27/22 on a B1/B2 nonimmigrant visa with an authorized stay through 2/26/23, but he overstayed & never left.”
“I’m told on 9/29/22, he filed some sort of claim with USCIS, potentially an asylum claim, and on 3/29/23, USCIS under the Biden admin gave him work authorization, which expired on 3/28/25,” Melugin added.
Melugin’s post came after FBI Special Agent Mark Michalek revealed during a press conference that Soliman had been identified as the suspect behind the attack which left multiple people injured and burned. Michalek also said there were six victims between the ages of 67-88 and that witnesses had reported the suspect had “used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd.”
“I’m able to confirm there are six victims, ages 67-88, all of them have been transported to local hospitals,” Michalek shared. “This attack happened at a regularly scheduled weekly peaceful event. Witnesses are reporting that the subject used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd. The suspect was heard to yell, ‘Free Palestine’ during the attack. The subject has been identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, and he’s 45-years-old.”
“As a result of these preliminary facts, it is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism,” Michalek continued. “Sadly, attacks like this are becoming too common across the country, this is an example of how perpetrators of violence continue to threaten communities across our nation.”
The identification of Soliman as the suspect behind the attack in Boulder comes hours after reports came out that multiple people had been injured and burned by an attacker with Molotov cocktails while they were taking part in a pro-Israel walk to support hostages held by Hamas.
Videos on social media show Soliman allegedly shouting, “end Zionists,” and, “Palestine is Free.”
One person, Rick Holter told Colorado Public Radio (CPR) News that after he left a store, he saw “someone on the ground being doused by bystanders” and a “shirtless man holding squirt bottles and yelling”:
CPR News spoke with Rick Holter of Pagosa Springs, who was in a store nearby when someone said there was fire outside.
When he exited, Holter didn’t see anything aflame, although there was someone on the ground being doused by bystanders. He also saw a shirtless man holding squirt bottles and yelling.
“We watched as the police arrived a couple of minutes later and this guy, the shirtless guy, went down on the ground and was handcuffed and taken away then,” said Holter.
Another witness told KDVR News there was a woman “burning on the ground,” and two other people had been “impacted by burns on their legs”:
A man who was on Pearl Street at the time of the attack said he saw a fire and then saw a cloud of smoke. He said that when they got to the scene, there was a woman “burning on the ground” and two other people impacted by burns on their legs.
He said the incident occurred during “some kind of religious protest.”
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) issued a statement that his thoughts were with the “people who have been injured by this heinous” attack on the Jewish community. Polis added that the suspect should be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“My thoughts go out to the people who have been injured by this heinous and targeted act on the Jewish community,” Polis said. “Boulder is strong. We have overcome tragedies together and will get through this together as a community. I’ve spoken with Boulder Mayor Brockett, and my administration is working closely with local and federal law enforcement on this afternoon’s attack.”
“As the Jewish community reels from the recent antisemitic murders in Washington, D.C., it is unfathomable that the community is facing another antisemitic attack here in Boulder on the eve of the holiday of Shavuot,” Polis continued. “Several individuals were brutally attacked while peacefully drawing attention to the plight of hostages who have been held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza for 604 days. Hate is unacceptable in our Colorado for all, and I condemn this act of terror. The suspect should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Climate activist Greta Thunberg and
Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and 11 other activists set sail for the Gaza Strip on Sunday afternoon, aboard a ship carrying aid. The mission is aimed at “breaking Israel’s siege” of the devastated territory, organizers said.
“Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningham and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, are also among the crew. Hassan has been barred from entering Israel due to her active opposition to the Israeli assault on Gaza.
The sailing boat Madleen — operated by activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition — departed from the Sicilian port of Catania, in southern Italy.
“‘Madleen’ sails to Gaza today with twelve humanitarians and as much life-saving aid as she can carry, including baby formula, medical supplies, and more. She departs from European territorial waters, sailing entirely through international waters into Palestinian waters off Gaza,” the coalition wrote in a social media post Sunday. “Unarmed and nonviolent, ‘Madleen’ poses no threat. She sails in full accordance with international law. Any attack or interference will be a deliberate, unlawful assault on civilians.”
As the crew tries to reach the shores of Gaza, they hope their trip will raise “international awareness” over the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the activists said at a press conference on Sunday, ahead of departure.
“We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying,” Thunberg said, bursting into tears during her speech.
“Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it’s not even near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide,” she added.
Salvatore Cavalli / AP
Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.”
In mid-May, Israel slightly eased its blockade of Gaza after nearly three months, allowing a limited amount of humanitarian aid into the territory.
Experts have warned that Gaza is at risk of famine if more aid is not brought in.
U.N. agencies and major aid groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians.
The activists expect to take seven days to get to their destination, if they are not stopped.
Thunberg, who became an internationally famous climate activist after organizing massive teen protests in her native Sweden, had been due to board a previous Freedom Flotilla ship last month.
Salvatore Cavalli / AP
That attempt to reach Gaza by sea, in early May, failed after another of the group’s vessels, the “Conscience,” was attacked by two alleged drones while sailing in international waters off the coast of Malta.
The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship, in the latest confrontation over efforts to send assistance to the Palestinian territory devastated by nearly 19 months of war.
The Israeli government says the blockade is an attempt to pressure Hamas to release hostages it took during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the conflict. Hamas-led militants assaulted southern Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is still holding 58 hostages, 23 of whom are believed to be alive.
In response, Israel launched an offensive that has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Israel’s bombardment and ground operations have destroyed vast areas of the territory and left most of its population homeless.
The Flotilla group was only the latest among a growing number of critics to accuse Israel of genocidal acts in its war in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies the allegations, saying its war is directed at Hamas militants, not Gaza’s civilians.
“We are breaking the siege of Gaza by sea, but that’s part of a broader strategy of mobilizations that will also attempt to break the siege by land,” said activist Thiago Avila.
Avila cited the upcoming Global March to Gaza — an international initiative also open to doctors, lawyers and media — which is set to leave Egypt and reach the Rafah crossing in mid-June to stage a protest there, asking Israel to stop the Gaza offensive and reopen the border.