Gaza aid line targeted: Dozens killed, UN confirms 798 dead at sites
In southern Gaza, Israeli occupation forces withdrew from the southwestern outskirts of Khan Younis after a two-day incursion that left behind a trail of destruction, as per our correspondent. Tents sheltering forcibly displaced families were bulldozed, and a mass grave containing dozens of unidentified bodies previously kidnapped by "Israel" was razed.
Reports indicate that additional graves were deliberately unearthed during the operation, further underscoring the pattern of desecration and collective punishment, not to mention reports of organ theft.
Earlier on Friday, two more Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on Al-Satar Al-Gharbi, northwest of Khan Younis. Artillery fire also targeted areas in Kanis, Batn Al-Samin, and other parts of the city's western and southwestern regions, as per our correspondent.
In central Gaza, Israeli forces struck a crowd waiting near a food distribution point south of Wadi Gaza, causing several casualties, our correspondent reported. This is one of several recent incidents in which Palestinians gathering for humanitarian assistance have been targeted.
In Gaza City, Israeli artillery shelled the eastern neighborhoods, including al-Tuffah, where a residential home was bombed, resulting in fatalities and injuries. Another home near Al-Yarmouk Mosque in the city's west was also struck.
In the al-Zaytoun and al-Sabra neighborhoods, Israeli drones launched strikes on civilians, including a group of people bombed while standing in a street. At least five people were injured near the al-Nazla roundabout in northern Gaza when an Israeli quadcopter dropped explosives.
Naval units also opened fire along Gaza's coastline, while airstrikes hit a historic building in downtown Gaza.
The UN human rights office reported Friday that it has documented at least 798 Palestinian fatalities linked to aid distribution points in Gaza, including those operated by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), as well as sites near humanitarian convoys run by other relief agencies, including the United Nations.
The GHF, which began "distributing aid" in late May, relies on private US logistics and security contractors to deliver supplies into Gaza, bypassing the UN-coordinated aid system that "Israel" has accused of being vulnerable to diversion by Palestinian Resistance groups. The UN, however, has strongly criticized this parallel framework, calling it 'inherently unsafe' and a violation of humanitarian neutrality principles.
"Up until the seventh of July, we've recorded now 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, and 183 presumably on the route of aid convoys," said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), during a press briefing in Geneva.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nahar Net
3 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Israel orders civilians out of central Gaza ahead of new campaign
by Naharnet Newsdesk 20 July 2025, 12:16 The Israeli military on Sunday issued an evacuation order for Palestinians in the central Gaza Strip, warning of imminent action against Hamas militants in an area "where it has not operated before." The military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X that residents and displaced Palestinians sheltering in the Deir el-Balah area should evacuate immediately. Israel was "expanding its activities" around Deir el-Balah, including "in an area where it has not operated before", Adraee said, telling Palestinians to "move south toward the al-Mawasi area" on the Mediterranean coast "for your safety". Most of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war, which is now in its 22nd month, with repeated Israeli evacuation calls covering large parts of the coastal territory. The U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA said in January that more than 80 percent of the Gaza Strip was under unrevoked Israeli evacuation orders. Families of hostages held in Gaza since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war said they feared the expansion of the Israeli offensive could harm their loved ones. In a statement released by a campaign group, they called for Israeli authorities to "urgently explain to Israeli citizens and families what the fighting plan is and how exactly it protects the abductees who are still in Gaza". On the ground, Gaza's civil defense agency told AFP on Sunday that Israeli strikes overnight killed at least seven people in Gaza City and in parts of the territory's south. Delegations from Israel and militant group Hamas have spent the last two weeks in indirect talks for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and the release of 10 living hostages. Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas' 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Families rallied in Israel's economic hub of Tel Aviv on Saturday, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump to secure the return of the captives and end the war. Meanwhile a military statement said Israeli forces had stepped up ground operations in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza, killing "dozens of terrorists" and dismantling "hundreds of terrorist infrastructure." "Underground terror tunnels" in the area stretching 2.7 kilometers (just over 1.5 miles) some 20 meters underground were located and dismantled, it said. Hamas' 2023 attack led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israeli's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 58,765 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry.
LBCI
a day ago
- LBCI
Hamas calls for global day of rage to protest Gaza 'genocide'
On Saturday, Hamas called for a global day of rage on Sunday to save the Gaza Strip from death, bombardment, and starvation, and to reject what it described as genocide. In a statement, the movement said that Israel continues to commit acts of genocide amid what it called a shameful and suspicious international silence.
L'Orient-Le Jour
a day ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Gaza civil defense says Israeli attacks kill 26 near 2 aid centers
Gaza's civil defense agency on Saturday said Israeli attacks killed 26 people and wounded more than 100 near two aid centres in the south of the Palestinian territory. Agency spokesperson Mahmud Basal told AFP that 22 were killed near a site southwest of Khan Younis and four near another center northwest of Rafah, blaming "Israeli gunfire" for both. One eyewitness said he headed to the Al-Tina area of Khan Younis before dawn with five of his relatives to try to get food when "Israeli soldiers" started shooting. "My relatives and I were unable to get anything," Abdul Aziz Abed, 37, told AFP. "Every day I go there and all we get is bullets and exhaustion instead of food." The Israeli military said it was "looking into" the claims when contacted by AFP. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the agency and other parties. The war in Gaza, sparked by militant group Hamas's deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has created dire humanitarian conditions for the local population. The more than two million people who live in the densely populated coastal territory are facing severe shortages of food and other essentials, and doctors have reported a spike in acute malnutrition. Deaths of people waiting for handouts in huge crowds near aid distribution centres have become a regular occurrence, with the Palestinian authorities blaming Israeli fire. 'Agitators' The civil defense agency reported that nine people were shot and killed near the same aid point in the Al-Shakoush area northwest of Rafah on Friday. The U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which took over the running of aid distribution in late May, said 20 people died in Khan Younis on Wednesday. But it blamed "agitators in the crowd ... armed and affiliated with Hamas" for creating "a chaotic and dangerous surge" and firing at aid-seekers. The previous day, the U.N. said it had recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food, including 674 "in the vicinity of GHF sites," since it began operating. The free flow of aid into Gaza is a key demand of Hamas in the indirect talks with Israel for a 60-day cease-fire in the 21-month war. It also wants a full Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. For its part, Israel wants Hamas to disarm to neutralise it as a security threat and the release of hostages still being held. Both sides have accused the other of intransigence and holding up a deal. Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Of the 251 people taken hostage that day, 49 are still in Gaza, including the 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory military action has killed 58,667 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
