Israeli-backed Gaza aid sites closed as IDF issues evacuation warnings ahead of attack
ISRAELI-BACKED AID group Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has closes its centres in the territory as the Israeli army issued evacuation orders for some parts of Gaza City ahead of an attack.
In a statement on Facebook, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said all its sites for aid distribution are closed and that an opening date will be announced on the Facebook page.
The so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is an Israeli and US-backed private organisation.
The UN and NGOs have refused to cooperate with the GHF, saying the project contravenes humanitarian principles and appears designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
The GHF chief quit his role just before it began operations, citing similar concerns.
Last week, one person
was killed and another 48 were injured
, mostly by Israeli gunfire, at another aid distribution hub run by the GHF.
And over the weekend,
31 people were killed by Israeli fire
while waiting for food from the GHF near Rafah, according to the civil defence agency.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military today issued an evacuation order for residents of parts of Gaza City ahead of an attack.
'This is a final and urgent warning ahead of an impending strike,' army spokesman Avichay Adraee said.
The army 'will strike all areas from which rockets are launched.'
The evacuation order comes at the beginning of the Eid al-Adha holiday, one of the main religious festivals of the Muslim calendar.
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The Israeli military has recently stepped up its campaign in Gaza in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the current war.
International calls for a negotiated ceasefire have grown in recent weeks.
Hamas's lead negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya said yesterday that the Palestinian Islamist group was ready to enter a new round of talks aimed at sealing a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Talks aimed at brokering a new ceasefire have failed to yield a breakthrough since the last brief truce fell apart in March with the resumption of Israeli operations in Gaza.
Israel and Hamas appeared close to an agreement late last month, but a deal proved elusive, with each side accusing the other of scuppering a US-backed proposal.
Israel has faced mounting pressure to allow more aid into Gaza, after it imposed a more than two-month blockade that led to widespread shortages of food and other essentials.
Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians.
According to the health ministry in Gaza, at least 4,402 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, taking the war's overall toll to 54,677, mostly civilians.
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© AFP 2025
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