Gaza civil defence says 18 killed across territory
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that at least six people were killed and 30 wounded after Israeli troops targeted civilians assembling near an aid point in central Gaza.
The spokesman said strikes hit areas elsewhere in central Gaza, resulting in multiple casualties.
He later added that a drone attack near the southern city of Khan Younis killed at least three people and injured several others.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence and the Israeli military.
Thousands of Palestinians congregate daily near food distribution points in Gaza, including four managed by the U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Since launching in late May, its operations have been marred by almost-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to collect aid.
Israeli restrictions on the entry of supplies into Gaza since the start of the war nearly two years ago have led to shortages of food and essential supplies, including medicine and fuel, which hospitals require to power their generators.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces mounting pressure to secure a ceasefire to bring the territory's more than two million people back from the brink of famine and free the hostages held by Palestinian militants.
But early Friday, the Israeli security cabinet approved plans to launch major operations to seize Gaza City, triggering a wave of outrage across the globe.
Despite the backlash and rumours of dissent from Israeli military top brass, Netanyahu has remained defiant over the decision.
In a post on social media late Friday, he said 'we are not going to occupy Gaza -- we are going to free Gaza from Hamas'.
The Palestinian militant group, whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered the war, has slammed the plan to expand the fighting as a 'new war crime'.
Israel's offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry, figures the UN says are reliable.
Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
a minute ago
- Business Standard
Netanyahu hints truce talks now focus on release of all hostages at once
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday hinted that ceasefire efforts in Gaza are now focused on a comprehensive deal that would release the remaining hostages all at once, rather than in phases. Arab officials told The Associated Press last week that mediators Egypt and Qatar were preparing a new framework for a deal that would include the release of all remaining hostages in one go in return for a lasting ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. The long-running indirect talks appeared to break down last month. But a Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo for ceasefire talks on Tuesday, Egypt's state-run Qahera news channel reported, a sign that efforts have not been abandoned after 22 months of war. Israel has threatened to widen its military offensive against Hamas to the areas of Gaza that it does not yet control, and where most of the territory's 2 million residents have sought refuge. Those plans have sparked international condemnation and criticism within Israel, and could be intended to raise pressure on Hamas to reach a ceasefire. The militants still hold 50 hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war. Israel believes around 20 of them are alive. **I want all of them In an interview with Israel's i24 News network broadcast Tuesday, Netanyahu was asked if the window had closed on a partial ceasefire deal. Egyptian Foreign Ministry Badr Abdelatty told reporters that Cairo is still trying to advance an earlier proposal for an initial 60-day ceasefire, the release of some hostages and an influx of humanitarian aid before further talks on a lasting truce. I think it's behind us, Netanyahu replied. We tried, we made all kinds of attempts, we went through a lot, but it turned out that they were just misleading us. I want all of them, he said of the hostages. The release of all the hostages, both alive and dead - that's the stage we're at. He added, however, that Israel's demands haven't changed, and that the war will end only when all hostages are returned and Hamas has surrendered. He has said that even then, Israel will maintain open-ended security control over the territory. Hamas has long called for a comprehensive deal but says it will only release the remaining hostages in return for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The militant group has refused to lay down its arms, as Israel has demanded. **UN warns about starvation, malnutrition The United Nations on Tuesday warned that starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at the highest levels since the war began. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric reported the warning from the World Food Program and said Gaza's Health Ministry told UN staff in Gaza that five people died over the last 24 hours from malnutrition and starvation. The ministry says 121 adults and 101 children have died of malnutrition-related causes during the war. Against this backdrop, humanitarian supplies entering Gaza remain far below the minimum required to meet people's immense needs, Dujarric said. The UN and its humanitarian partners are doing everything possible to bring aid into Gaza, he said, but still face significant delays and impediments from Israeli authorities that prevent the delivery of food and other essentials at the scale needed. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in that 2023 attack. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's air and ground offensive has since displaced most of Gaza's population, destroyed vast areas and pushed the territory toward famine. It has killed more than 61,400 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. The ministry says 121 adults and 101 children have died of malnutrition-related causes during the war. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own. **Israel says it struck militants disguised as aid workers In a separate development, the Israeli military said it recently struck a group of militants in Gaza who were disguised as aid workers and using a car with the logo of international charity World Central Kitchen. The army said it carried out an airstrike on the men after confirming with the charity that they were not affiliated with it and that the car did not belong to it. World Central Kitchen confirmed that the men and the vehicle were not affiliated with it. We strongly condemn anyone posing as World Central Kitchen or other humanitarians, as this endangers civilians and aid workers, it said in a statement. The military shared video footage showing several men in yellow vests standing around a vehicle with the charity's logo on its roof. The military said five of the men were armed. The charity, founded in 2010, dispatches teams that can quickly provide meals on a mass scale in conflict zones and after natural disasters. In April, an Israeli strike killed seven World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza. Israel quickly admitted it had mistakenly killed the aid workers and launched an investigation.
&w=3840&q=100)

First Post
a minute ago
- First Post
Another Modi-Trump meeting on the cards? Preparations on for PM's US visit for UNGA, says report
PM Modi is likely to travel to the US for the UN General Assembly in the last week of September and will meet with Trump on the sidelines to discuss issues such as trade and tariffs US President Donald Trump speaks with the press as he meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 13, 2025. (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP) The central government is preparing for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US for a meeting with US President Donald Trump as tensions between the two countries simmer over tariffs. According to a report by The Indian Express, PM Modi is likely to travel to the US for the UN General Assembly in the last week of September and will meet with Trump on the sidelines to discuss issues such as trade and tariffs. The two leaders are also likely to announce a trade deal during this visit. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Refresh for updates.


Hindustan Times
31 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
After Asim Munir, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif threatens India over Indus Waters Treaty
In a fresh threat to India, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said the "enemy" would not be allowed to snatch 'even one drop' of water belonging to Pakistan. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.(AFP file) India took a series of punitive measures against Pakistan that included putting the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 in 'abeyance' on April 23, a day after the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives. Pakistan has repeatedly cautioned that any attempt to block the water flow would be considered an act of war. "I want to tell the enemy today that if you threaten to hold our water, then keep this in mind that you cannot snatch even one drop of Pakistan,' news agency PTI quoted Shehbaz Sharif as saying at a ceremony in Islamabad. The Pakistani prime minister also warned that if India attempted such an act, 'you will be again taught such a lesson that you will be left holding your ears.' There was no immediate comment from India on Shehbaz Sharif's threat. Sharif's statement comes a day after former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari made similar comments, terming the Indus Waters Treaty's suspension an attack on the Indus Valley Civilisation and said Pakistan would not back down if India forced it into war. Actor-turned-Bharatiya Janata Party leader Mithun Chakraborty on Tuesday reacted sharply to the Pakistan People's Party chairman's comment and warned that India will respond with a series of Brahmos missiles. His fiery retort was also accompanied by a bizarre one: a dam will be built, and 140 crore Indians will relieve themselves there before that reservoir will be opened to unleash a tsunami in the neighbouring nation. Chakraborty, however, emphasised that he had nothing against the ordinary people of Pakistan who are peace-loving and do not want war and that his ire was directed only at the Pakistani establishment. Meanwhile, in an address to the Pakistani diaspora in Tampa, Florida, Pakistani Army chief Asim Munir reportedly said Islamabad would destroy any dam if it cut off water flow to Pakistan. "We will wait for India to build a dam, and when they do so, we will destroy it,' Asim Munir was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper. 'The Indus River is not the Indians' family property. We have no shortage of resources to undo the Indian designs to stop the river," he added. Hitting back, the ministry of external affairs said on Monday that Munir's fresh nuclear threat against India reinforced the well-held doubts about the integrity of nuclear command and control in that country, where the military is "hand-in-glove" with terrorist groups and New Delhi will not give in to any nuclear blackmail. Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan's 'stock-in-trade', the MEA said, adding that India will continue to take all steps necessary to safeguard its national security. In an apparent message to the US, the ministry said it is also regrettable that these remarks were made from the soil of a 'friendly third country'. India carried out Operation Sindoor on May 7, striking terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that claimed 26 civilian lives. After four days of heavy cross-border drone and missile exchanges, India and Pakistan agreed on May 10 to end the hostilities. (With inputs from agencies)