Dozens killed while seeking aid at Gaza crossing as US envoy heads to Israel for talks
Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said the dead and wounded were among crowds massed at the Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for humanitarian aid to northern Gaza. It was not immediately clear who opened fire and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which controls the crossing.
Israeli strikes and gunfire had earlier killed at least 46 Palestinians overnight and into Wednesday, most of them among crowds seeking food, health officials said.
Israel has come under
mounting international pressure
in recent days as its ongoing military offensive and blockade have led to the
'worst-case scenario of famine'
in the coastal territory of some 2 million Palestinians, according to the leading international authority on hunger crises.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led the Trump administration's efforts to wind down the nearly 22-month war and release hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that sparked the conflict, will arrive in Israel on Thursday for talks on the situation in Gaza.
A U.S. official confirmed the visit, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss plans not yet made public.
Of those killed in the earlier violence, more than 30 were seeking humanitarian aid, according to hospitals that received the bodies and treated dozens of wounded people. Another seven Palestinians, including a child,
died of malnutrition-related causes
, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the strikes. It says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, because the group's militants operate in densely populated areas.
Strikes and gunfire at aid sites
Shifa Hospital in Gaza City
said that it received 12 people who were killed Tuesday night when Israeli forces opened fire toward crowds awaiting aid trucks coming from the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza.
Thirteen others were killed in strikes in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp, and the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, the hospital said.
In the southern city of Khan Younis, Nasser Hospital said it received the bodies of 16 people who it says were killed Tuesday evening while waiting for aid trucks close to the newly-built Morag corridor, which the Israeli military carved out between Khan Younis and the southernmost city of Rafah.
The hospital received another body of a man killed in a strike on a tent in Khan Younis, it said.
The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp said that it received the bodies of four Palestinians. It said they were killed Wednesday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
, or GHF, in the Netzarim corridor area, south of the Wadi Gaza.
Israel has eased its blockade but obstacles remain
Under heavy international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza, but aid workers say much more is needed.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, the leading world authority on hunger crises, has stopped short of declaring famine in Gaza but said Tuesday that the situation has dramatically worsened and warned of 'widespread death' without immediate action.
COGAT, the Israeli military body that facilitates the entry of aid, said over 220 trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday. That's far below the 500-600 trucks a day that U.N. agencies say are needed, and which entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year.
The United Nations
is still struggling to deliver the aid
that does enter the strip, with most trucks unloaded by crowds in zones controlled by the Israeli military. The alternative aid system run by the Israeli-backed GHF has also been marred by violence.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid since May, most near sites run by GHF, according to witnesses, local health officials and the U.N. human rights office. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding.
International airdrops of aid have also resumed, but many of the parcels have landed in areas that Palestinians have been told to evacuate while others have plunged into the Mediterranean Sea, forcing people to swim out to retrieve drenched bags of flour.
Deaths from malnutrition
A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the war began in Gaza. The ministry said that 65 Palestinian adults have also died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults.
Israel denies there is any starvation
in Gaza, rejecting accounts to the contrary from witnesses, U.N. agencies and aid groups, and says the focus on hunger undermines ceasefire efforts.
Hamas started the war with its attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which militants killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the rest of the hostages were released in ceasefires or other deals.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
___
Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
___
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https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
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Los Angeles Times
3 minutes ago
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Extreme hunger could lead to the deaths of Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski within weeks. Footage from Gaza shows almost identical symptoms to those of concentration camps survivors. The recently released footage of Gaza hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski highlights the similarities with the suffering in Holocaust concentration camps. The footage, released by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad over the weekend, showed David and Braslavski appearing to suffer from extreme hunger, with almost identical symptoms to the black-and-white images from the concentration camps. These symptoms include extreme malnutrition, body mass loss, damage to the nervous system, multi-system physiological deterioration, and severe psychological damage accompanied by a sense of powerlessness, detachment, and loneliness. David and Braslavski have had to survive on minimal food rations, sometimes less than 800 calories per day. A nutritional table shown by David highlights that it may be far less, at around 200 calories. This reflects the digestive system of Holocaust survivors, which collapsed from malnutrition, just as is likely happening with David and Braslavski. Among those who survived the concentration camps, there was documentation of severe damage to their nervous system due to a deficiency in vitamin B1, which included neuropathy, muscle cramps, tremors, and physical weakness. These symptoms indicate severe nutritional deficiencies that caused damage to the nervous system. Hunger is not just physical either. Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and emotional numbness that was described among Holocaust survivors has also been documented among hostages. The human brain responds similarly to extreme conditions of hunger, captivity, and isolation. These hostages are described as suffering from withdrawal, loss of interest, and low responsiveness to environmental stimuli, which are all indications of cognitive damage and a survivalist psychological response, which was also documented in Holocaust concentration camps and ghettos. Metabolic damage which was documented among Holocaust survivors, including an increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and metabolic syndrome, is also appearing in some of the freed hostages. The imbalance of electrolytes, which are also known as blood salts, caused sudden death among concentration camp survivors who were fed large amounts of food at one. This phenomenon, also known as refeeding syndrome, also poses a risk to hostages, who sometimes receive large amounts of food just days before their expected release from terror captivity. Refeeding must occur gradually, cautiously to prevent sudden death The danger from disrupting the phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium balance in the first weeks of feeding large quantities of food could lead to hearth rhythm disturbances and multi-system failure. This must be a lesson that is learned, and refeeding must begin gradually and cautiously. Conditions, such as captivity syndrome, and amblyopia of captivity, were documented among Holocaust survivors in the 1940s as a result of nerve damage from prolonged hunger, and are now being seen again in hostages who have already been freed. It is likely that the remaining hostages also suffer from these conditions. Many freed hostages reported balance problems, sensory weakness in their limbs, and vision disturbances. These are not new symptoms, but a return of a known biological phenomenon. Many Holocaust survivors retained feelings of anxiety around food, a need to hoard, avoiding leaving leftovers, or compulsive eating behaviors. Some couldn't break the link between hunger and survival. This trauma is also appearing among hostages, some of whom are struggling to eat, suffering from vomiting, fear of scarcity, and sometimes even feelings of guilt surrounding eating. A notable finding from comparing the conditions of Gaza hostages and Holocaust survivors is the rate of physiological deterioration observed both then and now. Survivors experienced sharp weight loss within a few weeks, and in many cases, lost up to half of their body weight. The same process occurred with the hostages, who quickly went from functioning physical strength to weak, exhausted, and starving bodies. The body's survival mechanisms are activated intensely, but they come at a destructive cost of organ shrinkage and functional collapse. The central nervous and hormonal systems are similarly affected. The body responds to chronic hunger by sharply reducing thyroid hormones, increasing cortisol, and halting sexual hormone function. In children, as was documented in the Holocaust and today, this causes stunted growth, delayed sexual maturation, and cognitive developmental damage. This is a state that not only jeopardizes lives but also the future quality of life for the kidnapped children. Furthermore, the immune system is significantly weakened, a result of deficiencies in proteins, vitamins, and essential salts. Survivors experienced high rates of infections, including pneumonia and tuberculosis. Similar illnesses, including recurrent respiratory infections, skin rashes, and intestinal infections, are reported among freed hostages. The body, which has been in undernutrition for months, loses its ability to protect itself and reacts with less intensity even to standard medical treatments.
