60 killed in Gaza attacks, many near aid site

RTÉ News​

a day ago

Israeli gunfire and airstrikes have killed at least 60 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them near an aid site in the centre of the enclave, according to health officials.
The facility is operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the United States and Israel.
Medical officials at Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals said at least 25 people were killed and dozens wounded as they approached a food distribution centre near the former Jewish settlement of Netzarim.
Israel's military, which has been at war with Hamas militants since October 2023, said that its forces fired warning shots towards a group of suspects as they posed a threat to troops in the area of the Netzarim Corridor.
"This is despite warnings that the area is an active combat zone. The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) is aware of reports regarding individuals injured; the details are under review," it added.
Later, health officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza said that at least 14 people had died in Israeli gunfire as they approached another GHF site in Rafah.
The foundation accused Hamas of killing at least five people in an attack on a bus carrying two dozen Palestinians working with the organisation to one of its distribution sites.
"We will continue our mission to provide critical aid to the people of Gaza," it said in a statement.
The foundation earlier said that it was unaware of the incidents involving civilians, but added that it was working closely with Israeli authorities to ensure safe passage routes are maintained and that it was essential for Palestinians to closely follow instructions.
"Ultimately, the solution is more aid, which will create more certainty and less urgency among the population," it added in a statement.
"There is not yet enough food to feed everyone in need in Gaza. Our current focus is to feed as many people as is safely possible within the constraints of a highly volatile environment."
GHF said that it distributed 2.5 million meals yesterday, the largest single-day delivery since it began operations, bringing to more than 16 million the number of meals provided since its operations started late last month.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said that, since then, 163 Palestinians had been killed and over 1,000 wounded trying to obtain food boxes.
The United Nations condemned the killings and refused to supply aid via the foundation, which uses private contractors with Israeli military backup in what it said is a breach of humanitarian standards.
Elsewhere in Gaza, the health ministry said at least 11 people were killed by separate Israeli gunfire and strikes across the territory.
The war erupted 20 months ago after Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, on 7 October 2023, Israel's single deadliest day.
Nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have died in Israel's military campaign, according to health authorities in Gaza.
The operation has flattened much of the densely populated enclave, which is home to more than two million people.
Most of the population is displaced and malnutrition is widespread.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that there had been "significant progress" in efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, but that it was "too soon" to raise hopes that a deal would be reached.
Two Hamas sources said they did not know about any breakthrough in negotiations.
UN to vote on demand for immediate Gaza ceasefire
The United Nations General Assembly will vote today on a draft resolution that demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza after the US vetoed a similar effort in the Security Council last week.
The 193-member assembly is likely to adopt the text with overwhelming support, diplomats say, despite Israel lobbying countries this week against taking part in what it called a "politically-motivated, counter-productive charade".
General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry weight as a reflection of the global view on the war.
Previous demands by the body for an end to the war have been ignored. Unlike the Security Council, no country has a veto in the assembly.
The vote comes ahead of a UN conference next week that aims to reinvigorate an international push for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians. The US has urged countries not to attend.
Washington warned that "countries that take anti-Israel actions on the heels of the conference will be viewed as acting in opposition to US foreign policy interests and could face diplomatic consequences."
The United States last week vetoed a draft Security Council resolution that also demanded an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" and unhindered aid access in Gaza, arguing it would undermine US-led efforts to broker a ceasefire.
The other 14 countries on the council voted in favour of the draft.
The draft resolution before the General Assembly demands the release of hostages held by Hamas, the return of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
It demands unhindered aid access and "strongly condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and the unlawful denial of humanitarian access and depriving civilians ... of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supply and access."
"This is both false and defamatory," Israel's Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon wrote in a letter to member states.
He described the General Assembly draft resolution as an "immensely flawed and harmful text," urging countries not to take part in what he said was a "farce" that undermines hostage negotiations and fails to condemn Hamas.
In October 2023, the assembly called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza with 120 votes in favour.
In December 2023, 153 countries voted to demand an immediate humanitarian truce.