Dozens killed seeking aid in Gaza as Israel considers further military action
The latest deaths came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to announce further military action – and possibly plans for Israel to fully reoccupy Gaza.
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid line up as they wait to enter the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip (Khaled Elfiqi/AP)
Experts say Israel's ongoing military offensive and blockade are already pushing the territory of some two million Palestinians into famine.
Another escalation of the nearly 22-month war could put the lives of countless Palestinians and around 20 living Israeli hostages at risk, and would draw fierce opposition both internationally and within Israel.
Mr Netanyahu's far-right coalition allies have long called for the war to be expanded, and for Israel to eventually take over Gaza, relocate much of its population and rebuild Jewish settlements there.
US President Donald Trump, asked by a reporter on Tuesday whether he supported the reoccupation of Gaza, said he was not aware of the 'suggestion' but that 'it's going to be pretty much up to Israel'.
At least 28 Palestinians were killed overnight and into Wednesday in the Morag Corridor, an Israeli military zone in southern Gaza where UN convoys have been repeatedly overwhelmed by looters and desperate crowds in recent days, and where witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire.
The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots as Palestinians advanced towards them, and that it was not aware of any casualties.
Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies, said another four people were killed in the Teina area, on a route leading to a site in southern Gaza run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an American contractor.
The Al-Awda Hospital said it received the bodies of six people killed near a GHF site in central Gaza.
People inspect the damage at the Sheikh Radwan al-Taba UNRWA clinic following an Israeli army bombardment in Gaza City (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)
Another 12 people were killed in Israeli air strikes, according to the two hospitals.
The GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites.
The military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas because its militants are entrenched in heavily populated areas.
Israel facilitated the establishment of four GHF sites in May after blocking the entry of all food, medicine and other goods for two-and-a-half months.
Israeli and US officials said a new system was needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off humanitarian aid.
The United Nations, which has delivered aid to hundreds of distribution points across Gaza throughout the war when conditions allow, has rejected the new system, saying it forces Palestinians to travel long distances and risk their lives for food, and that it allows Israel to control who gets aid, potentially using it to advance plans for further mass displacement.
The UN human rights office said last week that some 1,400 Palestinians have been killed seeking aid since May, mostly near GHF sites but also along UN convoy routes where trucks have been overwhelmed by crowds.
It says nearly all were killed by Israeli fire.
Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)
This week, a group of UN special rapporteurs and independent human rights experts called for the GHF to be disbanded, saying it is 'an utterly disturbing example of how humanitarian relief can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas in serious breach of international law'.
The experts work with the UN but do not represent the world body.
The GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots when crowds threatened its forces, and the GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray and fired into the air on some occasions to prevent deadly crowding at its sites.
Israel's blockade and military offensive have made it nearly impossible for anyone to safely deliver aid, and aid groups say recent Israeli measures to facilitate more assistance are far from sufficient.
Hospitals recorded four more malnutrition-related deaths over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 193 people, including 96 children, since the war began in October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Jordan said Israeli settlers blocked roads and hurled stones at a convoy of four trucks carrying aid bound for Gaza after they drove across the border into the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israeli far-right activists have repeatedly sought to halt aid from entering Gaza.
Palestinians at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City mourn their relative who was killed while trying to reach aid trucks entering the northern Gaza Strip through the Zikim crossing with Israel (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)
Jordanian government spokesperson Mohammed al-Momani condemned the attack, which he said had shattered the windscreens of the trucks, according to the Jordanian state-run Petra News Agency.
The Israeli military said security forces went to the scene to disperse the gathering and accompanied the trucks to their destination.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and abducted another 251.
Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals.
Of the 50 still held in Gaza, around 20 are believed to be alive.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children.
It is part of the now largely defunct Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals.
The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source for the number of war casualties.
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Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
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Daily Mirror
21 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
British medic's heartbreaking two words to dead Gaza child, 9, while zipping up their body bag
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Only last month, the UN said nearly one in three people in the enclave are going days without eating. Though it has yet to be officially declared, UN-backed global food security experts have warned 'the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out'. Sam added: 'This crisis requires a sustained ceasefire, not a fragile truce. It requires a permanent end to hostilities, full protection for civilians and health workers, and unhindered humanitarian access to food, fuel, and medical supplies. The longer the world waits, the higher the cost. Hunger and despair are spreading faster than aid can reach. If the conflict doesn't kill, starvation might. As I return to my life in the UK, I carry the weight of what I saw. The people of Gaza don't get to leave. They have no escape from the hunger, the fear, the trauma. They need more than our sympathy. They need our action.' Heartbreaking images from UK-Med's Al-Mawasi hospital this week paint a continuing picture of desperation. 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South Wales Argus
a day ago
- South Wales Argus
Trump drug price plans could harm patients claim Welsh Lib Dems
This is the claim of the Welsh Liberal Democrats who said the move could harm the Welsh NHS and the thousands of people working in Wales' pharmaceutical sector. The life sciences sector in Wales employs more than 12,000 people across more than 250 companies, including PCI Pharma Services in Tredegar and a growing cluster of specialist producers in Newport. It contributes approximately £2.6 billion to the Welsh economy annually. The party said reports revealed Trump had written to global pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca and GSK, demanding they lower drug prices for American patients. It said the UK government had reportedly already agreed to review NHS drug pricing as part of wider UK–US trade negotiations. Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds MS said: 'We must stand up to Trump's bullying. This time, he is not just picking a fight; he is putting the health of people in Wales at risk. "From threatening drug price hikes to imposing tariffs on essential medicines, his tactics could lead to shortages, rising NHS costs and real harm to Welsh patients. "The UK government must stop rolling over and urgently convene a task force, in full coordination with the Welsh Government, to put an emergency plan in place. "That means preparing for stockpiling and protecting our medicine supply chains by standing up for our domestic pharmaceutical industry and the Welsh workers it employs.'
