At least 20 killed in Gaza as Israel pushes new 'humanitarian city' plan
At least 20 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday in Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli Ministry of Defence presented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a revised proposal for a so-called 'humanitarian city' in southern Gaza.
The new plan would cost 4 billion shekels ($1.2bn) and be completed within two months, Army Radio reported. The site would house 600,000 displaced Palestinians in tents, with access to water, food and electricity.
An earlier version of the plan, introduced by Defence Minister Israel Katz, was reportedly rejected by Netanyahu as too costly and logistically difficult.
Human rights organisations have condemned both iterations of the plan, calling it an attempt to forcibly relocate Palestinians into a confined zone drawing comparisons to a concentration camp.
Children losing limbs daily
The United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said the humanitarian toll continues to worsen, with 10 children per day losing one or both legs as a result of the conflict. More than 134,000 people, including over 40,500 children, have sustained war-related injuries since the conflict began.
OHCHR added that more than 35,000 people are believed to suffer from significant hearing loss due to explosions, warning of long-term medical and psychological trauma for Gaza's civilian population.
Dividing Khan Younis
The Israeli military has announced the opening of a new corridor in southern Gaza that divides the Khan Younis area into eastern and western zones.
Called the Magen Oz Corridor, the 15km route connects to the Morag Corridor, which was created in April to separate Khan Younis from Rafah.
Read: EU signals possible action against Israel over Gaza humanitarian crisis
According to a military statement, the corridor is intended to increase pressure on Hamas and dismantle the remaining brigade operating in the city.
Military analysts say the development signals a deepening Israeli campaign in southern Gaza, while humanitarian organisations warn the move could worsen civilian displacement and obstruct access to aid.
'Dramatic progress' in ceasefire talks
Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Doha, Qatar, have made what Israeli media described as 'dramatic progress' over the past 24 hours.
Talks, which began on July 6, aim to secure a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange deal. According to Israel's Channel 13, the breakthrough came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli Security Cabinet agreed to ease some of their demands—particularly on the military's continued presence in Gaza.
Unnamed officials told the outlet that the current framework includes a 60-day pause in Israeli operations, after which combat could resume. While Netanyahu has reportedly approved 'additional flexibility' to move the process forward, he remains opposed to ending the war entirely.
Channel 13 quoted one Israeli official as saying 'the road to a deal is now paved,' though no concrete timeline was offered for its conclusion.
Israel's war on Gaza
Israel has carried out a devastating military campaign in Gaza since late October 2023, killing nearly 58,500 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children.
The relentless bombardment has levelled much of the besieged enclave, creating severe food shortages, collapsing health infrastructure, and fuelling the spread of disease.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Israel announces daily pauses in Gaza fighting as aid airdrops begin
An airplane drops humanitarian aid over Gaza as seen from northern Gaza Strip July 27, 2025. Photo: Reuters Listen to article Israel said on Sunday it would halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and allow new aid corridors as Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped supplies into the enclave, where images of starving Palestinians have alarmed the world. Israel has been facing growing international criticism, which the government rejects, over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and indirect ceasefire talks in Doha between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have broken off with no deal in sight. Military activity will stop from 10 am to 8 pm (0700-1700 GMT) until further notice in Al-Mawasi, a designated humanitarian area along the coast, in central Deir al-Balah and in Gaza City, to the north. Jordan and the United Arab Emirates parachuted 25 tons of aid into the Gaza Strip on Sunday in their first airdrop in months, a Jordanian official source said. Read More: Gaza bound aid ship intercepted as Israel announces partial humanitarian pause The official said the air drops were not a substitute for delivery by land. Palestinian health officials in Gaza City said at least 10 people were injured by falling aid boxes. The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6 am and 11 pm starting from Sunday. UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the designated areas. Welcome announcement of humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow our aid through. In contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window. — Tom Fletcher (@UNReliefChief) July 27, 2025 "Our teams on the ground ... will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window," he said on X. Health officials at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in the central Gaza Strip said Israeli firing killed at least 17 people and wounded 50 waiting for aid trucks on Sunday. Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. Also Read: UNRWA belittles Gaza aid airdrops proposal The ministry reported six new deaths over the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total deaths from malnutrition and hunger to 133 including 87 children. On Saturday, a five-month-old baby, Zainab Abu Haleeb, died of malnutrition at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, health workers said. "Three months inside the hospital and this is what I get in return, that she is dead," said her mother, Israa Abu Haleeb, standing next to the baby's father as he held their daughter's body wrapped in a white shroud. The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was sending more than 100 trucks carrying over 1,200 metric tons of food to southern Gaza on Sunday. A Palestinian official source said on Sunday afternoon that trucks were still being inspected at Kerem Shalom and had not yet entered Gaza. Aid groups said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people and international alarm over the humanitarian situation has increased, driving French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September. Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, July 27, 2025. Photo: Reuters A group of 25 states including Britain, France and Canada last week condemned the "drip feeding of aid" and said Israel's denial of essential humanitarian aid was unacceptable. Israel, which cut off aid to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by militants. It says it has let enough food into Gaza during the war and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's people. Israel and the US appeared on Friday to abandon ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying the militants did not want a deal. Hope, uncertainty Many Gazans expressed some relief at Sunday's announcement, but said fighting must end permanently. "People are happy that large amounts of food aid will come into Gaza," said Tamer Al-Burai, a business owner. "We hope today marks a first step in ending this war that burned everything up." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue to allow the entry of humanitarian supplies whatever path it took, and it was making progress on both fighting and negotiations. "We will continue to fight, we will continue to act until we achieve all of our war goals - until complete victory," he said. Read: Six killed, scores injured in Indian temple stampede Hamas denounced the Israeli measures to allow more aid into Gaza, saying Israel was continuing its military offensive. "What is happening isn't a humanitarian truce," said Hamas official Ali Baraka in a statement on Sunday. Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the aid decision was made without his involvement. He called it a capitulation to Hamas' deceitful campaign and repeated his call to choke off all aid to Gaza, conquer the territory and encourage Palestinians to leave. A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a question about Ben-Gvir's comments. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's offensive has killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced nearly the entire population.
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
UN aid chief welcomes ‘humanitarian pauses' in Gaza
GENEVA: The United Nations' aid chief welcomed Israel's announcement Sunday of secure land routes into Gaza for humanitarian convoys, and said the UN would try to reach as many starving people as possible. 'Welcome announcement of humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow our aid through,' UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher said on X. 'In contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window.' Fletcher's UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( OCHA) warned Friday that conditions on the ground in Gaza were 'already catastrophic and deteriorating fast'. Israeli military announces daily pauses in Gaza areas to allow aid for hungry 'The starvation crisis is deepening,' it said, warning that hunger and malnutrition increase the risk of illnesses, and adding that the consequences can quickly 'turn deadly'. It said that 'the trickle of supplies that are making it into the Strip are nowhere near adequate to address the immense needs'. OCHA said UN teams were in place to ramp up deliveries into the Palestinian territory 'as soon as they are allowed to do so'. 'If Israel opens the crossings, lets fuel and equipment in, and allows humanitarian staff to operate safely, the UN will accelerate the delivery of food aid, health services, clean water and waste management, nutrition supplies, and shelter materials,' it said. OCHA said constraints imposed by the Israeli authorities had hampered humanitarians' ability to respond. It said that on Thursday, for example, out of 15 attempts to coordinate humanitarian movements inside Gaza, four were 'outright denied', with another three impeded. One was postponed, and two others had to be cancelled, meaning only five missions went ahead. On Friday OCHA issued an aid delivery plan in the event of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Business Recorder
10 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Aid trucks move from Egypt to Gaza after Israel said it began airdrops
Aid trucks started moving towards Gaza from Egypt, the Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said on Sunday, after months of international pressure and warnings from relief agencies of starvation spreading in the Palestinian enclave. Israel said that it began aid airdrops to Gaza on Saturday and was taking several other steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Israeli military said 'humanitarian corridors' would be established for safe movement of United Nations convoys delivering aid to Gazans and that 'humanitarian pauses' would be implemented in densely populated areas. Dozens of trucks carrying tonnes of humanitarian aid moved towards the Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing in southern Gaza, the Al Qahera correspondent said from the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza. International aid organisations say there is mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people, with food running out after Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March, before resuming it in May with new restrictions. Israel says it has let enough food into Gaza and accuses the United Nations of failing to distribute it. The United Nations says it is operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions. Gaza civil defence says Israeli forces kill 28 people Israel's announcement on airdrops came after indirect ceasefire talks in Doha between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas were broken off with no deal in sight. The Israeli military said in a statement that the airdrops would be conducted in coordination with international aid organisations and would include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food. Palestinian sources confirmed that aid had begun dropping in northern Gaza. Israel's foreign ministry said the military would 'apply a 'humanitarian pause' in civilian centres and in humanitarian corridors' on Sunday morning. It provided no further details. 'The IDF emphasizes that there is no starvation in the Gaza Strip; this is a false campaign promoted by Hamas,' the Israeli military said in its Saturday statement. 'Responsibility for food distribution to the population in Gaza lies with the UN and international aid organizations. Therefore, the UN and international organizations are expected to improve the effectiveness of aid distribution and to ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas.' Aid ship intercepted The Israeli military stressed that despite the humanitarian steps, 'combat operations have not ceased' in the Gaza Strip. Separately, international activists on an aid ship that set sail from Italy en route to Gaza said in a post on X that the vessel had been intercepted. The Israeli foreign ministry said on X that naval forces 'stopped the vessel from illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza,' that it was being taken to Israeli shores and all passengers were safe. The UN said on Thursday that humanitarian pauses in Gaza would allow 'the scale up of humanitarian assistance' and said Israel had not provided enough route alternatives for its convoys hindering aid access. Israeli military announces military pause in three Gaza areas Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in the past few weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry while 127 people have died due to malnutrition, including 85 children, since the start of the war, which began nearly two years ago. On Wednesday, more than 100 aid agencies warned that mass starvation was spreading across the enclave. The military also said on Saturday that it had connected a power line to a desalination plant, expected to supply daily water needs for about 900,000 Gazans. Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters stormed Israeli towns near the border, killing some 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages on October 7, 2023. Since then, Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, health officials there say, and reduced much of the enclave to ruins.
