Israeli strikes kill journalists and aid-seekers as Australia backs Palestinian statehood
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli ground and air strikes hit northern and southern Gaza on Monday, killing aid-seekers as well as others sheltering in tents and homes as Israeli troops prepared for a broader campaign in the besieged territory.
Hospital officials reported that at least 34 people were killed on Monday, not including journalists who were slain in a tent shortly before midnight.
Among the dead were at least 12 aid seekers killed by Israeli gunfire while trying to reach distribution points, or awaiting aid convoys.
Relatives told The Associated Press that casualties included children and an infant. Witnesses to gunfire near the Morag corridor said they saw barrages of bullets and later dead bodies, describing the grim scene as a near-daily occurrence.
The military did not immediately respond to questions about the deaths. Earlier Monday, it said air and artillery units were operating in northern Gaza and in Khan Younis, where resident Noha Abu Shamala told AP that two drone strikes killed a family of seven in their apartment.
Aid seekers were killed from three kilometers (nearly two miles) to just hundreds of meters (yards) from sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to Nasser and Awda hospitals.
GHF is the private contractor backed by the United States and Israel that in May replaced the United Nations as the territory's primary aid distributor. It said it was unaware of incidents in the Israeli-controlled security zones leading to its sites in central and southern Gaza.
The latest deaths raise the toll to more than 1,700 people killed while seeking food since the new aid distribution system began in May, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Most were shot along routes to distribution sites, but in recent weeks more have been killed near food convoys delivered by the United Nations.
U.N. agencies generally do not accept Israeli military escorts for their aid trucks, citing concerns over neutrality, and its convoys have come under fire amid severe food shortages in the blockaded territory.
The deaths came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called reports about conditions in Gaza a 'global campaign of lies," and announced plans to move deeper into the territory and push to dismantle Hamas. An official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters said the operation wasn't expected to begin immediately and will take a significant amount of time to scale up.
Five more Palestinians, including a child, died of malnutrition-related causes in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said.
Israel increased the flow of supplies two weeks ago amid such concerns. Still, international experts warn the territory is facing a 'worst case scenario of famine' and aid groups say deliveries remain a fraction of what's needed after months of total and partial blockade.
Australia moves to recognize Palestinian statehood
On Monday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese added his country to a list moving toward recognition, along with France, Britain and Canada. He said his government's decision aimed to build momentum toward a two-state solution, which he called the best path to ending violence and bringing leadership other than Hamas to Gaza.
'The situation in Gaza has gone beyond the world's worst fears,' he said. 'The Israeli government continues to defy international law and deny sufficient aid, food and water to desperate people, including children.'
Israeli strike targets and kills Al Jazeera journalists
Israel's military targeted an Al Jazeera correspondent with an airstrike Sunday, killing him, another network journalist and at least six others in what press advocates described as a brazen assault on those documenting the war.
Officials at Shifa Hospital said those killed included Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohamed Qreiqeh. The incident marked the first time during the war that Israel's military has swiftly claimed responsibility after a journalist was killed in a strike.
It came less than a year after Israeli army officials first accused al-Sharif and other Al Jazeera journalists of being members of the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Al Jazeera called the strike a 'targeted assassination' while press freedom groups denounced the rising death toll facing Palestinian journalists working in Gaza. Mourners laid the journalists to rest in Gaza City.
Israel on Sunday repeated claims that al-Sharif led a Hamas cell — an allegation that Al Jazeera and al-Sharif have previously dismissed as baseless.
Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals but 50 remain inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive.
Israel's air and ground offensive has since displaced most of the population, destroyed vast areas and pushed the territory toward famine. It has killed more than 61,400 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.
In addition to those killed, 121 adults and 101 children have died of malnutrition-related causes, including five in the past 24 hours, the ministry said. One was a child.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.
___
Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Charlotte Graham-Mclay contributed from Wellington, New Zealand.
__
Follow AP's war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
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