Airstrikes and shootings overnight in Gaza claimed the lives of 94 Palestinians, with 45 of those killed while waiting to receive vital humanitarian aid, The Associated Press reported on Thursday, citing Gaza hospitals and the Health Ministry.
Israel’s military had not commented on the strikes at the time of writing this report.
Deaths Near Gaza Humanitarian Aid Sites Raise Concern
According to the report, at least five individuals were killed at sites associated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a newly established US-backed group that is Israel-supported and delivers food assistance to Gazans. Another 40 individuals were killed at other spots along the Gaza Strip while waiting for assistance, the report said.
Meanwhile, Human rights organisation Amnesty International alleged that Israel and the GHF employed starvation tactics as a way to persist with what it termed “genocide” against Gaza.
Heavy Airstrikes Result in Major Civilian Losses
The Gaza Strip was reportedly bombarded last night and early today. Among the dead were 15 individuals in attacks that hit tents in the Muwasi zone, an overcrowded area housing many of the displaced Palestinians. Another attack was reported at a school in Gaza City, also being used as a shelter, killing 15 others, as reported by the AP.
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Death Toll in Gaza Tops 57,000 Amid Ceasefire Negotiations
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 57,000 are reported to have died since the conflict began on October 7, 2023. The number includes 223 individuals who were earlier reported as missing but have since been confirmed dead. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the casualties are children and women.
Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas are reportedly moving closer towards a possible ceasefire that may bring an end to the 21-month war.
US President Donald Trump had on Tuesday suggested that Israel had negotiated terms for a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas and called on Hamas to sign the agreement “before conditions deteriorate.” But Hamas’s reply, stressing a call for the end of war in all its forms, put in jeopardy the implementation of the ceasefire.
Israel Attributes Civilian Deaths to Hamas Operations
The Israeli military attributes civilian deaths to Hamas’s strategy of “deliberately” operating among populated areas. The IDF claimed that it attacked Hamas militants and rocket launchers in northern Gaza who had fired rockets into Israel on Wednesday.
According to Amnesty International’s report, Israel has “turned aid-seeking into a booby trap for desperate, starved Palestinians” by the militarised aid centers operated by GHF, as reported by the AP. Amnesty termed it as “a deadly mix of hunger and disease pushing the population past breaking point.”
Israel’s foreign minister dismissed the report, accusing Amnesty of siding with Hamas. He said, “the organization has joined forces with Hamas and fully adopted all of its propaganda lies.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 500 Palestinians have been killed near or at GHF distribution points over the last month, with five reportedly killed overnight Wednesday into Thursday in the Khan Younis district.
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