Nearly 100 Palestinians have been killed in airstrikes and shootings in Gaza including dozens who were trying to get much-needed humanitarian aid, authorities say.
Hospitals and Gaza’s Health Ministry said 94 people were killed overnight including 45 people who were attempting to get aid.
Five people were killed around sites associated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the American organisation backed by Israel to feed the Gaza Strip’s population, the ministry said.
A further 33 people were killed waiting for aid trucks in other locations across the Gaza Strip, it added. Israel's military did not immediately comment on the strikes but the government has hit back at ongoing criticism of its handling of the aid crisis in Gaza.
On Thursday, human rights organisation Amnesty International released a report accusing Israel of “militarising” aid distribution as a starvation tactic against the Palestinian population. Israel denied the allegations and accused Amnesty of having “joined forces with Hamas”.
Gaza's Health Ministry says more than 500 Palestinians have been killed at or near GHF distribution centres over the past month, including the five overnight between Wednesday and Thursday in Khan Younis. The centres are guarded by private security contractors and located near Israeli military positions. Palestinian officials and witnesses have accused Israeli forces of opening fire at crowds of people moving near the sites.
Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said in the month since Israel imposed the GHF aid scheme, “hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured either near militarised distribution sites or en route to humanitarian aid convoys.
“Israel’s genocide has continued unabated in Gaza including creating a deadly mix of hunger and disease pushing the population past breaking point.”
Ms Callamard said Israel has a legal obligation to ensure Palestinians in Gaza can access essentials including food and medicine.
“Instead, Israel has continued to restrict the entry of aid and impose its suffocating cruel blockade and even a full siege lasting nearly 80 days. This must end now. Israel must lift all restrictions and allow unfettered, safe, and dignified access to humanitarian aid throughout Gaza immediately,” she added.
Israel has adamantly and repeatedly rejected allegations of genocide and is challenging such claims at the International Court of Justice.
In a statement responding to the report, the Israel Foreign Ministry said: “Amnesty International has joined forces with Hamas and fully adopted all of its propaganda lies - its new name is now ‘Amnesty Hamas’.
“Since May 19, Israel has facilitated the entry of over 3,000 aid trucks into the Gaza Strip. More than 1,400 tons of baby formula have been delivered. Over 56 million meals have been distributed by the GHF, directly to Palestinian civilians, not to Hamas.”
Although it has yet to respond to the Amnesty report, the GHF has pushed back against ongoing criticism of its aid operation in Gaza.
In a lengthy statement on X on Wednesday, it said: “GHF’s aid distribution model is designed to deliver free aid directly to civilians. We protect aid from theft so that the food can go straight to those who need to feed their families. We’ve done this successfully since late May.
“The Palestinian people who need food are not helped when the international community falls for Hamas propaganda campaigns. So we will continue to call out disinformation so it doesn’t slow us down as we double and triple the 56 million meals we’ve delivered to date. We’re not going anywhere.”
Meanwhile, efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza have continued. Earlier this week Donald Trump said Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, during which the parties will work to end the war.
Hamas is seeking clear guarantees that the ceasefire will eventually lead to the war's end, a source close to the group told Reuters. Two Israeli officials said those details were still being worked out.
The US proposal includes the staggered release of 10 living Israeli hostages and the return of the bodies of 18 more in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, sources say. Of the 50 remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 are believed to still be alive.
An Israeli government spokesperson said prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was working to end the campaign in Gaza by securing the release of the remaining hostages, and the “defeat of the Hamas terrorist organisation as soon as possible”.
“The obstacle as ever, lies with Hamas,” spokesman David Mencer said Thursday. “Hamas is a terrorist organisation and the prime minister said they will be no more Hamas. He said this very clearly just yesterday. I believe there will be no ‘Hamas-stan’. There’ll be no more going back to what we’ve done before. That two year, every two-year conflict, it’s over.
“Now we here in Israel, led by the prime minister, believe there is a huge opportunity here, both in our defeat of our enemies and also to ensure that with nations now coming to us to try and initiate peace agreements. Peace through strength - first comes strength then comes to peace.”
The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, while displacing most of the population of more than 2 million, triggering widespread hunger and leaving much of the territory in ruins.
With additional reporting from AP, Reuters
