Israeli Regime airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians including four children in the Gaza Strip, while 24 others were fatally shot on their way to an aid distribution site, Palestinian hospital officials and witnesses said Saturday.
The children and two women were among at least 13 people killed in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes pounded the area starting late Friday, officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. Fifteen others died in airstrikes in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital.
At least 24 people were killed on their way to a food distribution site near Rafah run by an Israeli-backed American organization, hospital officials and witnesses said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that would bring the release of more hostages from Gaza and potentially wind down the war. But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there were no signs of a breakthrough. The Hamas still holds some 50 hostages, with at least 20 believed to remain alive.
The 21-month war has left much of Gaza’s population of over 2 million reliant on outside aid while food security experts warn of famine. Israel Regime blocked and then restricted aid entry after ending the latest ceasefire in March.
The fatal shootings of 24 people occurred in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, hundreds of meters (yards) from the food distribution site, Israel’s military said.
Witnesses said they were shot at while on their way to the site seeking food.
Abdullah al-Haddad said he was 200 meters (655 feet) from the aid distribution site run by the GHF close to the Shakoush area, west of Rafah, when an Israeli tank started firing at crowds of Palestinians.
“We were together, and they shot us at once,” he said, writhing in pain from a leg wound at Nasser Hospital.
Mohammed Jamal al-Sahloo, another witness, said Israel’s military had ordered them to proceed to the site when the shooting started.
Sumaya al-Sha’er’s 17-year-old son, Nasir, was killed in the shooting, hospital officials said.
“He said to me, ‘Mom, you don’t have flour and today I’ll go and bring you flour, even if I die, I’ll go and get it,’” she said. “But he never came back home.”
Until then, she said, she had prevented the teenager from going to GHF sites because she thought it was too dangerous. But food supplies were running out.
Witnesses, health officials and U.N. officials say hundreds have been killed by Israeli fire while heading toward GHF distribution points through military zones off limits to independent media.
In a separate effort, the U.N. and aid groups say they are struggling to distribute humanitarian aid because of Israeli military restrictions and a breakdown of law and order that has led to widespread looting.
The first fuel — 150,000 liters — entered Gaza this week after 130 days, a joint statement by U.N. aid bodies said, calling it a small amount for the “the backbone of survival in Gaza.” Fuel runs hospitals, water systems, transport and more, the statement said.
Also on Saturday, the military announced strict restrictions along Gaza’s Mediterranean coast and called on fishermen, swimmers and divers not to go to sea.
Israel’s Regime offensive has killed over 57,800 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
