At least 10 Palestinians in desperately researching the help of a controversial and strongly criticized organization of the United States was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in the last 48 hours, according to the Media Office of the Assieged Enclave Government.
The record updated Wednesday occurs one day after a heartbreaking video showed that thousands of hungry Palestinians were rushing to obtain help, many of which have gathered cage lines, from the Gaza Humanitarian distribution point (GHF) in Rafah in the south of Gaza.
In a statement, the government’s media office said that Israeli forces “opened up direct fire on hungry Palestinian civilians who had gathered to receive aid” on the distribution site, injuring at least 62 people.
It was not immediately clear exactly how many incidents of gunshots occurred or at what days the 10 Palestinians were killed, but there were deaths on two days.
“These locations have been transformed into death traps under the blow of the occupation,” said the media office, describing killings as a “heinous crime”.
For its part, the GHF said that it had opened a second of four aid distribution sites planned for Gaza on Wednesday.
The centers are part of a help delivery regime which has been strongly condemned by United Nations officials and the humanitarian community, who have repeatedly declared that vital aid could be adequately and safely extended to Gaza if Israel would authorize access to helping and leaving organizations that have decades of experience.
Speaking earlier in the day, the head of the United Nations Agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, denounced the delivery model supported by the United States as a “distraction of atrocities” and called Israel to allow the humanitarian system supported by non-“do his work that saves life now”.
The message was taken over by several members of the United Nations Security Council at a meeting in New York to discuss the conflict, with Algeria, France and the United Kingdom among those who appeal to Israel to allow without obstacles.
Riyad Mansour, Palestinian ambassador to the UN, said that Israel used “aid as a weapon of war”.
The reports of the United Nations Headquarters, Kristen Salomey of Tel Aviv Tribune, said that Sigrid Kaag, the special coordinator of the UN for peace in the Middle East, and Feroze Sidhwa, a surgeon who recently made a humanitarian mission in Gaza, were among those who had addressed the Council.
“The message of these two experts was calling a cease-fire again and the full resumption of aid in the Gaza Strip,” she said.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, criticized the UN for what he said was “attempts to block access to aid” and demanded a retraction of Tom Fletcher, the UN humanitarian leader, for accused Israel of having committed a genocide.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s superior political analyst, Marwan Bishara, said that the attacks deducted by Danon should not surprise.
“They are on the defensive, knowing too well that they have lost their public relations campaign and that their reputation in the world is in the mud,” he said, referring to the almost daily daily bombardment of Israel and the headquarters of Gaza.
The United States alternative to the UN, John Kelley, said that the UN should “work with GHF and Israel to reach an agreement on how to operationalize this system in a way that works for everyone”.
He argued that the GHF was “independent” and developed to “provide a secure mechanism for the delivery of aid to those who need it”.
Implateable Israeli attacks
While the debate on access to aid has raged, the punishing attacks of Israel continued through Gaza, with rights observers warning a even aggravated humanitarian situation.
At least 63 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the first hours of Wednesday, according to medical sources addressing Tel Aviv Tribune Arabic, passing the number of deaths since October 7, 2023, at least 54,084 Palestinians, with more than 123,308 injured.
The ministry added that only 17 hospitals in Gaza remained partially in office, with critical shortages of essential drugs and oxygen supplies.
In addition, the Red Cross reported that its field hospital in the southern region of Gaza Al-Mawasi was under Israeli fire early on Wednesday, causing panic and injuries in patients.
In an open letter, medical aid for Palestinians (MAP), Oxfam and other non -profit groups have called for “complete, independent and international surveys on attacks against health care in Gaza as violations of international humanitarian law”.
The United Nations Global Program, on the other hand, reported that his Deir El-Balah warehouse from Central Gaza had been penetrated by hungry people “in search of food supplies”. Preliminary reports indicate that at least four people were killed in the middle of the jostling and shots, although the cause of the latter is not immediately clear.
The agency said that the increase in aid was “the only way to reassure people that they will not die of hunger”.
Hani Mahmoud of Tel Aviv Tribune reported to Gaza City that the search for food turned out to be deadly, even far from the crowded distribution areas.
“For example, in the past two hours, two people have been killed in the Shujayea (Gaza City) district. They were killed while trying to go to their homes,” he said.
“They have been forced to evacuate in recent weeks. They left everything behind. All their personal effects, all their food supplies that they managed to obtain … (were) inside the house. “
The ceasefire remains elusive
While the attacks continued, a breakthrough for a more sustainable agreement to put an end to the fighting remained elusive.
However, the special envoy of American president Donald Trump in the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said on Wednesday that he had “very good feelings” at the idea of achieving a long-term solution.
It came shortly after Hamas said that he had concluded an agreement with Witkoff on a general framework for a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of the Israeli Gaza forces and the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid.
The framework appears in contradiction with the position of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said that the Israeli army would remain indefinitely in Gaza, continuing to control access to aid and to continue the complete defeat of Hamas.
Addressing the Israeli Parliament on Wednesday, Netanyahu scored senior officials from Hamas killed throughout the war. The list included Mohammed Sinwar, the brother and successor to the military chief killed Yahya Sinwar.
Hamas has not yet confirmed the death of Mohammed Sinwar.
