AL-BALAH DEIR, Gaza Strip Following growing reports of deaths from starvation, Israel’s military declared that humanitarian corridors would be set up for United Nations convoys and that airdrops of assistance would start in Gaza on Saturday night.
The announcement was made late on Saturday, after months of starvation warnings from experts due to Israeli aid limitations. Since hundreds of Palestinians have been slain in recent weeks while attempting to access food distribution facilities, international condemnation, especially from close friends, has increased.
The location of the humanitarian corridors and airdrops was not specified in the military statement. Additionally, it stated that the military is ready to impose humanitarian pauses in regions with a high population density. Late on Saturday, Israel’s foreign ministry announced that humanitarian corridors and “civilian centers” would begin humanitarian pauses on Sunday.
In Gaza, where the majority of the population of over 2 million has been pushed into a decreasing area with limited infrastructure, the IDF “emphasizes that combat operations have not ceased” against Hamas and claimed there is “no starvation” in the region. Most people are dependent on aid.
Witnesses in Gaza have given bleak accounts. In order to continue treating the severely malnourished, some medical professionals put themselves on IV drips because they are so weak from hunger. Parents have displayed their gaunt and malnourished kids. Men who have been wounded have told of frantic runs for help while being shot at.
Airdrops would be carried out in cooperation with foreign aid agencies, according to the military statement. Where they would be performed was unclear. Furthermore, it was unclear what function the newly established Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is supported by Israel, may serve as a substitute for the U.N. aid system. In a statement, GHF chair Johnnie Moore said the group was prepared to help.
At least 53 killed
According to Palestinian health officials and the local ambulance service, at least 53 individuals were murdered by Israeli bombings and gunfire in Gaza overnight and into Saturday, the majority of them were shot dead while attempting to receive relief.
In the north, there were two reports of deadly Israeli gunfire near the Zikim crossing with Israel. According to employees at Shifa hospital, where the victims were brought, at least a dozen people who were waiting for relief vehicles were killed in the initial incident. According to Israel’s military, it dispersed a throng with warning shots “in response to an immediate threat.”
People fled when they spotted a light they believed to be from aid vehicles, but as they approached, they recognized it as Israel’s tanks, according to witness Sherif Abu Aisha. He told The Associated Press that’s when the soldiers opened fire. Among those dead, he alleged, was his uncle.
“We went because there is no food … and nothing was distributed,” he stated.
Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, the director of Shifa Hospital, told the AP that Israeli forces opened fire on crowds attempting to obtain food from an incoming U.N. convoy on Saturday night, killing at least 11 people and wounding 120 more.
“We are expecting the numbers to surge in the next few hours,” he stated. The military did not immediately comment.
A group of exhausted Palestinian men were seen carrying a body and bags of flour in an AP video. Though they lacked specifics, they said he was struck by a truck. “You die to fetch some food for your children,” a slender, perspiring guy named Fayez Abu Riyala stated.
According to the hospital’s morgue records, Israeli forces killed at least nine civilians in the southern city of Khan Younis who were attempting to enter aid through the Morag corridor. The military did not immediately comment.
At least eight individuals, including four children, were murdered in the packed Muwasi tent camp in Khan Younis, and four more were killed in an apartment building in Gaza City, according to hospitals.
Turning to airdrops, with a warning
Jordan, a neighbor, requested the airdrops, and according to a Jordanian official, the primary items being dropped will be food and milk formula. According to the United Arab Emirates, airdrops will begin “immediately.” Britain announced that it will collaborate with allies to remove youngsters in need of medical attention and airdrop aid.
However, Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of the United Nations organization for Palestinian refugees, cautioned that airdrops are “expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians” and that they won’t stop aid diversion or stop the growing famine.
The U.N. claims that military limitations on assistance movements and criminal looting hinder the flow of help into the enclave, despite Israel’s army claiming it permits aid to enter with no restrictions on the number of vehicles that can enter. Security for aid distribution was provided by the Hamas-run police, but they have been unable to function since being the target of airstrikes.
More than 250 trucks delivering aid from the United Nations and other organizations arrived in Gaza this week, Israel reported on Saturday. During the most recent ceasefire, which Israel ended in March, almost 600 trucks entered each day.
International pressure on Israel is increasing. More than 100 humanitarian and human rights organizations, together with more than two dozen Western-aligned nations, have strongly condemned Israel’s embargo and a new assistance delivery model it has implemented and demanded an end to the war.
According to the U.N. human rights office, since May, Israeli soldiers have killed over 1,000 Palestinians as they were attempting to obtain food, primarily in the vicinity of the new aid stations operated by the American contractor GHF.
The rights organizations and charities said that their own employees had trouble eating enough.
Children in Gaza who have no underlying medical issues are starting to die from starvation.
At a Gaza City charity kitchen, Wael Shaaban stated, “We only want enough food to end our hunger,” while attempting to provide for his family of six.
Meanwhile, footage of Israeli commandos boarding at midnight was livestreamed by the Handala, an activist boat attempting to deliver aid to Gaza. Israel did not immediately comment.
Stalled ceasefire talks
After the U.S. and Israel returned negotiating teams on Thursday, ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas came to a halt.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, stated on Friday that his administration was thinking about “alternative options” for negotiations. However, a Hamas spokesperson described the recall of the delegations as a pressure tactic and stated that talks were anticipated to continue next week.
The United States’ co-mediators, Egypt and Qatar, announced that negotiations would restart but did not specify when.
“Our loved ones do not have time for another round of negotiations, and they will not survive another partial deal,” said Zahiro Shahar Mor, nephew of Avraham Munder, one of 50 hostages who remain in Gaza following the war-starting Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. At a weekly demonstration in Tel Aviv, Mor gave a speech.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that over 59,700 Palestinians have died in the conflict. The ministry claims that over half of the deceased are women and children, although the total does not differentiate between terrorists and civilians. The Hamas government is in charge of the ministry. It is regarded as the most trustworthy source of casualty data by the United Nations and other international organizations.
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