Israeli attack near aid delivery point kills at least 22 Palestinian people in Rafah – civil defence agency
We have an update on reports that Israeli forces opened fire near a US-backed aid distribution site in Rafah, killing more than 20 Palestinian people (see opening post for more details on this).
Gaza’s civil defence agency said in an update that Israeli fire killed at least 22 people on Sunday, revising an earlier death toll.
“The number of martyrs from the massacre at the American aid centre in Rafah has risen to at least 22, with more than 120 wounded, including children,” civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
Gaza’s civil defence crews are the main emergency service, alongside ambulance crews, in the Strip and regularly help pull the living and the dead from underneath rubble after Israeli bombardments.
Key events
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a newly created private logistics group backed by the US and endorsed by Israel, has given a response to reports that dozens of Palestinian people were killed when Israeli tanks opened fire near one of its aid distribution sites in Gaza earlier today.
“It is false and fabricated. All aid was distributed today without incident,” the GHF said, telling BBC News that there have been no injuries or fatalities.
“We have heard that these fake reports have been actively fomented by Hamas. They are untrue and fabricated.” We have not been able to verify this information yet.
Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli airstrike on the south of the country killed one person earlier today.
It said an Israeli airstrike targeted a motorcycle in the village of Arnoun, in the Nabatieh region about five kilometres (three miles) from the Israeli border.
The November ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, brokered by France and the US, brought an official end to Israel’s assault on Lebanon last year but it remains extremely precarious.
Under the agreement, Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw from all Lebanese territory by late January while Hezbollah had to end its armed presence south of the Litani river along the border with Israel. But each side accuses the other of not living up to those terms.
Israel delayed a promised troop withdrawal in January and continued to occupy several so-called “strategic” hilltops in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military has also carried out frequent attacks on the country, claiming it is targeting Hezbollah fighters and weapons, but many civilians have been killed in the airstrikes.
31 people killed after Israeli tanks open fire near Gaza aid centre – report
The Reuters news agency is saying, in an updated death toll, that the reported Israeli attack near an aid distribution in Rafah killed at least 31 Palestinian people in Gaza on Sunday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said it’s “currently unaware of injuries caused by IDF fire” at the humanitarian aid distribution site in Rafah, where at least 22 Palestinian people were killed this morning.
“The matter is still under review,” it adds in a statement. Rescuers, medics and eyewitnesses said Israeli forces fired on crowds near the aid site.
Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Gaza health ministry’s records department, said at least 25 people were killed, including two women.
At least eight Palestinian people were killed and several others injured earlier today after an Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle in the jurat al-lout area, east of southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, Palestinian news agency Wafa is reporting.
Israeli attack near aid delivery point kills at least 22 Palestinian people in Rafah – civil defence agency
We have an update on reports that Israeli forces opened fire near a US-backed aid distribution site in Rafah, killing more than 20 Palestinian people (see opening post for more details on this).
Gaza’s civil defence agency said in an update that Israeli fire killed at least 22 people on Sunday, revising an earlier death toll.
“The number of martyrs from the massacre at the American aid centre in Rafah has risen to at least 22, with more than 120 wounded, including children,” civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
Gaza’s civil defence crews are the main emergency service, alongside ambulance crews, in the Strip and regularly help pull the living and the dead from underneath rubble after Israeli bombardments.
US envoy says Hamas’ response to Gaza ceasefire proposal is ‘unacceptable’
In other developments, Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, said on Saturday it had submitted its response containing some amendments to a proposal presented by Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to mediators.
Hamas said that under the deal, it will release 10 living hostages and 18 bodies in return for Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners – a change to the US’s latest proposal that will make it more difficult for Israel to resume its assault on Gaza if talks on a permanent ceasefire are not completed by the end of the truce.
The updated proposal includes a demand for an end to the war, which had previously been a red line for Israel, and envisions the release of the Israelis held captive in Gaza being spread out more throughout the 60-day truce, rather than in two batches on the first and seventh day as the US offer suggested.
Witkoff responded on Saturday evening by saying the Hamas response was “totally unacceptable and only takes us backward”.
A senior Hamas official responded that the group “did not reject” the hostage release proposal, and that Witkoff’s response to their answer was “unfair” and showed “complete bias” in favour of Israel.
Israel imposed its aid blockade in early March, cutting off all supplies including food, medicine, shelter and fuel in what has been condemned as the collective punishment of the civilian population in Gaza.
The aid was only partially lifted because of strong international pressure. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said before the easing of restrictions that Israel must not let Gaza sink into famine for “practical and diplomatic reasons”, with US senators and key allies telling him they could not handle images of mass hunger.
The IPC estimated that nearly 71,000 children under the age of five were expected to be “acutely malnourished”, with 14,100 cases expected to be severe in the next 11 months.
What is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s role in aid distribution?
As we mentioned in the opening post, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has taken over the handling of aid in the territory.
The GHF is using private American security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza for distribution by civilian teams at what are meant to be secure distribution sites.
It aims to bypass the UN as the main supplier of aid to the 2.1 million people in Gaza, where the population has been brought to the brink of famine by an 11-week Israeli aid blockade that was only eased just over a week ago.
The amount of aid being allowed into the Strip is still totally inadequate for the population’s needs. The UN and aid groups have pushed back against the new system led by GHF, accusing Israel of trying to use food as a weapon.
The new system has been described as unworkable, dangerous and potentially unlawful by aid agencies because it could lead to the forced mass transfer of populations.
The GHF says it distributed two million meals this week, a figure we have not yet been able to independently verify.
Israel set up the plan after accusing Hamas of stealing aid, something the Palestinian militant group denies. The GHF launch was marred by tumultuous scenes on Tuesday when Israeli troops opened fire on a large crowd, killing at least one civilian and injuring dozens of other Palestinian people.
More than 20 Palestinian people killed near Gaza aid site – reports
We are continuing our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Israel’s war on Gaza.
More than 20 people were killed on Sunday as they went to receive food at an aid distribution point set up by an Israeli-backed foundation in the Gaza Strip, according to a hospital run by the Red Cross that received the bodies.
Witnesses told the Associated Press that Israeli forces opened fire on people as they headed toward the aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). “There were many martyrs, including women,” the 40-year-old resident said. “We were about 300 metres away from the military.”
Media reports said dozens of people were being treated at the hospital after the latest incident at the controversial site in Rafah.
Officials at the field hospital did not say who opened fire but added that another 175 people were wounded. An Associated Press reporter saw dozens of people being treated at the hospital.
