Israel bombards Gaza, killing 78, as truce talks stall
An Israeli attack near an aid distribution point in Rafah in southern Gaza killed at least five people who were seeking aid on Monday, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
The killings raised the death toll of Palestinians killed near aid sites run by the controversial Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to 838, according to Wafa.
In Khan Younis, also in southern Gaza, an Israeli strike on a displacement camp killed nine people and wounded many others. In central Gaza's Bureij refugee camp, four people were killed when an Israeli air strike hit a commercial centre, Wafa said.
Israeli forces also resumed stepping up attacks in northern Gaza and Gaza City. Israeli media reported an ambush in Gaza City, with a tank hit by rocket fire and later, with small arms. A helicopter was seen evacuating casualties. The Israeli military later confirmed that three soldiers were killed in the incident.
Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said Israeli forces responded with 'massive air strikes in the vicinity of [the] Tuffah and Shujayea neighbourhoods, levelling residential buildings'.
The Wafa news agency said at least 24 Palestinians were killed in Gaza City and dozens more were wounded.
The attacks come as UN agencies continue to plead for more aid to be allowed into Gaza, where famine looms and a severe fuel shortage has brought the already battered healthcare sector to its knees.
Gaza's water crisis has also intensified since Israel blocked nearly all fuel shipments into the enclave on March 2. With no fuel, desalination plants, wastewater treatment facilities and pumping stations have largely shut down.
Egypt's foreign minister said on Monday that the flow of aid into Gaza has not increased despite an agreement last week between Israel and the European Union that should have had that result.
'Nothing has changed [on the ground],' Badr Abdelatty told reporters ahead of the EU-Middle East meeting in Brussels.
'A real catastrophe'
The EU's top diplomat said on Thursday that the bloc and Israel agreed to improve Gaza's humanitarian situation, including increasing the number of aid trucks and opening crossing points and aid routes.
When asked what steps Israel has taken, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar referred to an understanding with the EU but did not provide details on the implementation.
Asked if there were improvements after the agreement, Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi told reporters that the situation in Gaza remains 'catastrophic'.
'There is a real catastrophe happening in Gaza resulting from the continuation of the Israeli siege,' he said.
Meanwhile, stuttering ceasefire talks entered a second week on Monday, with mediators seeking to close the gap between Israel and Hamas.
The indirect negotiations in Qatar appear to still remain deadlocked after both sides blamed the other for blocking a deal for the release of captives and a 60-day ceasefire.
An official with knowledge of the talks said they were 'ongoing' in Doha on Monday, the AFP news agency reported.
'Discussions are currently focused on the proposed maps for the deployment of Israeli forces within Gaza,' the source reportedly said.
'Mediators are actively exploring innovative mechanisms to bridge the remaining gaps and maintain momentum in the negotiations,' the source added on condition of anonymity.
Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who says he wants to see the Palestinian group destroyed, of being the main obstacle.
'Netanyahu is skilled at sabotaging one round of negotiations after another, and is unwilling to reach any agreement,' the group wrote on Telegram.
Netanyahu is under growing pressure to end the war, with military casualties rising and public frustration mounting.
He also faces backlash over the feasibility and ethics of a plan to build a so-called 'humanitarian city' from scratch on the ruins of southern Gaza's Rafah to house 600,000 Palestinians if and when a ceasefire takes hold.
Israel's security establishment is reported to be unhappy with the plan, which the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said amounts to plans for a 'concentration camp'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
People are seeing parallels with Gaza war in Superman movie
People are seeing parallels with Gaza war in Superman movie NewsFeed Social media users are drawing parallels between DC's new Superman film and Israel's war on Gaza. The film depicts a fictional US-backed nation that sets out to invade a weaker neighbouring country. Video Duration 01 minutes 27 seconds 01:27 Video Duration 01 minutes 58 seconds 01:58 Video Duration 00 minutes 54 seconds 00:54 Video Duration 02 minutes 20 seconds 02:20 Video Duration 01 minutes 10 seconds 01:10 Video Duration 01 minutes 34 seconds 01:34 Video Duration 00 minutes 47 seconds 00:47
Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
MSF says 3 of its workers were ‘intentionally' killed in Ethiopia's Tigray
Doctors Without Borders says three of its staff were 'intentionally' killed in 2021 during the fierce fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray region. The organisation, known by its French initials MSF, on Tuesday published the findings of its internal review into the killings of Maria Hernandez, a Spanish national, and Ethiopians Yohannes Halefom Reda and Tedros Gebremariam Gebremichael. The northern region of Tigray erupted in a brutal civil war against the federal government from 2020 and 2022 that killed some 600,000 people. The conflict prompted a humanitarian disaster, leaving a million displaced, and a fragile peace deal has caused simmering resentment. MSF accused the Ethiopian government of failing to 'fulfil its moral obligations' to conclude investigations. 'The review confirmed that the attack was an intentional and targeted killing of three clearly identified aid workers,' says its statement. Hernandez was one of MSF's emergency coordinators in Tigray, while Reda and Gebremichael were a coordination assistant and driver for the NGO. All three employees of MSF-Spain were shot dead on June 24, 2021, in southern Tigray. The NGO said they and their vehicle were all clearly identified. According to the medical charity, a convoy of Ethiopian soldiers was present at the time of the attack. MSF said despite numerous follow-ups with the federal authorities in Addis Ababa, they had not received 'any credible answers' and the government had 'failed to fulfil its moral obligations to conclude an investigation into the attack'. 'This was not the result of crossfire, nor was it a tragic mistake. Our colleagues were killed in what can only be described as a deliberate attack,' said Paula Gil, president of MSF-Spain. The report follows from an international investigation in 2022 when the NGO said the three aid workers had been killed 'intentionally,' without providing further details. The New York Times newspaper claimed in a 2022 investigation that an Ethiopian army officer had given the order to kill the three aid workers. But Raquel Ayora, director-general of MSF-Spain, said on Tuesday, 'We cannot confirm that or go that far.' The report's findings were presented to authorities, who did not respond, the NGO said. Ethiopian authorities refused to meet the president of MSF-Spain to discuss the MSF investigation into the killings. The 2020-2022 war pitted federal forces, supported by local militias and the Eritrean army, against Tigrayan rebels. All of the warring parties have been accused of war crimes. However, an NGO called The Sentry said in June that, while all sides perpetrated war crimes, the nature of the atrocities committed by the Eritrean army was 'unmatched in scale and premeditation'. Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous country with nearly 130 million inhabitants, has been led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed since 2018.
Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Israeli forces bomb Syrian military after sectarian fighting
Israeli forces bomb Syrian military after sectarian fighting NewsFeed Israel's military has carried out air attacks against Syrian forces sent to a southern region where sectarian fighting has left dozens of people dead. Israel says it was acting to protect the Druze community after gun battles in Suwayda. On Tuesday, the Syrian defence minister announced a ceasefire. Video Duration 01 minutes 58 seconds 01:58 Video Duration 00 minutes 54 seconds 00:54 Video Duration 02 minutes 20 seconds 02:20 Video Duration 01 minutes 10 seconds 01:10 Video Duration 01 minutes 34 seconds 01:34 Video Duration 00 minutes 47 seconds 00:47 Video Duration 03 minutes 10 seconds 03:10
