GAZA CITY: At least 40 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire and airstrikes in Gaza on Monday (Aug 4), including 10 who died while seeking humanitarian aid, health authorities in the enclave said. Another five reportedly died of starvation as hunger and chaos mount across the territory.
The 10 aid-seekers were killed in two separate incidents near aid distribution sites operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), local medics said.
More than 1,000 people have been killed trying to access GHF aid since the group began operating in May, according to the United Nations.
Most deaths were reportedly caused by Israeli forces firing near the sites. However, the GHF said there were no incidents at or near their sites on Monday. Reuters was unable to verify the location of the incidents.
“Everyone who goes there, comes back either with a bag of flour or carried back as a martyr or injured. No one comes back safe,” said Bilal Thari, a 40-year-old Palestinian mourner at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where bodies of those killed while seeking aid were being collected.
AID ACCESS REMAINS LIMITED
On Sunday, Gaza health officials said at least 13 Palestinians were killed at the Zikim crossing while waiting for UN aid trucks near the northern border with Israel.
Due to shortages of burial materials, bodies were wrapped in blankets instead of traditional Islamic shrouds, which Palestinians said had become scarce because of Israeli border restrictions and rising casualties.
“We don’t want war, we want peace … women are out there on the streets, we have nothing available for us to live a normal life like all human beings,” Thari said.
The Israeli military said it had not fired earlier on Monday in the vicinity of the southern Gaza aid distribution centre but did not address Sunday’s incident directly.
Israel says it is taking steps to improve aid flow, including pausing military operations in some areas during parts of the day, conducting air drops, and setting up protected routes for aid convoys.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he would convene his security cabinet this week to discuss how to instruct the military to meet Israel’s war goals in Gaza.
“We must continue to stand together and fight together to achieve all our war objectives: the defeat of the enemy, the release of our hostages, and the assurance that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said at the outset of a regular cabinet meeting.
Israel’s Channel 12 cited an official from his office as saying Netanyahu was leaning toward expanding the offensive and seizing the entire Palestinian enclave. The security cabinet is expected to meet on Tuesday to decide on the next steps.
