Massacre at a humanitarian aid distribution point in Gaza
At least 31 Palestinians died while searching for food at the Gaza Humanitarian Fund distribution center, the new mechanism implemented by Israel and the United States.
BarcelonaAt least 31 Palestinians were killed and 150 wounded Sunday as they went to collect humanitarian aid at distribution points under the new system implemented by the United States and Israel, according to Hamas health officials. The hunger in the Strip has been mounting after three months of an Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid.
"They told us to wait until six in the morning, and then ordered us to walk in single file. who had gone to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution point in Al-Alam, in Rafah, in the south of the Strip. American? This is humiliation and massacring poor and defenseless people."
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Sameh Hamuda, a displaced Palestinian from the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia, told AFP he walked from Gaza City and spent the night with relatives in a tent near Rafah before heading to the aid center at dawn to wait for a while. Quadcopter drones opened fire on people and tanks began firing heavily. The incident will be investigated. The GHF has assured that it "distributed the aid without incident," while also denying the scenes of chaos that have occurred over the past week, in which at least 39 Palestinians have died at its aid distribution points.
Israel blocked all entry of humanitarian aid on March 2 and this week allowed the entry of a few hundred trucks in dribs and drabs across its border. However, it has not allowed entry at the Rafah crossing, the border with Egypt, where some 3,000 UN trucks are waiting. The UN says it has its own aid distribution plan in place. The agency denounces that the GHF does not meet minimum humanitarian requirements nor does it have the logistical capacity to meet the challenge of distributing food to the more than two million Palestinians in the Strip. The UN has warned that Gaza "is the place with the most hunger in the world" and accuses Israel of using hunger as a weapon of war. According to the IPC, the global agency monitoring food crises, 71,000 children under the age of 5 suffer from "severe malnutrition" and 14,000 suffer from life-threatening hunger.
Ceasefire Negotiations
The events occurred as negotiations for a ceasefire appeared to be at a standstill. U.S. Special Representative Steve Witkoff explained early this morning thatthe proposal sent by Hamas, which calls for a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and the entry of humanitarian aid, is "totally unacceptable and only sets us back." Israel has also rejected the Palestinian proposal. This Sunday, it was made public that Hamas had proposed the establishment of a technocratic government in Gaza to replace its administration of the Strip. The Witkoff plan includes a 60-day truce, an exchange of 10 live Israeli hostages and the bodies of 18 who died in captivity for 1,238 live Palestinian prisoners and the bodies of 118 who died in Israeli custody, and the entry of humanitarian aid through.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the army to "continue advancing against all targets" in its offensive on Gaza, "regardless of any negotiations," on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. The Israeli army, he proclaimed, "is operating in Gaza with great intensity, destroying the enemy and paving the way for ground forces." The minister added that they will use "all necessary means, on land, sea, and air, to protect Israeli soldiers" and said Hamas has only two options: "free the hostages or be destroyed."