Tel Aviv, Israel (BN24) – Israeli airstrikes and shootings killed at least 35 Palestinians across Gaza early Friday, with many of the victims reportedly gunned down while waiting for desperately needed food supplies, health officials said.
Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza confirmed that 15 people, including eight women and a child, were killed in overnight strikes. Another 20 bodies arrived at the morgue of people shot dead as they gathered near aid distribution points. Two of them were killed near aid sites in Rafah, while 18 died while waiting for trucks to arrive elsewhere in southern Gaza.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the latest attacks.
The UN human rights office said Friday it has now documented 613 killings in Gaza near humanitarian convoys and distribution points operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli-backed American organization that began operating in late May.
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the UN rights office, said investigators could not yet conclusively attribute responsibility for every death but noted that “it is clear the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points.”
According to Palestinian officials and witness accounts, Israeli forces frequently open fire when crowds mass along main roads to intercept aid convoys. Israeli authorities insist they only fire warning shots to disperse people approaching military-controlled areas and have denied intentionally targeting civilians.
The Health Ministry in Gaza said more than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war erupted in October 2023 after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages. The ministry’s toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says over half of the dead are women and children.
Israel says more than 860 of its soldiers have been killed in the fighting, including 400 inside Gaza. On Friday, the military said one more soldier died during combat in northern Gaza.
Amid the bloodshed, efforts to broker a ceasefire appeared to gain traction. Hamas announced it was consulting other Palestinian factions about the terms of a truce proposal mediated by Egypt and Qatar.
Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed to the outlines of a 60-day ceasefire and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions deteriorate further. Hamas said Friday it would deliver a formal response to mediators once internal consultations conclude.
Since GHF began distributing aid, hundreds have been killed or injured while trying to collect food, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Palestinian witnesses. Israel says the distribution system is needed to prevent Hamas from diverting supplies but has been criticized by human rights groups as ineffective and dangerous.
The military maintains it has acted to secure aid deliveries and is investigating reports of civilian harm.
AP
