At least 36 people were killed and 207 injured during shootings by the Israeli forces near the Israel and US-run aid centre in Gaza on Tuesday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
So far, 163 people have lost their lives and nearly 1500 have suffered injuries in the shootings near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid centre.
The Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions at people who it claims approached its forces in a suspicious manner.
Gaza has been pushed to the brink of the famine, with experts and humanitarian aid workers blaming Israel's blockade and 20-month military campaign in Gaza.
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation continues to maintain that there has been no violence in or around the distribution points. But it has warned people to stay on designated access routes and it paused delivery last week while it held talks with the military on improving safety.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday there is “meaningful progress” on a possible ceasefire deal that would also return some of the 55 hostages still being held in Gaza, but said it was “too early to hope.”
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also mentioned Tuesday that there was progress in ceasefire negotiations.
The controversial GHF aid sites, opened on May 27th, have already faced international criticism for their malpractice and strategic assault on aid seekers, but remain the only permitted aid source under the Israeli blockade across the State of Palestine.
In response to the attacks at aid hubs, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the assaults on paramedics, journalists, and aid workers, suggesting that this is a “new crime added” to the “record of horrors” maintained by Israel.
They stated that “these betrayals of every international and moral code happen on a daily basis in Gaza […] but the world is waking up.”
Amid heightened tensions across Gaza, injured Palestinian journalist and mother Duha al-Saify has vowed to continue working on reporting the genocide, despite having suffered heinous injuries and losing all three of her children to Israeli attacks.
