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Gaza Humanitarian Foundation closes the limited food distribution centres permitted by Israel in Gaza
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) announced Tuesday that it would halt the limited food distribution operations permitted by Israeli authorities at centres in the Gaza Strip for one day. It said it planned to resume on Thursday after working on security measures.
On Tuesday Israel’s military had warned residents of Gaza against travel in areas leading to the distribution centres, after at least 27 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire as they waited for food at the points set up by the US-backed GHF.
Israeli authorities have been imposing the use of GHF to distribute food rather than any of the agencies that traditionally operate in Gaza. On Tuesday 21 trucks of food were distributed. During the ceasefire earlier this year 600 trucks a day were required to meet the needs of the Palestinian population. Israel has been blockading aid and food entering the territory for weeks.
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Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday criticised an initial proposal from the United States in negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme, though he stopped short of entirely rejecting the idea of agreement with Washington.
According to the Associated Press (AP), Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described the US proposal as “100% against the idea of ‘we can’”, borrowing from an Iranian government slogan. He also said that Tehran needed to keep its ability to enrich uranium.
“If we had 100 nuclear power plants while not having enrichment, they are not usable for us,” Khamenei said. “If we do not have enrichment, then we should extend our hand (begging) to the US.”
However, some nuclear power nations get uranium from outside suppliers, reports the AP.
Details of the American proposal remain unclear after five rounds of talks between Iran and the US.
The UN security council will vote later today on a resolution calling for a ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access in Gaza. It will be the first vote on the issue held by the council since November.
The resolution text “demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties” and the “immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas.”
The US is expected to exercise its veto to prevent the 15 nation body passing the resolution, as it did the last time the council voted on the subject of Israel and Gaza.
An Israeli airstrike on a school housing displaced Palestinian families killed at least 10 people, including children, on Wednesday, local health authorities said.
Reuters reports residents said Israeli military escalated airstrikes and tank shelling on parts of Khan Younis, a day after it dropped leaflets ordering residents to leave their homes and head west. Many Palestinians have been displaced multiple times during the conflict, and have been forced to live in makeshift camps.
Earlier today the IDF announced that a soldier had been killed in combat in the northern Gaza Strip.
Israel’s military says that 420 service personnel have been killed inside Gaza since its ground operation started on 27 October 2023.
These images were taken yesterday, and show Israel’s military operating on the border of the Gaza Strip.
Archie Bland
In today’s First Edition newsletter, my colleague Archie Bland with Amjad Al-Shawa looked at the situation with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation food distribution process being imposed on Gaza by Israeli authorities:
On Sunday, at least 31 Palestinians were killed after Israeli forces opened fire at a food distribution centre in Rafah, Gaza. On Monday, another three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire at the same site. And yesterday, 27 people were killed after Israeli forces opened fire again.
If there was any doubt at all about the inadequacy of the new system for distributing supplies in Gaza, run by an Israeli-backed foundation rather than the UN or aid organisations, it has surely been dispelled. Last night, the foundation said that all of its sites would be closed today – and appointed a new executive chair: an evangelical Christian pastor and loyal ally of Donald Trump.
Palestinians – or those who are able to get to the sites – now face an impossible choice, as the UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk, said on Tuesday: “Die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available.” The attacks on civilians, he added, constitute a war crime.
You can read more of Archie and Amjad’s analysis here: What three deadly days for civilians in Rafah reveal about the food distribution system backed by Israel
Israel carries out strikes against targets inside Syria
Israel has carried out new airstrikes inside Syria, claiming to have targeted Syrian military weapons facilities after rocket fire was being directed towards the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
In a statement the IDF said “The Syrian regime is responsible for what transpires within Syria and will continue to bear the consequences as long as hostile activity continues from its territory.”
The foreign ministry of the recently installed Syrian government said Syria “is not interested in posing a threat to any party in the region,” and claimed there were casualties from the Israeli strikes in Daraa.
Two rockets crossed into Israeli-controlled territory on Tuesday. Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and has occupied it since that time.
At least 10 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli attack on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza’s Khan Younis, Reuters reports, citing Hamas-affiliated media.
More details soon …
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation closes the limited food distribution centres permitted by Israel in Gaza
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) announced Tuesday that it would halt the limited food distribution operations permitted by Israeli authorities at centres in the Gaza Strip for one day. It said it planned to resume on Thursday after working on security measures.
On Tuesday Israel’s military had warned residents of Gaza against travel in areas leading to the distribution centres, after at least 27 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire as they waited for food at the points set up by the US-backed GHF.
Israeli authorities have been imposing the use of GHF to distribute food rather than any of the agencies that traditionally operate in Gaza. On Tuesday 21 trucks of food were distributed. During the ceasefire earlier this year 600 trucks a day were required to meet the needs of the Palestinian population. Israel has been blockading aid and food entering the territory for weeks.
Welcome and opening summary …
Welcome to the Guardian’s rolling coverage of the conflict in Gaza and the wider Middle East. Here are the headlines …
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The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) announced Tuesday that it would halt the limited food distribution operations permitted by Israeli authorities at centres in the Gaza Strip for one day. It said it planned to resume on Thursday after working on security measures
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On Tuesday Israel’s military had warned residents of Gaza against travel in areas leading to the distribution centres, after at least 27 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire as they waited for food at the points set up by the US-backed GHF
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Gaza’s health ministry said 27 people were killed early on Tuesday as they gathered to receive food. It was the third such incident in three days, with Israel admitting on Tuesday for the first time that its forces shot at Palestinians who were moving towards them
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At least 10 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli attack on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza’s Khan Younis, Hamas-affiliated media said on Wednesday morning
