85 killed waiting for aid, Israel orders evacuations
At least 85 people were killed while attempting to access aid at locations across Gaza on Sunday, the health ministry in the Palestinian territory said.
The largest toll was in northern Gaza, where at least 79 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel, according to the ministry and local hospitals.
More than 150 people were wounded, with some of them in critical condition, hospitals said.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether they were killed by the Israeli army or armed gangs or both. But some witnesses said that the Israeli military shot at the crowd.
The killings in northern Gaza didn’t take place near aid distribution points associated with the Gaza Humanitarian Fund, or GHF, a US- and Israel-backed group that hands out food packages to Palestinians. Witnesses and health workers say hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli fire while trying to access the group’s distribution sites.
The Israeli military didn’t immediately make any comment on Sunday’s killings.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military published new evacuation warnings for areas of central Gaza on Sunday, in one of the few areas where the military has rarely operated with ground troops.
The evacuation cuts access between the city of Deir al-Balah and the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis in the narrow enclave.
The announcement came as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that expanding Israel’s military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas to negotiate, but negotiations have been stalled for months.
Earlier this month, the Israeli military said that it controlled more than 65% of the Gaza Strip. The area of Gaza under the evacuation order is where many international organisations attempting to distribute aid are located.
Pope calls for end to barbarity
Pope Leo XIV renewed his call on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, asking the international community to respect international laws and the obligation to protect civilians.
“I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” the pontiff said at the end of his Sunday Angelus prayer from his summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo.
Pope Leo also expressed his “deep sorrow” for the Israeli attack on the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
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