The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which began distributing aid last week, has closed all its centres.
At least 42 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Eid-al-Adha, medical sources told media, as the US-backed group distributing aid in the Palestinian territory said all its centres were closed until further notice.
The dead bodies of 16 people arrived at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis on Friday, local health authorities said, while another 16 were brought to Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, five to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, and five more to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah.
“This is how Eid looks here in Gaza,” said media’s Tareq Abu-Azoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah on the first day of the Muslim holy festival usually marked by joy. This year the day “is a very grim reminder of what they have lost and how they are forced to cope with unimaginable circumstances” amid bombardment, displacement and loss, he added.
Meanwhile, a journalist who was wounded in an Israeli strike on Ahli Hospital on Thursday succumbed to their injures, raising the number of journalists killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war to 226, Gaza’s Government Media Office said on Friday.
The office called on “all journalistic bodies in all countries of the world to condemn these systematic crimes against Palestinian journalists and media professionals in the Gaza Strip”.
“We also call on them to exert serious and effective pressure to stop the crime of genocide, protect journalists and media professionals in the Gaza Strip, and halt their killing,” it added.
Separately in Gaza on Friday, four Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in Khan Younis when a booby-trapped building they were in exploded, according to a preliminary Israeli army probe cited by local media. This brings the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since the beginning of the week in Gaza to eight, reported media’s Hamdah Salhut from Amman.
Aid agencies have warned that all residents in Gaza face the threat of famine after Israel imposed a severe blockade on the territory in March, blocking the entry of food, medicine and fuel. Amid international pressure, Israel allowed some aid to enter Gaza last month, but aid groups have warned the amounts are inadequate.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a previously unknown group that is overseeing the aid distribution effort, advised people to stay away from the aid distribution hubs “for their safety”.
GHF, which began distributing aid last week, said in a Facebook post on Friday that details about reopening would be announced later.
Operations at the group’s aid distribution hubs were halted earlier this week following several incidents of deadly violence near the sites, in which Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian aid seekers. Only two sites distributed aid on Thursday.
Aid sites remain closed
On Sunday, thousands of people headed towards the distribution site hours before dawn. As they approached, Israeli forces ordered them to disperse and come back later. When the crowds reached the Flag Roundabout, 1km (0.6 mile) away, at about 3am, Israeli forces opened fire, witnesses said.
“I operated on two patients and we removed M16 bullets from abdominal injuries,” Rahbour told media. “When I spoke to these patients, they were very clear to say they came from Israeli forces.”
The surgeon also said hospitals were operating with little or no resources. “There is a lack of everything – antibiotics, swabs, surgical instruments,” he said.
The GHF’s approach has been fiercely criticised by humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations.
The GHF says private security contractors guarding its sites have not fired on crowds.
Israel’s military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 54,677 Palestinians and wounded 125,530, Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Thursday.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.
On Thursday, mediators Qatar and Egypt announced renewed efforts to secure a ceasefire deal based on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce and the entry of humanitarian aid.
Previous ceasefire efforts have, however, repeatedly broken down over Israel’s rejection of key terms.
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