GAZA STRIP (AP): Israeli strikes and gunfire in the Gaza Strip killed at least 46 Palestinians overnight into Wednesday morning, most of them among crowds seeking food, local hospitals said.
The dead include more than 30 people who were killed while seeking humanitarian aid, according to that treated dozens of wounded people. The Israeli military didn’t immediately comment on any of the strikes, but says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, because the group’s militants operate in densely populated areas.
The deaths came as the United Kingdom announced that it would recognize a Palestinian state in September, unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, following a similar declaration by France’s president. Israel’s foreign ministry said that it rejected the British statement. The Shifa hospital in Gaza City said that it received 12 people who were killed Tuesday night when Israeli forces opened fire toward crowds awaiting aid trucks coming from the Zikim crossing in northwestern Gaza. Thirteen others were killed in strikes in the Jabaliya refugee camp, and the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, the hospital said.
In the southern city of Khan Younis, the Nasser hospital said it received the bodies of 16 people who it says were killed Tuesday evening while waiting for aid trucks close to the newly-built Morag corridor, which separates Khan Younis from the southernmost city of Rafah. The hospital received another body for a man killed in a strike on a tent in Khan Younis, it said.
The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp said that it received the bodies of four Palestinians who it says were killed Wednesday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, in the Netzarim corridor area, south of the Wadi Gaza. In addtion, seven Palestinians, including a child, have died of malnutrition-related causes in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the territory’s health ministry said on Wednesday. A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the war began in Gaza. The ministry said that 65 Palestinian adults have also died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Meanwhile, King Abdullah II of Jordan said on Wednesday that the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip is among the worst in modern history, as the Israeli military campaign in the Palestinian coastal enclave reaches its 22nd month.
He affirmed that “Jordan has been, and will remain, the greatest support for Gaza’s people, who are suffering from a humanitarian catastrophe unlike anything witnessed in recent history.” During a meeting with media representatives at Al Husseiniya Palace, King Abdullah emphasized Jordan’s ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the Gaza conflict. He highlighted discussions with Germany and Canada, as well as coordination with Arab leaders and international partners, aimed at enhancing the humanitarian response in Gaza.
“The suffering of our brethren in Gaza strikes at the very sense of our humanity, not just because it is happening at our doorstep, but also because this country was built on compassion, on standing with those who suffer,” he said. “No matter how much we do, it can never measure up to the scale of the horror Palestinians in Gaza endure every single day, not when entire families are being erased and children are being starved.
“But that doesn’t mean that we are not doing everything in our power. We are. And we will continue to do so, relentlessly and without hesitation,” he said, Petra news agency reported. The Jordanian leadership has been steadfast in its support of Palestinian rights, including the establishment of statehood and an end to Israeli occupation policies. Jordan was one of the first countries to conduct airlift missions in the early days of the Israeli war, delivering relief to Gaza, and dispatching hundreds of aid convoy trucks to the territory since late 2023.
