52 Palestinians in Gaza are killed by Israeli airstrikes or shot dead while seeking aid
DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip AP Israeli airstrikes killed at least Palestinians including four children in the Gaza Strip while others were fatally shot on their way to an aid distribution site Palestinian hospital leaders and bystanders commented Saturday The latest deaths came after no signs of a breakthrough in ceasefire talks following two days of meetings between U S President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Trump had mentioned he was closing in on an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would bring the release of more hostages from Gaza and potentially wind down the war The militant group still holds a few hostages with at least inferred to remain alive The four children were among at least people killed in central Gaza s Deir al-Balah in the airstrikes starting late Friday authorities at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital noted Fifteen others died in Khan Younis in the south according to Nasser Hospital Israel s military did not straightaway respond to a request for comment Intense airstrikes continued Saturday evening in Gaza More killings near American-run aid site The -month war has left much of Gaza s population of over million reliant on outside aid while food shield experts warn of famine Israel blocked and then restricted aid entry after ending the latest ceasefire in March The shot dead were on their way to a distribution site run by an Israeli-backed American organization near Rafah in southern Gaza hospital functionaries and viewers disclosed Israel s military revealed it fired warning shots toward people it reported were behaving suspiciously to prevent them from approaching It mentioned it was not aware of any casualties The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation disclosed no circumstance occurred near its sites Abdullah al-Haddad noted he was meters feet from the aid distribution site run by the GHF close to the Shakoush area when an Israeli tank started firing at crowds of Palestinians We were together and they shot us at once he announced writhing in pain from a leg wound at Nasser Hospital Mohammed Jamal al-Sahloo another witness mentioned Israel s military had ordered them to proceed to the site when the shooting started Sumaya al-Sha er s -year-old son Nasir was killed in the shooting hospital functionaries declared He reported to me Mom you don t have flour and in current times I ll go and bring you flour even if I die I ll go and get it she commented But he never came back home Until then she noted she had prevented the teenager from going to GHF sites because she thought it was too dangerous Bystanders fitness functionaries and U N officers say hundreds have been killed by Israeli fire while heading toward GHF distribution points through military zones off limits to independent media The military has acknowledged firing warning shots at Palestinians who it says approached its forces in a suspicious manner The GHF denies there has been violence in or around its sites But two of its contractors explained the AP that their colleagues have fired live ammunition and stun grenades as Palestinians scramble for food assertions the foundation denied In a separate effort the U N and aid groups say they struggle to distribute humanitarian aid because of Israeli military restrictions and a breakdown of law and order that has led to widespread looting The first fuel liters entered Gaza this week after days a joint comment by U N aid bodies disclosed calling it a small amount for the the backbone of survival in Gaza Fuel runs hospitals water systems transit and more the report revealed Hamas-led militants killed various people in their Oct attack on Israel that sparked the war and abducted Israel s retaliatory offensive has killed over Palestinians more than half of them women and children according to Gaza s Wellness Ministry The ministry which is under Gaza s Hamas-run executive doesn t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count The U N and other international organizations see its figures as the bulk reliable statistics on war casualties A Palestinian-American killed in the West Bank Friends and relatives paid their respects a day after Palestinian-American Seifeddin Musalat and local friend Mohammed al-Shalabi were killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers according to the Palestinian Healthcare Ministry Musalat was beaten to death on his family s land his cousin Diana Halum explained reporters The settlers then blocked paramedics from reaching him she mentioned Musalat born in Florida was visiting his family home and arrived on June He was a kind hard-working and deeply respected young man Halum revealed The Musalat family is demanding that the U S State Department investigate his death and hold the settlers accountable The State Department announced it was aware of the reports of his death but had no comment out of respect for the family A witness to the beating speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid Israeli retaliation revealed the settlers descended on Palestinian lands and started shooting at us beating by sticks and throwing rocks Israel s military has commented Palestinians had hurled rocks at Israelis in the area earlier on Friday lightly wounding two people and setting off a larger confrontation Palestinians and rights groups have long accused the military of ignoring settler violence which has spiked along with Palestinian attacks and Israeli military raids since the war in Gaza began Follow AP s war coverage at https apnews com hub israel-hamas-war Source
