Israeli warplanes hit several targets across the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing 14 people, according to hospital officials in Deir al-Balah. In separate incidents the same day, another 10 Palestinians died when gunfire erupted around food-aid queues, bringing the day’s death toll to 24. The Gaza Health Ministry said the victims included families sheltering in makeshift tents near Khan Younis and Rafah; Israel’s army did not immediately comment.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S- and Israeli-backed charity that operates four distribution hubs guarded by private contractors, said two American aid workers were wounded when grenades were thrown at a site in Khan Younis. The organisation blamed Hamas, though it offered no evidence; the Israeli military said it evacuated the workers for treatment. The United Nations and aid groups have criticised the GHF network as inadequate and hazardous, noting that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach its centres.
Saturday’s fatalities came two days after hospitals reported 94 Palestinians killed by airstrikes and shootings late Wednesday and Thursday, including 45 people waiting for humanitarian aid. Amnesty International, in a report released the same day, accused Israel of ‘militarising’ food distribution and using starvation as a weapon—a charge Israel rejects.
The surge in violence unfolded as U.S-led diplomacy showed fresh movement. Hamas on Friday delivered what it called a “positive” response to Washington’s proposal for a 60-day truce, while seeking guarantees that any pause would lead to a full withdrawal of Israeli forces. President Donald Trump plans to host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday to press for an agreement. The nearly 21-month war, triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians and displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2 million residents, according to the territory’s health authorities.
Israeli airstrikes killed 14 Palestinians in Gaza and another 10 were killed while seeking food aid, hospital officials in the embattled enclave told The Associated Press on Saturday, as U.S.-led ceasefire efforts appeared to gain momentum.
