Palestinians have become increasingly desperate for food as nearly three months of Israeli border closures have pushed Gaza to the brink of famine.
It was still not clear Wednesday if Israeli forces, private contractors or others opened fire when a crowd overran a new Israeli and U.S.-backed aid distribution site a day earlier. Gaza's Health Ministry said Wednesday that at least one Palestinian was killed and 48 were wounded.
Israel has vowed to seize control of Gaza and fight until Hamas is destroyed or disarmed and exiled, and until the militant group returns the remaining 58 hostages. Around a third of them are believed to be alive. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the 2023 attack.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed around 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It says women and children make up most of the dead but does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.
Here’s the latest:
Hostage families mark 600 days since their loved ones were taken captive
The relatives of Israelis held in Gaza, along with some former hostages, pleaded for release of the remaining captives taken during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
Some 58 captives remain, about a third of whom Israel believes are still alive.
“The most important thing is human life and that our citizens return home,” said Luis Har, who was help captive and rescued in an Israeli military mission last year. He spoke at a press conference in Tel Aviv marking 600 days.
Later Wednesday, the families and their supporters will hold a rally at an area that’s become known as Hostages Square to mark the milestone.
Hamas captured roughly 250 people during its 2023 attack. Most have been freed in ceasefire deals.
Netanyahu says Israel killed senior Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel killed senior Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, apparently confirming his death in a recent airstrike in the Gaza Strip. Speaking before parliament on Wednesday, Netanyahu included Sinwar in a list of Hamas leaders killed by Israel in the war-battered enclave.
Mohammed is the brother of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader and one of the masterminds of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, who was killed by Israeli forces last year.
UAE slams Israeli march with chants of ‘Death to Arabs’ in Jerusalem
The United Arab Emirates has summoned the Israeli ambassador on Wednesday to condemn the violence and incitement against Palestinians in Jerusalem’s Old City during an annual march marking Israel’s annexation of the eastern part of the city.
“These provocative, arbitrary practices represent dangerous incitement against Muslims, and are a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the holy city,” the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Throngs of ultranationalist Israeli Jews made their way Monday through Muslim neighborhoods of Jerusalem’s Old City dancing, banging on homes, and chanting “Death to Arabs” and singing “May your village burn.” The march often becomes a rowdy and sometimes violent procession of hardline Jews. Four years ago, it helped set off an 11-day war in Gaza.
The UAE agreed to normalize relations with Israel in a U.S.-brokered deal in 2020, the first of the so-called Abraham Accords that Israel eventually concluded with four Arab nations.
French and Indonesian presidents discuss Israel and the crisis in Gaza
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto praised France’s backing of a two-state solution in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and echoed Emmanuel Macron 's calls for an immediate cessation of armed activities in Gaza as well as full humanitarian access to the enclave.
“I am aware of all the emotions raised by this war and the questions sometimes raised about the position of Europe and France,” Macron said, “And I want to say here that France does not accept double standards.”
He added that France will soon organize, with Saudi Arabia, a conference on Gaza at the U.N. in New York, to give a new impetus to the recognition of a Palestinian state and the recognition of Israel.
Indonesia has long been a strong supporter of the Palestinians and does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel. Once the Palestinian state is recognized by Israel, “Indonesia is ready to recognize Israel,” Subianto said.
Israel hits the airport in Yemen's capital held by Iran-backed rebels
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday's strikes destroyed the last plane used by the Houthi rebels, while the rebel-run al-Masirah TV said they had targeted a plane from the country’s flagship carrier Yemenia.
The strikes came after Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired several missiles at Israel in recent days, without causing casualties.
The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in Gaza in solidarity with Palestinians. The Houthi missiles have mostly been intercepted, although some have penetrated Israel’s missile defense systems, causing casualties and damage.
Israel last struck the airport in Sanaa on May 6, destroying the airport’s terminal and leaving its runway riddled with craters. Some flights resumed to Sanaa on May 17.
A controversial new aid distribution system
The distribution hub outside Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah were chaos erupted on Tuesday was opened by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
The foundation is taking over the handling of desperately needed aid under a new, U.S. and Israeli-backed system despite concerns raised about the group from the United Nations and the recent resignation of its executive director.
The U.N. and other humanitarian organizations have rejected the new system, saying it won’t be able to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and allows Israel to use food as a weapon to control the population. They have also warned of the risk of friction between Israeli troops and people seeking supplies.
Spokesman says the UN has nothing to do with the new aid system
Stephane Dujarric says the United Nations has not nothing to do with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s aid distribution because its plan does not comply with U,N. humanitarian principles of neutrality, independence and impartiality in delivering aid — which apply from Gaza to Sudan to Myanmar and dozens of other countries.
Dujarric said on Tuesday that it is “an arduous process” to coordinate with Israeli authorities to get U.N. trucks to the loading area to pick up aid, and to determine if roads for the trucks to traverse are safe.
“We’re still trying — desperately trying — to deliver aid based on our system that has worked … and it’s very challenging,” he said
