Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed at least 55 people, including a journalist, in the past 24 hours, Al-Jazeera reported on Thursday.
At least 23 people were killed in a wave of Israeli airstrikes on the central Gaza area of Bureij. Another 10 Palestinians were killed while seeking aid from a controversial US-backed organisation, Gaza’s health ministry confirmed.
Casualties were transported to Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa hospitals. Medical staff said they spent at least 30 minutes retrieving victims from the site.
In a statement, the Government Media Office said Israeli forces “opened direct fire on hungry Palestinian civilians who had gathered to receive aid” at a distribution site, injuring at least 62 people, Al Jazeera reported.
Separately, the Gaza Journalists Syndicate said that Palestinian journalist Moataz Raja was “assassinated” by the Israeli army while covering the war on Gaza.
Read: Netanyahu claims Hamas Gaza chief Mohammad Sinwar killed
The syndicate reported that an Israeli aircraft targeted the civilian vehicle Raja was travelling in on al-Nafaq Street in Gaza City, killing him instantly.
According to the syndicate, at least 221 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, said Israel was using “aid as a weapon of war”.
Israel's war on Gaza
Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that at least 3,785 people had been killed in the territory since a ceasefire collapsed on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,939, mostly civilians, according to AFP.
Israel's atrocities have displaced around 90% of Gaza’s estimated 2 million residents, created a severe hunger crisis, and caused widespread destruction across the territory.
Read more: Hamas agrees to US ceasefire proposal, but Israel rejects it
The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing at least 61,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to Al Jazeera.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ