Gaza’s Government Media Office says Israel has committed ’26 bloody massacres’ in the last two days.
More than 300 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the last 48 hours, according to the Gaza Government Media Office, which says Israel has “committed 26 bloody massacres” in that period.
At least 30 people have been killed since dawn on Thursday. Thirteen died when Israeli forces targeted a tent in al-Mawasi in the south, and another 11 were killed and many wounded in an Israeli strike on the Mostafa Hafez school, sheltering displaced people west of Gaza City, according to medical sources speaking to Al Jazeera.
The Government Media Office statement on Thursday said the attacks over the last 48 hours had targeted civilians in shelters and displacement centres overcrowded with tens of thousands of displaced people, public rest areas, such as the “al-Baqa” rest stop, Palestinian families inside their homes, popular markets and vital civilian facilities, and starving civilians searching for food.
United States contractors ostensibly guarding aid distribution sites in Gaza have been using live ammunition and stun grenades as hungry Palestinians scramble for food, according to accounts and videos obtained by The Associated Press news agency.
Two US contractors, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity, said they were speaking out because they were disturbed by what they considered dangerous practices. They said the security staff hired were often unqualified, unvetted, heavily armed and seemed to have an open licence to do whatever they wished.
More than 130 humanitarian organisations, including Oxfam, Save the Children and Amnesty International, on Tuesday demanded the immediate closure of the controversial Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), accusing it of facilitating attacks on starving Palestinians.
The NGOs said Israeli forces and armed groups “routinely” open fire on civilians attempting to access food.
Since the GHF began operations in late May, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid, and nearly 4,000 have been wounded.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 56,647 people and wounded 134,105, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.
Ceasefire in the balance
Hamas says it is studying new proposals for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, but insisted it is seeking an agreement that would bring an end to Israel’s devastating war.
Hamas said in a statement on Wednesday that it had received proposals from the mediators and is holding talks with them to “bridge gaps” to return to the negotiating table and try to reach a ceasefire agreement.
The group said it was aiming for an agreement that would end the Gaza war and ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.
The announcement comes a day after United States President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed to a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. Trump has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to broker a ceasefire and an agreement for the group to release the Israeli captives held in Gaza.
Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, says, “For the first time since the beginning of the war began, the Israelis are signalling a potential end to the war on Gaza.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been holding consultations with his security team, according to Israeli media and is showing flexibility, according to those reports, she added, due to pressure from Trump.
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