Gaza’s civil defense agency has reported that a series of Israeli airstrikes have claimed the lives of at least 58 individuals, including 12 guards who were securing aid trucks. The military asserts that its operations were aimed at militants who were planning to hijack these vehicles.
This latest wave of violence unfolded despite a rising sense of optimism surrounding negotiations for a ceasefire and the potential release of hostages. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan noted that the regional “context” has shifted in favor of reaching an agreement.
According to agency spokesman Mahmud Basal, seven guards were killed in an attack in Rafah, located in southern Gaza, while another strike in nearby Khan Yunis resulted in the deaths of five more guards.
Mr. Basal stated, “The (Israeli) occupation has once again targeted those securing the aid trucks,” although the military claimed it “does not strike humanitarian aid trucks.”
He further remarked that “The trucks carrying flour were en route to UNRWA warehouses,” referring to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees.
Witnesses later informed AFP that residents looted flour from the trucks following the airstrikes.
The military asserted that its forces “conducted precise strikes” overnight against armed Hamas militants situated within an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in southern Gaza.
In a statement, the military said, “All of the terrorists that were eliminated were members of Hamas and were planning to violently hijack humanitarian aid trucks to transfer them to Hamas in support of ongoing terrorist activities.”
Men transport the remains of a tree on a cart past destroyed buildings in Gaza City.
The United Nations and aid organizations have consistently warned about the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has been worsened by the ongoing conflict that has lasted over 14 months.
UNRWA spokeswoman Louise Wateridge expressed to journalists during her visit to Nuseirat in central Gaza that “conditions for people throughout Gaza are appalling and apocalyptic.”
She added that life-saving aid to “besieged areas in the north Gaza governorate has been largely blocked” since the Israeli military commenced a sweeping assault in early October.
Earlier this week, UNRWA reported that it successfully delivered sufficient food aid to support 200,000 individuals in southern Gaza.
However, it was noted that “a serious incident” occurred, resulting in only one truck out of a convoy of 70, which was traveling along Gaza’s southern border, successfully reaching its destination.
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The agency did not disclose further details regarding the incident but called for “all parties to ensure safe, unimpeded, and uninterrupted” aid deliveries.
As diplomatic efforts to end the conflict seemed to be gaining momentum, violence persisted.
According to the civil defense agency, Israeli airstrikes on two homes near Nuseirat refugee camp, which was struck again later in the evening, as well as in Gaza City, resulted in 21 fatalities.
Mr. Basal reported that fifteen individuals, including at least six children, lost their lives “as a result of an Israeli bombing” of a building that housed displaced individuals near Nuseirat.
Bassam al-Habash, a relative of the deceased in Nuseirat, stated emphatically, “These individuals are innocent; they are not wanted. They have no connection to the conflict.”
“They are civilians, and this is not a conflict between two armies, but rather a confrontation armed with weapons, airplanes, and Western support against a defenseless population that owns nothing.”
Another airstrike this evening killed at least 25 people and injured 50 others in the Nuseirat refugee camp, as reported by the civil defense agency.
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In the most recent diplomatic initiative aimed at ending the violence, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution yesterday calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.
The non-binding resolution was met with rejection by the United States, Israel’s primary military supporter.
Nonetheless, recent days have shown indications that previously stalled negotiations for a ceasefire could be revived.
Families of the 96 hostages still held in Gaza since the Hamas attack that ignited the conflict, including 34 individuals that the Israeli military claims are deceased, are urging for their release.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who visited Israel today for discussions with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, conveyed that he “got the sense” that the Israeli leader was “prepared to make a deal.”
He also stated that Hamas’s approach to negotiations had shifted, attributing this change to the fall of their ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the ceasefire that was implemented in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, another Iranian-supported group.
“We are now confronted with a drastically altered Middle East where Israel is stronger, and Iran is weaker,” he remarked.
Notably, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Assad have all received backing from Iran.
During the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, militants took 251 hostages, resulting in the deaths of 1,208 people, predominantly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
This figure incorporates hostages who either died or were killed while being held in Gaza.
Israel’s counter-offensive has resulted in the deaths of at least 44,805 individuals in Gaza, the majority of whom are civilians, according to data from the territory’s health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.
