DEIR EL-BALAH – At least 34 Palestinians lost their lives in Israeli strikes across various locations in Gaza on Monday, according to local health officials. This occurred a day after Israel reduced restrictions on aid amidst a worsening humanitarian crisis in the region.
On Sunday, Israel announced a 10-hour daily pause in military operations in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, and Muwasi to facilitate better aid delivery to Palestinians and address growing concerns over hunger. Secure routes for aid were also designated during this time.
Despite these humanitarian gestures, Israel indicated it would maintain military operations. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the recent strikes, which took place outside the specified 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. pause period.
Aid agencies have welcomed the new aid measures, which also included allowing airdrops into Gaza, but said they were not enough to counter the rising hunger in the Palestinian territory.
Images of emaciated children have sparked outrage around the world, including from Israel’s close allies. U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday called the images of emaciated and malnourished children in Gaza “terrible.”
Israel has restricted aid to varying degrees throughout the war. In March, it cut off the entry of all goods, including fuel, food and medicine to pressure Hamas to free hostages.
Israel partially lifted those restrictions in May but also pushed ahead on a new U.S.-backed aid delivery system that has been wracked by chaos and violence. Traditional aid providers also have encountered a similar breakdown in law and order surrounding their aid deliveries.
Most of Gaza’s population now relies on aid. Accessing food has become a challenge that some Palestinians have risked their lives for.
The Awda hospital in central Gaza said it received the bodies of seven Palestinians who it said were killed Monday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The hospital said 20 others were wounded close to the site.
Elsewhere, a woman who was seven months pregnant was killed along with 11 others after their house was struck in the Muwasi area, west of the southern city of Khan Younis. The woman’s fetus survived after a complex surgery, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
One strike hit a two-story house in the western Japanese neighborhood of Khan Younis, killing at least 11 people, more than half of them women and children, said the Nasser Hospital, which received the casualties.
The Israeli military and GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment on those strikes.
In its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. It still holds 50, more than half Israel believes to be dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says over half of the dead are women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
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Magdy reported from Cairo.
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