59 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes and shootings near aid site in Gaza
The Israeli military said in a statement that over the past 48 hours, troops struck approximately 250 targets in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including four children, hospital officials said on Saturday, while 31 others were fatally shot on their way to aid distribution sites.
The children and two women were among at least 13 people who were killed in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes pounded the area starting late on Friday, officials in Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Hospital said.
Fifteen others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital.
The military did not respond to The Associated Press’s request for comment on the civilian deaths.
Separately, at least 31 people were killed on their way to a food distribution site near Rafah, said hospital officials and witnesses, including those wounded.
The Red Cross said its field hospital saw its largest influx of dead in more than a year of operation after the shootings, and that the overwhelming majority of the more than 100 people hurt had gunshot wounds.
The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots toward people it said were behaving suspiciously to prevent them from approaching. It added it was not aware of any casualties from the incident.
Witnesses there said they were on their way to the site seeking food and were shot at.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in their October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and abducted 251.
They still hold 50 hostages, fewer than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas-run government, does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.
The UN and other international organisations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.
US President Donald Trump has said that he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war.
But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu there were no signs of a breakthrough.
