The civil defense of the Gaza Strip reported on Thursday the death of 69 people in Israeli military operations. She reported to the Agency France-Presse (AFP) that a night air strike on the Moustafa Hafez school, in the city of Gaza (North), which shelters displaced, had left 15 dead, including “A majority of children and women”. Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army claimed to have targeted a Hamas fighter “FIRST” and have taken “Many measures to reduce the risk of touching civilians”.
According to the spokesman for the Civil Defense, Mahmoud Bassal, 38 people were also killed by Israeli fire while they were waiting to receive humanitarian aid, which the army, solicited, has not yet commented.
The aid distribution mechanism has been denounced by the international humanitarian community since its grip, at the end of May, by Gaza Humaninian Foundation (GHF), an organization supported by the United States and Israel with which the United Nations (UN) refuses to collaborate.
The United Nations accused the Israeli soldiers of having “Bombed and shot Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points, causing many deaths”. The Israeli army admitted to having opened fire near aid distribution sites, but claims to have responded to a « menace ». Amnesty International castigated a “Militarized system” through which “Israel continues to use civilians from civilians as a weapon of war against the Palestinians”.
Given the restrictions imposed on the media by Israel, which besieged the Gaza Strip, and difficulties of access to the field, AFP is not able to independently check the affirmations of the organizations operating on the Palestinian territory.
New meeting between Benyamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump
In Israel, political leaders continue to divide between supporters of a truce which would allow the release of part of the hostages still retained in Gaza and those of a pursuit of fighting as long as Hamas is not annihilated. “If we cannot make Hamas disappear, our children will suffer!” »»estimated in an interview with the channel 14 the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir.
He counts, with another far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich, put pressure on the Prime Minister, Benyamin Netanyahu, so that he pushes the American proposals of a cease-fire of sixty days. This truce, according to a Palestinian source, would be accompanied by the release of half of the still alive hostages, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Mr. Netanyahu is scheduled to go to Washington next week for a third meeting in less than six months with US President Donald Trump, who is pressing hostilities.
The attack on October 7, 2023 led to the Israeli side the death of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count made from official data. Of the 251 people kidnapped that day, 49 are still hostages in Gaza, 27 of which were declared dead by the Israeli army.
More than 57,130 Palestinians, mainly civilians, were killed in the Israeli military reprisal campaign, according to data from the Ministry of Health of the Government of Hamas for Gaza, deemed reliable by the UN.
