Gaza rescuers say Israel fire near aid centre kills 31
Gaza’s civil defence agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal has told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that 31 Palestinians were killed and about 200 were injured when Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting to enter a US-backed food distribution centre on Wednesday (see 8.53am BST).
“We transported at least 31 martyrs and about 200 wounded as a result of Israeli tank and drone fire on thousands of citizens … on their way to receive food from the American aid centre,” Bassal told AFP.
The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.
Restrictions imposed on media in the Gaza Strip and the difficulties of access on the ground mean AFP is not able to independently verify the death tolls announced by the civil defence agency.
Bassal said thousands of Palestinians had been gathering since 2 am (11pm GMT on Tuesday) in the hope of reaching the US and Israeli-backed food distribution centre.
“Israeli tanks fired several times, then at around 5.30 am intensified their fire, coinciding with heavy fire from drones targeting civilians,” he said.
There have been a series of deadly shootings since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) first opened aid distribution points in the Palestinian territory on 27 May, as Israel faced mounting international condemnation over the humanitarian conditions.
Key events
Israeli gunfire and airstrikes killed at least 41 Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday, most of them at an aid site operated by the U.S-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the centre of the coastal territory, local health officials said.
Medical officials at Shifa and Al-Quds Hospitals said at least 25 people were killed by Israeli gunfire as they approached the aid site near the former settlement of Netzarim, and dozens were wounded.
The Israeli military said its forces fired warning shots overnight toward suspects who were advancing while posing a threat to the troops in the area of the Netzarim Corridor.
“This is despite warnings that the area is an active combat zone. The IDF is aware of reports regarding individuals injured; the details are under review,” it added.
Israel’s parliament is set to hold a preliminary vote on Wednesday to dissolve itself after a dispute over conscription, a first step that could lead to an early election, which polls show prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu would lose.
The vote could still be pulled at the last minute, and even if it goes against Netanyahu, it would only be the first of four needed to bring forward elections.
This would give Netanyahu’s ruling coalition further time to resolve its worst political crisis yet and avoid a ballot, which would be Israel’s first since the eruption of the war with Hamas in Gaza.
Dissolving the Knesset would only be a victory for Israel’s enemies, said Boaz Bismuth, a lawmaker with Netanyahu’s Likud party. “During war this is the last thing Israel needs,” he told Reuters.
Netanyahu has been pushing hard to resolve a deadlock in his coalition over a new military conscription bill, which has led to the present crisis.
US house speaker Mike Johnson will travel to Israel to address the Israeli parliament on 22 June, Punchbowl News reported on Wednesday.
Johnson is expected to meet with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem during the brief trip, the report said.
A 10-year-old Palestinian boy who survived an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month which killed his father and nine siblings was due to arrive in Italy on Wednesday for treatment, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Adam and his mother, paediatrician Alaa al-Najjar, were due to fly to Milan in northern Italy on Wednesday evening alongside his aunt and four cousins, foreign minister Antonio Tajani said.
“Adam will arrive in Milan and will be admitted to the Niguarda [hospital], because he has multiple fractures and he will be treated there,” Tajani told Rtl radio.
A plane carrying Palestinians in need of medical care is scheduled to land at 7.30 pm local time (5.30pm GMT/6.30pm BST) at Milan’s Linate airport, according to the foreign ministry.
Adam had a hand amputated and suffered severe burns across his body after the strike on the family house in the city of Khan Younis on 23 May. His mother was at work when the bomb hit the house, killing nine of her children and injuring Adam and his father, doctor Hamdi al-Najjar, who died last week.
Mohammad Abu Salima, head of Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital, has told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the hospital received the bodies of 24 people killed while waiting to enter the aid centre where Israeli forces had opened fire (see 10.10am BST). He said the hospital was treating 96 Palestinians who had been injured.
Al-Awda hospital, in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, said in a statement that it had received seven bodies and was treating 112 people who had been injured in the same incident.
Gaza rescuers say Israel fire near aid centre kills 31
Gaza’s civil defence agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal has told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that 31 Palestinians were killed and about 200 were injured when Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting to enter a US-backed food distribution centre on Wednesday (see 8.53am BST).
“We transported at least 31 martyrs and about 200 wounded as a result of Israeli tank and drone fire on thousands of citizens … on their way to receive food from the American aid centre,” Bassal told AFP.
The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.
Restrictions imposed on media in the Gaza Strip and the difficulties of access on the ground mean AFP is not able to independently verify the death tolls announced by the civil defence agency.
Bassal said thousands of Palestinians had been gathering since 2 am (11pm GMT on Tuesday) in the hope of reaching the US and Israeli-backed food distribution centre.
“Israeli tanks fired several times, then at around 5.30 am intensified their fire, coinciding with heavy fire from drones targeting civilians,” he said.
There have been a series of deadly shootings since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) first opened aid distribution points in the Palestinian territory on 27 May, as Israel faced mounting international condemnation over the humanitarian conditions.
Israel deported activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday, a day after the Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by the Israeli military, reports the Associated Press (AP).
Speaking upon arrival in Paris en route to her home country of Sweden, Thunberg called for the release of the other activists who were detained on the Madleen. She described a “quite chaotic and uncertain” situation during the detention.
The conditions they faced “are absolutely nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now,” she said. The trip was meant to protest Israeli restrictions on aid to Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people after 20 months of war, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group behind the journey.
“We were well aware of the risks of this mission,” Thunberg said. “The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the aid.” She said the activists would continue trying to get aid to Gaza, reports the AP.
On Monday, US president Donald Trump called Thunberg “a young angry person” and recommended she take anger management classes. “I think the world need a lot more young angry women,” Thunberg said on Tuesday in response.
According to the AP, Thunberg said the activists were held separately and some had trouble accessing lawyers, she added. Asked why she agreed to deportation, she said, “Why would I want to stay in an Israeli prison more than necessary?”
Thunberg called on supporters to ask their governments “to demand not only humanitarian aid being let into Gaza but most importantly an end to the occupation and an end to the systemic oppression and violence that Palestinians are facing on an everyday basis”. She said recognising Palestine is “the very, very, very minimum” that governments can do to help.
Australia’s foreign affairs minister Penny Wong announced that Australia will join key allies in sanctioning two Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, for inciting violence against Palestinians.
“They are the most extreme proponents of the unlawful and violent settlement enterprise,” Wong told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday morning. You can listen to her comments in the video below:
US condemns UK, Canada, Norway, New Zealand and Australia for Ben-Gvir and Smotrich sanctions
The US has condemned the decision by the UK, Canada, Norway, New Zealand and Australia to sanction two Israeli ministers over “egregious abuses” of human rights in Gaza, reports the PA news agency.
Donald Trump’s secretary of state Marco Rubio said that the travel ban and asset freeze imposed on Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich “do not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire” and called for the measures to be reversed.
The UK is taking the action alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway. Rubio said that the US “stands shoulder-to-shoulder” with Israel.
UK foreign secretary David Lammy said on Tuesday that the ministers had been “inciting violence against Palestinian people for months and months and months, they have been encouraging egregious abuses of human rights”.
In a post on X, Rubio said that the “United States condemns the sanctions imposed by the governments of United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, New Zealand, and Australia on two sitting members of the Israeli cabinet. These sanctions do not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home, and end the war.”
He went on to say that the US reminds “our partners not to forget who the real enemy is”. Rubio added:
The United States urges the reversal of the sanctions and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel.
The sanctions against Israel’s security and finance ministers were announced on Tuesday. Smotrich and Ben-Gvir both belong to right-wing parties which help to prop up Benjamin Netanyahu’s fragile coalition government, and both have been criticised for their hardline stance on Gaza.
Smotrich has campaigned against allowing aid into Gaza, and also supported the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law. Meanwhile, Ben-Gvir has called for Gaza’s people to be resettled from the territory.
The PA news agency reports that in a joint statement with the foreign ministers of the other nations who also imposed sanctions, Lammy said that the two sanctioned ministers had incited “serious abuses of Palestinian human rights” and described their actions as “not acceptable”.
The statement added:
We will strive to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of the remaining hostages by Hamas which can have no future role in the governance of Gaza, a surge in aid and a path to a two-state solution.
Downing Street said that the two men had been sanctioned in their “personal capacities” and not “their ministries and departments”.
“As the Israeli ambassador to the UK has said in recent interviews, their statements in their ministerial capacities do not even represent government policy,” a Number 10 spokesperson said.
Hamas has killed 50 Palestinian fighters armed by Israel in Gaza, faction’s associates say
Lorenzo Tondo
Hamas has killed 50 fighters in recent months from a Palestinian gang armed by Israel in Gaza, according to a statement released amid reports that Israeli troops directly intervened this week to protect the faction.
According to media reports in Israel, clashes between Hamas fighters and members of a militia led by Yasser abu Shabab, known locally for his involvement in criminal activity, erupted early on Tuesday in Rafah.
The Israeli news channel i24 reported that Israeli soldiers had clashed with Hamas members in order to protect Abu Shabab from being killed, which resulted in deaths on both sides.
Israeli defence officials acknowledged last week that they had been arming the group, with the aim of undermining Hamas. Aid workers said the group had a long history of looting from UN trucks.
This week, an Israeli air force drone struck four Hamas militants in what i24 described as “the first Israeli strike on Gaza whose sole objective was to assist the Abu Shabab militia”, which it claimed was providing security to aid trucks passing from the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza.
On Tuesday, in a long statement released to the press, Abu Shabab’s militia, named the Anti-Terror Service or Popular Forces, said:
Hamas has killed over 50 of our volunteers, including relatives of our leader, Yasser, as we guarded aid convoys and redistributed supplies that were otherwise destined for corrupt entities linked to Hamas.
We’ve also cleared explosive remnants from the area – losing members in the process.
The Israeli news outlet Ynet said Abu Shabab’s militia had also ambushed Hamas members from the “Arrow” unit, which is responsible for targeting collaborators with Israel, killing six of them.
Israeli strikes kill 35 in Gaza, many near an aid site, medics say
Israeli military strikes killed at least 35 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, most of them at an aid site operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in central Gaza, local health officials said.
Medical officials at al-Shifa and al-Quds hospitals said at least 25 people were killed as they approached the aid site near Netzarim, and dozens were injured, reports Reuters.
Ten other people were killed in other Israeli military strikes in Khan Younis in the south of the territory, medical officials added.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment, according to Reuters.
On Tuesday, when Gaza health officials said 17 people were killed near another GHF aid site in Rafah in southern Gaza, the army said it fired warning shots to distance “suspects” who were approaching the troops and posed a threat.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday there had been “significant progress” in efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, but that it was “too soon” to raise hopes that a deal would be reached.
Despite efforts by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar to restore a ceasefire in Gaza, neither Israel nor Hamas has shown willingness to back down on core demands, with each side blaming the other for the failure to reach a deal.
Two Hamas sources told Reuters they did not know about any new ceasefire offers.
Here is a summary of other developments:
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Hamas has killed 50 fighters in recent months from a Palestinian gang armed by Israel in Gaza, according to a statement released amid reports that Israeli troops directly intervened this week to protect the faction. According to media reports in Israel, clashes between Hamas fighters and members of a militia led by Yasser abu Shabab, known locally for his involvement in criminal activity, erupted early on Tuesday in Rafah.
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Australia has joined the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in placing financial sanctions and travel bans on two Israeli government ministers, over what Penny Wong described as “inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank”. The Magnitsky-style sanctions on Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, were in response to serious human rights violations and abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank, including Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law, the governments said in a joint statement.
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The US has condemned the UK’s decision to sanction two Ben-Gvir and Smotrich over “egregious abuses” of human rights in Gaza. Donald Trump’s secretary of state Marco Rubio said that the travel ban and asset freeze imposed on the two Israeli ministers “do not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire” and called for the measures to be reversed. The US also decried Australia’s decision to sanction Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.
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Israel deported activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday, a day after the Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by the Israeli military. Speaking upon arrival in Paris en route to her home country of Sweden, Thunberg called for the release of the other activists who were detained on the Madleen. She described a “quite chaotic and uncertain” situation during the detention.
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Israel’s navy attacked docks in Yemen’s rebel-held port city of Hodeida on Tuesday, launching its first seaborne assault against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels while warning more could come. The attack on Hodeida likely damaged facilities that are key to aid shipments, but also have allegedly been used for weapons smuggling as vessels reportedly bypass United Nations inspectors.
Q&A
Why is it so difficult to report on Gaza?
Show
Coverage of the war in Gaza is constrained by Israeli attacks on Palestinian journalists and a bar on international reporters entering the Gaza Strip to report independently on the war.
Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza since 7 October 2023, unless they are under Israeli military escort. Reporters who join these trips have no control over where they go, and other restrictions include a bar on speaking to Palestinians in Gaza.
Palestinian journalists and media workers inside Gaza have paid a heavy price for their work reporting on the war, with over 180 killed since the conflict began.
The committee to protect journalists has determined that at least 19 of them “were directly targeted by Israeli forces in killings which CPJ classifies as murders”.
Foreign reporters based in Israel filed a legal petition seeking access to Gaza, but it was rejected by the supreme court on security grounds. Private lobbying by diplomats and public appeals by prominent journalists and media outlets have been ignored by the Israeli government.
To ensure accurate reporting from Gaza given these restrictions, the Guardian works with trusted journalists on the ground; our visual teams verify photo and videos from third parties; and we use clearly sourced data from organisations that have a track record of providing accurate information in Gaza during past conflicts, or during other conflicts or humanitarian crises.
Emma Graham-Harrison, chief Middle East correspondent