At least 35 killed in new Israeli attack on Gaza aid seekers

At least 35 Palestinians have been killed and several others wounded by Israeli fire while waiting for humanitarian aid near the Netzarim Corridor, in the central Gaza Strip, sources at al-Awda Hospital told Al Jazeera.

Israeli jets also bombed a house west of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, killing at least eight people and injuring more.

Hospitals in Gaza said at least 70 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army on Friday.

Israeli attacks on hungry Palestinians near aid centres have killed hundreds of people since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) started distributions on May 27.

The shadowy Israeli- and United States-backed group tasked with distributing aid supplies has been criticised by the United Nations for its “failure” to ensure the safe delivery of supplies in Gaza, where aid agencies have warned that the entire population is facing the threat of famine after Israel imposed a total blockade from early March to late May.

Ismail al-Thawabta, the director-general of Gaza’s Government Media Office, said on Thursday that the total number of aid seekers killed stood at 409, and 3,203 more had been injured.

UNICEF warned the Gaza Strip was also facing a man-made drought as its water systems collapsed.

“Children will begin to die of thirst,” spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva on Friday. “Just 40 percent of drinking water production facilities remain functional.”

The UN agency warned that the GHF distribution system was “making a desperate situation worse”.

Elder, who was recently in Gaza, said he had many testimonials of women and children injured while trying to receive food aid, including a young boy who was wounded by a tank shell and later died of his injuries.

He said a lack of public clarity on when the sites, some of which are in combat zones, were open was causing mass casualty events.

“There have been instances where information [was] shared that a site is open, but then it’s communicated on social media that they’re closed, but that information was shared when Gaza’s internet was down and people had no access to it,” he said.

On Wednesday, the GHF said in a statement it had distributed three million meals across three of its aid sites without an incident.

As Israel’s war on Gaza continues, it has also traded air attacks with Iran for a week.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Friday that Israel’s conflict with Iran and its genocide in Gaza are “quickly reaching the point of no return”.

“This madness must end as soon as possible,” Erdogan said during a speech to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s youth forum in Istanbul. “Israel complained about damage to its hospitals today, yet it has so far carried out over 700 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza alone,” he added, reiterating calls for a ceasefire.