The Palestinian Health Ministry accused Israeli forces of launching an attack near an aid distribution point in war-wracked northern Gaza, killing 20 people and wounding 155 others. The Israeli military said those reports “are false,” adding it was assessing the violence that occurred late Thursday “with the thoroughness that it deserves.”
The international community has been pushing for more aid to enter Gaza, frustrated with the growing humanitarian crisis and with Israel’s restrictions that have prevented more aid getting in by land. Australia announced early Friday it would resume funding to the United Nations relief agency for Palestinians and pledged additional money to UNICEF to provide urgent services in Gaza.
An aid ship loaded with some 200 tons of food was nearing the shores of the enclave Friday. A quarter of Gaza’s population is starving, the United Nations has warned, and the territory's Health Ministry says more than 31,314 Palestinians have been killed. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in southern Israel during the Hamas-led incursion on Oct. 7 that sparked the war. Around 250 people were abducted, and Hamas is believed to still be holding about 100 hostages. (AP)