At least 10 people were killed after Israeli forces fired near two aid distribution sites.
The violence came the day after US officials visited the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation GHF site, where US ambassador Steve Witkoff described the troubled system as “an incredible feat.”
The latest death comes almost a week after Israel announced a limited humanitarian moratorium and air force aimed at getting more food to more than 2 million people, under the growing international pressure of the hungry children scene. They now rely primarily on aid after almost 22 months of war.
But the UN, partners and Palestinians say that too little aid is coming as months of supplies piled up outside Gaza, awaiting Israeli approval.
And while the United Nations estimates that 500-600 trucks of assistance are needed every day, before reaching the warehouse for distribution, the trucks entering are mostly stripped of supplies by desperate people and criminal groups.
On Saturday, Gaza’s health ministry said seven Palestinians have died of malnutrition-related causes over the past 24 hours, including children.
More deaths near US-supported GHF sites
We described a very familiar scene near the northernmost GHF distribution site near Yahia Yousef’s Netzarim corridor, where he had come to seek assistance. After helping to carry the three people injured by gunshots, he says he saw others on the ground and bleeding.
“It’s the same episode every day,” Youssef said. Health workers said at least eight people had died. Israeli forces said they fired warning shots at a rally approaching the troops.
At least two people have been killed in the Shekoush area, a few hundred metres (yards) where GHF operates in the southernmost city of Rafa. Khan Younis’ Nasser Hospital received two bodies, many of which were injured.
Witness Mohamed Abu Taha said Israeli forces fired at the crowd. He saw three men (two men and one woman) being shot as they escaped.
Israeli troops said they were not aware of fires caused by troops in the area. GHF said nothing happened near the site.
GHF says armed contractors use only pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent fatal crowds. On Friday, Israeli forces said they were working to make routes under their control safer.
The GHF, which was launched in May, was launched in May as Israel sought an alternative to the UNRUN system. Israel did not provide evidence to support its claim, and the United Nations denied it.
From May 27 to July 31, 859 people were killed near the GHF site, according to a UN report on Thursday. Hundreds more were killed along the unpublished food convoy route. Hamas-led police once guarded those convoys, but the Israeli fires targeted officers.
Israel and the GHF claim to have exaggerated tolls.
Hostage Families urge Israel to cut trade
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with hostage families on Saturday a week after the ceasefire was stopped and condemned Hamas’ incompromising.
Witkov took Israeli US ambassador Mike Huckabee to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) support delivery station in the southern city of Rafa.
According to the Washington Post, Witkov declared that the country had planned to free all remaining hostages.
“Now I believe that everyone should go home at once. There’s no fragmentary deal,” Witkov said in a discussion filmed on tape and broadcast on Israeli television.
“He didn’t say anything new to me. The father of Israeli hostage Guy Illose, Michelle Illusse, said, “We had heard nothing practical, but we heard that Americans were putting pressure on us to stop this operation,” he claimed he “didn’t receive an answer” when he asked Witkov to establish a deadline.
Protesters from the Plaza family, known as the hostage plaza in Israel’s Tel Aviv hostage plaza, called on Saturday to make a deal to end the war, begging them to “stop this nightmare and drive it out of the tunnel.”
According to Witkoff, US authorities hope that half of the remaining 20 hostages will be released on the first day of the ceasefire, with the rest of the hostages hoping to follow soon after. Of the 50 hostages, 20 are said to have died.