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.
Currently:
— A proposed U.S. resolution would back global efforts for an immediate and sustained cease-fire in Gaza.
— Palestinian leader Abbas appoints his longtime adviser as prime minister in the face of calls for reform.
— A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels strikes a ship in the Red Sea.
— Top Democrat Chuck Schumer calls for new elections in Israel, saying Netanyahu is an obstacle to peace.
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here’s the latest:
SHIP CARRYING 200 TONS OF AID APPROACHES GAZA’S SHORES
WADI GAZA, Gaza Strip — A ship carrying 200 tons of aid that set off from Cyprus was approaching the shores of Gaza on Friday.
The shipment was intended to inaugurate a sea route from Cyprus to bring more assistance into Gaza to alleviate the humanitarian crisis brought by Israel’s offensive in the enclave.
On Friday morning, the boat could be seen far in the distance from the beaches of Wadi Gaza in the middle of the Gaza Strip.
Israel has been under increasing pressure to allow more aid into Gaza after five months of war between Israel and Hamas.
HAMAS PUTS FORWARD A NEW CEASE-FIRE PROPOSAL
BEIRUT — A Hamas official said Friday the militant group has put forward a new proposal for a cease-fire deal.
International mediators had hoped to broker a six-week cease-fire before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began earlier this week. But talks stalled with no agreement in sight.
The mediators had proposed a deal that called for Hamas to free dozens of hostages being held in Gaza; Israel to release Palestinian prisoners it is holding; and a major influx of aid into Gaza. Hamas has said it wants a permanent cease-fire, the return of displaced people and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said Friday that the group put forward a new plan along similar lines as its previous demands. He declined to give details of the plan or explain how it differed from their earlier plans.
THE UNITED STATES’ PROPOSED RESOLUTION WOULD BACK GLOBAL EFFORTS FOR A SUSTAINED CEASE-FIRE IN GAZA
UNITED NATIONS — The United States circulated the final draft of a United Nations Security Council resolution late Thursday that would support international efforts to establish “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israel-Hamas war as part of a deal to release hostages taken captive during Hamas’ surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7.
No time has been set for a vote, and the draft, obtained by The Associated Press, could still be changed.
The U.S. circulated the initial draft on Feb. 19, a day before it vetoed a widely supported Arab-backed resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in the war in the embattled Gaza Strip, saying it would interfere with negotiations on a deal to free the hostages.
The U.S. draft would demand that all parties comply with international law requiring protection of civilians and “civilian objects,” which include hospitals, schools and homes. The draft would also express the council’s “deep concern about the threat of conflict-inducted famine and epidemics presently facing the civilian population in Gaza, as well as the number of undernourished people,” and the “catastrophic” levels of hunger.
If the resolution is approved, it would for the first time condemn “the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, as well as its taking and killing of hostages, murder of civilians, and sexual violence including rape,” as well as “its use of civilian infrastructure for military purposes and to hold hostages.” It would also demand that Hamas and other armed groups immediately grant humanitarian access to all remaining hostages.
ISRAEL DENIES GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY’S CLAIM THAT ISRAELI FORCES KILLED 20 NEAR AN AID DISTRIBUTION CENTER
DEIR-AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza 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 event “with the thoroughness that it deserves.”
The violence occurred late Thursday near the Kuwaiti Roundabout, which has been a point for the distribution of aid in north Gaza over the past weeks. The health ministry said a group waiting there for aid was hit by Israeli shelling.
The United Nations says one-quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million people face starvation, many of them in the isolated north, the largely devastated target of Israel’s initial offensive in Gaza.
Bloodshed surrounding an aid convoy on Feb. 29 killed 118 Palestinians in northern Gaza. The Israeli military said some of its forces fired at people in the crowd who were advancing toward them. Witnesses and hospital officials said many of the casualties were from bullet wounds. The Israeli military said many of the casualties were caused by a stampede over the food and people being run over by the aid trucks.
Following the violence, the United States announced plans to build a temporary pier in Gaza to bring in food by sea and joined with other countries to airdrop food into the isolated north.
AUSTRALIA RESUMES FUNDING FOR UNRWA AND PROMISES MORE AID TO GAZA
Australia will restore funding to the United Nations relief agency for Palestinians, weeks after the agency lost hundreds of millions of dollars in support following Israeli allegations that some of its Gaza-based staff participated in the Oct. 7 attack.
The Australian government also pledged Friday to increase aid for the besieged enclave, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressing horror at the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Australia’s move follows Sweden, the European Commission and Canada in reinstating funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, which had seen its international funding frozen while the allegations were investigated.
Speaking to reporters Friday in Adelaide, Wong also pledged an additional 4 million Australian dollars ($2.6 million) to UNICEF to provide urgent services in Gaza, and a C17 Globemaster plane will also deliver defense force parachutes to help with the U.S.-led airdropping of humanitarian supplies into the enclave, which the United Nations says is on the brink of famine.
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