Heavy clashes, more deadly aid chaos in war-ravaged Gaza
GAZA, Palestine (AFP) - Heavy clashes and explosions shook Gaza, witnesses said on Saturday, as the Red Crescent reported several people martyred during the latest chaotic aid distribution in the territory's north, where famine looms.
The Health Ministry in Gaza said that at least 32,705 people have been martyred in the territory during more than five months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants. The toll includes at least 82 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 75,190 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a new round of talks on a Gaza truce between Israel and Hamas militants, after a binding UN Security Council resolution last Monday demanded an "immediate ceasefire". A subsequent ruling by the world's top court ordered Israel to ensure aid reaches civilians, whose desperation was again laid bare Saturday.
The Palestine Red Crescent said five people were killed and dozens injured by gunfire and a stampede during an aid delivery in Gaza's north. Eyewitnesses told AFP that Gazans overseeing the aid delivery shot in the air, but Israeli troops in the area also opened fire and some moving trucks hit people trying to get the food.
Netanyahu's office said new talks on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release will take place in Doha and Cairo "in the coming days... with guidelines for moving forward in the negotiations".
Famine 'setting in'
Talks had appeared deadlocked despite a push by the United States -- which provides billions of dollars in military aid to Israel -- and fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar to secure a truce for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, now more than halfway through. In its ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague said it had accepted South Africa's argument that the further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza required Israel to do more, with famine now "setting in."
Saturday's aid delivery chaos is the latest incident of its kind in north Gaza, where a UN-backed report has projected famine by May unless urgent intervention occurs. The report released on March 19 warned that half of Gazans are feeling "catastrophic" hunger.
'A deep sadness'
On Saturday Israel's military said it was continuing operations around Gaza's largest hospital Al-Shifa for a 13th day. Most of the Palestinian territory's hospitals are not functioning and its health system is "barely surviving," the United Nations humanitarian agency, OCHA, said.
Israel's military accuses Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant group of hiding inside medical facilities, using patients, staff and displaced people for cover -- charges the militants have denied. Troops first raided Al-Shifa in November, but the army says Palestinian fighters have since returned. The army said it "continued to eliminate" militants and locate weapons in the area, adding to a toll of around 200 it earlier reported killed in the Al-Shifa operation.
On Saturday Hamas said that in addition to the ongoing Al-Shifa operation, Israeli troops continued "aggression" against Nasser Hospital and "besiege" Al-Amal Hospital in the same city. The army said troops continue to operate in the Al-Amal area of Khan Yunis.
Gaza's Christian minority are marking Easter weekend, but in Jerusalem fewer pilgrims were visible. "There is a deep sadness you can feel in the air," John Timmons, of Australia, said on Good Friday, when Christians in the walled Old City follow the path they believe Christ took to his crucifixion.
