The Palestine Red Crescent said five people were killed and dozens wounded by gunfire and a stampede during an aid delivery on Saturday, March 30, in northern Gaza, where famine looms.
The Red Crescent said it happened after thousands of people gathered for the arrival of around 15 trucks of flour and other food, which was supposed to be handed out at Gaza City's Kuwait roundabout, in the territory's north.
The roundabout has been the scene of several chaotic and deadly aid distribution incidents, including one on March 23 in which the Hamas-run government said 21 people were killed by Israeli fire – a charge Israel denied. The Red Crescent said three of the five killed early Saturday had been shot.
Fighting has not eased – including around the territory's largest hospital – and the latest toll from the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said at least 82 more people were killed in the previous 24 hours. The Hamas press office reported more than 50 Israeli air strikes over the past day, with "civilian houses" targeted across the coastal territory, as well as tank fire in the Gaza City area and southern Gaza.
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.
'Catastrophic hunger'
A UN-backed report warned on March 19 that half of Gazans are experiencing "catastrophic" hunger, with famine projected to hit the north of the territory unless there is urgent intervention.
The report estimated that 1.1 million people – half the population, according to UN data – were facing catastrophic conditions.
The situation is particularly dire in the north of Gaza, where the United Nations says there are about 300,000 people – and where the report said famine was "imminent... projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May."
Israel's defense ministry body responsible for Palestinian civil affairs (COGAT) alleged the UN-backed assessment contained inaccuracies and questionable sources.
'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.