Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 21 people late Tuesday and early Wednesday, health officials said, as hunger worsened among Palestinians struggling to live under the weight of the 21-month war.
Desperation is mounting in the Palestinian territory of more than 2 million. An official familiar with the negotiations said Wednesday that planned to head to Rome for talks with an Israeli official as the U.S. tries to reach a ceasefire deal between .
Experts say Gaza is because of Israel鈥檚 blockade and nearly two-year offensive. A breakdown of law and order has led to widespread looting and contributed to .
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food in the Gaza Strip, mostly near aid sites run by , the U.N. human rights office said Tuesday.
More than 100 human rights groups and charities signed a letter published Wednesday demanding more aid for Gaza and warning of starvation.
More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed during the , according to Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. Its count doesn鈥檛 distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Here is the latest:
Israel rejects Gaza starvation warning from rights groups
Israel鈥檚 Foreign Ministry accused the groups of 鈥渆choing Hamas鈥 propaganda.鈥 It said it has allowed around 4,500 aid trucks to enter Gaza since , and that more than 700 are waiting to be picked up and distributed by the United Nations.
That鈥檚 an average of around 70 trucks a day, the lowest rate of the war and far below the 500-600 trucks a day the U.N. says are needed, and which entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year.
The U.N. says it has struggled to deliver aid inside Gaza because of Israeli military restrictions, ongoing fighting, and a breakdown of law and order.
In the letter issued Wednesday, 115 human rights and charity groups said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, 鈥渨aste away.鈥
Top adviser to Netanyahu will meet US envoy in Rome
An official familiar with ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas said a top adviser to , Ron Dermer, was traveling to Rome to meet U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday to discuss the state of the talks.
The official spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive negotiations.
U.S. officials said Witkoff planned to head to Europe this week. The U.S. State Department spokesperson said he was headed to the Middle East in a sign that momentum may be building toward a deal.
鈥 By Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel
Israeli military says Gaza church was struck accidentally
The in Gaza City was struck last week by an Israeli shell, an attack that killed three, wounded 10 and damaged the church鈥檚 compound.
The military said an internal inquiry found the church was hit after an 鈥渦nintentional deviation of munitions.鈥
The strike drew condemnation from and U.S. President , and prompted statements of regret from Israel.
Holy Family is the only Catholic church in Gaza. Top church leaders from the Holy Land visited the site a day after the incident and said they encountered a Gaza 鈥渁lmost totally destroyed.鈥
Human Rights Watch says Houthi attacks on Red Sea vessels amount to war crimes
The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked two ships, , on July 6 and 9, killing some of their crew and detaining others, Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
The rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group鈥檚 leadership has described as an effort to end Israel鈥檚 offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
HRW, however, said the on the two vessels 鈥渧iolates the laws of war applicable to the armed conflict between the Houthis and Israel.鈥
鈥淭he Houthis have sought to justify unlawful attacks by pointing to Israeli violations against Palestinians,鈥 said Niku Jafarnia, HRW鈥檚 Yemen and Bahrain researcher.
Jafarnia called for the rebels to end all attacks on ships that don鈥檛 take part in the Israeli-Hamas war and immediately release detained crew members.
Israel extends detention of senior Gaza health official
Dr. Marwan al-Hams, acting director of Gaza鈥檚 field hospitals and the health ministry鈥檚 spokesman, was detained by Israeli troops earlier this week in the Palestinian territory.
Alaa al-Sakafi, head of Addameer, a Palestinian rights group, told The Associated Press Wednesday that lawyers have not been allowed to see al-Hams. His detention in a southern Israel prison was extended until the end of the month, al-Sakafi said.
He said al-Hams suffered from a gunshot wound in his leg, which he sustained during his detention in Gaza鈥檚 southern city of Rafah on Monday.
Israel has not commented on al-Hams鈥 detention.
Israeli forces 鈥榙eepening鈥 activity in Gaza City, military says
The Israeli military said in a statement Wednesday that forces were operating in Gaza City, as well as in northern Gaza.
It said without elaborating that in Jabaliya, an area hard-hit in multiple rounds of fighting, an air strike killed 鈥渁 number of鈥 Hamas militants.
Troops struck roughly 120 targets throughout Gaza over the past day, including militant cells, tunnels and booby-trapped structures, among others, the military said.
Overnight strikes kill at least 21
More than half of those killed were women and children, health authorities said.
One Israeli strike hit a house Tuesday in the northwestern side of Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to the Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties.
The dead included six children and two women, according to the Health Ministry's casualty list.
Another strike hit an apartment in the Tal al-Hawa area in northern Gaza, killing at least six people. Among the dead were three children and two women, including one who was pregnant. Eight others were wounded, the ministry said.
A third strike hit a tent in the Naser neighborhood in Gaza City late Tuesday and killed three children, Shifa Hospital said.
The Israeli military said it struck an Islamic Jihad militant in the strike that killed 12, saying the incident was under review because of reports of civilian casualties. It had no immediate comment about the other strikes.
Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militants operate from populated areas.
Human rights groups and charities demand more Gaza aid
In the letter issued Wednesday, 115 human rights and charity groups warned of a dire situation pushing more people toward starvation. They said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, 鈥渨aste away.鈥
The letter slammed Israel for what it said were restrictions on aid into the war-ravaged territory. It lamented 鈥渕assacres鈥 at food distribution points, which have seen chaos and violence in recent weeks as desperation has risen.
鈥淭he government of Israel鈥檚 restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death,鈥 the letter said.
The letter called for aid to be scaled up as well as for a ceasefire. `
Israel says that it has allowed the entry of thousands of trucks since May and blames aid groups for not consistently delivering goods.
