During the past 24 hours, at least 53 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes and shootings in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority, reports AP.
Several of them are reported to have been killed in connection with the distribution of emergency aid by the Israeli-American organization GHF, which took over the responsibility after more than two months of Israeli total blockade.
Resumes broadcasts
On Friday, the Israeli military (IDF) stated that dropping food from planes over Gaza is allowed. In addition, humanitarian corridors will be established to enable safe transport for UN convoys with aid. On Sunday morning, local time, a so-called "humanitarian pause" will also be established in parts of Gaza, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X.
"Tonight (Saturday) IDF will continue with emergency aid from the air, as part of the ongoing work to enable and facilitate aid entering Gaza", they write on Telegram on Saturday.
The UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, emphasizes that emergency aid efforts from the air will not stop the starvation in Gaza.
"They are expensive, ineffective and can even kill starving civilians. It is a distraction and smokescreen", writes Unrwa's chief Philippe Lazzarini on X.
Accuses Hamas
Over two million Palestinians are facing starvation due to the Israeli blockade.
A quarter of the children between six months and five years, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women who come to Doctors Without Borders' clinics, suffer from malnutrition. The number continues to increase, while the healthcare staff finds it increasingly difficult to find food to survive themselves, reports the aid organization.
At the clinic in Gaza City in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, the number of patients admitted for malnutrition has become four times as many since May 18, while the number of children under five suffering from acute malnutrition has tripled in the past two weeks.
Israel claims that humanitarian aid is being let into Gaza and has accused Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food distributions to sell them at inflated prices or shooting at people waiting for aid.
However, Israel's military has not been able to find any evidence that Hamas routinely does so, according to several sources for The New York Times. This confirms earlier reports from the US aid agency USAID, with the same conclusion.
