IDF gunfire kills 30 Palestinians

Israeli gunfire killed at least 30 Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid in northern Gaza on Wednesday, according to the Hamas-run civil defence agency.

Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that “at least 30” people were killed and 300 wounded, reports The Guardian.

The Israeli military said it had no knowledge of casualties in the incident north of Gaza City, as the United Nations said that pauses in Israel’s offensive against Hamas were not enough to help the population through a deepening hunger crisis.

The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, said that four days into Israel’s “tactical pauses”, people were still dying from hunger and malnutrition, alongside casualties among those seeking aid.

Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said his facility had received 35 bodies from the shooting, which reportedly struck about three kilometres (two miles) southwest of the Zikim crossing point for aid trucks entering Gaza.

Amid deadlocked talks on a ceasefire, US special envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to visit Israel on Thursday.

Witkoff has been involved in indirect ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. The discussions broke down last week when Israel and the US recalled their delegations from Doha.

A US official told reporters that Witkoff “will meet with officials to discuss next steps in addressing the situation in Gaza.”

His visit comes as Canada followed France and the UK when it announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.