Israeli attacks across Gaza have killed at least 82 people since dawn, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, amid ongoing ceasefire talks and criticism of plans to forcibly transfer Palestinians to Rafah.Among those killed on Thursday, 15 people, including nine children and four women, were killed in an Israeli air attack while waiting in line for nutritional supplies for children in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza.
At least 30 others were wounded, including 19 children, during the Israeli attack.
Catherine Russell, the director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), condemned the attack on aid seekers and said the killing of families trying to access aid was “unconscionable”.
“This is the cruel reality confronting many in Gaza today after months of insufficient aid being allowed into the territory and parties to the conflict failing to uphold basic responsibilities to protect civilians,” the UNICEF official said.
“The lack of aid means children are facing starvation while the risk of famine grows. The number of malnourished children will continue to rise until life-saving aid and services are resumed at full scale,” she added.
Russel called on Israel to ensure “full compliance with international humanitarian law” and to conduct an investigation into the incident.
Separately, Hamas condemned the attack and said it was part of Israel’s “ongoing campaign of genocide in the Strip”.
Israel is “escalating its brutal massacres against innocent civilians in scho …
