Israeli forces kill 22 Palestinians at US-backed aid site in Gaza

The Government Media Office in Gaza has issued a statement confirming Israel’s killing of at least 22 people and wounding of 115 others at a US-backed aid site in Rafah, and said the toll is likely to rise.

It also said the latest killings have taken the toll at such sites to at least 39 in less than a week. More than 220 people have also been wounded.

It said the killings “reflect the nature of these areas as mass death traps, not humanitarian relief points”.

It added: “We confirm to the entire world that what is happening is a systematic and malicious use of aid as a tool of war, employed to blackmail starving civilians and forcibly gather them in exposed killing points, managed and monitored by the occupation army and funded and politically covered by the occupation and the US administration, which bears full moral and legal responsibility for these crimes.”

In a separate development, Hamas said yesterday that it had responded to a ceasefire proposal presented by U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to mediators and included a demand for an end to the war, which had previously been a red line for Israel.

The Palestinian group said in a statement that under the deal, it will release ten living hostages and 18 bodies in return for Israel’s release of a number of Palestinian prisoners, comments in line with Witkoff’s proposal.

The Hamas statement added: “This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip.”

It said its response came “after conducting a round of national consultations”.
The statement did not mention that it was seeking any changes in the proposal, but a Palestinian official familiar with the talks told Reuters that Hamas sought some amendments while its response was positive.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israeli media reported earlier this week that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted the deal presented by Witkoff. The prime minister’s office declined to comment at the time.

Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March.

Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely, be dismantled as a military and governing force and return all 58 hostages still held in Gaza before it will agree to end the war.

Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack in its south on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 Israelis taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

The subsequent Israeli military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and has left the enclave in ruins.