The United Nations has said that Israeli forces have killed at least 800 Palestinians in recent weeks near humanitarian aid centres across Gaza. On Friday, another ten people were shot dead while waiting for relief, bringing the total number of such fatalities to a grim milestone.
The killings have drawn international condemnation, particularly as reports emerge suggesting systematic directives from Israeli military commanders to fire indiscriminately at crowds, allegedly viewing all present as threats.
According to Haaretz, one of Israel’s leading newspapers, military sources claimed that “there is no longer a distinction between civilians and Hamas,” and that soldiers were encouraged to fire on anyone in proximity. The Israeli government has launched an internal probe to identify those who leaked the information.
Human rights observers have flagged this response as emblematic of a long-standing pattern—where Israel publicly promises restraint but enforces policies on the ground that disproportionately affect civilians, aid workers and neutral parties.
“Israeli troops have repeatedly attacked relief workers from the UNRWA, OCHA and World Central Kitchen,” said a UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The recent cases aren’t isolated but form part of a larger, deliberate targeting pattern.”
Also read: Amid hopes of ceasefire talks, Israeli forces kill 82 in Gaza
The attack on Friday came as Hamas and Israeli negotiators were engaged in indirect talks in Qatar aimed at reaching a truce. Hamas decried the latest killings, stating that women and children were among the dead.
Meanwhile, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after meeting US President Donald Trump in Jerusalem on Thursday, said that a temporary ceasefire lasting 60 days was under discussion. However, no joint press conference followed, a break from diplomatic norms.
Observers say this omission signals increasing tension between the two allies. Washington is reportedly growing impatient with Netanyahu’s reluctance to wind down the Gaza offensive, as it shifts focus toward a negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia.
A US State Department source noted: “Trump is deeply invested in a foreign policy victory before the elections, and Gaza remains a major stumbling block.”
For Hamas, however, the primary demand remains unchanged. “Without the free and uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid, there can be no peace,” a senior Hamas negotiator told local media. “Over two million people in Gaza are in desperate need of food, water, and medicine.”
According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, the war has killed at least 57,823 Palestinians since October 2023, with a majority being civilians. The UN has described the figures as “credible and alarming.”
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