Israeli strikes kill 36 people in Gaza as UN urges steady aid supply
Ministers gather at UN for delayed meeting on Israel, Palestinians
Monitoring Desk
GAZA STRIP/ UNITED NATIONS: Israeli strikes killed at least 36 Palestinians in multiple locations across Gaza on Monday, local health officials said, UN agencies s on Monday stressed a long-term steady supply of aid to counter the worsening hunger crisis in the occupied territory.
The dead included a newborn who was delivered in a complex surgery after his mother, who was seven months pregnant, was killed in a strike, according to the Nasser Hospital.
Images of emaciated children have sparked outrage around the world, including from Israel’s close allies. US President Donald Trump on Sunday called the images of emaciated and malnourished children in Gaza “terrible.”
Israel has restricted aid to varying degrees throughout the war. In March, it cut off the entry of all goods, including fuel, food and medicine to pressure Hamas to free hostages.
Most of Gaza’s population now relies on aid. Accessing food has become a challenge that some Palestinians have risked their lives for.
The Awda hospital in central Gaza said it received the bodies of seven Palestinians who it said were killed Monday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The hospital said 20 others were wounded close to the site.
The pregnant woman and her child were killed along with 11 others after their house was struck in the Muwasi area, west of the southern city of Khan Younis, according to a hospital run by the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Another strike hit a two-story house in the western Japanese neighborhood of Khan Younis, killing at least 11 people, more than half of them women and children, said the Nasser Hospital, which received the casualties. At least five others were killed in strikes elsewhere in Gaza, according to local hospitals.
Meanwhile, dozens of ministers will gather at the United Nations on Monday for a delayed conference to work toward a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. Still, the US and Israel are boycotting the event.
The 193-member UN General Assembly decided in September last year that such a conference would be held in 2025.
Hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, the conference was postponed in June after Israel attacked Iran.
The conference aims to lay out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian state, while ensuring Israel’s security.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told a leading newspaper that he will also use the conference this week to push other countries to join France in recognizing a Palestinian state.
France intends to recognize a Palestinian state in September at the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly, President Emmanuel Macron said last week.
The conference comes as a 22-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza still rages.
The US will not attend the conference at the United Nations, said a State Department spokesperson, describing it as “a gift to Hamas, which continues to reject ceasefire proposals accepted by Israel that would lead to the release of hostages and bring calm in Gaza.”
The State Department spokesperson added that Washington voted against the General Assembly last year calling for the conference, and would “not support actions that jeopardize the prospect for a long-term, peaceful resolution to the conflict.”
