Gaza ceasefire talks stall on weekend of bloody violence

At least 28 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes, while 24 others were fatally shot on their way to aid distribution sites, as talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza stalled during a weekend of violence.

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Four children and two women were among at least 13 people who were killed in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes pounded the area starting late on Friday, officials in Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Hospital said. Fifteen others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital.

At least 24 people were killed on their way to a food distribution site near Rafah run by an Israeli-backed American organisation, said hospital officials and witnesses, including those wounded. The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots toward people it said were behaving suspiciously to prevent them from approaching. It added it was not aware of any casualties from the incident.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said no incident occurred near its sites. Witnesses described people being shot in the head and torso. Reuters saw several bodies of victims wrapped in white shrouds as family members wept at Nasser Hospital.

A GHF spokesperson, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with the group’s policies, said: “We checked with our extended team and this incident didn’t happen near our sites.”

Witnesses there said they were on their way to the site seeking food and were shot at. Abdullah al-Haddad said he was 200 metres away from an aid distribution site run by the GHF close to the Shakoush area, west of Rafah, when an Israeli tank started firing at crowds of Palestinians.