Eid in Gaza marked by more deaths as aid centres shutter over safety concerns

Gaza assistance aggroup closes statistical distribution centres o'er safety concerns

Aid distribution in Gaza was halted on Friday after the U.S. And Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said overcrowding had made it unsafe to continue operations in the latest disruption to its troubled relief effort.

With severe food shortages plaguing the coastal enclave, fighting continued in many areas of the Gaza Strip.

Local health authorities said 16 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes, mostly in northern Gaza, while the Israeli army said four of its soldiers were killed and five were wounded by an explosion in a building in Khan Younis to the south.

In a day of confusing messaging, the GHF first announced its distribution sites in southern Gaza were closed then it revealed that it had actually handed out food, before saying that it had had to close its gates as a precautionary measure.

"The distribution was conducted peacefully and without incident; however, it was paused due to excessive crowding that made it unsafe to proceed," it said in a statement.

As Palestinians across the war-ravaged Gaza Strip marked the start of one of Islam's most important holidays, Eid al-Adha, Israeli forces continued military operations that they say are needed to root out and destroy Hamas militants.

The Israeli military said four soldiers were killed in a booby-trapped building, which brought the army death toll to eight since the start of June.

"It is a sad and difficult day," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

The army earlier issued new evacuation orders for areas in and around Gaza City, warning of an imminent attack.

With many residential areas of Gaza reduced to rubble by months of fighting, locals held Eid al-Adha prayer services in the open, next to bombed-out mosques and homes.

"As you can see, we are holding Eid prayers, while the bombing, shelling and planes are ongoing," said Umm Mahmoud in Khan Younis.

The United Nations has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave, with the rate of young children suffering from acute malnutrition nearly tripling.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid distribution that the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral.

It suspended operations on Wednesday and asked the Israeli military to review security protocols after hospital officials said more than 80 people had been shot dead and hundreds wounded near distribution points between June 1 and 3.

The organization bypasses traditional relief agencies and has been criticized by humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations, for alleged lack of neutrality, which it denies.

Palestinians collecting aid from GHF sites told Reuters that there was no clear distribution system, describing the process as disorganized and chaotic. Footage released this week by the organization has shown similar scenes at one of its sites.

GHF halted distributions on Wednesday and said it was pressing Israeli forces to improve civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its operations after dozens of Palestinians were shot dead near the Rafah site over three consecutive days.

The Israeli military said on Sunday and Monday that its soldiers had fired warning shots. On Tuesday, it said, forces also fired warning shots before firing toward Palestinians that it said were advancing toward troops. GHF has said that aid was safely handed out from its sites without any incident.

Adraee, the military spokesperson, wrote on X on Friday that Palestinians would have "free movement" to aid distribution sites between 6 a.m. And 6 p.m. Local time, but warned that outside those hours the area would be a 'closed military zone' and movement would pose a significant risk to life.

After the two-month ceasefire broke down in March, Israel blockaded aid supplies into Gaza for 11 weeks, prompting a famine warning from a global hunger monitor. Israel, which has only partially lifted the blockade since, vets all aid into Gaza and accuses Hamas of stealing some of it, something the militant group denies.

Israel has re-intensified an offensive against Gaza's dominant Hamas militant group since breaking a two-month-old ceasefire in March in a war triggered by the cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, led by Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by several countries including Canada.

IDF recovers bodies of Canadian Israeli Judih Weinstein, husband

The initial attacks killed 1,200 people in Israel, including several Canadian citizens.

Some 251 hostages were also taken, with around a couple dozen believed still alive, according to the Israeli government. While many of the remaining were freed in periodic prisoner exchanges, the bodies of other hostages have been repatriated, including Canadian citizen Judih Weinstein and her husband just this week.

Israel's military campaign in response to those attacks has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

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