The Japan Times - Gaza aid sites shut, as Israel issues 'combat zones' warning

The announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) follows a string of deadly incidents near the distribution sites it operates that have sparked condemnation from the United Nations.

Israeli bombardment on Wednesday killed at least 16 people in the Gaza Strip, including 12 in a single strike on a tent housing displaced people, the Palestinian territory's civil defence agency told AFP.

On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a GHF aid site, with the military saying the incident was under investigation.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the deaths of people seeking food aid as "unacceptable", and the world body's rights chief condemned attacks on civilians as "a war crime" following a similar incident near the same site on Sunday.

Israel recently eased its blockade of Gaza, but the UN says the territory's entire population remains at risk of famine.

- UN vote -

The GHF said its "distribution centres will be closed for renovation, reorganisation and efficiency improvement work" on Wednesday and would resume operations on Thursday.

The Israeli army, which confirmed the temporary closure, warned against travelling "on roads leading to the distribution centres, which are considered combat zones".

The GHF, officially a private effort with opaque funding, began operations a week ago but the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

Israeli authorities and the GHF, which uses contracted US security, have denied allegations that the Israeli army shot at civilians rushing to pick up aid packages.

Food shortages in Gaza have propelled fresh international calls for an end to the war, but a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas remains elusive.

The UN Security Council will vote Wednesday on a resolution calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian access to Gaza, a measure expected to be vetoed by key Israel backer the United States.

- 'A trap' -

At a hospital in southern Gaza, the family of Reem al-Akhras, who was killed in Tuesday's shooting near GHF's facility, were beside themselves with grief.

"She went to bring us some food, and this is what happened to her," her son Zain Zidan said, his face streaked with tears.

Akhras's husband, Mohamed Zidan, said "every day unarmed people" were being killed.

"This is not humanitarian aid -- it's a trap."

The Israeli military maintains that its forces do not prevent Gazans from collecting aid.

Army spokesperson Effie Defrin said the Israeli soldiers had fired towards suspects who "were approaching in a way that endangered" the troops, adding that the "incident is being investigated".

UN human rights chief Volker Turk called attacks against civilians "unconscionable" and said they "constitute a grave breach of international law and a war crime".

The International Committee of the Red Cross meanwhile said "Gazans face an "unprecedented scale and frequency of recent mass casualty incidents".

- Activists' boat -

Scenes of hunger in Gaza have also sparked fresh solidarity with Palestinians, and a boat organised by an international activist coalition was sailing toward Gaza, aiming to deliver aid.

The boat from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition departed Sicily Sunday carrying a dozen people, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg, along with fruit juices, milk, tinned food and protein bars.

"Together, we can open a people's sea corridor to Gaza," the coalition said.

But Israel's military said Tuesday it was ready to "protect" the country's maritime space.

When asked about the Freedom Flotilla vessel, army spokesman Defrin said "for this case as well, we are prepared", declining to go into detail.

Israel has stepped up its offensive in Gaza in what it says is a renewed push to defeat the Palestinian group Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 4,240 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,510, mostly civilians.

Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

The army said three of its soldiers had been killed in northern Gaza, bringing the number of Israeli troops killed in the territory since the start of the war to 424.

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K.Tanaka--JT