Gaza’s civil defence agency said today that 50 people had been killed in Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory since midnight.
“The number of martyrs killed in Israeli shelling targeting civilian homes in the northern Gaza Strip between midnight and early this morning has risen to 50… Our teams are still working in those areas,” civil defence official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said.
Aid to Gaza has been cut off since 2 March, a tactic Israel has said is intended to force concessions from Hamas, but the militant group insisted that the restoration of humanitarian assistance to the war-ravaged territory was “the minimum requirement” for talks.
Israel’s aid blockade preceded a resumption of military operations on 18 March, ending a ceasefire that had largely halted hostilities since mid-January.
For weeks, UN agencies have warned that supplies of everything from food and clean water to fuel and medicines are reaching new lows.
“Israel’s blockade has transcended military tactics to become a tool of extermination,” Human Rights Watch interim executive director Federico Borello said.
Meanwhile, Hamas has warned that Gaza was not “for sale” hours after US President Donald Trump, on a visit to the region, again floated taking over the territory and turning it into “a freedom zone”.
“I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good… let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone,” Mr Trump said on the Qatar leg of a Gulf tour, adding he would be “proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone”.
The comments echoed an idea he floated in February for the US to “take over” the devastated territory and redevelop it into “the Riviera of the Middle East”.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim responded, saying: “Gaza is an integral part of Palestinian land – it is not real estate for sale on the open market.”
Israel hostage families say Netanyahu missing ‘historic opportunity’ for release
Meanwhile, Israel’s main group representing families of hostages still being held in Gaza said today that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was missing a “historic opportunity” to get them released, as US President Donald Trump concludes a visit to the region.
“The hostages’ families woke up this morning with heavy hearts and great concern in light of reports about increased attacks in Gaza and the imminent conclusion of President Trump’s visit to the region,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
“Missing this historic opportunity would be a resounding failure that will be remembered in infamy forever,” the group added.
Of the 251 hostages taken during the October 2023 attack that triggered the war, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.
The Hamas attack in October 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Yesterday, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said 2,876 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on 18 March, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,010.
