At least 25 aid seekers were killed in central Gaza when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid distribution point by the Netzarim Corridor, according to medical sources. In a separate incident, four displaced Palestinians were killed in an Israeli drone attack on a tent camp in the al-Mawasi area near al-Qarara town, north of Khan Younis city. The Gaza health ministry reported 31 fatalities with single gunshot wounds to the head or chest from Israeli fire at an aid distribution area in Rafah, with 169 injured.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the country’s decision to impose sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, saying the reactions from Israel and the US were “predictable”. Albanese emphasized the need for the Israeli government to uphold its obligations under international law. “The Israeli Government does need to uphold its obligations under international law and some of the expansionist rhetoric that we’ve seen as well is clearly in contradiction of that from these hardline right-wing members of the Netanyahu government,” he said.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces carried out overnight raids across the occupied West Bank, killing one person and arresting at least 10 others. In Tammun, special forces shot and killed a man, preventing health workers from accessing his body. Two brothers, aged 13 and 15, were arrested in al-Walaja, along with three young men in towns near Ramallah, one person in Rujeib town, and a father and son in Hebron.
Activist Greta Thunberg returned to Sweden after being deported from Israel, where she was part of a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid ship seized by Israeli authorities. Thunberg accused Israel of “kidnapping” her and treating her in a “dehumanising” way, stressing the need for attention on the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.
The situation in Gaza continues to unfold, with the Hamas-run Gaza government media office accusing Israel of using aid as a weapon to exploit starving civilians and forcibly gather them at exposed killing zones. Gaza paramedic Abu Tareq warned people not to go to aid delivery points due to the risks involved.