Israeli forces gave a “warning shot” to a group of 25 diplomats who visited Jenning in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a formal mission organized by the Palestinian authorities to observe the humanitarian situation there.
The Israeli military said the visit was approved but the delegation “dialed from the approved route” and Israeli soldiers fired warning shots to keep them away from the area.
Video shows that when the quick shots rang out nearby, many diplomats conducted media interviews, forcing them to run for cover. The delegation consists of ambassadors and diplomats representing 31 countries, including Italy, Canada, Egypt, Jordan and the United Kingdom.
The IDF said it “repents of the inconvenience that has been brought to you” and contacted senior officials to inform them of their internal investigations into the incident.
Jenin was the focus of a large Israeli attack in January that forced thousands of Palestinians to leave their homes, one of the largest West Bank displacements in many years.
Britain, France and other European ministers convened Israeli ambassadors in their respective capitals to explain the “unacceptable” incident, which will spark already growing international anger and attention as Israel continues its offensive in Gaza and exacerbate the expansion of illegal West Bank settlements under international law.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health and hospital officials said a new wave of air strikes and shelling killed at least 82 people on Wednesday, including several women and a week-old baby.
According to Palestinian officials, 24 people were killed, including 14 from the same family, ahead of the expected major attack on the South City, according to Palestinian officials.
Later Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “the Gaza Strip will be under the control of the Israeli Army” until its intensified offensive ended. As international pressure on Israel is growing, allowing food to reach hungry Palestinians, he said: “We must avoid humanitarian crises to safeguard our freedom of movement.”
Humanitarian workers there said that AIDS has not yet reached Palestinians, although Israel began allowing dozens of humanitarian trucks to enter Gaza on Tuesday.
Less than 100 aid trucks have entered Gaza since the Netanyahu government agreed to lift an 11-week lockdown on Monday, leading to a territory facing a “risk risk of famine.”
Abdel-Nasser Al-Ajramy, head of the Gaza Bakery Owners Association, said at least 25 bakeries that were told they would receive flour from the World Food Program have nothing to do with and have no hunger craving for those waiting for food.
Many of Gaza's 2.3 million people rely on free bakeries and community kitchens to survive. Almost everyone was closed.
“No flour, no food, no water,” said Sabah Warsh Agha, a 67-year-old woman from Beit Lahiya, North Gaza town in Canada. “We used to get water from the pump, and now the pump stops working. There is no diesel or gasoline.”
Humanitarian officials said complex logistics, continuing to fight, Israel’s demand to reload cargo onto new trucks after entering Gaza, limited fuel supply and poor road conditions are all slowing the distribution of aid. The guardian learned that further delays were caused when Israel's military directed the aid agency to send hundreds of thousands of dollars of flour on routes along Gaza and Egypt and the coastal coast.
Gaza's new offense followed a two-month ceasefire and was fiercely condemned by countries that had previously avoided public criticism of Israel. Even the most important ally of the United States shows signs of losing patience with Netanyahu.
On Tuesday, the UK announced it would hold talks with Israel and join France and Canada in threatening “specific actions” if Israel continues to attack and limits on the free flow of aid.
Additionally, EU foreign policy director Kaja Kallas said the group is reviewing agreement with Israel on trade relations, in terms of its war in Gaza. The agreement stipulates that all signatories must demonstrate “principles of respect for human rights and democracy.”
The EU review can be completed relatively quickly, as officials can draw on a 34-page report compiled late last year that details multiple allegations of Israel and Hamas against the system’s violation of international law during the conflict.
Related: What is needed to stop Israel’s attack on Gaza? – podcast
The report, seen by the Guardian, includes UN statistics on casualties and concluded that 44% of the population were children in the first few months of the Israeli offensive. It also lists Israel’s strikes against hospitals and stresses that the “negative obligations” of the states are not intended to help or assist parties in breach of international humanitarian law under international humanitarian law.
In Jerusalem, Israeli MP Ayman Odeh was safely removed from office after accusing the government of killing 19,000 children in Gaza and launching war on civilians and innocent people.
Earlier this week, left-wing opposition leader Yair Golan, who called out an angry response from the government and its supporters when he said “a sane country does not kill babies as a hobby”, sparked anger from the government and its supporters, with Israel risking becoming a “untouchable state in the country.”
Golan, a former deputy commander of the Israeli military, led a marginal party by saving the victims of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. But his words, along with a similar comment from former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in an interview with the BBC, highlighted the deepening uneasiness of Israel as the war persisted, while 58 hostages remained in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuted the criticism that it was “shocking”.
Netanyahu, who leads the far-right government in Israel's history, said: “While the IDF is fighting Hamas, some are strengthening false propaganda against the State of Israel.”
Indirect ceasefire negotiations in Doha, the capital of Katari, are shaking. Israel recalled most of its negotiating team on Tuesday, saying it would turn low-level officials the opposite. The Kathari leader, who is mediating negotiations, said there is a big gap between the two sides and they cannot bridge it.
The war in Gaza began with Hamas-led militants attacking southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and kidnapped 251 people. The militants are still holding 58 prisoners, about one-third of whom are considered alive, after most have returned in a ceasefire agreement or other transactions.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the Israeli outcry has destroyed blockbusters of Gaza and killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children.
