Key events
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
Gaza civil defence has said 20 people, including at least six children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes overnight.
Agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP the first hit a tent housing displaced people in Khan Younis in the south shortly after midnight local time (9pm GMT Tuesday) and the second struck a camp in the north soon afterwards.
Elsewhere, medical officials, humanitarian workers and doctors in Gaza say they have been overwhelmed by almost daily “mass casualty incidents” as they struggle to deal with those wounded by Israeli fire on Palestinians seeking aid.
As reported by the Guardian’s Jason Burke, doctors describe many of the casualties they are treating describe being shot as they try to reach distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a secretive US- and Israel-backed organisation that began handing out food in late May.
“The scenes are truly shocking – they resemble the horrors of judgment day. Sometimes within just half an hour we receive over 100 to 150 cases, ranging from severe injuries to deaths … About 95% of these injuries and deaths come from food distribution centres – what are referred to as the ‘American food distribution centres’,” said Dr Mohammed Saqr, director of nursing at Gaza’s Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.
Palestinians stretch their arms through a metal fence with empty pots and pans, trying to receive food from a charity distribution point in Khan Younis, Gaza. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
In other developments:
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AP News reports that an Israeli report released Tuesday accuses Hamas of using sexual violence as a weapon of war during its Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. The findings are based on survivor and witness testimonies, first responder accounts, and forensic evidence.
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The report says that many victims may have been killed, silencing them and complicating investigations. It asks for new legal approaches to prosecuting sexual violence in conflict, suggesting evidence beyond victim testimony and holding all attackers jointly responsible. Hamas denies the allegations.
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This comes as Israel and Hamas are negotiating a ceasefire. Reporters were told that the anticipated agreement would involve a 60-day ceasefire, with the release of ten live hostages and nine deceased individuals.
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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US president Donald Trump to discuss any potential ceasefire deal options.
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Netanyahu said the meeting was focused around freeing hostages held in Gaza, and stressed his determination to “eliminate” the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas.