Israel faces growing condemnation over military expansion in Gaza

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — International condemnation grew Saturday over Israel's decision for a military takeover of Gaza City, while tens of thousands of Israelis rallied in what local media called one of the largest anti-government protests in recent months following 22 months of war. Ceasefire efforts appeared to be reviving with Israel's announcement. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to meet with Qatar's prime minister in Spain on Saturday to discuss a new proposal to end the war, according to two officials familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak with the media. Mediators Egypt and Qatar are preparing a new ceasefire framework that would include the release of all hostages — dead and alive — in one go in return for the war's end and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, two Arab officials have told The Associated Press. Health officials said that 20 Palestinians seeking aid were shot dead Saturday and 11 adults died of malnutrition-related causes in the past 24 hours, as the criticism of Israel came with pleas to allow far more food to reach people in the besieged enclave. 'Shut the country down' Hostages' families pressured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government amid new fears for the 50 remaining hostages, with 20 of them thought to be alive and struggling. Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held in Gaza, called on Israelis including the powerful Histadrut labor union to "help us save the hostages, the soldiers and the state of Israel" and appeared to call for a general strike: "Shut the country down." A joint statement by nine countries including Germany, Britain, France and Canada said that they "strongly reject" Israel's decision for the large-scale military operation, saying it will worsen the "catastrophic humanitarian situation," endanger hostages and further risk mass displacement. They said any attempts at annexation or settlement in Gaza violate international law. A separate statement by more than 20 countries including ceasefire mediators Egypt and Qatar along with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates called Israel's decision a "dangerous and unacceptable escalation." Meanwhile, Russia said Israel's plan will aggravate the "already extremely dramatic situation" in Gaza. The U.N. Security Council planned an emergency meeting Sunday. Killed while seeking aid Officials at Nasser and Awda hospitals said that Israeli forces killed at least 11 people seeking aid in southern and central Gaza. Some had been waiting for aid trucks, while others had approached aid distribution points. Israel's military denied opening fire and said that it was unaware of the incidents. The military secures routes leading to distribution sites run by the Israeli-backed and U.S.-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Two witnesses told the AP that Israeli troops fired toward crowds approaching a GHF distribution site on foot in the Netzarim corridor, a military zone that bisects Gaza. One witness, Ramadan Gaber, said that snipers and tanks fired on aid-seekers, forcing them to retreat. In the north, Israeli fire killed at least nine and wounded over 200 as people sought aid entering Gaza through the Zikim crossing, said Fares Awad, head of the Health Ministry's ambulance and emergency service in the area. There was no immediate Israeli comment. In Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, some aid-seekers cheered the latest airdrops of aid. Hundreds of people rushed to grab what they could. Aid organizations have called airdrops expensive, insufficient and potentially dangerous for people on the ground. Israel's military said that at least 106 packages of aid were airdropped Saturday as Italy and Greece joined the effort for the first time. Footage from Italy's defense ministry showed packages parachuted over Gaza's dry and devastated landscape. Barefoot children collected rice, pasta and lentils that spilled from packages onto the ground. "This way is not for humans, it is for animals," said one man, Mahmoud Hawila, who said he was stabbed while trying to secure an airdropped package. Israel alleges, without giving evidence, that Hamas systematically diverts aid from the existing U.N.-led system, which denies it. That system has called for more of the trucks waiting outside Gaza to be allowed not just into the territory, but safely to destinations inside it for distribution. With temperatures reaching above 90 degrees F (32 degrees C) in Gaza, families fanned themselves with pieces of cardboard or metal trays and slept on the ground outside their tents, while some women collected water well before dawn. "My children cry day and night. My son scratches his body because of the heat," said Nida Abu Hamad, whose displaced family shelters in Gaza City. More deaths from hunger Gaza's Health Ministry said the new adult deaths from malnutrition-related causes over the past 24 hours brought the total to 114 since it began counting such deaths in June. It said that 98 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, with militants killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251. Israel is "forcing Palestinians into a state of near-starvation to the point that they abandon their land voluntarily," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a news conference in Egypt. The toll from hunger isn't included in the ministry's death toll of 61,300 Palestinians in the war. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, doesn't distinguish between fighters or civilians, but says around half of the dead have been women and children. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes the ministry's figures, but hasn't provided its own.