Israeli fire kills 30 in Gaza as focus shifts to Iran
Israeli gunfire and strikes have killed at least 30 people across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, local health authorities say, as some Palestinians there say their plight is being forgotten as attention shifted to the air war between Israel and Iran.
The deaths included the latest in near daily killings of Palestinians seeking aid in the three weeks since Israel partially lifted a total blockade on Gaza that it had imposed for almost three months.
Medics said separate air strikes on homes in the Maghazi refugee camp and Zeitoun neighbourhood in central and northern Gaza killed at least 14 people, while five others were killed in an air strike on a tent encampment in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Eleven others were killed in Israeli fire at crowds of displaced Palestinians awaiting aid trucks brought in by the United Nations along the Salahuddin road in central Gaza, medics said.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was looking into the reported deaths of people waiting for food.
Regarding the other strikes, it said it was "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities" and "feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm".
On Tuesday, Gaza's health ministry said 397 Palestinians among those trying to get food aid had been killed and more than 3000 wounded since aid deliveries restarted in late May.
Some in Gaza expressed concern that the latest escalations in the war between Israel and Hamas that began in October 2023 would be overlooked as the focus moved to Israel's five-day-old conflict with Iran.
Israel has been channelling much of the aid it is now allowing into Gaza through a new US- and Israeli-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates a handful of distribution sites in areas guarded by Israeli forces.
It has said it will continue to allow aid into Gaza, home to more than two million people, while ensuring aid does not get into the hands of Hamas.
Hamas denies seizing aid, saying Israel uses hunger as a weapon against the population in Gaza.
The Gaza war was triggered when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli allies.
US ally Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed almost 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, displaced almost all the territory's residents, and caused a severe hunger crisis.
The assault has led to accusations of genocide and war crimes, which Israel denies.
Palestinians in Gaza have been closely following Israel's air war with Iran, long a major supporter of Hamas.
"We are maybe happy to see Israel suffer from Iranian rockets, but at the end of the day, one more day in this war costs the lives of tens of innocent people," said 47-year-old Shaban Abed, a father of five from northern Gaza.
"We just hope that a comprehensive solution could be reached to end the war in Gaza, too. We are being forgotten."
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Israel's defence minister has overtly threatened Iran's supreme leader after the latest missile barrage from Iran damaged a major hospital and hit a high-rise and several other residential buildings near Tel Aviv. At least 40 people were wounded in the attacks, according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service. Black smoke rose from the Soroka Medical Centre in the southern city of Beersheba as emergency teams evacuated patients. There were no serious injuries in the strike on the hospital. In the aftermath of the strikes on Thursday, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz blamed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said the military "has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist". US officials said this week that US president Donald Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei. Trump later said there were no plans to kill him "at least not for now". 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In retaliation, Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundreds. The hospital said the main impact was on an old surgery building that had been evacuated in recent days. After the strike, the medical facility was closed to all patients except for life-threatening cases, it said. Soroka has more than 1000 beds and provides services to around one million residents in the south of Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the strike on the hospital and vowed a response, saying: "We will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran." Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, although most have been shot down by Israel's multi-tiered air defences. Israel's military said its fighter jets targeted the Arak facility and its reactor core seal to halt it from being used to produce plutonium. Iranian state TV said there was "no radiation danger whatsoever" from the attack on the Arak site. 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Black smoke rose from the Soroka Medical Centre in the southern city of Beersheba as emergency teams evacuated patients. There were no serious injuries in the strike on the hospital. In the aftermath of the strikes on Thursday, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz blamed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said the military "has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist". US officials said this week that US president Donald Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei. Trump later said there were no plans to kill him "at least not for now". Meanwhile, Israel carried out strikes on Iran's Arak heavy water reactor and its only functioning nuclear power plant on the Gulf coast on the seventh day of a conflict that began with a surprise wave of Israeli air strikes targeting military sites, senior officers and nuclear scientists. A Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1300 wounded. In retaliation, Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundreds. The hospital said the main impact was on an old surgery building that had been evacuated in recent days. After the strike, the medical facility was closed to all patients except for life-threatening cases, it said. Soroka has more than 1000 beds and provides services to around one million residents in the south of Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the strike on the hospital and vowed a response, saying: "We will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran." Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, although most have been shot down by Israel's multi-tiered air defences. Israel's military said its fighter jets targeted the Arak facility and its reactor core seal to halt it from being used to produce plutonium. Iranian state TV said there was "no radiation danger whatsoever" from the attack on the Arak site. Israel had warned earlier on Thursday morning that it would attack the facility and urged the public to flee the area. Israel separately claimed to have struck another site around Natanz it described as being related to Iran's nuclear program, and Iran's only operating nuclear power plant in Bushehr. A military official later said "it was a mistake" to say there was a strike on the Bushehr plant. An attack on Bushehr, which is near Iran's Arab Gulf neighbours and employs technicians from Russia, would potentially be a major escalation in Israel's air war. Iran has long maintained its program is for peaceful purposes. The strikes came a day after Iran's supreme leader rejected US calls for surrender and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause "irreparable damage to them". Israel had lifted some restrictions on daily life on Wednesday, suggesting the missile threat from Iran on its territory was easing. Already, Israel's campaign has targeted Iran's enrichment site at Natanz, centrifuge workshops around Tehran and a nuclear site in Isfahan. Its strikes have also killed top generals and nuclear scientists. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said he would travel to Geneva for meetings with his European counterparts on Friday, indicating a new diplomatic initiative might be taking shape. Trump has said he wants something "much bigger" than a ceasefire and has not ruled out the US joining Israel's campaign. Iran has warned of dire consequences if the US deepens its involvement, without elaborating. with Reuters Israel's defence minister has overtly threatened Iran's supreme leader after the latest missile barrage from Iran damaged a major hospital and hit a high-rise and several other residential buildings near Tel Aviv. At least 40 people were wounded in the attacks, according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service. Black smoke rose from the Soroka Medical Centre in the southern city of Beersheba as emergency teams evacuated patients. There were no serious injuries in the strike on the hospital. In the aftermath of the strikes on Thursday, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz blamed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said the military "has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist". US officials said this week that US president Donald Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei. Trump later said there were no plans to kill him "at least not for now". Meanwhile, Israel carried out strikes on Iran's Arak heavy water reactor and its only functioning nuclear power plant on the Gulf coast on the seventh day of a conflict that began with a surprise wave of Israeli air strikes targeting military sites, senior officers and nuclear scientists. A Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1300 wounded. In retaliation, Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundreds. The hospital said the main impact was on an old surgery building that had been evacuated in recent days. After the strike, the medical facility was closed to all patients except for life-threatening cases, it said. Soroka has more than 1000 beds and provides services to around one million residents in the south of Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the strike on the hospital and vowed a response, saying: "We will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran." Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, although most have been shot down by Israel's multi-tiered air defences. Israel's military said its fighter jets targeted the Arak facility and its reactor core seal to halt it from being used to produce plutonium. Iranian state TV said there was "no radiation danger whatsoever" from the attack on the Arak site. Israel had warned earlier on Thursday morning that it would attack the facility and urged the public to flee the area. Israel separately claimed to have struck another site around Natanz it described as being related to Iran's nuclear program, and Iran's only operating nuclear power plant in Bushehr. A military official later said "it was a mistake" to say there was a strike on the Bushehr plant. An attack on Bushehr, which is near Iran's Arab Gulf neighbours and employs technicians from Russia, would potentially be a major escalation in Israel's air war. Iran has long maintained its program is for peaceful purposes. The strikes came a day after Iran's supreme leader rejected US calls for surrender and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause "irreparable damage to them". Israel had lifted some restrictions on daily life on Wednesday, suggesting the missile threat from Iran on its territory was easing. Already, Israel's campaign has targeted Iran's enrichment site at Natanz, centrifuge workshops around Tehran and a nuclear site in Isfahan. Its strikes have also killed top generals and nuclear scientists. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said he would travel to Geneva for meetings with his European counterparts on Friday, indicating a new diplomatic initiative might be taking shape. Trump has said he wants something "much bigger" than a ceasefire and has not ruled out the US joining Israel's campaign. Iran has warned of dire consequences if the US deepens its involvement, without elaborating. with Reuters
