At least 20 Palestinians have died as a result of malnutrition and dehydration in Gaza, health officials say. Meanwhile, new reports from Israeli media say 27 Palestinian captives who were being held in Israeli “makeshift cages” have died.
Canada will resume funding to UNRWA and pay a pledge of $25m due in April. In Gaza, another Palestinian child dies of thirst and hunger in the north, bringing the number of children to die from malnutrition to 18.
UNRWA’s chief says dismantling the agency is “short-sighted” and will “sow the seeds of hatred, resentment, and future conflict.” Israeli forces fire at Palestinians seeking aid and food in Gaza City and detain others in southern Gaza.
Amnesty International says Israel is “engineering famine” in Gaza. Organization head Agnes Callamard adds, “all states that cut UNRWA funding, sold weapons and supported Israel bear responsibility too.”
U.S. airdrops of food and aid in Gaza have been described as “performative BS” that “fools no one.” Meanwhile, Hamas’s delegation has arrived in Cairo for ceasefire talks as Ramadan is due to start next Sunday.
UN calls for an investigation following Thursday’s “flour massacre” where Israel killed at least 115 Palestinians waiting for aid and injured more than 760. The need for aid is becoming even more dire as starvation worsens in northern Gaza.
U.S. blocks a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel for its massacre against Palestinians attempting to receive humanitarian aid in Gaza, saying that the incident “still needs to be investigated.”
Israeli tanks and warplanes reportedly targeted civilians waiting for aid, killing at least 77 and wounding hundreds. Meanwhile, international aid groups say airdrops of aid are so “negligible” that they “perpetuate the overall blockade strategy.”
UN humanitarian officials say that thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are “just a step away from famine” by May. Russia calls on UNSC members to refrain from endorsing Washington’s resolution on Gaza, denouncing it as “a license to kill” for Israel.
A proposed ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is reported to include a temporary 40-day truce, the release of 40 Israeli captives in return for 400 Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of humanitarian aid and mobile shelters into Gaza.