More than 30 people were killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip since Thursday at midnight, according to a report by the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Shehab News Agency.
American contractors guarding aid distribution sites in Gaza are using live ammunition and stun grenades, according to accounts and videos obtained by The Associated Press.
Two U.S. contractors, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were revealing their employers’ internal operations, said they were coming forward because they were disturbed by what they considered dangerous and irresponsible practices. They said the security staff hired were often unqualified, unvetted, heavily armed and seemed to have an open license to do whatever they wished.
They said their colleagues regularly lobbed stun grenades and pepper spray in the direction of the Palestinians. One contractor said bullets were fired in all directions – in the air, into the ground and at times toward the Palestinians, recalling at least one instance where he thought someone had been hit.
“There are innocent people being hurt. Badly. Needlessly,” the contractor said.
He said American staff on the sites monitor those coming to seek food and document anyone considered “suspicious.” He said they share such information with the Israeli military.
Videos provided by one of the contractors and taken at the sites show hundreds of Palestinians crowded between metal gates, jostling for aid amid the sound of bullets, stun grenades and the sting of pepper spray. Other videos include conversations between English-speaking men discussing how to disperse crowds and encouraging each other after bursts of gunfire.
Journalists have been unable to access the GHF sites, located in Israeli military-controlled zones. The AP cannot independently verify the contractors’ stories.
A spokesperson for Safe Reach Solutions, the logistics company subcontracted by GHF, told the AP that there have been no serious injuries at any of their sites to date. In scattered incidents, security professionals fired live rounds into the ground and away from civilians to get their attention. That happened in the early days at the “the height of desperation where crowd control measures were necessary for the safety and security of civilians,” the spokesperson said.
Hamas expressed satisfaction with the wording of the new proposal for a Gaza cease-fire deal and noted that mediators are making great efforts to reach an agreement between the parties, according to the Saudi Asharq News.
According to the report, Hamas is expected to submit its official response to the proposal by Friday evening. However, the report also says that the terrorist group continues to take issue with several points of the proposal. Its primary concerns are related to the entry of humanitarian aid to the Strip and the withdrawal of the IDF from areas in the Gaza Strip, which the proposal mentions without indicating specific dates or including maps.
The report further states that Hamas says it is treating the proposal with “responsibility” and is willing to demonstrate flexibility provided that Palestinian interests are met.
Here are the latest updates on day 636 of the war:
■ The proposed cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas would see the terrorist group release 10 of the remaining living hostages and return the bodies of 18 deceased hostages it holds in five stages over a 60-day period, according to a report from The New York Times.
■ Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Wednesday that the Iranian nuclear program was degraded by one to two years, while still maintaining that the three nuclear facilities hit by U.S. missiles last week were obliterated.
■ U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will meet at the White House on Thursday with Edan Alexander, a released Israeli-American hostage who was freed from captivity in Gaza in May.
■ The IDF Arabic language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, issued an evacuation order on Wednesday for five neighborhoods in the northern Gaza Strip, after two rockets were fired from the area. The IDF said earlier that it had intercepted two rockets from Gaza after sirens were activated in Sderot and Ibim, in southern Israel.
■ The IDF and Shin Bet security service said on Wednesday that the Israel Air Force killed two Hamas terrorists who were involved in the killing of seven soldiers last week.
■ The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said on Wednesday that 139 Palestinians were killed and 487 wounded by Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours.
■ Dr. Marwan al-Sultan, the director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, was killed in an Israeli strike in his home, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
■ The IDF said on Wednesday that Sergeant Yaniv Michalovitch, 19, was killed in battle in northern Gaza.
U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will meet at the White House on Thursday with Edan Alexander, the Israeli-American hostage who was freed from captivity in Gaza in May.
“The President and First Lady have met with many released hostages from Gaza, and they greatly look forward to meeting Edan Alexander and his family in the Oval Office tomorrow,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Four people, including “a man who blocked the gates of Downing Street with his mobility scooter,” have been arrested following a Westminster protest by Palestine Action, the Metropolitan Police has said.
The protest took place outside of Parliament as MPs gave their approval to the UK government’s decision to ban Palestine Action as a terror group. The Commons voted 385 to 26, majority 359, in favor of proscribing the group under the Terrorism Act 2000.
The move, which also has to be considered by the House of Lords, would make it a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison to be a member of the direct action group or to support it.
Outside of Parliament, the police imposed Public Order Act conditions aimed at limiting the protest to an area off Whitehall.
“Public Order Act conditions had been imposed to prevent serious disruption, requiring anyone taking part in the protest to assemble on Richmond Terrace, off Whitehall,” a spokesperson for the force said.
The proposed cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas would see the terror group release 10 of the remaining living hostages and return the bodies of 18 deceased hostages it holds in five stages over a 60-day period, according to a report from The New York Times.
Citing Israeli and Palestinian officials briefed on the evolving agreement, the newspaper states this marks a significant shift from an earlier American proposal in May. That plan called for all hostages to be freed within the first seven days of a cease-fire.
The officials spoke anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the diplomacy.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on Wednesday that the Iranian nuclear program was degraded by one to two years, while still maintaining that the three nuclear facilities hit by U.S. missiles last week were obliterated.
A source who spoke with Haaretz on Wednesday said that the changes that were made to the Israel-Hamas cease-fire proposal should satisfy Hamas’ leadership in the diaspora, but not the leadership inside Gaza, as it does not guarantee an end to the war, according to a Qatari official who spoke with the source.
However, the Qatar official confirmed that the new proposal includes a commitment by the mediators to continue negotiations to end the war, even if the sides do not reach an agreement after the proposed 60-day cease-fire.
Here are the latest updates on day 635 of the war:
■ Gaza’s health ministry said on Wednesday that 139 Palestinians were killed and 487 wounded by Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours.
■ Dr. Marwan al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, was killed by an Israeli strike on his home.
■ The IDF said on Wednesday that Sergeant Yaniv Michalovitch, 19, was killed in battle in northern Gaza.
■ The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation announced on Wednesday that it plans to close its branch in Geneva, following the launch of proceedings by Swiss authorities to dissolve it.
■ U.S. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that Israel has agreed to terms for a 60-day cease-fire in Gaza, following productive meetings with Israeli representatives. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir reached out to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday to discuss joining forces to thwart a deal.
■ A Hamas delegation is expected to meet with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss a U.S.-backed cease-fire and hostage deal proposal announced earlier that day by Trump. Amid negotiations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel “shall completely destroy” the organization.
■ Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian put into effect a law suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency in charge of in charge of inspecting and reporting on the country’s nuclear facilities.
