69 deaths in Israeli military operations
The Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip reported this Thursday 69 deaths in Israeli military operations. The relief organization specified that a nocturnal airstrike on the Mustafa Hafez school in Gaza City (north), which houses displaced persons, killed 15 people, including "a majority of children and women." Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army claimed to have targeted a "prominent" Hamas fighter and to have taken "numerous measures to reduce the risk of harming civilians." According to Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal, "38 [of the victims] were awaiting humanitarian aid," Mahmoud Bassal told AFP.
Amnesty International denounces a "militarized" humanitarian aid system
The news of the deaths near the humanitarian aid center, managed by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), did not provoke a reaction from the IDF. However, it again drew condemnation from the international humanitarian community. The aid distribution body, supported by the United States and Israel but rejected by the UN, was described as a "militarized system" by Amnesty International, which sees it as a means for "Israel [...] to use starvation of civilians as a weapon of war against Palestinians."
Israeli far-right rejects ceasefire
In Israel, the political class remains divided between supporters of a truce that would allow the release of some of the hostages still held in Gaza, and those who advocate continuing the fight until Hamas is annihilated. "If we don't eliminate Hamas, our children will suffer!" said far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir in an interview with Channel 14. Along with Bezalel Smotrich, another far-right minister, he plans to pressure Benjamin Netanyahu to reject American proposals for a 60-day ceasefire.
This truce, according to a Palestinian source, would involve the release of half of the remaining living hostages, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to travel to Washington next week for a third meeting in less than six months with US President Donald Trump, who is pushing for a cessation of hostilities.
Source : Libération, 03/07/25