An aid delivery into Gaza broke into chaos on Saturday with shots fired and a Red Crescent paramedic reported five people killed.
Gaza suffers through nightly air strikes and in recent days, there have been massive operations around several hospitals, which Israel says are used by militant Palestinian groups – a claim denied by Hamas.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday Gaza has only 10 “minimally functioning” hospitals in a population of more than two million, while the organization chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated about 9,000 patients require urgent treatment abroad.
UN agencies have repeatedly warned that famine looms over the northern part of Gaza and referred to the crisis as man-made because aid lorries are backed up at the Egypt-Gaza border by long checks from Israeli officials.
The chief UN court has ordered Israel to permit aid and the UN Security Council has adopted a resolution demanding an “immediate ceasefire” but neither has altered the situation on the ground.
Israel and Hamas have failed to agree on a ceasefire in indirect talks in Qatar, with each side blaming the other for a failure to come to a deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a new round of talks on Friday with negotiators predicted to renew the task on Monday.
A Red Crescent paramedic said five people were killed and dozens wounded by gunfire and a stampede during aid distribution in north Gaza.
Witnesses said shots were fired both by Gazans overseeing the aid delivery and nearby Israeli troops, while panicked truck drivers quickly drove off, hitting people attempting to get the food.
The Israeli military said there was “no record of the incident described.”:
International powers have taken to airdrops but several people have been killed by falling crates, stampedes, and by drowning when attempting to retrieve the packages from the Mediterranean.
Two charities organized deliveries by sea with ships taking off from Cyprus.
UN agencies insist overland deliveries are the only method of supplying the volume of aid needed.
Israeli bombardments carried on into Saturday with the Gaza health ministry saying at least 82 people were killed overnight.
The Hamas press office said “civilian houses” had been hit by dozens of Israeli strikes. The Israeli military insisted it had struck dozens of targets including militants and their compounds.
Tedros said about 9,000 people must leave Gaza for “lifesaving health services, including the treatment of cancer, injuries from bombardments, kidney dialysis, and other chronic conditions.”
The WHO said Gaza had 36 hospitals before the war, and is now reduced to only 10.
Israel’s military accuses Hamas and the militant group Islamic Jihad of hiding inside medical facilities, and using patients, staff, and displaced people for cover – charges the groups have denied.
The army said on Saturday it “continued to eliminate” militants around al-Shifa, Gaza’s largest hospital, with about 200 reported killed after 13 days of the operation.
Hamas said Israeli troops were carrying on with besieging al-Amal Hospital and Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis.
Netanyahu is under heavy domestic pressure over his failure to bring back the 130 hostages who are believed to remain in Gaza, including 34 who are presumed dead.
The US is Israel’s main military backer but tensions have been rising with Washington calling on Netanyahu not to begin a full ground invasion of Rafah, where most of the population has fled.
However, The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed officials, reported that Washington has recently approved billions of dollars for bombs and fighter jets for Israel.
