Israeli air strikes kill Palestinians tasked with securing aid trucks in Rafah
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A Palestinian waiting to get food aid in Gaza in 2024. Hamas said Israel killed at least 700 police officers tasked with securing aid trucks going into Gaza since the war began in 2023.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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CAIRO – At least eight Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli air strike that targeted a group of Palestinians tasked with securing aid trucks for the Gaza Strip on Dec 12, medics said.
They added that at least 30 people were wounded and with several in critical condition, they feared the death toll may rise. The strike took place in the western area of Rafah city, in the south of the enclave, medics and residents said.
In the nearby city of Khan Younis, another group of men tasked with security for aid shipments was hit by a separate Israeli air strike that wounded several of them, medics said.
Armed gangs have repeatedly hijacked aid trucks shortly after they roll into the enclave, prompting the Islamist Hamas group to form a task force to confront them. The Hamas-led forces have killed more than two dozen members of the gangs in recent months, according to Hamas sources and medics.
Hamas said Israeli military strikes have killed at least 700 police officers tasked with securing aid trucks going into Gaza since the war began on Oct 7, 2023.
In Gaza City, medics said at least six people were killed in an air strike that hit a house, taking the death toll on Dec 12 to at least 14.
Months of ceasefire efforts by Arab mediators, Egypt, and Qatar, backed by the United States, have failed to conclude a deal between the two warring sides.
On Dec 11, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to demand an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and the immediate release of all hostages.
General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry political weight, reflecting a global view on the war. The United States, Israel and seven other countries voted against the ceasefire resolution, while 13 countries abstained.
The war in the Palestinian enclave began after Hamas gunmen stormed into Israeli communities in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages back to Hamas-run Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israel's military has leveled swaths of Gaza, driving nearly all of its 2.3 million people from their homes, giving rise to deadly hunger and disease, and killing more than 44,800 people, according to the Palestinian health authorities, who do not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants. REUTERS
