Israeli airstrikes killed 14 Palestinians in Gaza and another 10 people died while seeking food assistance, hospital officials told The Associated Press, as diplomatic efforts toward a temporary ceasefire gathered pace. The supplied evidence substantiates 24 deaths in the incidents it describes; it does not support a broader claim that 78 Palestinians were killed that day.
Seven people, including a Palestinian doctor and his three children, died when strikes hit tents in the crowded Muwasi area along Gaza's Mediterranean coast, according to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. The hospital reported four further deaths in Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis. Three people were killed in three other attacks in Khan Younis. Israel's military did not immediately comment on those strikes.
Hospital officials said eight Palestinians were killed near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution point in Rafah, while one person died near another GHF location in the city. The precise distance between the victims and the sites was unclear. GHF denied that killings had occurred near its facilities. Another Palestinian was killed while waiting with a crowd for aid trucks in eastern Khan Younis in an incident that did not appear linked to GHF operations. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on those deaths.
GHF separately said two American aid workers suffered non-life-threatening injuries when assailants threw grenades at its Khan Younis distribution site. The foundation blamed Hamas but did not provide evidence in the supplied report. Israel's military said it evacuated the workers for treatment.
The US- and Israel-backed foundation began distributing food in May through four sites surrounded by Israeli troops. United Nations agencies and other humanitarian groups rejected its delivery model, arguing that it was ineffective and conflicted with humanitarian principles. Israel accused Hamas of diverting UN aid, an allegation denied by the UN. By early July, Gaza's population of more than two million relied heavily on outside assistance after warfare had devastated food production and other civilian infrastructure.
The day's violence unfolded while Israel prepared to send negotiators to Qatar on July 6. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the delegation would discuss a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce, though it described changes sought by Hamas as unacceptable. Hamas had responded positively to the proposal while requesting further negotiations over implementation and guarantees that an initial pause would lead to an end to the war.
With 50 hostages still held in Gaza and fewer than half believed alive, the negotiations linked urgent humanitarian conditions to unresolved demands over captives, troop withdrawal and a permanent end to fighting.
