Egypt Daily News – Israeli forces killed at least 80 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and issued new evacuation orders, marking yet another bloody chapter in the ongoing war, just days after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire that ended a 12-day aerial conflict.
The ceasefire, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, had sparked hope among Palestinians that it might pave the way toward ending the Gaza war, now in its 20th month, a conflict that has devastated the territory, displaced most of its population, and caused widespread hunger.
“The whole world has abandoned us. Hezbollah made a deal without Gaza, and now Iran did the same,” said Adel Farouk, 62, from Gaza City. Speaking via a messaging app, he added, “Let it be Gaza’s turn next.”
Despite the truce between Iran and Israel, violence in Gaza showed no signs of slowing.
Marwan Abu Nasser, from Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in central Gaza, reported receiving 19 dead and 146 wounded after Israeli forces opened fire on crowds attempting to reach a nearby U.S.-backed humanitarian aid distribution point operated by the Gaza Relief Foundation.
According to Abu Nasser, the casualties were the result of gunfire. The Israeli military said it had observed an overnight gathering near its troops operating in the Netzarim corridor and was reviewing reports of civilian casualties.
In response to a request for comment, the Gaza Relief Foundation said via email that it was unaware of any violent incidents near its distribution sites, adding that its nearest location was several kilometers south of the Netzarim corridor.
UN aid trucks use roads in this region to deliver supplies into Gaza. In recent days, Palestinians reported being shot at by Israeli forces while waiting roadside for bags of flour from those trucks.
Much of the humanitarian aid entering Gaza is routed through the Gaza Relief Foundation, which manages a limited number of distribution points guarded by Israeli forces. The United Nations has criticized this system, calling it insufficient, dangerous, and a violation of humanitarian neutrality.
Israel insists the current aid mechanism is necessary to prevent Hamas from diverting supplies for military use, an accusation Hamas denies.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday that the system is “appalling” and a “death trap.”
In a separate incident, medics reported that 10 more people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a home in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, bringing Tuesday’s death toll to at least 29.
Israel claims Hamas fighters are using residential areas as shields, an allegation the group strongly rejects.
Hopes for a New Gaza Ceasefire
Many Palestinians expressed disappointment that the Israel-Iran ceasefire did not extend to Gaza.
Their frustration deepened after Israeli forces dropped leaflets over several northern Gaza neighborhoods ordering residents to evacuate southward, a sign that further Israeli military operations against Hamas could be imminent.
“Returning to combat zones puts your lives at risk,” read the leaflets, according to the Israeli military.
Sources close to Hamas told Reuters that new efforts are underway to resume ceasefire talks with Israel. Hamas, they said, is open to discussing any proposals that would “end the war and ensure Israeli withdrawal from Gaza”, conditions Israel continues to reject.
Hamas has expressed willingness to release remaining hostages as part of any final deal to end the conflict. However, Israel insists the war will only end with the disarmament and dismantling of Hamas, a demand the group refuses.
According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, Israel has so far killed approximately 56,000 Palestinians, displaced nearly the entire population of the territory, and triggered a severe hunger crisis.
