Israeli fire kills dozens in Gaza, officials say, as aid delivery
remains chaotic after new measures
[July 29, 2025]
By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes or gunfire killed at
least 78 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Monday, including a
pregnant woman whose baby was delivered after her death but also died,
local health officials said. Dozens were killed while seeking food, even
as Israel moved to ease restrictions on the entry of aid.
Under mounting pressure over the spiraling hunger crisis in Gaza, Israel
said over the weekend that the military would pause operations in Gaza
City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi for 10 hours a day and designate secure
routes for aid delivery. International airdrops of aid have also
resumed.
Aid agencies say the new measures are not enough to counter worsening
starvation in the territory.
Martin Penner, a spokesperson for the U.N. food agency, told The
Associated Press that all 55 of its aid trucks that entered on Sunday
were unloaded by crowds before reaching their destination. Another U.N.
official said nothing on the ground has changed and no alternative
routes were allowed.
Israel said it would continue military operations alongside the new
humanitarian measures.
Newborn dies after complex surgery
A baby girl died hours after being delivered in a complex emergency
cesarean. She had been placed in an incubator and was breathing with
assistance from a ventilator, AP footage showed.
Her mother, Soad al-Shaer, who had been seven months pregnant with her,
was among 12 Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house and
neighboring tents in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis, according to Nasser
Hospital, which received the bodies.
Another strike hit a two-story house in Khan Younis, killing at least 11
people, more than half of them women and children, according to the
hospital. At least five others were killed in strikes elsewhere in Gaza,
according to other hospitals.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for
comment on most of the strikes. It said it was not aware of one strike
in Gaza City during the pause that health officials said killed one
person.
Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on
Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. The
daily airstrikes across the territory frequently kill women and
children.
Israel allows more aid to enter
Images of emaciated children have sparked outrage around the world,
including from Israel's close allies. U.S. President Donald Trump on
Sunday called the images of emaciated and malnourished children in Gaza
“terrible.”
Israel has restricted aid to varying degrees throughout the war. In
March, it cut off the entry of all goods, including fuel, food and
medicine, to pressure Hamas to free hostages.
Israel partially lifted those restrictions in May but also pushed ahead
on a new U.S.-backed aid delivery system that has been wracked by chaos
and violence. Traditional aid providers have encountered a breakdown in
law and order surrounding their deliveries.
COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid
shipments, said U.N. agencies collected 120 trucks for distribution on
Sunday and that another 180 trucks had been allowed into Gaza.
The United Nations and aid groups say the territory needs 500-600 trucks
a day to meet its needs. Israel's blockade and military operations have
destroyed nearly all food production in the territory of roughly 2
million Palestinians.
Aid groups say airdrops are ineffective
Also on Monday, two air force planes from Jordan and the United Arab
Emirates airdropped 17 tons of humanitarian aid in Gaza — an amount that
would fill less than a single aid truck.
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Palestinians inspect the site struck by an Israeli bombardment in
Muwasi, Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam
Dagga)
Aid groups say airdrops are often ineffective and dangerous, with
falling parcels landing on people or in combat zones or other
dangerous areas.
“At the moment, 2 million people are trapped in a tiny piece of
land, which makes up just 12% of the whole strip — if anything lands
in this area, people will inevitably be injured,” said Jean Guy
Vataux, emergency coordinator in Gaza for Doctors Without Borders.
“If the airdrops land in areas where Israel has issued displacement
orders, people will be forced to enter militarized zones — once
again risking their lives for food,” he added.
The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe
Lazzarini, warned that airdrops are “expensive, inefficient and can
even kill starving civilians,” and would not address the crisis.
Dozens killed seeking aid, officials say
At least 25 people were killed by Israeli forces while seeking aid
from a truck convoy passing through the southern Gaza Strip,
according to health officials and witnesses. There was no immediate
comment from the Israeli military.
Four children were among those killed, according to records at
Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. The shooting occurred in
a military corridor Israel has carved out between the southern
cities of Khan Younis and Rafah. It was not immediately clear who
had supplied the convoy.
Survivors at the hospital said Israeli forces had fired toward the
crowds. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli
fire while seeking aid since May, according to the U.N. human rights
office, witnesses and local health officials.
The Israeli military has said it only fires warning shots at people
who approach its forces.
The Awda hospital in central Gaza said it received the bodies of
seven Palestinians who it said were killed by Israeli fire close to
an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an
Israeli-backed American contractor. The hospital said 20 others were
wounded close to the site. GHF did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
Fares Awad, head of the Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service,
said at least five Palestinians were killed and about 30 others were
wounded by Israeli gunfire while waiting for aid trucks from the
Zikim Crossing near Gaza City.
Hamas started the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in which
Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people and abducted 251
others. They still hold 50, and Israel believes that more than half
the remaining hostages are dead. Most of the rest were released in
ceasefires or other deals.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,800
Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t
distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates
under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international
organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on
casualties.
___
Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Sally Abou AlJoud
in Beirut contributed to this report.
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