Middle East: Dozens of Palestinians killed at aid site

The Israeli army's Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir has ordered an expansion of the Israeli Defense Forces' (IDF) operation in the Gaza Strip.

IDF head Zamir visited troops in one of the enclave's coastal areas while announcing the move, saying Palestinian militant group Hamas "is losing control" over the Strip.

"We are in the midst of a powerful and relentless operation," Zamir was quoted as saying by the DPA news agency. 

This comes hours after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF will go ahead with its plans regardless of the negotiations over a potential ceasefire and a hostage deal.
 

The Israeli army said its initial findings suggest it had not shot civilians, neither at the humanitarian aid distribution center nor in close proximity to it, calling the reports saying it did "false."

"In the past several hours, false reports have been spread out with severe accusations against the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)," the statement read.

"The findings of an initial investigation suggest that the IDF did not shoot civilians while they were near or in close proximity to the humanitarian aid distribution center."

Health officials in Gaza said up to 31 people were killed by an IDF shooting.

Later, the Guardian quoted off the record comments from the IDF admitting that shots were fired "to prevent several suspects from approaching the troops."

An international activist coalition is planning to sail to Gazato break Israel's blockade on the enclave.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition departed from Sicily on Sunday, carrying a dozen people, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg. 

The coalition was established in 2010 as a non-violent international movement supporting the Palestinian cause through the combination of humanitarian aid and political protest against Israel's blockade of Gaza.

According to journalist Andrea Legni — who is on board the "Madleen," the small sailboat being used by the group — the vessel is carrying "fruit juices, milk, rice, tinned food and protein bars donated by hundreds of Catania residents."

A similar ship carrying aid to Gaza was hit by a drone while on its way to the war-embattled Strip last month.
 

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had ordered the country's army to go ahead with its plans in the war against Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza "regardless of any negotiations."

"Either Hamas releases the hostages, or it will be destroyed," Katz said in a statement.

US envoy Steve Witkoff is still trying to broker a ceasefire deal between the two sides. One of the major stumbling blocks between Israel and Hamas is the latter's demand  to end the war in Gaza entirely, a demand Israel is unwilling to accept. 
 

At least 31 people were killed in an Israeli attack near an aid distribution point, according to authorities in Gaza.

However, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the aid organization backed by Israel and the US which runs the aid distribution points in the enclave, denied the reports, calling them "untrue and fabricated."

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Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus on Saturday.

The two discussed increasing economic cooperation between their two countries after Western sanctions against Syria were recently lifted, in large part.

The US, EU and Britain have all eased sanctions in May that were imposed against former dictator Bashar Assad, a move the Saudi foreign minister said would help in "reactivating the Syrian economy that had been at a standstill for decades."

Prince Faisal said Saudi Arabia, as well as Qatar, would provide financial assistance to employees of the public sector. He also brought along a business delegation that would look into cooperating in the sectors of oil, infrastructure, information
technology, telecommunications and agriculture.

"We assert that the kingdom will be a leading state among countries that will stand by Syria in its march for reconstruction and economic revival," Prince Faisal said.

Following reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran had increased its production of enriched uranium to over 400 kilograms (around 900 pounds), Iran has said it would retaliate if Germany, France and Britain decided to impose new sanctions.

The report was leaked on Saturday amid talks between the US and Iran to find a deal that seeks to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for a reduction of US sanctions against Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement he had urged IAEA chief Rafael Grossi to ensure "that certain parties do not exploit the agency for political agendas against the Iranian people."

"Iran will respond to any inappropriate action by the European parties" to a 2015 deal that aimed to limit Iran's nuclear program. US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the deal during his first term.

The three European powers have threatened to reimpose sanctions if they consider Iran's nuclear program to be posing a threat.

Witnesses reported on Sunday that Israeli forces fired on Palestinians waiting to receive aid close to a distribution site in Gaza.

At least 21 were killed and scores more injured, according to a Red Cross field hospital and numerous witnesses, cited by The Associated Press.

Hamas said that in total 30 people had been killed and a dozen more injured.

"There was fire from all directions, from naval warships, from tanks and drones," The Associated Press cited Amr Abu Teiba, who was in the crowd, as saying. Another eyewitness corroborated the account.

The incident happened on Sunday morning as people gathered to receive food. The population of the Palestinian enclave has been starved by a monthslong Israeli blockade that sparked international outrage, even from some of Israel's closest allies.

The decision by the Israeli government to allow aid into Gaza has also been mired in controversy and chaos. The UN said that the first deliveries of aid had been minimal and even then failed to reach the people in need.

An Israeli and US-backed plan to send in the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has not assuaged concerns. The aim was to avoid aid being diverted to Hamas — something the UN has said there is no evidence for — and as such, the GHF employs private security contractors, similar to mercenaries, to protect the aid distribution sites.

The Foundation on Sunday said it had distributed aid "without incident," and dismissed what it referred to as "false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos."

Local health officials have reported that prior to Sunday, six people had been killed and several more wounded by live fire at GHF distribution sites.

UN agencies have refused to work with the GHF, saying it violates humanitarian rules by giving Israel control over who receives aid.

Thank you for joining us as we bring you the latest from Gaza, Israel and the wider Middle East.

Amid repeated and consistent warnings that the population of Gaza is starving as a result of Israel's monthslong blockade, the question of aid distribution and Israel's role in it has become a major story.

The situation in Gaza has sparked unprecedented levels of criticism of Israel's actions, including from Israel's closest allies such as Germany.

There have been increased calls from within the EU to take a tougher stance against Israel's attacks in Gaza and the humanitarian catastrophe there caused by the Israeli blockade. The UN earlier this week called Gaza the "hungriest place on earth."

A controversial plan, backed by Israel and the US, to send in a private aid agency — the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation with its private armed security teams — has not dampened the international outrage.

Meanwhile, Hamas said it had responded to a US ceasefire plan. However, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said Hamas' response to the US-led ceasefire proposal was "totally unacceptable."

Hamas, which controls Gaza, is considered a a terrorist organization by Israel, Germany, US and several other countries.