With Israel’s total blockade of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza now in its 12th day, the Gaza bakers’ union reports six of the territory’s 22 remaining bakeries shut down after they ran out of cooking gas.
On Tuesday, the charity MSF, or Doctors Without Borders, strongly condemned the Israeli-imposed siege on the Gaza Strip, writing: “Israeli authorities are yet again normalizing the use of aid as a negotiation tool. This is outrageous. Humanitarian aid should never be used as a bargaining chip in war.”
Israel’s military has stepped up attacks on the Gaza Strip, killing at least eight people over the past 24 hours — despite the ongoing ceasefire agreement. Among the dead are a Palestinian girl who was shot and killed by Israeli forces near Deir al-Balah and four Palestinians killed in an airstrike near an Israeli checkpoint in central Gaza.
In related news, on Tuesday, Israeli forces arrested dozens of people in the occupied West Bank, killing four people during raids around the city of Jenin.
Among the victims is 58-year-old grandmother Faiza Ibrahim Abu Ghali, who was shot and killed when Israeli soldiers raided her home. Her 7-year-old grandson was reportedly among family members detained, then later released, by Israeli forces.
