Israel to curb aid to northern Gaza as military offensive grows

Israel plans to scale back humanitarian aid to northern Gaza as it ramps up its offensive against Hamas, an official said on Saturday, 30 August, a day after declaring Gaza City a combat zone.

The official, who spoke anonymously to The Associated Press, said airdrops over Gaza City will stop in the coming days and the number of aid trucks will be reduced as the army prepares to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people south. Israel on Friday also ended daytime pauses in fighting, calling Gaza City a Hamas stronghold with an active tunnel network.

The move is expected to invite renewed international condemnation as dire conditions worsen for Palestinians and hostages still held in Gaza after nearly 23 months of war. The UN has warned that current measures fall far short of the 600 trucks of aid needed daily.

“We left because the area became unlivable,” said displaced resident Fadi Al-Daour, as families fled Gaza City through a landscape of devastation.

Hostage remains identified

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed on Friday that remains recovered in Gaza were those of Idan Shtivi, kidnapped from the Nova music festival during the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack.

Of the more than 250 hostages seized, 48 remain in Gaza; Israel believes around 20 are still alive. Families rallied again in Tel Aviv demanding a ceasefire and warning Netanyahu that the offensive endangers their loved ones.

“If another living hostage comes back in a bag, you will bear responsibility for premeditated murder,” said Zahiro Shahar Mor, nephew of hostage Avraham Munder.

Mass evacuation looms

Israel has stepped up strikes around Gaza City, where famine was recently documented. By Saturday, aid airdrops had already ceased for several days.

The International Committee of the Red Cross warned that an evacuation of Gaza City could trigger a “massive population movement” that no part of the enclave could absorb given the destruction and shortages of food, water, shelter, and medical care.

“It is impossible that such an evacuation can be carried out in a safe and dignified way,” said ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric.

Rising civilian toll

Heavy bombardment continued overnight. Israel’s military said it struck a key Hamas member in Gaza City, though details were not released.

An airstrike on a bakery in Gaza City’s Nasr neighborhood killed 12 people, including six women and three children, according to Shifa Hospital.

A strike on a residential building in Rimal killed seven people, Hamas called it a “brutal escalation.”

Israeli gunfire killed four civilians waiting for aid in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital.

Gaza’s health ministry said 10 more people, including three children, died from starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, bringing such deaths to 332, including 124 children since the war began.

Overall, the ministry reports 63,371 Palestinians killed, about half of them women and children. Israel disputes these figures but has not provided its own.

With AP/PTI inputs