Several Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded, according to Gaza health officials and emergency workers. Israel denied reports that soldiers had opened fire on civilians. By Aaron ...

U.S. allies sanction far-right Israeli officials Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich over "extremist rhetoric" calling for "Palestinians to be driven from their homes."

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Palestinian death toll from the 20-month Israel-Hamas war passed 55,000, the Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday, and hospitals said at least 21 people were killed while on their way to aid distribution sites.

Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway said they were taking measures against far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.

Israel’s use of aid as a weapon of war has provoked outrage. It has prevented essential supplies from entering Gaza. And yet its new effort to distribute aid is also proving deeply controversial. Hamas says it is a front for the idf. International aid organisations have decried it. What is this new network and what is it trying to do?

The war began when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage. They are still holding 53 captives, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

The coordinated move against Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich highlights the hardening of several countries’ stance toward Israel amid the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

After reports of violence outside aid sites in Gaza, the Wall Street Journal analyzed satellite imagery, video and witness testimony, and found that the U.S.-led, Israel-backed process has led to chaos and deaths.

The decision by Western governments friendly to Israel was a sharp rebuke of Israel’s settlement policies in the West Bank and of settler violence.

The decision by Western governments friendly to Israel was a sharp rebuke of Israel’s settlement policies in the West Bank and of settler violence, which has spiked since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.