Gaza food aid paused again, amid claims of Hamas threat

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it has been forced to stop distributing desperately needed food in the war-torn strip because Hamas is threatening it, as Palestinian sources report at least 60 dead in the latest Israeli strikes.

"Hamas is the reason hundreds of thousands of hungry Gazans were not fed today," the GHF, a US and Israeli-backed aid group,said in a statement on Saturday, referring to the Palestinian Islamist militia.

"The group issued direct threats against GHF operations. These threats made it impossible to proceed today without putting innocent lives at risk."

The group charged that Hamas wants control over aid distribution so it can exploit the Gaza population.

"Hamas wants to return to a broken system it once controlled and exploited - diverting aid, manipulating distribution, and putting its own agenda ahead of the Palestinian people's basic needs," the GHFsaid.

But the group said it "will not be deterred" and it would adapt to "these threats" and return to food distribution "without delay".

The GHF had already announced the temporary closure of its distribution centres on Friday. The centres were reportedly closed due to the "large crowds" in order to ensure the safety of people on site. Thousands of food packages had been distributed beforehand, it said.

Around two weeks ago, Israel eased its blockade of aid deliveries to Gaza. The distribution of aid was taken over by the GHF, bypassing UN aid organisations and other initiatives.

The organisation has been accused of endangering civilians and violating the standards of neutral aid. Israel says it wants to prevent Hamas from seizing the aid deliveries.

Meanwhile, Palestinian medical sources said at least 60 people had been killed in the Gaza Strip since early Saturday.

Dozens more have been injured, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry said. The Israeli army initially provided no information, and the figures could not be independently verified.

The death toll is rising by the hour as the Israeli military continues to attack various locations in the sealed-off territory.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported deaths in the areas around Khan Younis and Rafah in the south of the embattled strip, as well as in Gaza City further north. There was no initial comment from the Israeli military.

The Israeli military said it had killed the leader of the Palestinian Mujahideen Brigades who it said was directly involved in the abduction and murder of the well-known Bibas hostages.

Shiri Bibas and her two red-haired sons became symbols of the plight of Israeli hostages after video footage of the frightened mother and her two children being abducted spread around the world.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it killed As'ad Abu Sharaiya, in Gaza City in the north of the coastal strip in a joint special operation by the IDF and the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service.

In recent years, he is said to have served as the leader of the relatively small Mujahideen Brigades.

Israeli also said it had recovered the body of a Thai hostage and brought to Israel, according to a post on X.

The remains of Nattapong Pinta were found in the joint operation by the army and the Shin Bet near the southern city of Rafah and brought to Israel.

Pinta was said to have been abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz on the border with Gaza on October 7, 2023.

He was killed while being held hostage by members of the Palestinian Mujahideen Brigades, the military said.

The rescue was possible thanks to "precise intelligence information"and the family was informed after a forensic identification.