US President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC. AFP
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said: “We think within the next week we’re going to get a ceasefire. We’re working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of.”
The US brokered a temporary ceasefire during the final days of Joe Biden’s presidency, with involvement from Trump’s incoming administration.
That agreement collapsed in March when Israel resumed its war on Gaza, launching widespread air and ground attacks that killed more than 400 people in the first days alone.
Israel has also imposed a full blockade, halting all food and humanitarian supplies for over two months. The siege, condemned by UN agencies and humanitarian groups, has pushed the population towards famine conditions.
Under international pressure, Israel later approved a limited and tightly controlled aid mechanism via the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by both Israel and the US.
The system relies on private American contractors and coordination with Israeli forces. Aid agencies say it has become a tool of repression rather than relief.
“The new aid distribution system has become a killing field,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA. “People are being shot at while trying to access food for themselves and their families.” He called for an immediate return to UN-led humanitarian operations, free from Israeli military oversight.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres echoed the condemnation. “People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families,” he said. “The search for food must never be a death sentence.”
Gaza’s health ministry reports that more than 500 Palestinians have been killed near aid centres since late May. The territory’s civil defence agency has also documented repeated incidents of Israeli fire on civilians seeking food.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) called the GHF system “slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid,” warning that Israel was weaponizing relief efforts while continuing to target civilians.
The pattern of attacks comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a report that military commanders instructed soldiers to open fire on unarmed Palestinians gathered at aid sites.
The report, published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz under the headline “It’s a killing field”, quoted unnamed soldiers who said they were ordered to shoot at civilians near food distribution points to disperse crowds, even when there was no threat.
Haaretz also reported that the military advocate general, the army’s top legal authority, had directed military police to investigate what were described as suspected war crimes at the sites.
The Israeli military has offered no public explanation for the repeated killings, despite escalating international condemnation and calls for accountability.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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