Dozens killed in attack on Gaza aid-distribution point

Dozens of people have been killed and more than a hundred wounded in an attack on an aid distribution point in Gaza. A Red Cross-run hospital said the victims were trying to collect supplies when the attack occurred at a compound run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Rafah in the south of the Strip. The Gaza civil defense blamed gunfire from Israeli vehicles. The reports are yet to be confirmed and there's been no comment from Israel or the privately run aid group. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire with only limited food and medicine getting in and Israel stepping up its military operation as it seeks to take full control of the Strip. Rescuers in Gaza said Israeli airstrikes killed more than 20 people across the territory on Saturday, including a woman who was seven months pregnant. Dozens more were wounded. In Gaza City, a mother hugged the body of her son. The victim's cousin says an Israeli bomb killed him while he was trying to find food for his family. He was 30 years old and had five children. He was martyred when a civilian car was targeted. They had nothing to do with anything. They were civilians and didn't belong to any organizations. He was bringing a bag of flour from the south for his brother in Gaza City. Following an 80-day total blockade that led to the starvation deaths of dozens of Palestinians, international pressure on Israel mounted and they allowed a limited amount of food to once again trickle in. One UN office has called the new aid distribution center set up by Israel and the U.S. at Gaza's southern border an example of engineered scarcity. Elsewhere, the World Food Program is sending trucks of flour to local bakeries to feed Gaza's starving population. Aid groups say dozens of WFP trucks have been looted by armed groups. I don't know what to say about this war. Look, I buy just one kilogram of flour each day for my little children. This famine has killed many children and many have died from malnutrition. Meanwhile, a ceasefire doesn't seem to be likely in the near future. Hamas leaders say the most recent terms offered by the top U.S. negotiator are a reversal of a deal they agreed to just days earlier. They say that term sheet included, among other things, a clear path to a permanent ceasefire, followed by a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip. Israel and the U.S. deny that any such agreement was made. While Hamas say they're still considering the deal they called more biased toward Israel, civilians in Gaza can only wait and hope. For more on this, I'm joined by our correspondent Emily Gordine in Jerusalem. Emily, what more do we know about this incident in Rafah? Well, this incident occurred at one of the four distribution centers that were put up by the Israeli military and that are operated by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Now, this foundation was set up because Israel essentially claimed that the U.N., which was previously responsible for distributing aid across the Gaza Strip, allowed Hamas to seize some of that aid. Israel has not provided any evidence for this accusation and the U.N. has rejected that claim. But ultimately, the setup of this foundation, which is backed by the U.S. and Israel, has received a lot of criticism, not just by Palestinian authorities, but also by the U.N. itself, which says that it is a part of Israel's military strategy, meaning that aid is being used in this case to lure hungry Gazans who have been under a blockade for 11 weeks now to certain locations to potentially launch attacks. Now, we don't know whether this is specifically what happened in this incident, but we know that over the past few weeks and a couple of weeks and days, that there have been really chaotic scenes at these new distribution sites, with many people injured. Of course, this comes at a time when Israel continues its military operation. Very few aid, very little aid is trickling in, according to the U.N., not nearly enough to meet the situation on the ground. And many, of course, are hoping for a ceasefire. Emily, back with you in a moment. But first, we should mention to viewers, Israel and Hamas appear no closer to a ceasefire in Gaza after Hamas delivered its response to a proposed deal. Hamas described the offer put forward by the U.S. and backed by Israel as positive, but the militant group also wanted amendments. The original proposal would pause the fighting in Gaza for 60 days, allowing for the release of hostages and the entry of more humanitarian aid into the territory. In a statement, Hamas said it was looking for a permanent end to the war and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Several hours later, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, delivered his reaction. In a post on X, he wrote, I received the Hamas response to the United States proposal. It is totally unacceptable and only takes us backward. Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks. That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days. Let's talk a bit more about the ceasefire proposal for a moment, Emily. Hamas says it wants amendments. What exactly is the militant group angling for? First of all, Hamas has agreed to release 10 living hostages and 18 deceased hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinians held in Israeli jails and a 60-day ceasefire. But it wants to see amendments to the timetable according to which these hostages are released. They want to see them released over six trenches across the 60-day ceasefire. They also want to see a permanent end to the war, which is something they have been calling for for months, really, from the beginning of these negotiations. They also want a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. These two things, as it stands, are not part of this deal. Israel has said from the beginning that it will not agree to a permanent end to the war. It wants to leave that option open. This is also why it broke the ceasefire deal in February, where they were meant to discuss and agree on an end to the deal. The question is whether the Americans will agree to giving certain guarantees to Hamas that if it agrees to this proposal, that along the timeline, so to speak, that Israel won't resume the war again. So far, that seems to be the sticking point in these negotiations, whether or whether there will not be an agreement to permanently end this war and how the U.S. is going to be involved in ensuring that does happen. That's Emily Gordine in Jerusalem. Many thanks, Emily.