Gaza / West Bank, May 29, 2025: At least 55 Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours amid intensifying Israeli air and ground operations in Gaza, as Israel simultaneously escalated tensions by approving 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank — a move condemned as a “dangerous escalation” by Palestinian officials and rights groups.
According to Al Jazeera, 23 people were killed in a concentrated wave of Israeli airstrikes on the central Gaza region of Bureij, while another 10 Palestinians were fatally shot while attempting to receive food aid from a U.S.-backed organization. Gaza’s Health Ministry confirmed the deaths and reported that at least 62 others were injured during what it called a targeted attack on an aid distribution site. Casualties were rushed to Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa hospitals, with medics describing chaotic scenes and prolonged rescue efforts.
The Gaza Government Media Office accused Israeli forces of deliberately opening fire on starving civilians. “The occupying army opened direct fire on hungry Palestinian civilians who had gathered to receive aid,” it said in a statement.
Among the dead was Moataz Raja, a journalist killed in an Israeli airstrike while reporting from al-Nafaq Street in Gaza City. The Gaza Journalists Syndicate labeled his killing an “assassination,” stating that an Israeli aircraft targeted the civilian vehicle Raja was traveling in. The syndicate reports that at least 221 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October 2023.
At the United Nations, Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour accused Israel of using “aid as a weapon of war,” and urged the international community to intervene.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported on Sunday that 3,785 people have been killed since the collapse of a brief ceasefire on March 18, bringing the overall death toll to more than 53,900, mostly civilians. Al Jazeera places the total Palestinian death toll at over 61,000, the majority being women and children.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, while the International Court of Justice (ICJ) continues to hear a genocide case against Israel.
Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the government’s approval for the construction of 22 new Jewish settlements, including the legalisation of unauthorized outposts. The announcement sparked swift backlash from Palestinians and alarm among Western allies.
Smotrich, a key member of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition and a long-time proponent of annexing the West Bank, said the settlements would be located in the northern region of the territory, though specifics were not disclosed. Israeli media cited the Defense Ministry as saying the move aligns with expanded military control in the region.
Currently, around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem—areas seized during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Israel later annexed East Jerusalem, a move not internationally recognized, while continuing de facto control of the West Bank without formally extending sovereignty.
The Palestinian Authority condemned the move as an attempt to sabotage peace prospects. “This extremist Israeli government is trying by all means to prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for President Mahmoud Abbas, urging U.S. intervention.
Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri added, “The announcement of building 22 new settlements in the West Bank is part of Netanyahu’s war against the Palestinian people.”
Since the war in Gaza erupted nearly 20 months ago, settlement activity has surged, accompanied by an increase in Israeli military raids and settler violence across the West Bank — deepening an already volatile situation in the occupied territories.
