World Central Kitchen demanded an independent investigation into the Israeli strikes that killed seven of its staff in Gaza, as Israel faces growing isolation over the deaths of six foreign aid workers and a Palestinian driver helping deliver desperately needed food to isolated and starving residents.
The Palestinian death toll from Israel’s six-month war in Gaza has soared above 33,000 killed, with more than 75,600 wounded, the Health Ministry in Gaza said Thursday. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
Wednesday night, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Israeli counterpart that the strikes, which Israel says targeted the aid workers in error, strengthened U.S. concerns about Israel’s plans to expand its ground offensive into southern Gaza and said Israel must do more to protect the lives of civilians and aid workers in the besieged territory.
The United Nations says much of the population in northern Gaza is on the brink of starvation. The top United Nations court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza, a charge Israel strongly denies, and U.N. Security Council has issued a legally binding demand for a cease-fire.
The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage.