Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, marking a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict.
Since then, more than 54,000 people, including thousands of children, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in the enclave, which has been run by Hamas since 2007.
The ministry reported Saturday that Gaza hospitals received 60 dead bodies and 284 injured patients in the last 24 hours.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Saturday said that Israel agreed to Witkoff’s outline but that “Hamas continues to adhere to its refusal.”
“Israel will continue its action for the return of our hostages and the defeat of Hamas,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim disputed the claim, saying they did not reject Witkoff’s proposal. Naim said that there was an agreement last week, but that Israel’s response disagreed with the terms agreed upon.
Naim said Israel’s response to Witkoff’s plan did not align with what had been agreed upon, criticizing the U.S. envoy’s stance toward the group as “unfair” and showing “complete bias” toward Israel, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, aid groups have warned of a dire humanitarian situation in the enclave due to Israel’s offensive and an 11-week blockade that barred the entry of food and medicine before it was lifted last week.
Trump on Wednesday acknowledged the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling it a “nasty situation” and adding that “Oct. 7 was a very nasty day, the worst that I think I’ve ever seen.”
He told reporters the U.S. was getting food to Palestinian civilians with a new system for aid distribution launched over the past week, led by the U.S. and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
GHF began operations this week, days after Israel lifted its blockade, despite criticism from humanitarian groups that warned that its operations undermined a long-running humanitarian framework in Gaza and risked compromising the independence of aid operations.
They also expressed significant concern over a plan laid out by Netanyahu to see aid distributed at sites in southern Gaza, effectively forcibly displacing Palestinians there.
In an update Friday, however, GHF said it planned to build additional sites across Gaza, including in the northern region, “in the weeks ahead.” The organization said it had so far distributed more than 2.1 million meals to Palestinians in the span of four days.
Chantal Da Silva reports on world news for NBC News Digital and is based in London.
Kate Brannelly and Phil Helsel contributed.
