Israel kills more than 300 Palestinians in 48 hours as ceasefire in balance

Gaza’s Government Media Office says Israel has committed ’26 bloody massacres’ in the last two days.

More than 300 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the last 48 hours, according to the Gaza Government Media Office, which says Israel has “committed 26 bloody massacres” in that period.

At least 30 people have been killed since dawn on Thursday. Thirteen died when Israeli forces targeted a tent in al-Mawasi in the south, and another 11 were killed and many wounded in an Israeli strike on the Mostafa Hafez school, sheltering displaced people west of Gaza City, according to medical sources speaking to Al Jazeera.

The Government Media Office statement on Thursday said the attacks over the last 48 hours had targeted civilians in shelters and displacement centres overcrowded with tens of thousands of displaced people, public rest areas, such as the “al-Baqa” rest stop, Palestinian families inside their homes, popular markets and vital civilian facilities, and starving civilians searching for food.

United States contractors ostensibly guarding aid distribution sites in Gaza have been using live ammunition and stun grenades as hungry Palestinians scramble for food, according to accounts and videos obtained by The Associated Press news agency.

Two US contractors, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity, said they were speaking out because they were disturbed by what they considered dangerous practices. They said the security staff hired were often unqualified, unvetted, heavily armed and seemed to have an open licence to do whatever they wished.