The number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip in Israeli army attacks since dawn today, July 19, has risen to 104. Among the victims, at least 37 were waiting for humanitarian aid near distribution centers. Hospital sources in Gaza reported that more than 100 people were injured in the attacks. The Hamas-run Gaza Civil Defense Agency described"Israeli gunfire" near two humanitarian aid centers in the southern Strip. Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for the Civil Defense, specified that 22 people died near a center southwest of Khan Younis and four others northwest of Rafah, attributing both attacks to"Israeli shelling," denouncing yet another episode of violence against civilians seeking aid. Three other people were reportedly killed and many others injured in two Israeli airstrikes on the Zeitoun neighborhood in southern Gaza. According to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, at least 58,765 people have died and 140,485 have been injured in Gaza since the beginning of the war, following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Since the end of May, 900 people have been killed while waiting for food distributions, according to Al Jazeera.

Gaza's Nasser Hospital has received 35 bodies so far following the latest shooting at a GHF food aid site in Rafah, the Health Ministry said. While"massacres" continue to occur at food distribution centers, medical teams have observed a significant increase in mortality rates due to hunger and malnutrition. The ministry called on the international community to"take urgent and effective action." Nasser Hospital director Atef al-Hout spoke of "an unprecedented number of victims in a very short time," warning that the toll could worsen due to shortages of staff, equipment, and medicines. Witnesses and local sources reported that Israeli troops surrounded the area of Al-Tina Street, where thousands of people had gathered to reach a food distribution center, and began firing live ammunition into the crowd, resulting in casualties among children and adolescents.

In a statement, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said there were no incidents near its aid distribution sites. It added that the reported Israeli gunfire, which reportedly killed over 30 people, occurred far from the sites and hours before they opened. The Israeli army said:"Palestinians approached Israeli forces in the Rafah area in a manner that posed a threat." According to the IDF, the soldiers acted"to prevent the suspects from approaching, ordering them to move away, and when they did not comply, the troops fired warning shots." The spokesperson added that "the incident occurred one kilometer away from the nearest distribution point and at night, when the site was not open for aid collection." More generally, “IDF forces hit approximately 90 targets in Gaza over the past day with air and ground strikes, continuing to eliminate terrorists, destroy their infrastructure and weapons depots, both above and below ground,” according to a statement from the Israeli army.

Meanwhile, the Gaza hostage issue has returned to the forefront of international attention with statements by former US President Donald Trump. During a dinner with Republican lawmakers at the White House on the evening of July 18, Trump announced the imminent release of ten more hostages from Gaza."We've recovered most of the hostages. We'll have ten more very soon, and we hope to wrap this up quickly," Trump said. He was referring to the Washington-backed negotiations underway in Doha between Israel and Hamas since July 6. The US proposal calls for a 60-day truce in exchange for the release of ten live hostages and the return of the remains of eighteen others.

But the parties exchanged accusations again yesterday."If the enemy remains stubborn in this round of negotiations, we cannot guarantee a return to the partial agreement proposals, including the offer to exchange 10 hostages," said Abu Obaida, spokesman for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, accusing Israel of continuing to propose"a comprehensive agreement that would include the release of all hostages at once." "Hamas is not making progress on the ratio of released prisoners to hostages," an Israeli official said. An Arab diplomat and a second source involved in the mediation said that Hamas effectively lifted its veto on discussing the terms of the hostage-prisoner exchange after receiving updated Israeli maps depicting the IDF's partial withdrawal from Gaza during the two-month truce under discussion. Meanwhile, Israeli negotiators remain in Qatar and another delegation is in Cairo to discuss the sending of humanitarian aid in the event of a ceasefire.