Wafric News – June 25, 2025

Gaza City - At least 51 Palestinians have been killed across Gaza in a fresh wave of Israeli assaults, including 14 people who died near aid distribution centres, as U.S. President Donald Trump claimed “great progress” in efforts to end the war.

Sources at Gaza’s al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospitals confirmed that nine Palestinians were fatally shot early Wednesday while waiting for humanitarian aid near the Netzarim Junction in central Gaza. Several others were injured in the same incident.

The deaths are the latest in a disturbing pattern of violence near aid sites controlled by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)—a controversial entity backed by Israel and the United States. Since its formation in late May, the GHF has come under fire from humanitarian groups and the UN, who accuse it of turning food into a weapon of war.

WafricNews understands that GHF-run centres are often situated dangerously close to Israeli military positions. Tanks and snipers encircle these areas, putting desperate civilians directly in the line of fire.

“People get just 20 minutes to collect food before the gunfire starts,” a local source told WafricNews. “This is no humanitarian operation. It is a trap.”

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza, echoed similar concerns: “This has become a deadly routine. People gather for survival and leave in body bags.”

The GHF has denied responsibility for the deaths, but pressure is mounting for an independent investigation. Israel, meanwhile, blames the killings on the presence of “suspects” near its troops—a familiar narrative used to justify civilian deaths.

Beyond the aid centre attacks, Israeli warplanes bombed homes in central Gaza. Five people, including children, were killed in Deir el-Balah when their house was flattened overnight.

“There was no warning,” said Ramzi Khaled, a witness. “The ceiling came crashing down. We pulled out body parts.”

Three others were killed in the Nuseirat refugee camp. In Gaza City, a fuel station sheltering displaced families was also hit without warning. “We found them in pieces,” Khaled added.

Since October 7, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 56,000 people and injured over 131,000, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The numbers include thousands of women and children.

Israel began its campaign after Hamas-led attacks killed an estimated 1,139 people in Israel and took over 200 hostages.

But as civilian death tolls rise in Gaza, the justification for Israel’s ongoing bombardment continues to erode, both within and beyond its borders.

Israel’s military confirmed the deaths of seven soldiers in Gaza on Tuesday, all aged between 19 and 21. They were members of the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion. A wounded eighth soldier remains in critical condition.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it “a very difficult day for the people of Israel”, but critics say his government is dragging the war on for political survival.

Despite the bloodshed, diplomatic efforts are reportedly accelerating.

In The Hague for a NATO summit, President Trump told reporters that “great progress” was being made toward a ceasefire. He credited recent U.S. airstrikes on Iran for creating leverage and said his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had told him “Gaza is very close” to a deal.

In parallel, Qatar’s Prime Minister confirmed that indirect talks between Israel and Hamas could resume “within days”. A senior Hamas official also confirmed “intensified” communication with mediators from Qatar and Egypt, although no new proposals have been presented yet.

Yossi Mekelberg, a senior fellow at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera that many Israelis are growing weary of the war—and turning to Trump for a solution.

“Trump is more popular than Netanyahu right now, especially on Iran,” Mekelberg said. “Many believe Netanyahu is prolonging the war to cling to power. Trump, by contrast, might deliver what Israelis really want: an end to the bloodshed and the return of hostages.”

While talks of ceasefire unfold in elite diplomatic circles, the humanitarian reality on the ground remains catastrophic. More than eight in ten Gazans are now displaced. Basic services have collapsed. Food is weaponised. And for many, every aid distribution trip is a life-or-death gamble.

For observers in the Global South, the Gaza crisis reveals a deeper moral crisis in global diplomacy—where aid, alliances, and arms often serve geopolitical interests rather than human needs.

WafricNews will continue to track both the diplomacy and devastation unfolding in Gaza—and the deeper patterns they reveal about power, policy, and the price paid by the people.


By WafricNews Desk.