\n<\/p>\n
Israeli troops have fired \u201cwarning shots\u201d at a group of 25 diplomats who were visiting Jenin in the Israel-occupied West Bank on an official mission organised by the Palestinian Authority to observe the humanitarian situation there.<\/p>\n
The Israeli military said the visit had been approved but the delegation \u201cdeviated from the approved route\u201d and Israeli soldiers fired warning shots to distance them from the area.<\/p>\n
Footage shows a number of diplomats giving media interviews when rapid shots rang out nearby, forcing them to run for cover. The delegation comprised ambassadors and diplomats representing 31 countries, including Italy, Canada, Egypt, Jordan and the UK.<\/p>\n
The IDF said it regretted \u201cthe inconvenience caused\u201d and that senior officials would contact diplomats to inform them of the results of its internal investigation into the incident.<\/p>\n
Jenin was the focus of a big Israeli assault in January that forced tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes, one of the largest West Bank displacements in years.<\/p>\n
The British, French and other European ministers summoned the Israeli ambassadors in their respective capitals to explain the \u201cunacceptable\u201d incident, which will fuel already growing international anger and concern as Israel continues its offensive in Gaza and ramps up the expansion of settlements in the West Bank that are illegal under international law.<\/p>\n
A new wave of airstrikes and artillery shelling killed at least 82 people in Gaza on Wednesday, including several women and a week-old infant, the Gaza health ministry and hospital officials said.<\/p>\n
In Khan Younis, where Israel recently ordered new evacuations before an expected major attack into the southern city, 24 people were killed, including 14 from the same family, Palestinian officials reported.<\/p>\n
Late on Wednesday, Israel\u2019s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said \u201call of the Gaza Strip will be under the Israeli army\u2019s control\u201d by the end of its intensified offensive. Amid growing international pressure on Israel to allow food to reach starving Palestinians, he said: \u201cWe must avoid a humanitarian crisis in order to preserve our freedom of operational action.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Israel began allowing dozens of humanitarian trucks into Gaza on Tuesday, aid had not yet reached Palestinians, humanitarian workers there said.<\/p>\n
Fewer than 100 aid trucks have entered Gaza since Monday when Netanyahu\u2019s government agreed to lift the 11-week blockade that has led to the territory facing a \u201ccritical risk of famine\u201d.<\/p>\n
Abdel-Nasser al-Ajramy, the head of the bakery owners\u2019 society in Gaza, said at least 25 bakeries that had been told they would receive flour from the World Food Programme had seen nothing and there had been no relief from the hunger for people waiting for food.<\/p>\n
Much of Gaza\u2019s 2.3 million population rely for survival on free bakeries and community kitchens. Almost all have shut down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no flour, no food, no water,\u201d said Sabah Warsh Agha, a 67-year-old woman from the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya. \u201cWe used to get water from the pump, now the pump has stopped working. There is no diesel or gas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Complex logistics, continued fighting, an Israeli requirement to reload cargoes on to new trucks after they enter Gaza, the limited availability of fuel and the poor condition of roads are all slowing the distribution of aid, humanitarian officials said. The Guardian understands that further delays were caused when the Israeli military instructed aid agencies to send convoys carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of flour on routes along Gaza\u2019s southern border with Egypt and along the coast which are considered prone to looting.<\/p>\n
The new offensive in Gaza followed a two-month ceasefire and has drawn fierce condemnation<\/a> from countries that have previously avoided expressing open criticism of Israel. Even the US, the country\u2019s most important ally, has shown signs of losing patience with Netanyahu.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Britain announced the suspension of talks with Israel on a free trade deal, and has, along with France and Canada, threatened \u201cconcrete actions\u201d if Israel continues its offensive and restrictions on the free flow of aid.<\/p>\n Separately, the EU\u2019s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the bloc was reviewing its agreement with Israel governing trade ties over its conduct of the war in Gaza. The pact specifies that all signatories<\/a> must show \u201crespect for human rights and democratic principles\u201d.<\/p>\n The EU\u2019s review could be completed relatively quickly as officials could draw on a 34-page report compiled late last year that details multiple allegations of systemic violations of international law during the conflict by both Israel and Hamas.<\/p>\n