Live: 54 Palestinians killed, 831 wounded in 24 hours

Vigdis Bjorvand, a 70-year-old Norwegian activist sailing aboard the Handala relief boat bound for Gaza, has threatened to go on hunger strike if Israel attacks the convoy.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Bjorvand said those on board are looking forward to reaching the shores of the besieged enclave.

The director of al-Shifa Hospital said hospitals in the Gaza Strip have documented the deaths of five Palestinians, including two children, from starvation in the past 24 hours. 

This brings the total number of people who have died in Gaza from malnutrition to 127, including 85 children.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest developments in the Israeli war on Gaza and the occupied West Bank:

• Six aid trucks are expected to enter the Gaza Strip on Saturday via Unicef, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza has announced. However, the trucks carry only essential medical supplies - no food - despite the ongoing famine.

• Gaza's government media office warned that over 100,000 children could die within days if baby formula is not delivered immediately.

• More than 25 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn on Saturday.

• Two Palestinians in the West Bank were killed overnight - one by Israeli forces, the other by a settler.

• An activist on board the Handala convoy, which aims to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza, told Al Jazeera: "[We] are preparing ourselves for the possibility of Israeli forces storming the ship."

Our live blog is now closed until tomorrow morning.

Here are the day's key developments:

- At least 12 Palestinians have been killed and another 150 were injured after Israeli forces opened fire on aid seekers in the al-Sudaniya area in the northwest of Gaza on Friday. 

- The Israeli military announced it would allow for foreign governments to carry out Gaza aid drops from the sky to feed Palestinians it has starved. 

- US President Donald Trump indicated to reporters that there may be further assassinations of Hamas officials, because, he said, it was Hamas that refused to commit to a ceasefire deal.

- United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher has demanded that Israel provide evidence for its accusations that staff with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) have links to Hamas, the Reuters news agency reported on Friday, citing a letter it had reviewed. 

- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in New York issued a statement on Friday decrying conditions in Gaza and calling on 'states' to uphold international legal obligations, but did not implicate Israel by name.

- A letter sent to the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday, urging him to recognise a Palestinian state and follow in France's footsteps, has been signed by 221 members of parliament thus far. 

Aljazeera has reported that at least 12 Palestinians have been killed and another 150 were injured after Israeli forces opened fire on aid seekers in the al-Sudaniya area in the northwest of Gaza on Friday. 

The United Nations Relief Works Agency (Unrwa) has hit back at a smear campaign launched by Israel and the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) accusing the UN of failing to deliver aid and being responsible for the mass famine underway in Gaza.

In a video placed by the Israeli Government Advertising Agency, a narrator is heard saying: "While Israel cleared hundreds of trucks that crossed into Gaza, the UN refuses to distribute the aid. These trucks stand idle inside Gaza next to growing stockpiles of supplies. This is deliberate sabotage by the UN."

The video then shows dozens of immobile trucks.

Juliette Touma, director of communications at Unrwa, debunked the claims that trucks were sitting "idle" in Gaza, and aid within the enclave had not been delivered.

Read more: "We have 6,000 trucks stuck in Jordan and Egypt," Touma told Middle East Eye

US President Donald Trump indicated to reporters on Friday that there may be further assassinations of Hamas officials, because - he said - it was Hamas that refused to commit to a ceasefire deal.

Both the US and Israel abruptly withdrew their negotiating teams from Doha one day earlier.

Hamas said it was surprised by the US pullout, and that it was acting responsibly to secure a permanent end to the war.

"They pulled out in terms of negotiating. It was too bad," Trump said on Friday. 

"Hamas didn't really want to make a deal. I think they want to die and it's very, very bad. And it got to be to a point where you're going to have to finish the job," he added.

"I think what's going to happen is they're going to be hunted down," the president said.

United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher has demanded that Israel provide evidence for its accusations that staff with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) have links to Hamas, the Reuters news agency reported on Friday, citing a letter it had reviewed. 

Hamas, as the governing party in Gaza, is responsible for all administrative and bureaucratic tasks in the Strip.

Earlier this week Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon declared that Fletcher and Ocha were no longer neutral and that hundreds of Ocha employees would undergo security vetting. Israel would also restrict Ocha visas to one month, he said. 

Danon did not provide any evidence to back up his statements.

Fletcher sent his letter to the Security Council on Thursday, Reuters said.

"I expect the Israeli authorities to immediately share any evidence that led them to make such claims to the council," Fletcher reportedly wrote.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in New York issued a statement on Friday decrying conditions in Gaza and calling on 'states' to uphold international legal obligations.

The statement does not name Israel except for one mention: that Israel allow for the ICRC to resume visits to Palestinian detainees.

"There is no excuse for what is happening in Gaza. The scale of human suffering and the stripping of human dignity have long exceeded every acceptable standard – both legal and moral," the ICRC said.

"This tragedy must end now – immediately and decisively. Every political hesitation, every attempt at justification of the horrors being committed under international watch will forever be judged as a collective failure to preserve humanity in war," it warned.

"States must uphold their obligation under the Geneva Conventions to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law (IHL), including by ensuring that the arms they transfer do not contribute to violations of IHL," the statement said.

"This means resuming the rapid, unimpeded and impartial delivery of humanitarian relief across Gaza. This means releasing all remaining hostages immediately and unconditionally. This means allowing the ICRC to resume visits to Palestinian detainees in Israeli places of detention."

The Israeli military on Friday announced it would allow for foreign governments to carry out Gaza aid drops from the sky to feed Palestinians it has starved. 

Israel has imposed a total siege on Gaza since March, and has not allowed the United Nations to distribute food aid there. 

Parachuted aid drops can begin immediately, the Israeli military said. 

A letter sent to the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday, urging him to recognise a Palestinian state and follow in France's footsteps, has been signed by 221 members of parliament thus far. 

The MPs represent all four of the major parties in Britain: Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, and the Scottish National Party. 

"We write to you in advance of the UN Conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on the 28th-29th July in New York, to put on record our support for UK recognition of a Palestinian state," the letter said.

"We are expectant that the outcome of the conference will be the UK Government outlining when and how it will act on its long-standing commitment on a two-state solution; as well as how it will work with international partners to make this a reality," the MPs said.

"Whilst we appreciate the UK does not have it in its power to bring about a free and independent Palestine, UK recognition would have a significant impact due to our historic connections and our membership on the UN Security Council, so we urge you to take this step," read the letter.

"British recognition of Palestine would be particularly powerful given its role as the author of the Balfour Declaration and the former Mandatory Power in Palestine. Since 1980 we have backed a two-state solution. Such a recognition would give that position substance as well as living up to a historic responsibility we have to the people under that Mandate."

The Arab mediators between the US and Israel on one side, and Hamas on the other, have said that it is "normal procedure" to suspend negotiations for a time in order to carry out consultations.

The joint statement from Qatar and Egypt on Friday came a day after the Israeli and US delegations withdrew from Doha, where Gaza ceasefire talks were being held.

The US envoy in particular even suggested he would seek "alternative options" to this particular diplomatic route. Hamas officials said they were "surprised" by that reaction. 

"The State of Qatar and the Arab Republic of Egypt affirm the continuation of their intensive efforts in the mediation file of Gaza Strip, aiming to reach an agreement that brings an end to the war, alleviates the humanitarian suffering in the enclave, ensures the protection
of civilians, and facilitates the exchange of detainees and prisoners," the joint statement said.

"The two countries indicate that some progress has been achieved during the most recent intensive round of negotiations, which lasted for three weeks. They affirm that the suspension of negotiations with a view to holding consultations before resuming dialogue once again is a normal procedure within the context of these complex negotiations," Egypt and Qatar noted.

"The two states call for refraining from being swayed by leaks circulated by certain media outlets in attempts to undermine these efforts and influence the course of the negotiation process. They emphasize that such leaks do not reflect reality and originate from parties
uninformed about the progress of the negotiations," the statement warned.

The leaders of the so-called E3 group of France, Britain and Germany called on Friday for an end to the war in Gaza through a an immediate ceasefire and said they were committed to supporting diplomatic efforts by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

"The humanitarian catastrophe that we are witnessing in Gaza must end now...We firmly oppose all efforts to impose Israeli sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territories," the leaders of the three European countries said in a joint statement.

- Reporting by Reuters

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has suggested that British policy on recognising a Palestinian state will be decided in the autumn, Foreign Office sources have told Middle East Eye.

Lammy’s remarks appeared to suggest the UK may be aligning its timetable with France, after President Emmanuel Macron said Paris would recognise a Palestinian state at the UN in September.

A UK minister told the Financial Times on Friday: “It’s very likely now that we will do the same thing. That is where we are heading.”

Two Foreign Office sources told MEE that in a meeting with civil servants on Wednesday, Lammy remarked he had “a feeling that in the autumn, this debate will settle in a particular place”.

They added that the foreign secretary also noted he was not the sole decision-maker in UK government on the topic.

Read more: Lammy suggests UK decision on Palestinian state likely in autumn

Aid drops of aid over Gaza will resume soon, an Israeli official on Friday told news agency AFP.

"Humanitarian aid air drops on the Gaza Strip will resume in the upcoming days. They will be managed by the UAE and Jordan," the official told AFP.

The enclave is severely short of food and essential supplies as Israel has blocked all aid and killed over 1,000 Palestinian aid seekers. 

At least 115 Palestinians have starved to death in the enclave due to the Israeli-imposed blockade so far.