Israel has responded forcefully to allegations of mass starvation in Gaza and shootings at aid distribution sites, disputing reports that it fires into crowds and putting blame for the humanitarian crisis squarely on Hamas.

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Click here for an update on the Humanitarian Aid situation. 

Join Jewish Federations of North America for a special briefing on the humanitarian aid crisis in Gaza. As conflicting reports circulate about the scale of the crisis and the flow of aid, we’ll provide an up-to-date, nuanced look at the situation on the ground. Tomorrow at 12pm ET.

As Hamas and Israel possibly move closer to a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, a car-ramming terror attack near Netanya has left eight soldiers wounded

Gaza Ceasefire?

• Conflicting reports emerged on the likelihood of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that would probably see a limited hostage release and a 60-day halt in fighting.
• Hamas initially turned down the latest US proposal that Israel had agreed to, and instead presented additional demands. Overnight, Hamas presented new options that some said represented a softening of the terror group’s position.
• Israeli media has reported that the main remaining disagreement between Israel and Hamas is over the depth of the buffer zone that Israel will retain along the Gaza border. Israel says that the buffer needs to be at least 4,000 feet deep, while Hamas says it won’t accept anything above 2,600 feet.
• Senior officials, including US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Israel’s Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, will likely meet in Paris in the coming day or two in an attempt to close gaps, which a senior official said are still quite wide. Prime Minister Netanyahu has recalled the negotiating team in Qatar for consultations.
• Earlier today, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog visited the Gaza Strip where he spoke to IDF commanders and soldiers whom he said are “on the frontline fighting to bring our hostages home, and to remove Hamas’s vast terror network and tunnels aimed at killing our citizens.” He also asked for and received a detailed update on the extensive efforts to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches Gazan citizens.
• Fighting continues in Gaza. Two IDF soldiers were killed in recent days, bringing the total number of fallen troops since the war began to 895. The two were:
  • Amit Cohen, 19, from Holon, who was killed in an operational accident in Khan Younis.
  • Vladimir Loza, 36, from Ashkelon, according to the military’s initial investigation,  was killed in Rafah after an explosion caused a building to collapse. He leaves behind a wife and daughter.
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) claims that they have lost contact with a hostage, Rom Breslavsky, whom they were holding. The terror groups insist that they no longer know where Rom is located. The last “sign of life” from him was received by Israel three months ago in a PIJ video. In the past, both Hamas and PIJ have issued statements about hostages “becoming lost” in Gaza, or dying from IDF strikes; however,  some of those statements were later proven to be untrue.

Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

• Amid claims by Hamas of unprecedented starvation in the Gaza Strip in recent days, Israel says that the IDF has not identified famine, but stressed that actions need to be taken to “stabilize the humanitarian situation.”
• Israeli leaders have repeatedly emphasized that Hamas is responsible for the dire situation in the Strip.
• Israeli authorities report allowing thousands of aid trucks into Gaza. Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) this week said that around 4,500 trucks entered Gaza in the past two months (about 71 per day), roughly half delivered to the new Israeli-backed distribution hubs and half to UN or NGO warehouses.
• Two days ago, the Coordinator’s Office noted that 950 loaded aid trucks were waiting on the Gaza side of crossings for collection – enough food to feed Gaza’s population for over two weeks. Watch footage here. 
• In late May 2025, Israel and its U.S. partners launched the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) Distribution Plan. GHF runs three “Humanitarian Transit Areas” in Gaza (in the southern and central districts) to distribute food and supplies. These centers are secured by U.S. private security contractors alongside IDF forces. Israel promotes GHF as a vetted alternative to the UN system, which it blames for cooperation with Hamas, and prior aid leaks.
• By mid-July, more than 75 million meals had been distributed by GHF. The centers are now delivering around 2 million meals per day, all of which are certified Halal.
• GHF has been criticized for concentrating distribution for 2 million people to just four sites across Gaza. As of this week, GHF plans to begin the community distribution of food through local individuals and organizations in the coming days. Some 370 local individuals and organizations have already signed up; that number is expected to expand significantly. This should reduce the distance that individuals need to travel to receive food and alleviate dangerous overcrowding at aid distribution centers.
• Hamas and other groups are strongly opposed to the GHF system, which suggests and promotes the notion that Gaza can be effectively governed without Hamas. The United Nations has refused to collaborate with GHF, which has reduced the overall flow of aid into Gaza.
• Officials report that some Hamas supporters and other armed elements incited crowds at aid centers, contributing to deadly chaos. In June 2025, a convoy transporting local GHF staff (employed by a partner Palestinian company) was ambushed by Hamas militants in eastern Rafah. At least eight employees were killed, and others were injured or kidnapped. The attackers explicitly targeted workers cooperating with GHF, following Hamas threats issued in the previous days. Also in June 2025, two American aid workers employed by GHF were injured while distributing food. GHF attributed the incident to "hostile action by Hamas," reporting that hand grenades were thrown at them.
• In the first week of June 2025, multiple deadly incidents occurred around the new GHF aid hubs. Gazan hospitals reported that scores of people were killed as Palestinians rushed distribution points. Eyewitnesses said Israeli troops fired on the crowds; one UN-recognized hospital said about 80 people were shot or crushed while approaching a GHF site.
• The IDF and GHF maintain that Israeli soldiers did not deliberately fire on civilians. According to the military, troops first fired warning shots in the air and only aimed at a few individuals deemed armed or dangerous. The army denied the crowds it shot at were unarmed and said it had not fired on retreating civilians. GHF similarly said no live rounds were fired into crowds, only targeted nonlethal measures (pepper spray) were used to restore order.
• One aid site in late July saw a fatal crush as anxious Gazans rushed forward. GHF reported that at least 20 people died in the chaos; it blamed “elements within the crowd – armed and affiliated with Hamas” for purposely inciting panic. Hamas authorities denied this account, accusing GHF guards and Israeli troops of firing at people and using tear gas (claims they denied). Both the IDF and GHF have said they are investigating. The Israeli military again insisted troops only aimed at suspicious figures and that the tragedy was not due to intentional firing on unarmed civilians.
• Since October 7, 2023, Israel has facilitated tens of thousands of aid operations—totaling over 24,700 aid trucks and approximately 469,000 tons of humanitarian goods (food, water, medical supplies, shelter) delivered by land.

Politics

• Yesterday, the chair of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee MK Yuli Edelstein was ousted from his position by members of his own Likud party. The move followed Edelstein’s refusal to advance a preliminary bill exempting large numbers of Haredim from military service, resulting in the Haredi parties quitting the government and endangering Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ruling coalition.
• Following a vote in the party, Edelstein was replaced by fellow-Likud MK Boaz Bismuth, who is known as a Netanyahu loyalist.
• The government can now use the long Knesset summer recess to draft a bill in the Committee that would be acceptable to the Haredi parties. Such a bill would likely see a smaller number of Haredim drafted and also avoid the imposition of sanctions on those who do not serve.
• Media suggests that if such a bill succeeds before the Knesset reconvenes in October, the Haredi parties may well return to the government, avoiding elections at the beginning of 2026.
• The government is continuing its attempts to fire Israel’s attorney general, despite widespread  complaints that  the move is undemocratic. For further background and details, see here.

Houthis

• Sirens continue to sound in Israel every few days, mainly when missiles are fired by Houthis in Yemen. Following a recent missile alert in Jerusalem, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee tweeted, “We thought we were done with missiles coming to Israel, but Houthis just lit one up over us in Israel… Maybe those B2 bombers need to visit Yemen!”
• Sporadic rocket fire from Gaza has continued over short ranges.
• No major damage or injuries have been reported in any of the recent attacks.
• In response to ongoing attacks, the IDF struck multiple Houthi targets in Yemen earlier in the week. For the first time, the attack was not undertaken by Israel Air Force jets, but rather by a fleet of unmanned drones.

Further Reading

• The New York Times: No, Israel Is Not Committing Genocide in Gaza
• Optimism in Israel is on the rise: Latest polling results
• Suwayda Events: From a Local Clash to a Regional Crisis
• IDI: Are elections in Israel imminent?

For more information, please contact: Jewish Federations of North America’s Dani Wassner dani.wassner@jewishfederations.org. Subscribe to this weekly update here.