UN convoy attacked by Israeli forces while entering Gaza strip

The United Nations Agency for Palestinian refugees on Friday said that their aid convoy came under fire by the Israeli military while it was entering the Gaza Strip. However, the attack didn't cause any casualties.

"Israeli soldiers fired at an aid convoy as it returned from northern Gaza along a route designated by the Israeli army -- our international convoy leader and his team were not injured but one vehicle sustained damage," UNRWA's director in Gaza, Tom White, wrote on X.

According to UNRWA, the incident took place on Thursday afternoon. Responding to the requests for comments by AFP, the Israeli military said that it is looking into the matter.

On Friday, Israel pounded south and central Gaza as Egypt was to host a high-level Hamas delegation for talks to try and end the nearly 12-week war between Israel and Hamas.

Over the past 24 hours, the IDF has “eliminated dozens of terrorists” across Gaza and is "extending operation in Khan Yunis" in the coastal territory's south, said Israel military.

Heavy shelling by Israeli forces near Al-Amal in Khan Yunis has killed more than 41 people in two days, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said on Thursday. Most of the people who died were "displaced persons seeking shelter", it said.

An estimated 100,000 people have been displaced and arrived in the southern border city of Rafah in recent days following the intensification of fighting around Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis, according to the UN Humanitarian Office.

In retaliation to the October 7 attack, Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, dubbed a “terrorist” group by the United States and European Union. The October 7 attack on Israel left about 1,140 people dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

In addition to the murder of hundreds of people, Hamas terrorists took nearly 250 hostages with them after the attack. Months after the attack, more than half of them remain captive.

To avenge the lives of Israelis lost in the October 7 attack, Israel launched a war against Hamas killing thousands of civilians in its efforts to flush out terrorists. Relentless aerial bombardment and ground invasion in Gaza have killed at least 21,507 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.