Blinken announces another $135 million in US aid to Gaza, but says he needs to enter the territory

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced an additional $135 million in aid to the Palestinians. He said it is essential that aid enters Gaza.

Blinken spoke in Qatar on Thursday, his 11th visit to the region since the start of the war in Gaza. The United States has pressured Israel to allow more aid to the war-torn Palestinian territory.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. The previous AP story follows below.

An Israeli attack on a school where displaced people were sheltering in the central Gaza Strip killed at least 17 people on Thursday, most of them women and children, Palestinian medical officials said.

Another 42 people were injured in the attack in the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to Awda Hospital, which received the victims. Among the dead were seven children just 11 months old, as well as three women.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Israel has carried out several attacks on schools turned into shelters in recent months, saying it is precisely targeting Hamas militants hiding among civilians. Strikes often kill women and children.

The war began when Hamas-led militants invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and kidnapping another 250. About 100 hostages are still in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters but says women and children account for more than half of the deaths. The Israeli military claims to have killed more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

The war has displaced about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands of people are crammed into camps along the coast after entire neighborhoods in many areas were reduced to rubble.

Months of ceasefire negotiations brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar broke down over the summer. Meanwhile, the war has expanded to Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground invasion more than three weeks ago after exchanging fire with the militant group Hezbollah for much of the past year.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Qatar on Thursday as part of his 11th visit to the region since the start of the war. The United States hopes to renew talks after Israeli forces killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza last week, but neither side has shown any sign of moderating their demands.

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Khaled reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed.

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