The controversial aid centers were only recently launched.

The Israeli army is urgently warning the population of the Gaza Strip against visiting the controversial humanitarian aid distribution centers, which were closed today for "renovation work." The roads leading there are considered combat zones, an army spokesperson told Platform X. Following repeated reports of fatal shootings of Palestinians at the centers in recent days, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is responsible for distributing the aid, is seeking to improve security there.

The centers will remain closed for "renovation, organizational, and efficiency improvement work." Logistical preparations are being made to accommodate larger crowds. Furthermore, the Israeli army intends to use the time to prepare safe access routes, the Times of Israel reported. On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, the Israeli military fired on Palestinians who approached the troops. They deviated from a pre-approved route.

An Israeli army spokesman warned Gazans not to enter areas leading to the distribution centers today. "It is strictly forbidden to enter the distribution center areas!" The centers are scheduled to reopen on Thursday, he added.

According to information released Tuesday by the health authority controlled by the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas, Israeli soldiers killed at least 27 Palestinians and injured around 90 others near a distribution center near Rafah. However, the Israeli army stated that soldiers saw suspects posing a threat about half a kilometer from the distribution point. Since they did not retreat despite warning shots, the soldiers shot at individual suspects. None of these reports can currently be independently verified.

The GHF began distributing aid through the centers in the south of the sealed-off coastal strip just over a week ago. To date, it claims to have distributed more than six million meals. According to Palestinian reports, similar fatal incidents have previously occurred in the vicinity of these centers, in which dozens of Palestinians are said to have died.

Following the new reports of Palestinians killed at the aid centers, UN Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated his call for action. "The Secretary-General continues to call for an immediate, independent investigation into these events and for the accountability of the perpetrators," said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric in New York. "It is unacceptable that civilians are risking, and in several cases losing, their lives while trying to obtain food."

Israel allows the GHF to distribute aid in the Gaza Strip, thereby circumventing UN aid agencies and other initiatives. The UN has criticized this and accused Israel of using humanitarian aid as a weapon.

Since March, the Israeli government had blocked all aid deliveries to the sealed-off coastal area. According to the government, this was intended to increase pressure on Hamas to release the last hostages kidnapped in the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel only eased the blockade about two weeks ago. The war was triggered by the attack on Israel by Hamas and other Islamist terrorists on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli government justifies the controversial redirection of humanitarian aid in Gaza by claiming that the supplies had previously been stolen by Hamas. However, according to UN agencies, there is no evidence of systematic theft of humanitarian aid by Hamas.

The US government, meanwhile, defended the aid provided so far by the GHF – while maintaining its distance from it. US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in response to a question in Washington that the organization is an independent organization that does not receive any funding from the US government.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar is expected in Berlin today. According to the Foreign Ministry, talks with his counterpart Johann Wadephul (CDU) are planned for Thursday. According to a statement from the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Saar will also visit the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.

Germany is considered a close ally of Israel. However, Israeli media are speaking of a "change in tone" that they claim to have detected in the statements of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and other German public representatives. Although Merz sharply criticized the Israeli government last week, he refrained from threatening concrete consequences.

Meanwhile, rockets fired from Syria struck Israeli-controlled territory for the first time in more than a year. The two missiles landed over open terrain in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the Israeli army said. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The Israeli armed forces responded by firing artillery at the launch site and bombing an arms depot in southern Syria.

This was the first rocket attack from Syria to hit Israel or Israeli-controlled territory since May 2024, the Times of Israel reported. It was also the first attack of this kind from Syria since the overthrow of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December.

The new Syrian leadership under interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa no longer controls large parts of the country. Until a year ago, pro-Iranian militias from Syria shelled Israel to support Hamas in the Gaza Strip in its war against Israel. These militias acted at the time with the approval of the Assad leadership.

Almost simultaneously, on Tuesday evening, according to Israeli military sources, a rocket from Yemen entered Israeli airspace. Israeli air defenses intercepted the missile, fired by the Houthi militia in Yemen, the army said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Since the beginning of the Gaza War in October 2023, the pro-Iranian Houthi militia has regularly attacked Israel with rockets and drones—according to its own statements, this is an expression of its solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.