Dozens killed while seeking food in Gaza as US envoy heads to Israel

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least 48 Palestinians were killed and dozens were wounded Wednesday while waiting for food at a crossing in the Gaza Strip, according to a hospital that received the casualties. The latest violence around aid distribution came as the U.S. Mideast envoy was heading to Israel for talks.

Israel's military offensive and blockade have led to the “worst-case scenario of famine” in the coastal territory of some 2 million Palestinians, according to the leading international authority on hunger crises. A breakdown of law and order has seen aid convoys overwhelmed by desperate crowds.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led the Trump administration’s efforts to wind down the nearly 22-month war and release hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that sparked the fighting, will arrive in Israel on Thursday for talks on the situation in Gaza.

Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said the dead and wounded were among crowds massed at the Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for humanitarian aid to northern Gaza. It was not immediately clear who opened fire and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which controls the crossing.

Associated Press footage showed wounded people being ferried away from the scene of the shooting in wooden carts, as well as crowds of people carrying bags of flour.

Al-Saraya Field Hospital, where critical cases are stabilized before transfer to main hospitals, said it received more than 100 dead and wounded. Fares Awad, head of the Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service, said some bodies were taken to other hospitals, indicating the toll could rise.

Israeli strikes and gunfire had earlier killed at least 46 Palestinians overnight and into Wednesday, most of them among crowds seeking food, health officials said. Another seven Palestinians, including a child, died of malnutrition-related causes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the strikes. It says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, because the group's militants operate in densely populated areas.

Under heavy international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza, but aid workers say much more is needed.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, the leading world authority on hunger crises, has stopped short of declaring famine in Gaza but said Tuesday that the situation has dramatically worsened and warned of "widespread death" without immediate action.

COGAT, the Israeli military body that facilitates the entry of aid, said over 220 trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday. That's far below the 500-600 trucks a day that U.N. agencies say are needed, and which entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year.

The United Nations is still struggling to deliver the aid that does enter the strip, with most trucks unloaded by crowds in zones controlled by the Israeli military. An alternative aid system run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, has also been marred by violence.

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid since May, most near sites run by GHF, according to witnesses, local health officials and the U.N. human rights office. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding.

International airdrops of aid have also resumed, but many of the parcels have landed in areas that Palestinians have been told to evacuate while others have plunged into the Mediterranean Sea, forcing people to swim out to retrieve drenched bags of flour.

A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the war began in Gaza. The ministry said that 65 Palestinian adults have also died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults.

Israel denies there is any starvation in Gaza, rejecting accounts to the contrary from witnesses, U.N. agencies and aid groups, and says the focus on hunger undermines ceasefire efforts.

Hamas started the war with its attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which militants killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the rest of the hostages were released in ceasefires or other deals.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

Magdy reported from Cairo and Abou Aljoud from Beirut. Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

A Palestinian youth carries a sack of aid that landed in the Mediterranean Sea after being airdropped over central Gaza, at the shore of Zawaida, Gaza Strip Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Humanitarian aid destined for Palestinians is airdropped over the Gaza Strip by a Jordanian Air Force aircraft on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Malak Harb)

Israeli right-wing activists watch the northern Gaza Strip during a rally calling for the re-establishment of Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, near the border in southern Israel, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Smoke rises following an explosion in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Palestinians collect humanitarian aid packages from the United Arab Emirates after they were airdropped into Zawaida, in the central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Palestinian man displays the contents of humanitarian aid packages after they were airdropped into Zawaida, in the central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Karim Hanna)

Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

A Palestinian youth carries a sack of aid that landed in the Mediterranean Sea after being airdropped over central Gaza, at the shore of Zawaida, Gaza Strip Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Humanitarian aid destined for Palestinians is airdropped over the Gaza Strip by a Jordanian Air Force aircraft on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Malak Harb)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.

Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.

The most significant criminal charge against him alleges that his martial law enforcement amounted to a rebellion, and the independent counsel has requested the death sentence in the case that is to be decided in a ruling next month.

In Friday's case, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting.

Yoon has maintained he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament obstructing his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.

Judge Baek Dae-hyun said in the televised ruling that imposing “a grave punishment” was necessary because Yoon hasn’t shown remorse and has only repeated “hard-to-comprehend excuses.” The judge also restoring legal systems damaged by Yoon’s action was necessary.

Yoon, who can appeal the ruling, hasn’t immediately publicly responded to the ruling. But when the independent counsel demanded a 10-year prison term in the case, Yoon’s defense team accused them of being politically driven and lacking legal grounds to demand such “an excessive” sentence.

Prison sentences in the multiple, smaller trials Yoon faces would matter if he is spared the death penalty or life imprisonment at the rebellion trial.

Park SungBae, a lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said there is little chance the court would decide Yoon should face the death penalty in the rebellion case. He said the court will likely issue a life sentence or a sentence of 30 years or more in prison.

South Korea has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1997 and courts rarely hand down death sentences. Park said the court would take into account that Yoon’s decree didn’t cause casualties and didn’t last long, although Yoon hasn’t shown genuine remorse for his action.

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a bus carrying former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs as police officers stand guard outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A picture of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is placed on a board as supporters gather outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)