JERUSALEM: The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said on Saturday (Jul 5) that two American aid workers had suffered non-life-threatening injuries in a grenade attack at a food distribution site in Gaza.

The US- and Israeli-backed GHF said in a statement that the injured Americans were receiving medical treatment and were in a stable condition.

"The attack – which preliminary information indicates was carried out by two assailants who threw two grenades at the Americans – occurred at the conclusion of an otherwise successful distribution in which thousands of Gazans safely received food," the GHF said.

GHF, which began distributing aid in Gaza in May, employs private US military contractors tasked with providing security at their sites.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack. The Israeli military, in a later statement, accused what it called "terrorist organisations" of sabotaging the distribution of aid in Gaza.

Gaza has seen an escalation in violence as efforts continue to reach a ceasefire agreement. Hamas on Friday reported, it had responded positively to a US-brokered deal and was prepared to enter into talks. US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

KILLINGS NEAR AID DISTRIBUTION SITES

Gazan authorities reported at least 70 people have been killed in the territory by the Israeli military in the last 24 hours, including 23 near aid distribution sites. The ministry did not specify where or how exactly they had been killed.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the reports.

In a statement on Friday, the military said that in the past week, troops had killed 100 militants in Gaza and claimed that it had "operational control" over 65 percent of Gaza after an offensive against Hamas fighters in the north.

The Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza on Thursday had warned residents of the coastal enclave not to assist the GHF, saying deadly incidents near its food distribution sites endangered hungry Gazans.

The GHF has said it has delivered more than 52 million meals to Palestinians in five weeks. The GHF bypasses traditional aid channels, including the United Nations, which says the US-based organisation is neither impartial nor neutral.

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