Israeli forces strike UN food center in Gaza, killing at least 5

Israel’s military struck a United Nations food distribution center in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing a staff member and at least four other people, according to the U.N. and Gaza health officials.

Over five months of war in Gaza, Israel has hit more than 150 facilities belonging to the main U.N. aid provider for Palestinians, UNRWA, according to the agency. A quarter of Gaza’s population is starving, the United Nations has warned.

In the West Bank, two Palestinians were killed overnight during confrontations with Israeli forces, bringing the overall death toll to six people in the past 24 hours. Israeli police also say a Palestinian stabbed and wounded two people at a checkpoint near Jerusalem before being shot Wednesday.

Violence has surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank amid the war in Gaza with at least 427 Palestinians killed, mostly during confrontations with Israeli forces, the Palestinian Health Ministry says.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said six aid trucks entered Gaza through the north late Tuesday as international pressure mounts for more humanitarian aid to Gaza.

A second vessel being loaded with aid for Gaza is currently docked at Larnaca port and was preparing to depart, Cyprus’ foreign minister said.

The ship will begin its journey to Gaza once the ship operated by the Spanish charity Open Arms, which is now at sea, reaches the territory in the next few days, offloads and distributes its 200 tons of food, the minister said.

Minister Constantinos Kombos said Wednesday the larger vessel will carry more aid than the Open Arms ship, but he wouldn’t say when it would depart exactly. He said that depends on whether all goes smoothly with the delivery of the Open Arms shipment and on weather conditions.

AP Israeli security forces inspect the scene of a stabbing attack at a checkpoint between Jerusalem and the West Bank on Wednesday. A Palestinian attacked two people at a checkpoint before being shot and killed.