Guest Editorial: Urge cease-fire in Gaza now

More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israel-Hamas war nearly five months ago, according to Gaza health officials. The surge in Palestinian deaths comes after witnesses said Israel forces fired at a crowd of people waiting for aid in Gaza City on Thursday, killing at least 104 people and wounding about 760. Israeli officials acknowledged that troops opened fire on a large crowd of Palestinians who had converged on an aid convoy as it entered northern Gaza. Officials said troops opened fire after the crowd approached the soldiers in a threatening way. World leaders are right to condemn the Israeli forces attack on civilians seeking aid. “It is a heinous crime to target peaceful civilians who are rushing to get their share of humanitarian aid,” read a statement released by Egypt’s foreign ministry. “It is a flagrant violation of the international law and the international humanitarian law, and also shows disregard to the sanctity of human lives,” the Egyptian statement added. The Associated Press reports: “The war has driven 80 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million Palestinians from their homes, and U.N. officials say a quarter of the population is...