Pictures of the week: Latest on Palestinian-Israeli conflict

Health authorities in the Gaza Strip reported that 115 people were killed on Thursday as they waited for an aid delivery in Gaza City. Hamas blamed Israeli forces for the incident, while Israel attributed it to crowds surrounding the aid trucks. 

Israel, whose troops opened fire as Palestinians scrambled for the supplies, has drawn heat from the international community, with France, Türkiye, Jordan and other countries denouncing its role in causing the deaths.

Israel acknowledged that its troops fired both warning and fatal shots in a "limited response" to perceived threats, denying blame for the deaths. One Israeli official mentioned that dozens were killed or injured as they were trampled or run over. 

Hamas rebutted Israel's account, saying it had presented concrete evidence of Israeli troops directly firing at citizens, including headshots aimed at immediate killing. 

There have been increasing calls for an independent probe of the deadly incident.

A U.S. Air Force airman named Aaron Bushnell on Sunday doused himself in inflammable liquid and set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington DC, in what he said was an "extreme act" to protest Israel's war in Gaza. The 25-year-old shouted "Free Palestine" as flames quickly spread across his body. He later died in the hospital. 

Busnell's death was mourned by many Americans on social media. The White House lamented the "horrible tragedy."

Al-Farouk mosque in the southern Gaza city of Rafah was destroyed in Israeli airstrikes last week. About 1.5 million people, more than half of Gaza's population, are taking refuge in Rafah.

Israel has threatened to launch a ground offensive into Rafah, triggering widespread concerns for the fate of the Palestinians there, who have run out of places to shelter from the war.

Jordan, a major facilitator for delivering aid to Gaza, has conducted 16 airdrop operations since the war broke out on October 7. Earlier this week, the Jordanian military coordinated with Egypt, Qatar, France and the United Arab Emirates in the largest airdrop operation, with planes from these countries flying jointly over Gaza to drop tonnes of parcels of humanitarian supplies. 

The U.S. announced on Friday that its military will conduct its first airdrop in the coming days.

The holy Islamic fasting month of Ramadan begins on March 10, the date by which U.S. President Joe Biden expressed hope for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. 

Talks have been held in Qatar, a key mediator, in recent days, marking the most significant effort since the beginning of February when Israel rejected a Hamas counteroffer. 

The possible truce is expected to involve a pause-for-hostages arrangement, but there is still significant public divergence between Israel and the Palestinian militant group in the talks.