At least 67 Gazans killed waiting for aid, death toll rises
July 20 (UPI) -- At least 67 people waiting for aid from the United Nations in northern Gaza have been killed, the Hamas-run health ministry said.
The U.N. World Food Program said its 25-truck convoy "encountered massive crowds of hungry civilians which came under gunfire" after it cleared checkpoints and crossed into Israel, the BBC reported.
The Israel Defense Forces said it "fired warning shots" to remove what it called "an immediate threat" in the area, and disrupted the number of casualties, and added that it is investigating the incident.
The Palestinian Red Crescent claimed that Israeli military forces "targeted civilians waiting for humanitarian aid" north of Beit Lahia.
The health ministry reported Saturday that extreme hunger was growing in the region and an increasing number of people were arriving at the aid site "in a state of extreme exhaustion and fatigue."
"We warn that hundreds of people whose bodies have wasted away are at risk of imminent danger due to hunger," the U.N. said. Civilians in Gaza are starving, the U.N. continued, and called for an immediate influx of essential aid.
Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli fire had killed a total of at least 94 people and wounded dozens more across Gaza on Sunday, 80 of whom it said were shot dead in northern Gaza while they were receiving flour and bread, and another 9 were killed near an aid point in Rafah. Four additional people were fatally wounded near an aid station in Khan Younis.
The health ministry said at least 19 people had died due to "starvation" in what it has called one of the deadliest days of casualties in the 21-month long conflict between Israel and Hamas, the latest chapter of which dates to Oct. 7, 2023.
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NBC News
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