At least 85 seeking aid killed in Gaza, officials say
The reported deaths come as the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for parts of central Gaza, one of the few areas where it has rarely operated on the ground and where many international aid organisations are based.
One aid group said several of its offices had been told to evacuate immediately.
The highest death toll was reported in northern Gaza, where the situation is especially desperate. At least 70 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel, said Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Gaza Health's Ministry's records department.
The UN World Food Programme said 25 trucks with aid had entered for 'starving communities' when it encountered massive crowds.
'Suddenly, tanks surrounded us and trapped us as gunshots and strikes rained down. We were trapped for around two hours,' said Ehab Al-Zei, who had been waiting for flour and said he hadn't eaten bread in 15 days.
'I will never go back against. Let us die of hunger, it's better.'
Nafiz Al-Najjar, who was injured, said tanks and drones targeted people 'randomly' and that he saw his cousin and others shot dead.
The Israeli military said soldiers shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat, and it was aware of some casualties.
It said numbers reported by officials in Gaza were far higher than its initial investigation found and accused Hamas militants of creating chaos.
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Euronews
20 hours ago
- Euronews
At least 85 seeking aid killed in Gaza, officials say
Gaza suffered its deadliest day for aid-seekers in more than 21 months of war on Sunday, with at least 85 Palestinians killed while trying to reach food, local health officials said. The reported deaths come as the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for parts of central Gaza, one of the few areas where it has rarely operated on the ground and where many international aid organisations are based. One aid group said several of its offices had been told to evacuate immediately. The highest death toll was reported in northern Gaza, where the situation is especially desperate. At least 70 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel, said Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Gaza Health's Ministry's records department. The UN World Food Programme said 25 trucks with aid had entered for 'starving communities' when it encountered massive crowds. 'Suddenly, tanks surrounded us and trapped us as gunshots and strikes rained down. We were trapped for around two hours,' said Ehab Al-Zei, who had been waiting for flour and said he hadn't eaten bread in 15 days. 'I will never go back against. Let us die of hunger, it's better.' Nafiz Al-Najjar, who was injured, said tanks and drones targeted people 'randomly' and that he saw his cousin and others shot dead. The Israeli military said soldiers shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat, and it was aware of some casualties. It said numbers reported by officials in Gaza were far higher than its initial investigation found and accused Hamas militants of creating chaos.
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Gaza civil defence says Israeli attacks kill 26 near two aid centres
Deaths of people waiting for handouts in huge crowds near food points in Gaza have become a regular occurrence, with the territory's authorities frequently blaming Israeli fire. But the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is the main distributor of aid in the territory, has accused militant group Hamas of fomenting unrest and shooting at civilians. The Israeli military said it was "looking into" the latest reports when contacted by AFP. Civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the deaths happened near a site southwest of Khan Yunis and another centre northwest of Rafah, both in the south, attributing the deaths to "Israeli gunfire". One eyewitness said he headed to the Al-Tina area of Khan Yunis before dawn with five of his relatives to try to get food when "Israeli soldiers" started shooting. "My relatives and I were unable to get anything," Abdul Aziz Abed, 37, told AFP. "Every day I go there and all we get is bullets and exhaustion instead of food." Three other eyewitnesses also accused troops of opening fire. "They started shooting at us and we lay down on the ground. Tanks and jeeps came, soldiers got out of them and started shooting," said Tamer Abu Akar, 24. Nine people were killed in gunfire at the same centre in the Al-Shakoush area northwest of Rafah on Friday, the civil defence agency said. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the agency and other parties. 'Agitators' The war in Gaza, sparked by militant group Hamas's deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people who live in the coastal territory. Most people have been displaced at least once by the fighting and doctors and aid agencies say the physical and mental health effects of 21 months of conflict are being increasingly seen. "We are receiving cases suffering from extreme exhaustion and complete fatigue, in addition to severe emaciation and acute malnutrition due to prolonged lack of food," the director of the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in Khan Yunis, Sohaib Al-Hums, said on Friday. "Hundreds" of people were facing "imminent death", he added. The World Food Programme said nearly one in three people in Gaza were not eating for days at a stretch and "thousands" were "on the verge of catastrophic hunger". The free flow of aid into Gaza is a key demand of Hamas in the indirect talks with Israel for a 60-day ceasefire in the war, alongside a full Israeli military withdrawal. Following a more than two-month total Israeli blockade, GHF took over the running of aid distribution in late May, despite criticism from the United Nations, which previously coordinated handouts, that it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. GHF said 20 people died at its Khan Yunis site on Wednesday but blamed "agitators in the crowd... armed and affiliated with Hamas" for creating "a chaotic and dangerous surge" and firing at aid-seekers. The previous day, the UN said it had recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food, including 674 "in the vicinity of GHF sites", since it began operating. Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Of the 251 people taken hostage that day, 49 are still in Gaza, including the 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory military action has killed 58,667 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Euronews
3 days ago
- Euronews
Video. Children among dead as Israeli strikes hit Gaza City and Khan Younis
The Israeli military said it targeted more than 120 sites across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, including what it described as Hamas tunnels and weapons depots. Twenty-two bodies were taken to a hospital in Gaza City, where grieving relatives gathered in the morgue before holding funeral prayers outside. Among the dead were 11 children and three women, health authorities said. At least 19 others were killed in Khan Younis. With ceasefire talks stalled in Qatar and food supplies critically low, malnutrition rates among children have nearly doubled, deepening the crisis facing Gaza's 2 million residents.
