Dozens shot dead in Gaza, authorities say
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Hindustan Times
a few seconds ago
- Hindustan Times
85 Palestinians seeking aid killed in Gaza as Israel widens evacuation orders
Gaza saw its deadliest day yet for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war as at least 85 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach food on Sunday, the territory's Health Ministry said. Palestinians flee Deir al-Balah in central Gaza Sunday, July 20, 2025, after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders ahead of expected operations in the area.(AP) There was new alarm as Israel's military issued evacuation orders for parts of central Gaza, one of the few areas where it has rarely operated with ground troops and where many international organizations trying to distribute aid are located. One group said several offices were told to evacuate immediately. There was no immediate Israeli comment. The largest death toll was in devastated northern Gaza, where living conditions are especially dire. At least 79 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel, Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Health Ministry's records department, told The Associated Press. The U.N. World Food Program said 25 trucks with aid had entered for 'starving communities' when it encountered massive crowds. A U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to comment on the incident to the media, said Israeli forces opened fire toward crowds who tried to take food from the convoy. Footage taken by the U.N. and shared with the AP showed Palestinian men running as automatic gunfire was heard. '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. He spoke over the din of people carrying the dead and wounded. 'I will never go back again. Let us die of hunger, it's better." Nafiz Al-Najjar, who was injured, said tanks and drones targeted people 'randomly' and he saw his cousin and others shot dead. Israel's military accuses Hamas of creating chaos Israel's 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. But it said the numbers reported by officials in Gaza were far higher than its initial investigation found. It accused Hamas militants of creating chaos. More than 150 people were wounded, some in critical condition, hospitals said. Al-Waheidi said Israeli gunfire killed another six Palestinians in the Shakoush area, hundreds of meters (yards) north of a hub of the recently created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.- and Israel-backed group, in the southern city of Rafah. The GHF said it was not aware of any incident near its site. Witnesses and health workers say several hundred people have been killed by Israeli fire while trying to access the group's aid distribution sites. Separately, seven Palestinians were killed while sheltering in tents in Khan Younis in the south, including a 5-year-old boy, according to the Kuwait Specialized Field Hospital, which received the casualties. Evacuation orders cut road across Gaza The new evacuation orders cut access between the central city of Deir al-Balah and Rafah and Khan Younis in the narrow territory. The military also reiterated evacuation orders for northern Gaza. Palestinians were startled to see the orders for parts of Deir al-Balah, a relative haven. "All of Rafah is under evacuation, and now you have decided that half of Deir al-Balah is under evacuation. Where will we move to?' asked resident Hassan Abu Azab, as others piled everything from bedding to live ducks onto carts and other vehicles. Smoke rose in the distance, with blasts and the sound of a siren. The United Nations was in contact with Israeli authorities to clarify whether U.N. facilities in the southwestern part of Deir al-Balah are included in the order, according to a different U.N. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media. The official said that in previous instances, U.N. facilities were spared from such orders. The Medical Aid for Palestinians group said several humanitarian organizations' offices and guesthouses had been 'ordered to evacuate immediately' and nine clinics, including the MAP one, had been forced to shut down. It was not immediately clear what other groups were affected. Military spokesman Avichay Adraee called for people to head to Muwasi, a desolate tent camp with little infrastructure on Gaza's southern coast that Israel's military has designated a humanitarian zone. The announcement came as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that expanding Israel's military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas in negotiations. Earlier this month, Israel's military said it controlled more than 65% of Gaza. Palestinian death toll nears 59,000 Gaza's population of more than 2 million Palestinians are in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, now relying largely on the limited aid allowed into the territory. Many people have been displaced multiple times. Ambulances in front of three major hospitals in Gaza sounded their alarms simultaneously Sunday in an urgent appeal as hunger grows. The Health Ministry posted pictures on social media of doctors holding signs about malnourished children and the lack of medication. Hamas triggered the war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty remain in Gaza, but fewer than half are thought to be alive. Israel's military offensive has killed more than 58,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't say how many militants have been killed but says over half of the dead have been women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. The Hostages Family Forum, a grassroots organization that represents many families of hostages, condemned the new evacuation order and demanded that Netanyahu and Israel's military explain what they hope to accomplish in central Gaza. 'Enough! The Israeli people overwhelmingly want an end to the fighting and a comprehensive agreement that will return all of the hostages,' the forum said. On Saturday night, during a weekly protest, tens of thousands marched in Tel Aviv to the branch of the U.S. Embassy, demanding an end to the war.
TimesLIVE
a minute ago
- TimesLIVE
Israeli tanks kill 59 people in Gaza crowd trying to get food aid, medics say
Palestinian medics said at least 59 people were killed and 221 wounded in the incident, at least 20 of them in critical condition. Casualties were rushed into the hospital in civilian cars, rickshaws and donkey carts. It was the worst death toll in a single day since aid resumed in Gaza in May. In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said: "Earlier today, a gathering was identified adjacent to an aid distribution truck that got stuck in the area of Khan Younis, and in proximity to IDF troops operating in the area. "The IDF is aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals from IDF fire after the crowd's approach. The details of the incident are under review. The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimise harm as much as possible to them while maintaining the safety of our troops." Medics said at least 14 other people were also killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes elsewhere in the densely populated enclave, taking Tuesday's overall death toll to at least 73. The health ministry said 397 Palestinians, among those trying to get food aid, had been killed and more than 3,000 were wounded since late May. The incident was the latest in nearly daily large-scale killings of Palestinians seeking aid in the three weeks since Israel partially lifted a total blockade on the territory it had imposed for nearly three months. Israel has been channelling much of the aid it is allowing into Gaza through a new US- and Israeli-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which operates a handful of distribution sites in areas guarded by Israeli forces. "The incident in question did not occur at a GHF site, but rather near a UN World Food Programme location," the foundation said about the incident on Tuesday. The UN rejects the GHF delivery system as inadequate, dangerous and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. Israel said it is needed to prevent Hamas fighters from diverting aid, which Hamas denied. Gaza authorities said hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to reach GHF sites. The GHF said in a press release on Monday it had distributed more than three million meals at its four distribution sites without incident. The Gaza war was triggered in October 2023 when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, while displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3-million and causing a hunger crisis. Since last week, Gaza Palestinians have kept an eye on the new air war between Israel and Iran, which has long been a major supporter of Hamas. Gaza residents have circulated images of buildings in Israel wrecked by Iranian missiles, some saying they are happy to see Israelis experiencing a measure of the fear of airstrikes that they have endured for 20 months.
News18
12 minutes ago
- News18
93 Palestinians Killed As Israeli Forces Open Fire Near Aid Convoys, Says Gaza Agency
Last Updated: The attacks mark yet another bloody episode in the war-torn enclave where famine, displacement, and civilian casualties have become routine. At least 93 Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded on Sunday after Israeli forces allegedly opened fire on crowds scrambling for humanitarian aid in multiple parts of Gaza, according to the territory's civil defence agency. The attacks mark yet another bloody episode in the war-torn enclave where famine, displacement, and civilian casualties have become routine. The heaviest toll came in northern Gaza, where 80 people were reported dead as trucks carrying aid were mobbed by starving civilians. Nine others were killed near Rafah — a southern city already reeling from earlier strikes — while four more died in Khan Yunis, the civil defence agency told AFP. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed that its 25-truck convoy was caught in the chaos, saying it encountered 'massive crowds of hungry civilians which came under gunfire" soon after crossing into Gaza near Gaza City. Disputed Claims and Growing Alarm Israel's military disputed the death toll, saying its soldiers fired only 'warning shots" in response to what it described as immediate threats. However, Palestinian eyewitnesses described the events as a massacre. 'The tanks were firing shells randomly… Israeli snipers were shooting as if they were hunting animals in a forest," said Qasem Abu Khater, 36, who witnessed the carnage in Gaza City. With media restrictions and limited access, AFP said it could not independently verify the casualty figures or full details of the incidents. But humanitarian agencies expressed growing alarm over what they describe as a pattern of deadly attacks on civilians seeking aid. According to the UN, nearly 800 aid-seekers have been killed since late May, often along convoy routes. Church Hit, Pope Condemns 'Barbarity' Sunday's violence came days after an Israeli strike hit Gaza's Holy Family Church, killing three people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed regret to Pope Leo XIV, calling the strike accidental. But Pope Leo, in his Angelus prayer, decried the 'barbarity" of war and slammed continued attacks on civilians and places of worship. In a rare move, Catholic Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa visited Gaza and held mass at the bombed church, highlighting the increasingly desperate conditions. Humanitarian Space Shrinking Rapidly With 87.8% of Gaza now under evacuation orders or militarised zones, more than 2.1 million civilians are confined to just 12% of the territory, the UN's humanitarian agency OCHA reported. Essential services have collapsed, and people are 'squeezed into fragmented zones" with no guarantee of food, shelter, or medical care. The Israeli army issued a new displacement order Sunday, warning residents in Deir el-Balah to evacuate ahead of imminent operations. Eyewitnesses described families fleeing with children on donkey carts and no clear destination. 'They threw leaflets at us… We don't know where we are going. We don't have shelter or anything," a displaced resident told AFP. UN Official Expelled, Accused Of 'Lies' In a separate development, Israel revoked the residency permit of Jonathan Whittall, head of the UN OCHA office in Israel, after he repeatedly criticised the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Whittall of 'spreading lies" about the war. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
