
A crowd surge at an aid site in Gaza run by an Israeli-backed group kills 20 Palestinians
Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 54 others, including 14 children, according to hospital officials.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation accused the Hamas militant group of fomenting unrest at the food distribution center, causing the stampede. For the first time since its operations began in May, "a large number" of people in the crowd were armed with pistols, GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay told reporters. He said an American medic was stabbed and wounded.
GHF said the Israeli military had warned it on Wednesday that Hamas had infiltrated the crowd, but did not provide evidence for any Hamas presence, aside from a photo of a pistol that it said one of its contractors had confiscated. As law and order have broken down after months of war, Gaza has seen the rise of criminal gangs and tribal groups that carry weapons and steal and resell aid.
Witnesses said GHF guards threw stun grenades and used pepper spray on people pressing to get into the site before it opened, causing a panic in the narrow, fenced-in entrance.
Since the group's operations began in late May, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in shootings by Israeli soldiers while on roads heading to the sites, according to witnesses and health officials. GHF's four sites are all in military-controlled zones, and the Israeli military has said its troops have only fired warning shots to control crowds.
Gaza's more than 2 million Palestinians are living through a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, and the territory is teetering on the edge of famine, according to food security experts.
Stun grenades and pepper spray caused chaos, witnesses say
GHF said it believed that 19 of the dead died from trampling at its food distribution center between the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah and one was killed by a stabbing in the crowd.
The Gaza Health Ministry said 17 people suffocated at the site and three others were shot. It was not clear if the shootings took place during the crush or earlier on the road to the center. Witnesses said Israeli troops fired toward the crowds as they headed to it. GHF said a contractor fired warning shots in the air in order to rescue a child from the stampede.
Witnesses said that thousands of Palestinians arrived at the site early in the morning, and the American contractors guarding it did not open the gates. It was not clear if it was before the site's opening time or if it was not operating at all, since schedules often change. GHF said the gates were open.
The crowd surged forward at the turnstiles in the fenced-in entranceway, said one survivor, Ahmed Abu Amra.
"The Americans were calling out on the loudspeakers, 'Go back, go back.' But no one could turn around because it was so crowded," he said. "Everyone was on top of each other. We tried to pull out the people who were underneath, but we couldn't. The Americans were throwing stun grenades at us."
Other witnesses said the contractors used pepper spray as well. The Health Ministry said tear gas was used, but GHF denied that.
GHF said it believed Hamas elements in the crowd fomented the unrest. It said the American medic had tried to tackle a man with a pistol before being stabbed by another man.
Distribution has often been chaotic
Distribution at the GHF sites has often been chaotic. Boxes of food are left stacked on the ground inside the center and, once opened, crowds charge in to grab whatever they can, according to witnesses and videos released by GHF itself.
In videos obtained recently by The Associated Press from an American contractor working with GHF, contractors are seen using tear gas and stun grenades to keep crowds back behind metal fences or to force them to disperse. Gunshots can also be heard.
The United Nations human rights office said Tuesday that 875 Palestinians were killed while seeking food since May. Of those, 674 were killed while en route to GHF food sites. The rest were reportedly killed while waiting for aid trucks entering Gaza.
Strikes kill dozens as Israel opens a new military corridor
Israeli strikes killed 22 people in Gaza City, including 11 children and three women, and 19 others in Khan Younis. Strikes in central Gaza killed 13 people, including three children. The Israeli military said it has struck more than 120 targets in the past 24 hours across the Gaza Strip, including Hamas military tunnels and weapons storage facilities.
Gaza's Health Ministry said Wednesday that hospitals have received a total of 94 bodies over the past 24 hours, with another 252 wounded.
Israel blames Hamas for the civilian deaths because the group often operates in residential areas.
Also on Wednesday, the Israeli military announced the opening of a new corridor -- the fourth -- that bisects Khan Younis, where Israeli troops have seized land in what they say is a pressure tactic against Hamas. In the past, these narrow strips of land have been a serious hurdle during ceasefire negotiations, as Israel has said it wants to maintain control over them.
Indirect negotiations in Qatar between Israel and Hamas are at a standstill, after 21 months of war, which began with the militants' cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023. That day, militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Fifty hostages are still being held, less than half of them believed to be alive.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other international organizations consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties.

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Japan Today
a day ago
- Japan Today
Parkinson's patients in Brazil turn to a movement practice known as capoeira to ease symptoms
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Yomiuri Shimbun
2 days ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Officials Say 85 Palestinians Seeking Aid Are Killed in Gaza as Israel Widens Evacuation Orders
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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. 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Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
Israeli fire kills 67 people seeking aid in Gaza, medics say, as hunger worsens
At least 67 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire as they waited for U.N. aid trucks in northern Gaza on Sunday, the Gaza health ministry said, as Israel issued new evacuation orders for areas packed with displaced people. The ministry said dozens of people were also wounded during the incident in northern Gaza. It was one of the highest reported death tolls among repeated recent cases in which aid seekers have been killed, including 36 on Saturday. Another six people were killed near another aid site in the south, it said. Israel's military said its troops had fired warning shots towards a crowd of thousands of people in northern Gaza on Sunday to remove what it said was "an immediate threat." It said initial findings suggested reported casualty figures were inflated, and it "certainly does not intentionally target humanitarian aid trucks." It did not immediately comment on the incident in the south. The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) said that shortly after entering Gaza, a WFP convoy of 25 trucks carrying food aid encountered "massive crowds of hungry civilians" who then came under gunfire. "WFP reiterates that any violence involving civilians seeking humanitarian aid is completely unacceptable," it said in a statement. A Hamas official said that the militant group was angered over the mounting deaths and the hunger crisis in the enclave, and that this could badly affect ceasefire talks under way in Qatar. In total, health authorities said 90 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes across the enclave on Sunday. Displaced Gazans evacuate After Israel's military dropped leaflets urging people to evacuate from neighborhoods in central Gaza's Deir al-Balah, residents said Israeli planes struck three houses in the area. Dozens of families began leaving their homes, carrying some of their belongings. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans have been sheltering in the Deir al-Balah area. Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, on Sunday. | REUTERS Israel's military said it had not entered the districts subject to the evacuation order during the current conflict and that it was continuing "to operate with great force to destroy the enemy's capabilities and terrorist infrastructure in the area." Israeli sources have said the reason the army has so far stayed out is because they suspect Hamas might be holding hostages there. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in captivity in Gaza are believed to still be alive. Hostage families demanded an explanation from the army. "Can anyone (promise) to us that this decision will not come at the cost of losing our loved ones?" the families said in a statement. Accelerating starvation Much of Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland during more than 21 months of war and there are fears of accelerating starvation. Palestinian health officials said hundreds of people could soon die as hospitals were inundated with patients suffering from dizziness and exhaustion due to the scarcity of food and a collapse in aid deliveries. "We warn that hundreds of people whose bodies have wasted away are at risk of imminent death due to hunger," said the health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas. The United Nations also said on Sunday that civilians were starving and needed an urgent influx of aid. Pope Leo called for an end to the "barbarity of war" as he spoke of his profound pain over an Israeli strike on the sole Catholic church in Gaza that killed three people on Thursday. Gaza residents said it was becoming impossible to find essential food such as flour. The health ministry said at least 71 children had died of malnutrition during the war, and 60,000 others were suffering from symptoms of malnutrition. Later on Sunday, it said 18 people have died of hunger in the past 24 hours. Food prices have increased well beyond what most of the population of more than 2 million can afford. Several people who spoke to reporters via chat apps said they either had one meal or no meal in the past 24 hours. "As a father, I wake up in the early morning to look for food, for even a loaf of bread for my five children, but all in vain," said Ziad, a nurse. "People who didn't die of bombs will die of hunger. We want an end to this war now, a truce, even for two months," he said. Palestinians carry aid supplies amid a hunger crisis in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday. | REUTERS Others said they felt dizzy walking in the streets and that many fainted as they walked. Fathers leave tents to avoid questions by their children about what to eat. UNRWA, the U.N. refugee agency dedicated to Palestinians, demanded Israel allow more aid trucks into Gaza, saying it had enough food for the entire population for over three months which was not allowed in. Israel's military said that it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip as a matter of utmost importance, and works to enable and facilitate its entry in coordination with the international community." Truce talks Some Palestinians suggested the move on Deir al-Balah might be an attempt to put pressure on Hamas to make more concessions in long-running ceasefire negotiations. Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect talks in Doha aimed at reaching a 60-day truce and hostage deal, although there has been no sign of breakthrough. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.