‘Gunshots rained down': 85 killed in Gaza on deadliest day yet for aid-seekers

Sydney Morning Herald

2 days ago

'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 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 metres north of a hub of the recently created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US- 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 five-year-old boy, according to the Kuwait Specialised Field Hospital, which received the casualties.
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 on to 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 UN facilities in the south-western part of Deir al-Balah are included in the order, according to a different UN official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to speak to the media. The official said that in previous instances, UN facilities had been spared from such orders.
The Medical Aid for Palestinians group said several humanitarian organisations' offices and guesthouses had been 'ordered to evacuate immediately' and nine clinics had been forced to shut down.
Israel military spokesman Avichay Adraee called for people to head to Muwasi, a 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 per cent of Gaza.
Gaza's population of more than 2 million Palestinians are in a humanitarian crisis, now relying largely on the limited aid allowed into the territory. Many people have been displaced numerous times.
Ambulances in front of three major hospitals in Gaza sounded their alarms simultaneously on 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 October 7, 2023, killing about 1200 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 more than half of the dead have been women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
The Hostages Family Forum, a grassroots organisation 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 US embassy, demanding an end to the war.