More than 90 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces while seeking food, Gaza officials say

Independent

21-07-2025

At least 93 Palestinians queuing for food aid have been killed, according to officials in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, most of them reportedly shot by Israeli forces at the Zikim crossing.
Many of those killed were shot during chaotic scenes at the Zikim crossing between Israel and northern Gaza, according to officials. The UN World Food Programme reported that a convoy of 25 aid trucks entering Gaza was quickly overwhelmed by 'massive crowds of hungry civilians' – chaos that soon turned deadly as gunfire erupted.
'WFP reiterates that any violence involving civilians seeking humanitarian aid is completely unacceptable,' it said in a statement.
A UN official, speaking anonymously due to media restrictions, said Israeli forces opened fire on crowds attempting to retrieve food from the aid convoy. Footage taken by UN officials and shared with the Associated Press showed scenes of Palestinian men fleeing amid the sound of automatic gunfire.
'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.
Speaking amid the chaos of bodies being carried away, he added: '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.
The Israeli military claimed those killed posed a threat but disputed Gaza's death toll.
Meanwhile, Israel issued new evacuation orders in central Gaza, raising fears of fresh offensives in areas packed with displaced people and potentially holding Israeli hostages.
In central Deir al-Balah, Israeli airstrikes hit three houses, prompting dozens of families to flee with whatever belongings they could carry, according to Reuters.
The Hostages Family Forum, a grassroots group representing many relatives of those held captive, criticised the new evacuation order and called on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli military to clarify their objectives 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.
Pope Leo XIV has strongly condemned the ongoing war in Gaza, calling out its 'barbarity' and the ' indiscriminate use of force '.
The Pope decried a recent Israeli strike on Gaza's only Catholic church and appealed for 'an immediate end to the barbarity of the war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict' at the end of the Angelus prayer at Castel Gandolfo, his summer residence near Rome.
Last week, an Israeli strike on Gaza's only Catholic church killed three people and wounded 10 – including the parish priest, once a daily confidant of the late Pope Francis.
Israel has expressed 'deep sorrow' and launched an investigation into the incident. The church had been sheltering some 600 displaced civilians, many of them children and people with disabilities.
'This act, unfortunately, adds to the ongoing military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza,' the Pope said on Sunday.
'I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians, as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations.'
Rizeq Betaar, a Palestinian man who survived the attack at Zikim, helped carry one young victim to the hospital. 'We saw this young man lying on the ground, and we were the ones who carried him on the bicycle. We're trying to get him to help. But there is nothing,' Betaar was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera. 'There are no ambulances, no food, no life, no way to live any more. We're barely hanging on.'
Unrwa warned on Sunday that Israeli authorities are 'starving civilians in Gaza', including a million children, despite the agency having enough food stockpiled to feed the entire population for over three months.
Sharing images from a warehouse in Arish, Egypt, Unrwa urged: 'Open the gates, lift the siege, allow Unrwa to do its work and help people in need among them 1 million children.'
Last week, it reported that babies were already dying from 'severe acute malnutrition'. Israel, in turn, has cut ties with the agency over unproven Hamas links.
Since May, the distribution of aid in Gaza has shifted from the traditional UN-led system to one led by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The change, combined with a blockade imposed by Israel on 2 March, has made food increasingly scarce and expensive.
According to the UN, by 13 July, at least 875 people had been killed in recent weeks while attempting to access food – 674 of them near GHF distribution sites. The remaining 201 died along routes or near convoys operated by the UN or its partners. Among the victims are children who were trying to fetch water for their families, according to the Guardian.
Since the war began on 7 October 2023 with a Hamas attack on Israel that killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, more than 58,800 Palestinians have been killed and over 140,000 injured, according to Gaza health authorities.