Eleven Palestinians seeking aid were among at least 33 killed by Israeli gunfire and strikes across Gaza on Wednesday, rescuers and medics say. A spokesman for the Hamas-run civil defence agency said Israeli forces “opened fire and launched several shells” at thousands of people who were queuing for desperately needed food supplies on the main Salah al-Din Road.
The Israeli army reported that soldiers deployed in the Nuseirat area fired warning shots last night after a group moved towards them in a way that could have represented a threat, but was not aware of any casualties. A further 19 died in three Israeli airstrikes in northern and southern Gaza, the civil defence agency reported.
They comprised eight who were killed when a house was struck in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood, it added. About the air raids, the Israeli military stated that it was “operating to destroy Hamas military capabilities” in the region. Hamas-ruled Gaza’s health ministry stated on Wednesday afternoon that a minimum of 140 people had been killed in the last 24 hours.
The ministry stated on Tuesday that 51 individuals were shot dead waiting for relief in the southern city of Khan Younis, while the UN quoted partner organisations working on health to place the toll at over 60.
Eyewitnesses informed the BBC that Israeli tanks and drones began firing as crowds of people approached a charity community centre and warehouse of the UN’s World Food Programme.
The Israeli army confirmed its soldiers were in the area and stated the circumstances surrounding the incident were being investigated. In another Tuesday incident, the civil defence bureau reported seven more people in need of assistance died and numerous others were injured on Rashid Street north-west of Gaza City.
A physician at Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital informed Reuters news agency that the deaths were caused by Israeli air strikes and the wounds were inflicted by gunfire. Umm Fida Masoud said her son “went to fetch a bag of flour and returned [injured] inside a bag.”.
Meanwhile, a local journalist posted footage that he said showed his cousin celebrating after collecting a bag of flour for his family. Almost 400 people have been killed while trying to get aid since 26 May, when the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) opened the first of its three distribution centres, according to the health ministry.
The GHF, based on US private security contractors, is trying to circumvent the UN as the principal provider of aid to the 2.1 million Palestinians of Gaza.
The UN and other humanitarian agencies refuse to cooperate with the new system, stating it violates the humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality, and independence.
They also alert that Gaza’s residents are suffering at catastrophic levels of hunger following an 11-week complete Israeli blockade eased partially one month ago. The US and Israel argue that GHF’s system will ensure aid does not get stolen by Hamas, which GHF denies doing.
On Wednesday, the chief of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) denounced it as “lame, medieval and lethal”. Invite starving individuals to their deaths, that is a war crime. All those who are in charge of this system should be prosecuted,” Philippe Lazzarini posted on X.
“This is a shame and a blight on our collective conscience. The GHF has remained silent, but it stated in a release that it had thus far handed out 30 million meals from its three centres of distribution “without any incident.”.
“We are dedicated to a single mission: to feed the people of Gaza – and to expand our work to more still who need it,” it further added. The WFP in turn cautioned that the 9,000 tonnes of food assistance it had shipped in the last four weeks was “a tiny fraction” of what was required in Gaza.
It also stated that desperate hunger was leading to huge groups congregating on popular transport paths, waiting to intercept and obtain humanitarian food supplies during transit. Only a huge increase in food distributions can stabilize the situation, soothe anxieties and restore the expectation within communities that more food is en route,” it stated.
Israeli defence agency Cogat stated that 85 lorry loads of assistance came into southern and northern Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Erez West border crossings on Tuesday, of which 66 were picked up. A further 380 lorry loads of assistance were held ready for pick-up by the UN, it added.
The Israeli army initiated a campaign in Gaza against the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which approximately 1,200 were killed and 251 others kidnapped. At least 55,637 individuals have been assassinated in Gaza since then, based on the health ministry of the territory.
