At Least 93 Palestinians Killed While Waiting for Aid in Northern Gaza

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

At least 93 Palestinians, many of them in northern Gaza, were killed after Israeli forces opened fire on crowds waiting for desperately needed humanitarian aid, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense.

Spokesman Mahmoud Basal told AFP that 80 people were killed in the northwest of Gaza City while trying to collect food supplies from aid trucks. He confirmed that they died as a result of Israeli gunfire.

The World Food Programme (WFP) reported that a 25-truck convoy carrying food into northern Gaza was met by large crowds of hungry civilians shortly after crossing from Israel. The organization said that gunfire was directed at the crowds, causing panic and casualties.

“Any violence against civilians waiting for humanitarian aid is absolutely unacceptable,” the WFP said, calling for the protection of both civilians and aid workers.

The Israeli military responded with skepticism regarding the death toll, claiming its troops only fired "warning shots" in response to what it called a "direct threat."

Further south, Basal said nine more people were killed near a distribution center in the Shakoush area northwest of Rafah, and four others were killed near the Tahliya roundabout in eastern Khan Younis.

Gaza’s humanitarian crisis continues to deepen, with over two million residents now facing extreme hunger due to the prolonged blockade and ongoing war that has stretched on for 21 months. The United Nations and international aid agencies have warned that the population is on the brink of famine.

Scenes of civilians being killed while waiting for food have tragically become a near-daily occurrence. Local sources and eyewitnesses repeatedly accuse Israeli forces of firing at crowds gathered around aid distribution points, many of which are managed by the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Relief Foundation.

The United Nations stated this week that nearly 800 people have been killed while waiting for aid since late May.