In a harrowing incident in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, at least 51 Palestinians have lost their lives and over 200 have sustained injuries while awaiting the arrival of U.N. and commercial trucks carrying urgently needed food supplies. This tragic event was reported by Gaza's Health Ministry and confirmed by a local hospital.
Witnesses recounted that Israeli forces executed an airstrike on a nearby home before indiscriminately opening fire on the crowd gathered in the southern city. Despite multiple requests for comment, the Israeli military has not responded to these allegations. This incident does not appear to be directly connected to the newly established aid delivery network, supported by both the United States and Israel, which has faced significant controversy and violence since its inception last month.
"Aren’t we human beings?" exclaimed Yousef Nofal, an eyewitness who described the horrific scene, noting that many individuals lay motionless and bleeding on the ground after the gunfire erupted. "It was a massacre," he continued, asserting that soldiers continued to fire upon civilians even as they attempted to escape the area.
Another survivor, Mohammed Abu Qeshfa, reported hearing a loud explosion followed by intense gunfire and tank shelling, stating, "I survived by a miracle." The deceased and injured were transported to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where the grim toll was confirmed. Samaher Meqdad, who was at the hospital searching for her two brothers and a nephew, voiced her despair: "We don’t want flour. We don’t want food. We don’t want anything. Why did they fire at the young people? Why? Aren’t we human beings?"
Palestinians have reported that Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on crowds attempting to reach food distribution points managed by a separate U.S. and Israeli-backed aid organization since these centers opened last month. Local health officials indicate that numerous casualties have occurred, with hundreds more injured in similar confrontations. In these situations, the Israeli military has admitted to firing warning shots at individuals whom they claimed approached their forces suspiciously.
The situation has become increasingly dire as competing aid systems struggle to meet the overwhelming needs of the population. Israel asserts that the new aid system, run by the private contractor Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, aims to prevent Hamas from diverting humanitarian aid to support its militant operations. However, U.N. agencies and significant aid organizations have rejected this claim, arguing that there is no substantial evidence of aid diversion and that the new system violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to control access to vital supplies.
Experts have raised alarms about the potential for famine in Gaza, which is home to approximately 2 million Palestinians. The U.N.-run aid network has been delivering supplies across Gaza throughout the ongoing 20-month conflict between Israel and Hamas, yet has encountered severe challenges since Israel lifted a total blockade it had imposed from early March until mid-May.
According to U.N. officials, Israeli military restrictions, coupled with a breakdown of law and order and widespread looting, have severely hampered efforts to deliver the aid that Israel has permitted into the territory. Since the escalation of conflict in October 2023, Israel's military operations have reportedly resulted in the deaths of over 55,300 Palestinians, with more than half being women and children, as per Gaza's Health Ministry. Notably, this casualty count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The current military campaign was launched by Israel following Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 individuals, primarily civilians, along with 251 hostages being taken. As of now, militants still hold 53 hostages, with fewer than half believed to be alive, following a series of ceasefire agreements and negotiations.
