Israeli tank fire kills at least 51 times in Gaza crowds trying to get food
According to medical staff, Israeli tanks (Israeli tanks) tried to get aid from trucks in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 51 people on Monday, one of the bloodiest events as desperate residents struggled for food.
Videos shared on social media show about twelve bodies on a street in Khan in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli military admitted to opening fires in the area and said it was investigating the incident.
Witnesses interviewed by Reuters said Israeli tanks fired at least two shells at thousands of people who gathered on the main eastern road through Khan Younis in hopes of getting food from aid trucks using the route.
“Suddenly, they let us move forward and everyone gathered together and the shells started falling off,” Eyewitness Alaa said in an interview with Reuters at Nasser Hospital.
“No one looked at these people with compassion. People were dying, they were torn apart, buying food for the children. Looking at these people, all of them were torn apart to feed their children with flour.”
Medical staff said at least 51 people were killed, 200 of them were injured, and 20 of them were in critical condition. Civil cars, rickshaws and donkey carts were sent to the hospital for casualties.
“Earlier today, a party was found adjacent to aid distribution trucks stuck in the Khan Yunis area and close to IDF forces in the area,” the IDF said in a statement.
“After the IDF realized the attitudes of the crowd, reports of many injured people in the IDF fire. Details of the incident are under review. The IDF regrets the unassisted and minimizes the harm to them while maintaining the safety of our troops.”
Hundreds of people have died near aid sites in recent weeks
At least 14 people were also killed in different Israeli gunfires and air strikes elsewhere in the enclave, with the death toll on Tuesday at least 65, medical staff said.
The incident is the latest in the past three weeks for Palestinians to seek aid, as Israel partially imposed a total blockade of the territory it caused for nearly three months.
Israel has been communicating a large amount of assistance through a new U.S. and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which operates a handful of distribution sites in areas protected by Israeli forces.
At least 20 people were killed in Israel's fire near an aid allocation site in Rafah on Monday and 200 others were injured, according to medical staff. The Gaza Ministry of Health said the deaths were the latest mass shooting, killing at least 300 Palestinians in the past few weeks.
The United Nations rejection of the system is insufficient, dangerous and violation of humanitarian justice rules. Israel said it is necessary to prevent Hamas fighters from transferring aid, which Hamas denies.
Hundreds of Palestinians attempted to reach the GHF site, including 23 people killed by Israel on Monday in Rafa, southern Gaza Strip.
GHF said in a press release late Monday that it distributed more than 3 million meals in its four distribution venues without any incidents.
Watching the Iranian War
The Gaza War was triggered in October 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, Israel's subsequent military attacks on Gaza killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, while almost vanishing 2.3 million people and causing a hunger crisis.
Gaza residents have been paying attention to the war between Israel and Iran since last week, starting with a major strike in Israel on Friday. Iran has long been a major supporter of Hamas.
Residents in the Gaza Strip have circulated images of Israel’s destruction buildings hitting Iranian missiles, and some are pleased to see Israelis experiencing fears that the Gazas have endured 20 months of air strikes.
“We live in these scenes and pains every day. We're very happy to see the day we see the rubble in Tel Aviv, where they're trying to get out of rubble and houses destroyed by residents,” Gazan Man Saad Saad said.
“It's time for Iran to teach Israel to occupy the country a lesson,” said another Tayseir Mohaissan.
