73 Palestinians Killed Seeking Aid as Israeli Fire Hits Crowds in Gaza
At least 73 Palestinians were killed while waiting for humanitarian aid across Gaza, in what witnesses and aid groups describe as one of the deadliest days for civilians since the war began.
Younis, a 32-year-old father of four, recalled the horror of trying to reach an aid convoy in northern Gaza when gunfire erupted. “We were just skeletons, walking,” he told The Independent, recounting how a shell explosion scattered a crowd near him moments before a bullet whizzed past his head. “The gunfire was so intense that it was like they were aiming to drink our blood.”
Trapped beneath a pile of bodies—dead, wounded, and panicked—Younis managed to escape with a bag of flour, which he later lost in the chaos. “My children had woken up crying, ‘Daddy I want to eat.’ Those words burned my blood,” he said.
Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are on the brink of famine, according to the UN’s global hunger monitor. Israel has enforced sweeping restrictions on aid into the besieged enclave, accusing Hamas of diverting supplies—a claim aid workers have not independently verified.
Legal experts have said that Israel’s siege tactics, which include blocking aid and forcing civilian movement, may constitute war crimes or even “genocide in action”—allegations Israel firmly denies.
The World Food Programme confirmed on Sunday that a rare convoy of 25 food trucks entered northern Gaza, where desperate civilians had gathered. But as the convoy approached, Israeli tanks and snipers allegedly opened fire. “The surrounding crowd came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire,” WFP said in a statement.
Palestinian health authorities reported that 99 people were killed during the aid scramble—the highest toll in a single day for civilians seeking food since the war erupted in October 2023. More than 800 people have now died attempting to access aid, they said. The Israeli military claimed it had fired warning shots “to remove an immediate threat” and questioned the casualty numbers.
The following day, Israel expanded its military operations, issuing new evacuation orders in Deir al-Balah, an area previously declared a “safe zone” that hosts hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians as well as UN and aid agency facilities.
As violence intensified, international pressure mounted. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and diplomats from 24 other countries declared the humanitarian situation in Gaza had reached “new depths” and called on Israel to end the war. Belgium’s King Philippe described the crisis as a “disgrace to humanity,” urging an “immediate end” to the suffering.
However, peace efforts remain fragile. Talks in Qatar aimed at brokering a ceasefire are reportedly being derailed by the continuing escalation. “Whatever happens on the battlefield directly impacts what happens at the negotiating table,” a source close to the talks told The Independent.
