Dozens of Palestinians were reported killed while trying to access humanitarian aid in Gaza, according to hospital officials. Al-Shifa hospital received a tragic influx of casualties, listing 20 deceased individuals and many others wounded from the Netzarim corridor area, which is recognized as an Israeli military zone.
Reports indicate that 25 people were killed overnight near a convoy designed to transport flour and amid chaos surrounding a food distribution site managed by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The Hamas-run Civil Defence agency claimed that Israeli forces opened fire, leading to tragic casualties, while other reports detailed incidents of individuals being crushed by trucks and also shot by Palestinians. The Israeli military stated that warning shots were fired in response to suspects maneuvering toward their positions.
Six additional fatalities were reported by Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, where gunfire from Israeli forces struck individuals near another GHF site in Rafah, prompting an investigation by the Israeli military into those occurrences.
Despite claims from the GHF that over 43,000 food parcels were successfully distributed across its sites in Rafah and central Gaza “without incident” on Wednesday, the situation remains dire. Deadly confrontations have reportedly occurred almost daily since the new aid system was activated on May 26.
The Gaza health ministry, under Hamas control, asserted that 223 people have been killed and 1,858 others wounded in the attempts to receive aid over the last fortnight. The GHF aims to sidestep the United Nations as the primary aid supplier to Gaza’s 2.1 million inhabitants, while the UN and various aid organizations caution that this new system violates core humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence.
The GHF was established with the intention of ensuring that aid does not fall into the hands of Hamas, a claim disputed by the UN, which maintains that it is not a prevalent problem. Meanwhile, Hamas has categorically rejected these accusations.
The ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza was triggered by a major Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in around 1,200 fatalities and 251 abductions. The death toll in Gaza has now exceeded 55,000, according to health ministry statistics. As the situation evolves, local gunmen and Israeli forces continue to pose risks, exacerbating the desperate search for humanitarian assistance among the Gazan population.
