At least 59 people were killed and 221 others were injured when an Israeli tank fire a crowd of civilians waiting to receive food aid in the city of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip. Medical staff said it was one of the bloodiest attacks since aid was resumed in May.
Thousands of people gathered along the main road east of the city in the hope of receiving food from relief vehicles, Alaa said at Nasser Hospital. "Suddenly, they let us get closer, gathered in large numbers, and then the tanks started to fire. No one pity these people. They were killed just to get some flour to raise their children," the witness said.
Video on social media shows bodies scattered in the middle of the street. Many injured victims were taken to the hospital by civil cars, three-wheeled vehicles and even horse-drawn carts due to severe shortages of medical facilities. Among the victims, at least 20 are in critical condition. This is the highest number of deaths in a day since aid was allowed back to Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) admitted to firing in an area near a crowd that gathered around a relief truck stranded in Khan Younis. In a statement, the IDF said: The IDF is aware of reports of some casualties from IDF fire after the crowd approached. The case is being considered. The IDF added that it is trying to minimize damage to civilians while still ensuring the safety of soldiers.
In addition to the Khan Younis incident, medical staff recorded at least 14 others killed in airstrikes and fireworks in many other areas of the densely populated area, bringing the total number of deaths per day to at least 73. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, since the end of May, 397 Palestinians have been killed and more than 3,000 injured in seeking to access food aid.
Israel is distributing the majority of its aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) - a unit backed by the US and Israel. However, the United Nations condemned the model as dangerous and a violation of humanitarian principles.
GHF confirmed that the incident did not happen at one of their launch points but near a location on the World Food Program.
Meanwhile, Gaza officials have accused hundreds of people of being killed while trying to approach the GHF launch site.
