Israeli airstrikes and shootings have reportedly killed 94 Palestinians, with hundreds of others injured while waiting for food at an Israel–U.S.-backed distribution site in Gaza.
Among the fatalities were 45 civilians who had gathered in search of much-needed humanitarian aid amid worsening conditions in Gaza.
This includes five killed on roads leading to food-distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), and 40 others who died while waiting for U.N. aid trucks across the enclave, according to hospital officials.
The Gaza Health Ministry and hospitals confirmed that the 94 deaths occurred between Wednesday and Thursday, during what should have been aid delivery operations.
At least 13 members of a single family were among the victims, including six children under the age of 12.
In one video obtained from the scene, families were seen weeping over the bodies of those killed after a strike hit a tent camp where displaced people had been sleeping in southern Gaza.
“My children, my children … my beloved,” cried Intisar Abu Assi, sobbing over the bodies of her son, daughters, and their young children.
Another woman was seen kissing the forehead of a dead little girl wrapped in a blanket on the floor of the morgue at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
The death toll continues to rise, as near-daily shootings reportedly target civilians attempting to access aid.
Witnesses say Israeli troops regularly open fire on crowds gathering at GHF sites, and in military-run zones where people wait for U.N. food trucks.
Since the aid distribution began in May, more than 500 Palestinians have reportedly been killed, with hundreds more wounded.
The Israeli military, whose forces patrol the routes leading to aid sites, claims it fires warning shots to control crowds or to deter individuals approaching soldiers.
Amnesty International, however, has accused Israel of “using starvation of civilians as a weapon of war … as part of its ongoing genocide,” in a report released this week.
The group also said the GHF distribution model seemed designed to “placate international concerns,” while in reality, only minimal food is allowed in for U.N. agencies to distribute separately.
“By maintaining a deadly, dehumanizing, and ineffective militarized ‘aid’ scheme, Israeli authorities have turned aid-seeking into a booby trap for desperate, starved Palestinians,” Amnesty said.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed the report, accusing Amnesty of “joining forces with Hamas” and “fully adopting its propaganda lies.”
