Mohamed Garba
At least 51 Palestinians were killed and over 200 wounded on Tuesday when Israeli tanks reportedly shelled a crowd awaiting aid trucks in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
The incident marks the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Palestinians desperate for humanitarian assistance, as the region grapples with a deepening hunger crisis.
According to the health ministry, dozens more were wounded, with medics reporting at least 20 individuals in critical condition. Witnesses described Israeli tanks firing at least two shells into a crowd of thousands who had gathered in anticipation of aid deliveries.
Nasser Hospital was overwhelmed with casualties, forcing medical staff to place some of the wounded on the ground and in corridors due to a severe lack of space.
There has been no immediate comment from the Israeli military regarding the incident.
This latest tragedy follows a trend of increasing casualties among Palestinians seeking aid. Just on Monday, local health officials reported at least 23 people were killed by Israeli gunfires as they approached a distribution site operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in Rafah, also in the southern Gaza Strip.
The GHF, in a press release on Monday, stated it had distributed over three million meals at its four distribution sites without incident. The Israeli military has not yet commented on reported shootings. In previous incidents, Israel has occasionally acknowledged troops opening fire near aid sites, often attributing the violence to militants.
Israel has largely entrusted the GHF with distributing aid it allows into Gaza, with GHF sites reportedly guarded by Israeli troops. However, the United Nations has rejected this arrangement, deeming GHF distribution “inadequate, dangerous, and a violation of humanitarian impartiality principles.”
The current conflict, which has seen accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and war crimes at the International Criminal Court against Israel (which denies the accusations), escalated in October 2023.
This followed an attack by Palestinian Hamas militants on Israel, which left 1,200 dead and approximately 250 hostages, according to Israeli allies. Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has resulted in the deaths of nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, displaced nearly the entire population, and triggered a severe hunger crisis.
