Israeli Gunfire Kills Dozens Waiting for Aid in Gaza as Humanitarian Crisis Deepens

At least 30 Palestinians were killed and around 300 wounded by Israeli gunfire while waiting for aid in northern Gaza, according to Gaza officials. Israel said it only fired warning shots and is investigating. Additional deaths were reported near an aid center in Rafah. The UN says over 1,000 Palestinians have died seeking aid since May, and famine is worsening. Global pressure is growing, with more countries backing Palestinian statehood.

Israeli gunfire killed at least 30 Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid in northern Gaza on Wednesday, according to the Hamas-run civil defence agency. A spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defence told AFP that around 300 others were wounded. Israel said details of the incident "are still being examined."

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) stated that they fired “warning shots” after Gazans gathered around aid trucks approximately 3 kilometers southwest of the Zikim crossing, but said they were “not aware of any casualties” resulting from IDF gunfire.

Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, told AFP that the hospital had received 35 bodies following the incident. Later, the hospital updated the number of deaths to at least 48, according to the Associated Press.

In a separate report, Gaza hospital sources told the BBC that six Palestinians were killed near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution center in Rafah on Wednesday morning. However, the GHF told the BBC that no killings occurred at or near its sites on that day.

The IDF told the BBC that a “gathering of suspects,” who it claimed posed a threat to its troops, had been told to disperse. The army said it then fired “warning shots” from a distance of several hundred meters away from the distribution center. The military added that “an initial review suggests that the number of casualties reported does not align with the information held by the IDF.”

According to the UN human rights office, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to access food aid since late May. Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry also reported that over 150 people, including 89 children, have died of malnutrition since the war between Israel and Hamas began in 2023.

This latest violence comes as UN-backed global food security experts warned that the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” in Gaza, even as Israel announced a series of “tactical pauses” in military operations to allow humanitarian aid into the territory.

Israel maintains that it is not restricting aid from entering Gaza, a claim rejected by several European countries and the United Nations. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated this week that the current “trickle of aid” must “become an ocean,” urging that food, water, medicine, and fuel must flow into Gaza “in waves and without obstruction.” He added, “This nightmare must end.”

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to travel to Israel on Thursday to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza. His visit coincides with Canada’s announcement that it will join France and the UK in recognizing a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, making it the third G7 nation to do so.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its military campaign in October 2023, including 18,592 children and 9,782 women. The offensive was launched in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage.