Israeli forces have killed at least 67 Palestinians waiting for UN aid trucks in northern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed that its 25-truck convoy, carrying humanitarian supplies, was met by large crowds of desperate civilians and came under gunfire shortly after entering Gaza from Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), while disputing the reported death toll, stated that it had only fired warning shots in response to what it called an “immediate threat.”
The incident is the latest in a string of deadly encounters involving civilians trying to access aid in Gaza, where extreme hunger and malnutrition are reaching catastrophic levels. On Saturday, the health ministry warned of growing numbers of people arriving at medical facilities in a state of exhaustion, adding that hundreds are at imminent risk of death due to starvation. On Sunday alone, 18 people reportedly died from famine-related causes.
Shifa Hospital in Gaza City has been overwhelmed with casualties, according to its medical director, Dr. Hassan al-Shaer. Outside the hospital, civilians voiced despair over the worsening situation. “The whole population is dying,” one woman told BBC Arabic, adding, “Children are dying of hunger because they have nothing to eat. People are surviving on just water and salt.”
Gaza’s civil defense agency updated the overall death toll from Israeli fire on Sunday to 93 people. Of these, 80 were reportedly killed in the north, with others shot near aid points in Rafah and Khan Younis in the south. Firsthand accounts from the scene described chaos and panic. Qasem Abu Khater, a Gaza City resident, said he was trying to get a bag of flour but found himself in the middle of gunfire. “Tanks were firing shells randomly… Israeli snipers were shooting as if they were hunting animals,” he said. “Dozens were martyred before my eyes.”
The WFP condemned the violence against civilians seeking aid as “completely unacceptable,” stating that malnutrition is soaring, with around 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment. “Nearly one in three people is not eating for days,” the agency warned.
Deadly incidents around aid distribution points have become increasingly frequent since late May. Just a day earlier, at least 32 Palestinians were reportedly killed near two aid locations in southern Gaza. Many of these sites are operated by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the U.S. and Israel, which employs private security within Israeli military zones. However, some fatalities have also occurred near UN-run aid convoys.
Amid the humanitarian crisis, the Israeli military has issued fresh evacuation orders in central Gaza, targeting densely populated areas of Deir al-Balah—a city that has not yet seen a ground invasion during the 21-month war. On Sunday, the IDF dropped leaflets warning civilians and displaced persons to move toward al-Mawasi on the coast, fueling panic among thousands of already-displaced people.
Israeli sources told Reuters that the army had previously avoided these neighborhoods due to concerns that Hamas may be holding hostages there. At least 20 of the 50 hostages believed to still be in Gaza are thought to be alive.
Most of Gaza’s population—over two million—has been displaced at least once since the conflict began. Israel launched its military campaign in response to the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, which killed approximately 1,200 Israelis and resulted in the kidnapping of 251 others.
Since then, over 58,895 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are also cited by the United Nations.
On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV called for an immediate ceasefire, condemning the “barbarity of war” and urging restraint, particularly after an Israeli strike recently damaged Gaza’s only Catholic church—a move Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has since expressed regret over.
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