The violence in Khan Younis adds to a wave of attacks that have since May 26 killed hundreds of desperate people seeking food.
Israeli troops have killed at least 70 Palestinians and wounded hundreds as they sought aid in Gaza on Tuesday, firing at them with tank shells, machine guns and drones. Those casualties are among the 89 Palestinians killed in attacks across the besieged enclave since dawn.
Israeli soldiers fired at the desperate crowds of aid seekers on Tuesday morning as they gathered along the main eastern road in the southern city of Khan Younis. It was the latest in a sustained wave of carnage since the Israel- and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) launched operations to distribute food in the territory three weeks ago.
The death toll is expected to rise as many of the injured are in a critical condition, according to medics at Nasser Hospital, where the casualties are being treated.
Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal added that more than 200 people were injured, although reports concerning the number of casualties varied.
“Israeli drones fired at the citizens. Some minutes later, Israeli tanks fired several shells at the citizens, which led to a large number of martyrs and wounded,” the spokesman said, noting that the crowd had assembled in the hope of receiving flour.
media’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said Israeli tanks, heavy machine guns, and drone strikes were “raining down” on crowds, according to eyewitnesses.
The death toll of more than 70 people made Tuesday the deadliest day around the GHF sites so far. Previously, that grim record was set on Monday, when 38 people were killed, mostly in the Rafah area south of Khan Younis.
Reports indicated more than 300 people have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded while trying to collect aid from the GHF since it launched operations in Gaza on May 26.
“It is unacceptable,” added Farhan Haq. “As of yesterday, 338 people have been killed and more than 2,800 injured while trying to access food, food near distribution sites.”
Survivors described horrific scenes.
“Dozens of civilians, including children, were killed, and no one could help or save lives,” survivor Saeed Abu Liba, 38, told media.
Yousef Nofal, who called the event a “massacre”, said he saw many people lying motionless and bleeding on the ground. The soldiers continued to fire on people as they fled, he said.
“I survived by a miracle,” said Mohammed Abu Qeshfa, who mentioned both heavy gunfire and tank shelling.
‘Shredded to pieces’
media’s correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, quoted medical sources at Nasser Hospital as saying many victims were “unidentifiable” because they had been “shredded to pieces” in the attack.
After previous shootings, which have been a near-daily occurrence since the aid centres opened, the military has claimed its soldiers had fired warning shots at what it called suspects approaching their positions, although it did not say whether those shots struck anyone.
The World Health Organization on Tuesday pleaded for fuel to be allowed into Gaza to keep its few functioning hospitals running.
“For over 100 days, no fuel has entered Gaza and attempts to retrieve stocks from evacuation zones have been denied,” said Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO’s representative in the Palestinian territories.
Peeperkorn said only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals were currently minimally to partially functional. They have a total of around 1,500 beds – about 45 percent fewer than before Israel’s war on Gaza began.
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