Israeli forces kill 80 Palestinians seeking food aid
- MEE Staff
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
Eyewitnesses tell MEE children and the elderly were killed and wounded during two attacks in besieged enclave
Israeli forces killed at least 80 Palestinians and wounded hundreds in two ambushes at US-run aid distribution centres in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
Eyewitnesses told Middle East Eye that Israeli forces ambushed thousands of starving Palestinians, killing and wounding hundreds in the attacks.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, approximately 30 people were killed in the al-Alam area of Rafah, while the death toll rose to nearly 50 in the al-Tahlia area of Khan Yunis.
The attacks occurred as residents gathered at aid distribution points, where they came under artillery shelling from Israeli forces.
"We headed to the distribution point after hearing that wheat would be handed out - at 7am, we were ambushed in the Tahlia area," said Abdalla Elyyan, a resident of Khan Younis.
He told MEE that they had been informed that aid would be distributed in 30 minutes when, without warning, Israeli forces unleashed artillery shelling and gunfire.
"Chaos erupted. People were strewn across the streets - so many killed and wounded," said Elyyan.
"Can you imagine shells raining down on thousands of people packed into a small area? The number of people killed was staggering."
'Chaos erupted. People were strewn across the streets - so many killed and wounded'- Abdalla Elyyan, Khan Younis resident
The ministry said emergency, intensive care and operating rooms in Gaza's hospitals were severely overcrowded due to an influx of patients, amid a severe shortage of essential medicines and supplies.
Nidal Abu Nseira, another resident of Khan Younis, said shells landed in the middle of a crowd of up to 5,000 people.
"Hundreds were killed or wounded. I personally transported at least 50 injured people - many had injuries to the head and legs. Body parts were scattered across the streets," he said.
At least 5,139 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on the territory on 18 March following the unilateral ending of a ceasefire, according to the health ministry.
The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out on 7 October 2023 has reached 55,432 people.
Aid attacks and communication cut
The besieged enclave's population is grappling with starvation as a result of an Israeli blockade on essential food and water supplies entering the territory.
Israel and its allies in Washington have only allowed the controversial US-run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to distribute essential supplies to Palestinians.
However, massacres of those seeking aid by Israeli soldiers and GHF-aligned mercenaries have been a daily occurrence.
"It's a trap, not an aid organisation. It's a trap to kill our men," said one woman, whose cousin was killed in Tuesday's attacks.
"He went out to get food for his family. And he was killed. They set up this new aid mechanisms so they can lure our young men and kill them one by one."
On Thursday, all internet and landline telecommunications services were completely cut off when Israel launched a direct attack on the last remaining main fibre optic route connecting Gaza.
In a statement, the Gaza-based Government Media Office described the action as "a crime aimed at obscuring the truth and deepening the humanitarian catastrophe".
"The widespread and recurring interruption of communications and the internet cannot be considered a technical or accidental failure," it said.
"Rather, it is a deliberate and premeditated crime aimed at isolating the Gaza Strip from the outside world, obscuring the truth, and depriving citizens of the most basic necessities of life, safety, communication and assistance."
The blockaded enclave's southern and central governorates were affected by the destruction, joining Gaza City and the northern region, which have been disconnected since the beginning of the week.
Following a partial return to telecommunication and internet services over the weekend, renewed disruptions - caused by resumed Israeli military action - were reported on Monday across central and southern Gaza.
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