Israeli troops shoot Palestinians at aid site, kill 67: Gaza health ministry
The Israeli military said that soldiers had shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat, and that it was aware of some casualties. But it said that the numbers being reported by teams in Gaza were far higher than the military's initial investigation found.
The military added that it is attempting to facilitate the entry of aid, and blamed Hamas militants for fomenting chaos and endangering civilians.
The largest toll, according to the Gaza health ministry and local hospitals, was in the northern part of the territory, where at least 67 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel.
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More than 150 people were wounded, with some of them in critical condition, hospitals said. Seven Palestinians were also killed while sheltering in tents in Khan Younis, including a five-year-old boy, according to the Kuwait Specialized Field Hospital, which received the casualties.
It wasn't immediately clear whether they were killed by the Israeli army or armed gangs or both. But some witnesses said that the Israeli military shot at the crowd.
The killings in northern Gaza didn't take place near aid distribution points associated with the Gaza Humanitarian Fund, or GHF, a U.S.- and Israel-backed group that hands out food packages to Palestinians. Witnesses and health workers say hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli fire while trying to access the group's distribution sites.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military published new evacuation warnings for areas of central Gaza on Sunday, in one of the few areas where the military has rarely operated with ground troops.
The evacuation cuts access between the city of Deir al-Balah and the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis in the narrow enclave.
The announcement came as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that expanding Israel's military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas to negotiate, but negotiations have been stalled for months.
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Earlier this month, the Israeli military said that it controlled more than 65 per cent of the Gaza Strip.
1:20
'We want to eat': Palestinians in Gaza protest hunger crisis amid ongoing Israeli siege
Cutting off access
The area of Gaza under the evacuation order is where many international organizations attempting to distribute aid are located.
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The United Nations has been in contact with Israeli authorities to clarify whether U.N. facilities in southwestern Deir al-Balah are included in Sunday's evacuation order, according to a U.N. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media.
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The official said that in previous instances, U.N. facilities were spared from evacuation orders. The evacuation announcement covers an area stretching from a previously evacuated area all the way to the coast and will severely hamper movement for aid groups and civilians in Gaza.
Military spokesman Avichay Adraee warned that the military will attack 'with intensity' against militants. He called for residents, including those sheltering in tents, to head to the Muwasi area, a desolate tent camp on Gaza's southern shore that the Israeli military has designated a humanitarian zone.
Gaza's population of more than two million Palestinians are in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
The latest conflict was triggered when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty remain, but fewer than half are thought to be alive.
Israel's military offensive that followed has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn't say how many militants are among the dead but says more than half of the dead have been women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
The Hostages Family Forum, a grassroots organization that represents many of the families of hostages, condemned the evacuation announcement and demanded that Netanyahu and the Israeli military explain what they hope to accomplish in the area of central Gaza, accusing Israel of operating without a clear war plan.
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'Enough! The Israeli people overwhelmingly want an end to the fighting and a comprehensive agreement that will return all of the hostages,' the forum said. On Saturday night, during the weekly protest, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Tel Aviv to the branch of the U.S. Embassy, demonstrating for an end to the war.
5:16
U.S. defends Israel-backed aid group, denies responsibility for death of 20 Palestinians
Humanitarian disaster grows
On Sunday morning, ambulances in front of three major hospitals in Gaza sounded their alarms simultaneously in an urgent appeal to shed light on the hunger crisis in the territory. The health ministry posted pictures on social media of doctors holding paper signs about malnourished children and lack of medication.
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Zaher al-Wahidi, one of the spokespeople at the health ministry, said that at least nine children under five years old have died of malnutrition as of Sunday since the Israel's imposed aid entry blockade in March.
He explained that tracking the number of people dying of starvation is hard because some could be suffering from other medical conditions that could be worsened when compounded with severe hunger.
In northern Gaza, Shifa Hospital director Abu Selmiyah said that the hospital recorded 79 people who died of malnutrition in the past month.
Israeli bombardments continued to pound the Gaza Strip overnight. Large explosions in northern Gaza were visible from Israel as plumes of fire shot into the sky.
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CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Tank shelling hits houses, mosques in Deir Al-Balah as Israeli tanks push into area
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In its daily update, Gaza's Health Ministry said at least 130 Palestinians had been killed and more than 1,000 wounded by Israeli gunfire and military strikes across the territory in the past 24 hours, one of the highest such totals in recent weeks. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis incidents. Israel's military said it had not entered the districts of Deir Al-Balah subject to the evacuation order during the current conflict and that it was continuing "to operate with great force to destroy the enemy's capabilities and terrorist infrastructure in the area." Israeli sources have said the reason the army has so far stayed out is that they suspect Hamas might be holding hostages there. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in captivity in Gaza are believed to be still alive. Families of the hostages expressed their concern for their relatives and demanded an explanation from the army of how it would protect them. Warnings of 'mass deaths' from mounting hunger The military escalation comes as Gaza health officials warned of potential "mass deaths" in the coming days due to mounting hunger, which has killed at least 19 people since Saturday, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Health officials said hospitals were running out of fuel, food aid, and medicine, risking a halt to vital operations. Health Ministry spokesperson Khalil Al-Deqran said medical staff have been depending on one meal a day and that hundreds of people flock to hospitals every day, suffering from fatigue and exhaustion because of hunger. In southern Gaza, the health ministry said an Israeli undercover unit had detained Marwan Al-Hams, head of Gaza's field hospitals, on Monday in a raid that killed a local journalist and wounded another outside a field medical facility run by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). An ICRC spokesperson said the Red Cross had admitted and treated patients injured in the incident but would not comment further on their status in order to protect their privacy. It said it was "very concerned about the safety and security" around the field hospital. WATCH | Dozens of Palestinians killed Sunday near aid site: Attacks near aid sites kill at least 85 in Gaza 12 hours ago The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has raided and attacked hospitals across Gaza during the war, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes, an accusation the group denies. Sending undercover forces to carry out arrests has been rare. Israel's military said its troops had fired warning shots towards a crowd of thousands of people in northern Gaza to remove what it said was "an immediate threat." It said initial findings suggested reported casualty figures were inflated, and it "certainly does not intentionally target humanitarian aid trucks." The new raid and escalating number of fatalities appeared to be complicating ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel that are being mediated by Qatar and Egypt, with U.S. backing. A Hamas official told Reuters on Sunday that the militant group was angered over the mounting deaths and the hunger crisis in the enclave, and that this could badly affect ceasefire talks underway in Qatar. Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect talks in Doha aimed at reaching a 60-day truce and hostage deal, although there has been no sign of breakthrough. UN calls on Israel to lift blockade on aid UNRWA, the UN refugee agency dedicated to Palestinians, said in a post on X on Monday, it was receiving desperate messages from Gaza warning of starvation, including from its own staff as food prices have increased 40-fold. "Meanwhile, just outside Gaza, stockpiled in warehouses UNRWA has enough food for the entire population for over three months. Lift the siege and let aid in safely and at scale," it said. On Sunday, the health ministry said at least 67 people were killed by Israeli fire as they waited for UN aid trucks to enter Gaza, after saying at least 36 aid seekers were killed a day earlier. Israel's military said on Sunday that it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip as a matter of utmost importance, and works to enable and facilitate its entry in co-ordination with the international community." The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct.7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.
CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
UN food agency says Israeli tanks and snipers opened fire on a crowd seeking aid in Gaza
Palestinians carry boxes containing food and humanitarian aid packages delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed organization approved by Israel, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana,File) DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The UN food agency accused Israel of using tanks, snipers and other weapons to fire on a crowd of Palestinians seeking food aid, in what the territory's Health Ministry said was one of the deadliest days for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war. The World Food Program in a statement Sunday condemned the violence that erupted in northern Gaza as Palestinians tried to reach a convoy of trucks carrying food. The Health Ministry in Gaza said at least 80 people were killed in the incident. The Israeli military has said it fired warning shots 'to remove an immediate threat,' but has questioned the death toll reported by the Palestinians. The accusation by a major aid agency that has had generally good working relations with Israel builds on descriptions by witnesses and others, who also said Israel opened fire on the crowd. The bloodshed surrounding aid access highlights the increasingly precarious situation for people in Gaza who have been desperately seeking out food and other assistance, as the war that has roiled the region shows no signs of ending. Israel and Hamas are still engaged in ceasefire talks, but there appears to be no breakthrough and it's not clear whether any truce would bring the war to a lasting halt. As the talks proceed, the death toll in the war-ravaged territory has climbed to more than 58,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. Israel has meanwhile widened its evacuation orders for the territory to include an area that has been somewhat less hard-hit than others, indicating a new battleground may be opening up and squeezing Palestinians into ever tinier stretches of Gaza. WFP condemns violence at food distribution points In northern Gaza on Sunday, the Health Ministry, witnesses and a U.N. official said Israeli forces opened fire toward crowds who tried to get food from a 25-truck convoy that had entered the hard-hit area. The WFP statement, which said the crowd surrounding its convoy 'came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire,' backs up those claims. The statement did not specify a death toll, saying only the incident resulted in the loss of 'countless lives.' 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Israel has not allowed international media to enter Gaza throughout the war, and the competing claims could not be independently verified. Violence rages on in Gaza Gaza health officials said Monday at least 13 people, including two women and five children, were killed in Israeli strikes since the previous night. At least two people were killed Monday morning when crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks were shot at in the area of Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, according to Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza city where the dead were taken. He said Israeli forces had opened fire. An Israeli strike overnight hit a tent in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis, killing at least five people, according to the Health Ministry. The dead include two parents, two of their children and a relative, it said. Other strikes hit tents in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis and a residential building in Gaza City, according to health officials. The Israeli military said it was looking into the various strikes. It blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the group operates from populated areas. Hamas triggered the war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty remain in Gaza, but fewer than half are thought to be alive. Israel again struck rebels in Yemen The fighting in Gaza has triggered conflicts elsewhere in region, including between Israel and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have fired missiles and drones at Israel in what they say is in solidarity with Palestinians. The Israeli military said it struck the Hodeidah port in Yemen on Monday morning, saying that the Houthis were rebuilding the port infrastructure. Israel said the Houthis used the port to receive weapons from Iran and launch missiles towards Israel. The Israeli military said it targeted the parts of the port used by the Houthis and accused the Houthis of using civilian infrastructure for militant purposes. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the targets included areas of the port that Israel had destroyed in previous strikes. 'The Houthis will pay heavy prices for launching missiles towards the state of Israel,' Katz said. Israel last struck Hodeidah port two weeks ago. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo and Lidman from Jerusalem. Wafaa Shurafa, Melanie Lidman And Samy Magdy, The Associated Press
Toronto Star
6 hours ago
- Toronto Star
UN food agency says Israeli tanks and snipers opened fire on a crowd seeking aid in Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The U.N. food agency accused Israel of using tanks, snipers and other weapons to fire on a crowd of Palestinians seeking food aid, in what the territory's Health Ministry said was one of the deadliest days for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war. The World Food Program in a statement Sunday condemned the violence that erupted in northern Gaza as Palestinians tried to reach a convoy of trucks carrying food. The Health Ministry in Gaza said at least 80 people were killed in the incident. The Israeli military has said it fired warning shots 'to remove an immediate threat,' but has questioned the death toll reported by the Palestinians.
