93 Palestinians Killed As Israeli Forces Open Fire Near Aid Convoys, Says Gaza Agency

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4 days ago

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The attacks mark yet another bloody episode in the war-torn enclave where famine, displacement, and civilian casualties have become routine.
At least 93 Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded on Sunday after Israeli forces allegedly opened fire on crowds scrambling for humanitarian aid in multiple parts of Gaza, according to the territory's civil defence agency. The attacks mark yet another bloody episode in the war-torn enclave where famine, displacement, and civilian casualties have become routine.
The heaviest toll came in northern Gaza, where 80 people were reported dead as trucks carrying aid were mobbed by starving civilians. Nine others were killed near Rafah — a southern city already reeling from earlier strikes — while four more died in Khan Yunis, the civil defence agency told AFP.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed that its 25-truck convoy was caught in the chaos, saying it encountered 'massive crowds of hungry civilians which came under gunfire" soon after crossing into Gaza near Gaza City.
Disputed Claims and Growing Alarm
Israel's military disputed the death toll, saying its soldiers fired only 'warning shots" in response to what it described as immediate threats. However, Palestinian eyewitnesses described the events as a massacre.
'The tanks were firing shells randomly… Israeli snipers were shooting as if they were hunting animals in a forest," said Qasem Abu Khater, 36, who witnessed the carnage in Gaza City.
With media restrictions and limited access, AFP said it could not independently verify the casualty figures or full details of the incidents. But humanitarian agencies expressed growing alarm over what they describe as a pattern of deadly attacks on civilians seeking aid.
According to the UN, nearly 800 aid-seekers have been killed since late May, often along convoy routes.
Church Hit, Pope Condemns 'Barbarity'
Sunday's violence came days after an Israeli strike hit Gaza's Holy Family Church, killing three people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed regret to Pope Leo XIV, calling the strike accidental. But Pope Leo, in his Angelus prayer, decried the 'barbarity" of war and slammed continued attacks on civilians and places of worship.
In a rare move, Catholic Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa visited Gaza and held mass at the bombed church, highlighting the increasingly desperate conditions.
Humanitarian Space Shrinking Rapidly
With 87.8% of Gaza now under evacuation orders or militarised zones, more than 2.1 million civilians are confined to just 12% of the territory, the UN's humanitarian agency OCHA reported. Essential services have collapsed, and people are 'squeezed into fragmented zones" with no guarantee of food, shelter, or medical care.
The Israeli army issued a new displacement order Sunday, warning residents in Deir el-Balah to evacuate ahead of imminent operations. Eyewitnesses described families fleeing with children on donkey carts and no clear destination.
'They threw leaflets at us… We don't know where we are going. We don't have shelter or anything," a displaced resident told AFP.
UN Official Expelled, Accused Of 'Lies'
In a separate development, Israel revoked the residency permit of Jonathan Whittall, head of the UN OCHA office in Israel, after he repeatedly criticised the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Whittall of 'spreading lies" about the war.
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