Israeli forces kill 79 more Palestinians including 33 aid seekers in Gaza
- Last updated: June 25, 2025 | 22:56
Gaza's civil defence agency and health officials said Israeli fire killed at least 79 people on Wednesday, including 33 who were waiting to collect food aid in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
Palestinian witnesses and health officials say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on crowds heading toward desperately needed food, killing hundreds in recent weeks. The military says it has fired warning shots at people it said approached its forces in a suspicious manner.
"The latest in a string of deadly incidents near aid distribution sites came after the United Nations had condemned the "weaponisation of food" in the Gaza Strip, where a US- and Israeli-backed foundation has largely replaced established humanitarian organisations.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told the media that six people were killed and 30 others wounded "following Israeli fire targeting thousands of civilians waiting for aid" in an area of central Gaza where Palestinians have gathered each night in the hope of collecting food rations.
Bassal said the crowd was hit by Israeli "bullets and tank shells." Contacted by the media, the Israeli military said it was "looking into" the report.
Some Palestinians in Gaza City expressed frustration that the war has dragged on for nearly two years, while the conflict between Israel and Iran lasted 12 days before a fragile ceasefire.
"I live in a tent and now my tent is gone too and we're living in suffering here. The war between Israel and Iran ended in less than two weeks and we've been dying for two years," said Um Zidan, a woman displaced from northern Gaza.
Gaza health authorities had announced on Tuesday that the number of Palestinians killed in the war has risen above 56,000.
Experts say Israel's blockade and military campaign have driven the population to the brink of famine.
Mazen Al Jomla, a displaced resident of Shati camp, questioned why war in the coastal enclave has stretched on, noting that Israel's assault on Iran was based on accusations of possessing nuclear weapons.
"We have been suffering for two years; from horrors, destruction, martyrs and injured people," he said. "What do they (Israel) have left here? There are no houses, trees, or rocks, or humans left. Everything was destroyed."
The war has triggered a spiraling humanitarian crisis in the territory, which only worsened when Israel cut off aid for weeks earlier this year. Israel is now letting a limited amount of goods into the territory, which aid groups say is too little.
On Wednesday, aid reached Gaza's main city for the first time since March after deliveries were plagued by looting and coordination issues between aid agencies and the Israeli military. People cheered as a convoy of aid trucks, some carrying flour, arrived.
Ahmad Nattat said he hoped regular aid deliveries would replace having to go to collection points by the American-led Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which have been chaotic and fatal due to stampedes and gunfire.
"Instead of those young men putting their lives at risk to get flour if they're lucky … there is aid now that could be fairly distributed among all the people," he said, standing between tents and rubble of destroyed buildings. "I pray to God that it's distributed quickly to people so everyone can have some aid."
Agencies