Israeli forces opened fire on crowds of Palestinians gathered for food aid in Khan Younis on Tuesday, killing at least 70 people and wounding hundreds in the deadliest single incident at distribution points since late May.
Witnesses described tanks, heavy machine guns and armed drones unleashing sustained fire on unarmed civilians lining the main eastern highway shortly after dawn. Medics at Nasser Hospital reported dozens of bodies arriving on civilian vehicles and animal-drawn carts, while more than 200 wounded were treated for injuries ranging from shrapnel wounds to blast trauma. Many of the injured remain in critical condition, and officials warned the death toll could rise further.
Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that drones first strafed the crowd before tanks fired multiple shells into the gathered aid seekers, who had assembled in desperate hope of receiving flour. “People came with their children and elderly relatives, unarmed and unprotected,” he said. “They did not threaten anyone—they only wanted food.”
Survivors recounted horrific scenes of carnage. “Dozens of civilians, including children, were killed, and no one could help,” said Saeed Abu Liba. Yousef Nofal, who called the incident a massacre, described bodies left motionless along the road as soldiers continued firing. Mohammed Abu Qeshfa, who escaped by what he called a miracle, recalled panicked crowds being “shredded to pieces” under tank shelling.
The United Nations strongly condemned the killings and called for those responsible to be held to account. UN officials denounced what one described as a “lethal distribution system” and labeled the shooting of civilians seeking food as unacceptable. Since May 26, more than 300 Palestinians have been killed and over 2,000 injured at aid sites in Gaza, where limited distributions resumed after a near-three-month blockade of food, medicine and fuel.
Israel’s military has maintained that troops sometimes fire warning shots at perceived threats near their positions, but it has not confirmed whether warning fire struck anyone on Tuesday. It has opened inquiries into several aid-site shootings, insisting it aims to minimize harm while protecting its forces on the ground.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization warned that Gaza’s health system teeters on the brink of collapse. With over 100 days of fuel shortages, only 17 of the territory’s 36 hospitals remain partially functional—operating with roughly half the beds they once had. Doctors and nurses say they are running out of essential medicines and supplies as they struggle to treat an ever-growing stream of wounded.
Since the conflict reignited after October 7, 2023, nearly 55,000 Palestinians—most of them civilians—have died under Israel’s military campaign. Massive displacement, a crippling blockade and the destruction of basic services have pushed Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to the brink of famine and a humanitarian catastrophe with no clear end in sight.
