At least 70 Palestinians were killed yesterday by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, with a significant number of them reportedly being killed while waiting for humanitarian aid, according to Palestinian sources.
Local sources and eyewitnesses told Xinhua that Israeli forces opened fire on large crowds of Palestinians gathered near a U.S.-backed aid distribution centre in the Shakoush area, north of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
A medical source from Gaza’s health authorities told Xinhua that at least 25 people were killed and dozens of others injured in the incident in Shakoush.
“Due to security conditions and the remoteness of the area, animal-drawn carts were used to transport the casualties to nearby field hospitals,” the source said.
In a separate incident, Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, said in a press statement that it had received 19 bodies and 146 wounded individuals, 62 of them in critical condition, after Israeli forces reportedly targeted Palestinians gathering for aid on Salah al-Din Street, south of Wadi Gaza.
“Six additional bodies from the same location were transferred to other field hospitals,” the hospital added.
The Israeli military has not issued any immediate statement regarding either incident.
In recent weeks, several similar incidents have been reported across the Gaza Strip, home to over two million residents. According to data issued by the Hamas-run Gaza government media office on Tuesday, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach food distribution centres across Gaza since May 27.
Meanwhile, the civil defence in Gaza said in a press statement on June 24 that 10 people, including women and children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a residential house in the al-Sabra neighbourhood, south of Gaza City.
The civil defence added that 10 more bodies were recovered following airstrikes in Khan Younis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip. Ambulance and rescue teams continued to operate in multiple locations hit by the strikes.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on these incidents.
Separately, the Israeli army issued new evacuation directives to residents in the northern Gaza Strip.
In a press statement, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee urged residents of Jabalia al-Balad and the neighbourhoods of al-Nahda, al-Rawda, and North al-Tuffah to evacuate immediately.
“The army is operating with extreme force in your areas,” Adraee said, urging civilians to move to the al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis. He added that returning to the designated combat zones “poses a risk to your lives”.
At least 5,759 Palestinians had been killed and 19,807 others injured since Israel renewed its intensive strikes in Gaza on March 18, bringing the total death toll since October 2023 to 56,077 and injuries to 131,848, Gaza’s health authorities said.
