33 more Palestinians killed by Israeli fire while seeking food aid in Gaza

Palestinians carry sacks of flour from a humanitarian aid convoy (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)

At least 33 more Palestinians seeking food aid in Gaza have killed by Israeli fire, according to hospitals in the territory.

Witnesses described facing gunfire as hungry crowds surged towards aid sites on Sunday, and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said a staff member was killed when Israeli forces shelled its office.

Israel’s military said it was reviewing the Red Crescent’s claim. The Red Cross called it an “outrage” that so many first responders have been killed in the war.

Desperation has gripped the Palestinian territory of more than two million, which experts warn faces “a worst-case scenario of famine” because of Israel’s blockade.

Palestinians are carried after being wounded while trying to reach trucks carrying humanitarian aid (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)

No aid entered Gaza between March 2 and May 19, and supplies have been limited since then.

Two hospitals in southern and central Gaza reported receiving bodies from routes leading to the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid sites, including 11 killed in the Teina area while trying to reach a distribution point in Khan Younis.

Three Palestinian witnesses, including one travelling through Teina, told The Associated Press they saw soldiers open fire on the routes, which are in military zones secured by Israeli forces.

Israel’s military said it was not aware of casualties as a result of its gunfire near aid sites in the south.

The United Nations says 859 people were killed near GHF sites from May 27 to July 31 and hundreds of others have been killed along the routes of UN-led food convoys.

The GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding. Israel’s military has said it only fires warning shots. Both claim the death tolls have been exaggerated.

Palestinians grab sacks of flour from a humanitarian aid convoy (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)

The GHF’s media office said on Sunday that there was no gunfire “near or at our sites”.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said six more Palestinian adults had died of malnutrition-related causes over the past 24 hours, taking the toll among adults to 82 over the five weeks that such deaths have been counted. Malnutrition-related deaths are not included in the ministry’s count of war casualties.

Ninety-three children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began, the ministry added.

Israel has taken steps in the past week to increase the flow of food into Gaza, saying 1,200 aid trucks have entered while hundreds of pallets have been airdropped, but the UN and relief groups say conditions have not improved. The UN has said 500 to 600 trucks a day are needed.

About 1,200 people were killed by Hamas militants in the 2023 attack that sparked the war and another 251 were abducted. Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed more than 60,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, is staffed by medical professionals. The UN and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties. Israel has disputed the figures but has not provided its own account of casualties.

Families demand the release of hostages from Hamas captivity (Ariel Schalit/AP)

The latest casualties came the day after videos of hungry and suffering Israeli hostages — released by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the second-largest militant group in Gaza — triggered outrage across the political spectrum after the hostages, speaking under duress, described grim conditions and an urgent lack of food.

Tens of thousands rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday urging Israel and the US to urgently pursue the hostages’ release after suspending ceasefire talks.

“In this new video, his eyes are extinguished. He is helpless, and so am I,” Tami Braslavski, mother of one of the hostages, Rom Braslavski, said in a statement.

“They do not want a deal,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of Hamas. “They want to break us using these videos of horror.”

His office said it had spoken with the Red Cross to seek help in providing the hostages with food and medical care. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was “appalled by the harrowing videos” and called for access to the hostages.