Dozens killed trying to get aid in Gaza, Hamas-run health ministry says
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
At least 85 Palestinians killed while trying to reach aid in Gaza, officials say
Dozens killed trying to get aid in Gaza, Hamas-run health ministry says. At least 67 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing. The U.N. World Food Program said 25 trucks with aid had entered for “starving communities” Israel’s military said it was attempting to facilitate the entry of aid, and accused Hamas militants of creating chaos and endangering civilians. the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-based organization that has been distributing aid in the territory, said in a statement Sunday that its workers were “deeply saddened by reports that more than 30 people were killed” Israel and Hamas have been in talks for a ceasefire, but there have been no breakthroughs so far, officials say.. The latest order covers an area stretching from a previously evacuated area all the way to the Mediterranean coast and will severely hamper movement for aid groups and civilians in Gaza. It also cuts access to the central city of Deir al-Balah and the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis.
At least 85 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid at locations across Gaza on Sunday, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said, in one of the deadliest days yet for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war.
There was new alarm as Israel’s military issued evacuation orders for areas of central Gaza, one of the few areas where it has rarely operated with ground troops and where many international organizations attempting to distribute aid are located.
The largest toll was in northern Gaza, where at least 67 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel, according to the Health Ministry and local hospitals. The U.N. World Food Program said 25 trucks with aid had entered for “starving communities” when it encountered massive crowds that came under gunfire. It called violence against aid-seekers “completely unacceptable.”
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-based organization that has been distributing aid in the territory, said in a statement Sunday that its workers were “deeply saddened by reports that more than 30 people were killed while trying to access food from a U.N. convoy at the Zikim crossing in Northern Gaza as humanitarian efforts face escalating violence.” The foundation said it distributed 31,968 boxes of aid throughout the day at two distribution sites.
Some witnesses said Israel’s military shot into the crowd at the Zikim crossing. The Israel Defense Forces said they “fired warning shots in order to remove an immediate threat.”
“Suddenly, tanks surrounded us and trapped us as gunshots and strikes rained down. We were trapped for around two hours,” said Ehab Al-Zei, who had been waiting for flour. “I will never go back again. Let us die of hunger, it’s better.”
Nafiz Al-Najjar, who was injured, said tanks and drones targeted people “randomly” and he saw his cousin and others shot dead.
Palestinians carry sacks of humanitarian aid unloaded from trucks convoy that had been heading to Gaza City, in the northern Gaza Strip Sunday, July 20, 2025. Jehad Alshrafi / AP
Israel’s military said soldiers had shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat, and it was aware of some casualties. But it said the numbers reported by officials in Gaza were far higher than its initial investigation found.
The military said it was attempting to facilitate the entry of aid, and accused Hamas militants of creating chaos and endangering civilians.
More than 150 people were wounded overall, with some in critical condition, hospitals said. Separately, seven Palestinians were killed while sheltering in tents in Khan Younis in the south, including a 5-year-old boy, according to the Kuwait Specialized Field Hospital, which received the casualties.
The killings in northern Gaza didn’t take place near aid distribution points associated with the recently created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.- and Israel-backed group. Witnesses and health workers say hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli fire while trying to access the group’s aid distribution sites.
The new evacuation orders cut access between the central city of Deir al-Balah and the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis in the narrow territory. The military also reiterated evacuation orders for northern Gaza.
The United Nations has been in contact with Israeli authorities to clarify whether U.N. facilities in the southwestern part of Deir al-Balah are included in the evacuation order, according to a U.N. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media. The official said that in previous instances, U.N. facilities were spared from evacuation orders.
The latest order covers an area stretching from a previously evacuated area all the way to the Mediterranean coast and will severely hamper movement for aid groups and civilians in Gaza.
Military spokesman Avichay Adraee called for people to head to the Muwasi area, a desolate tent camp on Gaza’s southern coast that Israel’s military has designated a humanitarian zone.
The announcement came as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that expanding Israel’s military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas in negotiations.
Also on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire, urging the international community to respect international laws and protect civilians in the wake of an Israeli attack on Gaza’s only Catholic church last week, which killed three people and wounded 10 others, including the priest.
Earlier this month, Israel’s military said it controlled more than 65% of Gaza.
Gaza’s population of more than 2 million Palestinians are in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, now relying largely on the limited aid allowed into the territory. Many people have been displaced multiple times.
Hamas triggered the war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Most of the hostages or their remains have been released through various deals, while 50 remain in Gaza, but fewer than half are thought to be alive.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 58,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many militants have been killed but says more than half of the dead have been women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
The Hostages Family Forum, a grassroots organization that represents many families of hostages, condemned the new evacuation announcement and demanded that Netanyahu and Israel’s military explain what they hope to accomplish in central Gaza, accusing Israel of operating without a clear plan.
“Enough! The Israeli people overwhelmingly want an end to the fighting and a comprehensive agreement that will return all of the hostages,” the forum said. On Saturday night, during a weekly protest, tens of thousands marched in Tel Aviv to the branch of the U.S. Embassy, demanding an end to the war.
Ambulances in front of three major hospitals in Gaza sounded their alarms simultaneously Sunday morning in an urgent appeal as the hunger crisis grows. The Health Ministry posted pictures on social media of doctors holding signs about malnourished children and the lack of medication.
A ministry spokesperson, Zaher al-Wahidi, said at least nine children under 5 years old have died of malnutrition since Israel imposed a blockade on the entry of aid in March. The blockade was partially eased in May.
He said tracking malnutrition deaths is difficult because some people might be suffering from other medical conditions that could be compounded with severe hunger.
In northern Gaza, Shifa Hospital director Abu Selmiyah said the hospital recorded 79 people who died of malnutrition in the past month.
Israeli tanks ‘open fire into crowd trying to get food from aid trucks in Gaza killing dozens’ as IDF launches probe
Hamas-run health ministry claims at least 85 civilians were killed today. IDF disputes the death toll, saying the “reported number of casualties does not align with the existing information” UN World Food Program said 25 trucks with aid had entered for starving people when it encountered massive crowds. Israel’s military said soldiers shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat, and it was aware of some casualties. More than 150 people were wounded, some in critical condition, hospitals said. Gaza’s population of more than two million Palestinians are currently facing a devastating humanitarian crisis and relying predominantly on the limited aid allowed into the territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly maintained that expanding Israel’s. military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas into negotiations.
The Israeli military said its troops had fired warning shots in the direction of a crowd of thousands of people to rid what it called “an immediate threat”.
5 Palestinians carry aid acquired at the Zikim crossing back to their families Credit: Getty
5 The Hamas-run health ministry claims at least 85 civilians were killed Credit: Getty
5 The bodies of those who lost their lives are brought to the morgue of Al Shifa Hospital after an Israeli attack in Gaza Strip Credit: Getty
The Hamas-run health ministry claims at least 85 civilians were killed while trying to reach food today, which would make it the deadliest day for aid-seekers in the entire war.
But the IDF disputes the death toll, saying the “reported number of casualties does not align with the existing information”.
It also accused Hamas militants of creating chaos.
There was new alarm as Israel’s military issued evacuation orders for parts of central Gaza.
The largest death toll was in devastated northern Gaza, where living conditions are especially harrowing.
At least 79 Palestinians were tragically killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel, Zaher al-Waheidi, the head of the Health Ministry’s records department, said.
The UN World Food Program said 25 trucks with aid had entered for starving people when it encountered massive crowds.
An anonymous UN official said Israeli forces opened fire toward crowds who tried to take food from the convoy.
Israel’s military said soldiers shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat, and it was aware of some casualties.
More than 150 people were wounded, some in critical condition, hospitals said.
Al-Waheidi said Israeli gunfire killed another six Palestinians in the Shakoush area, hundreds of meters north of a hub of the recently created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
After the tragic reports emerged, the US- and Israel-backed GHF stressed the shooting occurred near a UN aid convoy – not near any of their distribution hubs.
Witnesses and health workers say several hundred people have been killed by Israeli fire while trying to access the group’s aid distribution sites.
The horrific incident came as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly maintained that expanding Israel’s military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas into negotiations.
Earlier this month, Israel’s military said it controlled more than 65 per cent of Gaza.
Gaza’s population of more than two million Palestinians are currently facing a devastating humanitarian crisis and relying predominantly on the limited aid allowed into the territory.
Ambulances in front of three major hospitals in Gaza sounded their alarms simultaneously Sunday in an urgent appeal as hunger grows.
The Health Ministry posted pictures on social media of doctors holding signs about malnourished children and the lack of medication.
The GHF uses private security contractors to distribute aid from sites in Gaza.
The UN among other international aid groups have boycotted the foundation, claiming that Israel is weaponising food and that it will lead to further displacement of Palestinians.
They added that it undermines the principle that humanitarian aid should be distributed independently of the parties to a conflict, based on need.
5 Palestinians carry aid acquired at the Zikim crossing Credit: Getty
Israeli forces kill 67 Palestinians seeking aid in northern Gaza, Hamas-run ministry says
At least 67 people have been killed waiting for aid in northern Gaza, the UN says. The Israeli military says it has fired warning shots to remove “an immediate threat” The UN warns that “hundreds of people” are at risk of starving to death. At least 20 people are still believed to be in captivity in the Gaza Strip. The IDF has ordered people to evacuate parts of the city of Deir al-Balah, where it has not yet launched a ground offensive. The U.S. State Department says it is working with the Israeli government to find a solution to the crisis in Gaza. The UN says the situation in the region is “urgent” and has called for urgent action to stop the spread of disease, including cholera, diphtheria, and polio. It says the number of people in need of food has increased by 20 per cent since the start of the conflict. The WHO has called on the international community to do more to help those who are suffering from food shortages.
The UN World Food Programme said its 25-truck convoy “encountered massive crowds of hungry civilians which came under gunfire”, soon after it crossed from Israel and cleared checkpoints.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it had “fired warning shots” to remove “an immediate threat”. It disputed the number of reported deaths.
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On Saturday the ministry warned that extreme hunger was increasing in Gaza and growing numbers of people were arriving at its facilities “in a state of extreme exhaustion and fatigue”.
“We warn that hundreds of people whose bodies have wasted away are at risk of imminent death due to hunger,” it said. The UN has also said civilians in Gaza are starving and called for an urgent influx of essential goods.
On Sunday the ministry said it had recorded 18 deaths “due to famine” over the past 24 hours.
Many of the casualties from northern Gaza were taken to Shifa hospital in Gaza City. The medical director there, Dr Hassan al-Shaer, told BBC Arabic on Sunday the facility had been “overwhelmed”.
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Outside the hospital one woman told BBC Arabic that “the whole population is dying”.
“Children are dying of hunger because they have nothing to eat. People are surviving on water and salt… just water and salt,” she said.
In an updated death toll, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli fire had killed a total of 93 people and wounded dozens more across Gaza on Sunday. Eighty people were killed in northern Gaza, it said, while nine people were shot dead near an aid point in Rafah and four more near an aid point in Khan Younis, both in southern Gaza.
In Gaza City, Qasem Abu Khater told AFP he had attempted to get a bag of flour but instead found a desperate crowd and “deadly overcrowding and pushing”.
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“The tanks were firing shells randomly at us and Israeli sniper soldiers were shooting as if they were hunting animals in a forest,” he said.
“Dozens of people were martyred right before my eyes and no one could save anyone.”
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) condemned violence against civilians seeking aid as “completely unacceptable”.
In a statement posted on X, the WFP said “malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment”. “Nearly one person in three is not eating for days,” it said.
There have been almost daily reports of Palestinians being killed while seeking food since late May. On Saturday at least 32 people were killed by Israeli gunfire near two aid distribution points in southern Gaza, according to the ministry.
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Many of the incidents have taken place near sites run by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which uses private security contractors to distribute aid from sites in Israeli military zones, but some have taken place near aid brought in by the UN.
People gathered near Shifa hospital as the bodies of those killed waiting for aid were brought in [Getty Images]
Meanwhile the Israeli military has issued evacuation orders for a crowded part of central Gaza where it has not launched a ground offensive during its 21 months of war against Hamas.
The IDF said on Sunday that residents and displaced Palestinians sheltering in the city of Deir al-Balah should evacuate immediately and move towards al-Mawasi on the Mediterranean coast.
The evacuation demand, which could signal an imminent attack, has caused widespread panic among tens of thousands of Palestinians, as well as the families of Israeli hostages who fear their relatives are being held in the city.
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The IDF has conducted air strikes in the area, but it has not yet deployed ground troops.
On Sunday, the Israeli military dropped leaflets from the sky ordering people in several districts in southwest Deir al-Balah to leave their homes and head further south.
“The (Israeli) Defense Forces continues to operate with great force to destroy the enemy’s capabilities and terrorist infrastructure in the area,” the military said, adding that it had not yet entered these districts during the war.
The affected neighbourhoods of Deir al-Balah are crowded with displaced people living in tents.
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Israeli sources told Reuters news agency that the reason the army has stayed out of these districts so far is because they suspect Hamas might be holding hostages there.
At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in captivity in Gaza are believed to still be alive.
Most of the Strip’s population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during Israel’s war with Hamas, with repeated Israeli evacuation calls covering large parts of the territory.
On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV called for an “immediate end to the barbarity of the war” and urged against “indiscriminate use of force”.
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His comments came days after a deadly Israeli strike hit Gaza’s only Catholic Church, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country deeply regretted.
Israel launched its war in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and led to 251 others being taken hostage.
Israeli attacks have since killed more than 58,895 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The ministry’s figures are quoted by the UN and others as the most reliable source of statistics available on casualties.
Dozens of Palestinians killed while seeking aid, Gaza health officials say
The majority of those killed were gathered near the Zikim border between Gaza and Israel. Another 150 people were injured, Gaza health officials said. The Israel Defense Forces said a review is ongoing.
The majority of those killed were gathered near the Zikim border between Gaza and Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces said a review is ongoing. In a statement, it said that its troops fired near crowds “in order to remove an immediate threat posed to them,” though it wasn’t specific. The IDF added that it was aware of reports of casualties but said that a “preliminary review indicates that the reported number of casualties does not align with existing information.”
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Gaza health ministry says Israeli fire has killed dozens of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks as Pope Leo brands war ‘barbaric’ and calls for its end
At least 93 people were reported dead by Monday morning, while six other people were killed near another aid site in the south. The UN World Food Programme said 25 trucks with aid had entered for ‘starving communities’ when it encountered massive crowds that came under gunfire. Footage taken by the UN showed Palestinian men running as the sound of automatic gunfire could be heard. The Israeli military said its troops had fired warning shots towards a crowd of thousands in northern Gaza on Sunday to remove what it said was ‘an immediate threat’ The latest tragedy comes as Pope Leo XIV slammed the ‘barbarity’ of the war in Gaza. He urged against the ‘indiscriminate use of force’ and called for an ‘immediate end to the barbarity’ and a ‘peaceful resolution to the conflict’ The pope also expressed his ‘sympathy’ for the ‘beloved Middle Eastern Christians’ and their ‘sense of being able to do little in this dramatic situation’ Israel’s military issued evacuation orders for areas of central Gaza, one of the few areas where it has rarely operated with ground troops.
The ministry said several people were also wounded in the incident in northern Gaza, in one of the highest reported tolls among repeated recent cases in which aid seekers have been killed, including 36 on Saturday.
The development represents the deadliest day yet for people seeking aid in more than 21 months of war. At least 93 people were reported dead by Monday morning, while six other people were killed near another aid site in the south, the military claimed.
And there was new alarm as Israel’s military issued evacuation orders for areas of central Gaza, one of the few areas where it has rarely operated with ground troops and where many international organisations attempting to distribute aid are located.
One aid group said several groups’ offices were told to evacuate immediately.
The largest toll was in northern Gaza, where at least 79 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel, according to the health ministry and local hospitals.
The UN World Food Programme said 25 trucks with aid had entered for ‘starving communities’ when it encountered massive crowds that came under gunfire.
A UN official said Israeli forces opened fire towards the crowds who tried to take food from the convoy. Footage taken by the UN showed Palestinian men running as the sound of automatic gunfire could be heard.
Pope Leo XIV has slammed the ‘barbarity’ of the war in Gaza on Sunday and urged against the ‘indiscriminate use of force’
An injured Palestinian is being transported to hospital after the shooting near the aid trucks
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, dozens of people lost their lives and were injured after the shooting near the aid truck
‘Suddenly, tanks surrounded us and trapped us as gunshots and strikes rained down. We were trapped for around two hours,’ Ehab Al-Zei, who had been waiting for flour, said.
‘I will never go back again. Let us die of hunger, it’s better.’
The Israeli military said its troops had fired warning shots towards a crowd of thousands in northern Gaza on Sunday to remove what it said was ‘an immediate threat’.
It said initial findings suggested reported casualty figures were inflated, and it ‘certainly does not intentionally target humanitarian aid trucks’.
The latest tragedy comes as Pope Leo XIV slammed the ‘barbarity’ of the war in Gaza on Sunday and urged against the ‘indiscriminate use of force’.
His intervention comes just days after a deadly strike by Israel’s military on a Catholic church.
‘I once again ask for an immediate end to the barbarity of the war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,’ Leo said at the end of the Angelus prayer at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence near Rome.
The pope, who spoke by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the morning after Thursday’s strike, spoke of his ‘deep sorrow’ for the attack on the Holy Family Church.
The church was sheltering around 600 displaced people, the majority of them children, including dozens of people with special needs.
Israel expressed ‘deep sorrow’ over the damage and civilian casualties, adding that the military was investigating the strike.
‘This act, unfortunately, adds to the ongoing military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza,’ Leo said on Sunday.
‘I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians, as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations,’ he added.
I once again ask for an immediate end to the barbarity of the war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,’ Leo said at the end of the Angelus prayer at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence near Rome
A young male Palestinian is transported to hospital to address his injuries after the shooting
Palestinians carry sacks of humanitarian aid unloaded from trucks convoy that had been heading to Gaza City on Sunday, July 20
The latest humanitarian disaster comes as Israel issued new evacuation orders for areas packed with displaced Gazans, some of whom began to leave.
The Israeli military on Sunday issued an evacuation order for Palestinians in the central Gaza Strip, warning of imminent action against Hamas militants.
Most of Gaza’s population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war, which is now in its 22nd month.
The pope also expressed his ‘sympathy’ for the plight of ‘beloved Middle Eastern Christians’ and their ‘sense of being able to do little in the face of this dramatic situation’.
In total, health authorities in Gaza said 88 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes across Gaza on Sunday.
After Israel’s military dropped leaflets urging people to evacuate from neighbourhoods in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, residents said Israeli planes struck three houses in the area.
Dozens of families began leaving their homes, carrying some of their belongings. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans have been sheltering in the Deir al-Balah area.
Israel’s military said it had not entered the districts subject to the evacuation order during the current conflict and that it was continuing ‘to operate with great force to destroy the enemy’s capabilities and terrorist infrastructure in the area’.
The Israeli military said its troops had fired warning shots towards a crowd of thousands in northern Gaza on Sunday to remove what it said was ‘an immediate threat’
Injured Palestinians are transported to hospitals after Israeli forces fired upon them
Israeli sources have said the reason the army has so far stayed out is because they suspect Hamas might be holding hostages there. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in captivity in Gaza are believed to still be alive.
Hostage families demanded an explanation from the army.
‘Can anyone (promise) to us that this decision will not come at the cost of losing our loved ones?’ the families said in a statement.
Much of Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland during more than 21 months of war and there are fears of accelerating starvation.
Palestinian health officials said hundreds of people could soon die as hospitals were inundated with patients suffering from dizziness and exhaustion due to the scarcity of food and a collapse in aid deliveries.
‘We warn that hundreds of people whose bodies have wasted away are at risk of imminent death due to hunger,’ the health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said.
The United Nations also said on Sunday that civilians were starving and needed an urgent influx of aid.
Residents said it was becoming impossible to find essential food such as flour. The Gaza health ministry said at least 71 children had died of malnutrition during the war, and 60,000 others were suffering from symptoms of malnutrition.
Later on Sunday, it said 18 people have died of hunger in the past 24 hours.
Food prices have increased well beyond what most of the population of more than two million can afford.
Several people who spoke to the Reuters news agency via chat apps said they either had one meal or no meal in the past 24 hours.
After Israel’s military dropped leaflets urging people to evacuate from neighbourhoods in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, residents said Israeli planes struck three houses in the area
Palestinians flee Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on Sunday, July 20
‘As a father, I wake up in the early morning to look for food, for even a loaf of bread for my five children, but all in vain,’ said Ziad, a nurse.
‘People who didn’t die of bombs will die of hunger. We want an end to this war now, a truce, even for two months,’ he told Reuters.
Others said they felt dizzy walking in the streets and that many fainted as they walked. Fathers leave tents to avoid questions by their children about what to eat.
UNRWA, the UN refugee agency dedicated to Palestinians, demanded Israel allow more aid trucks into Gaza, saying it had enough food for the entire population for over three months which was not allowed in.
Israel’s military said that it ‘views the transfer of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip as a matter of utmost importance, and works to enable and facilitate its entry in coordination with the international community’.
Some Palestinians suggested the move on Deir al-Balah might be an attempt to put pressure on Hamas to make more concessions in long-running ceasefire negotiations.
Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect talks in Doha aimed at reaching a 60-day truce and hostage deal, although there has been no sign of breakthrough.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.
The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 58,000 Palestinians according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.