DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces and drones opened fire toward hundreds of Palestinians waiting for aid in separate incidents in southern and central Gaza early Tuesday, killing at least 44, witnesses and hospitals said, as health authorities announced the number of Palestinians killed in the war has risen above 56,000.

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.

In central Gaza, three witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli forces opened fire as people advanced east toward aid trucks south of Wadi Gaza.

“It was a massacre,” said Ahmed Halawa. He said tanks and drones fired at people, “even as we were fleeing. Many people were either martyred or wounded.”

Hossam Abu Shahada said drones were flying over the area, watching the crowds, then there was gunfire from tanks and drones as people were moving eastward. He described a “chaotic and bloody” scene as people tried to escape.

He said he saw at least three people lying motionless and many others wounded.

Israel’s military said it was reviewing the incident, which took place near the Netzarim corridor, a road that separates northern and southern Gaza.

The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, which received the victims, confirmed 25 deaths and said 146 others were wounded. It said 62 were in critical condition and transferred to other hospitals.

In the central town of Deir al-Balah, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital said it received the bodies of six people from the same incident.

In the southernmost city of Rafah, witnesses said Israeli troops opened fire as crowds tried to reach a food distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. At least 19 were killed and 50 others wounded, according to Nasser hospital and Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The new distribution sites run by an American contractor, with U.S. and Israeli government support, have been plagued by scenes of violence and chaos since opening last month. The GHF sites are in Israeli military zones where independent media have no access.

The Trump administration has authorized providing $30 million to the GHF, a U.S. official said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic issue involving a controversial aid program.

Two witnesses said Israeli troops started firing as thousands of Palestinians massed at the Shakoush area, several hundred meters (yards) from the distribution site.

The Israeli military did not immediately return a request for comment.

Salem Ismail was in the crowd and was shot in a leg. He said he saw forces firing towards the crowd who were moving north toward the site.

Ayman Abu Joda said he saw heavy gunfire from Israeli tanks and that many people were shot. He said he helped evacuate three wounded people, one hit in the chest and two in the legs.

“It was the same tragedy every day: We seek food and the occupation opens fire and kills many,” he said.

The casualty toll was confirmed to The Associated Press by Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Health Ministry’s records department.

The GHF said on social media its hub there opened Tuesday at 10 a.m. and closed after finishing food distribution. It called on people not to head to the hub.

Israel wants the GHF to replace a system coordinated by the United Nations and international aid groups. Along with the United States, it accuses Hamas of stealing aid, without offering evidence. The U.N. denies there is systematic diversion of aid.

Death toll in Gaza over 56,000

Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Israel’s 21-month military operation in Gaza has killed 56,077 people. The war was sparked by Hamas’ surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage. Many have been released by ceasefire or other agreements.

The death toll is by far the highest in any round of Israeli-Palestinian fighting.

The ministry said the dead include 5,759 who have been killed since Israel resumed fighting on March 18, shattering a two-month ceasefire.

The ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants but says more than half of the dead were women and children.

Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, which operates in heavily populated areas. Israel says over 20,000 Hamas militants have been killed, though it has provided no evidence to support that claim. Hamas has not commented on its casualties.

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Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed.

Children queuing for supplements killed in Israeli strike in Gaza, hospital says

2 days ago Share Save David Gritten BBC News Reporting from Jerusalem Share Save

Merlyn Thomas explains what verified videos tell us about an air strike in Deir al-Balah that killed at least 15 people

At least 15 Palestinians, including eight children and two women, have been killed in an Israeli strike while queuing for nutritional supplements in front of a clinic in central Gaza, a hospital says. Video from al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah showed the bodies of several children and others lying on the floor as medics treated their wounds. US-based aid group Project Hope, which runs the clinic, said the attack was a blatant violation of international law. The Israeli military said it struck a “Hamas terrorist” and regretted any harm to civilians. They were among 66 people reportedly killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday, as Israel and Hamas continued talks on a ceasefire deal.

Despite optimism expressed by the US, which is acting as a mediator along with Qatar and Egypt, they do not so far seem to be close to a breakthrough.

Project Hope said Thursday morning’s strike in front of its Altayara health clinic in Deir al-Balah happened as patients had gathered outside, awaiting its opening to receive treatment for malnutrition, infections, chronic illnesses and more. “Suddenly, we heard the sound of a drone approaching, and then the explosion happened,” witness Yousef al-Aydi told AFP news agency. “The ground shook beneath our feet, and everything around us turned into blood and deafening screams.” Graphic footage posted on social media, which was verified by the BBC, showed the immediate aftermath of the attack, with adults and young children lying in a street, some severely wounded and others not moving. At the mortuary of nearby al-Aqsa hospital, relatives of those killed wept as they wrapped the dead children in white shrouds and body bags before performing funeral prayers. One woman told the BBC that her pregnant niece, Manal, and her daughter, Fatima, were among them, and that Manal’s son was in the intensive care unit. “She was queuing to get the children supplements when the incident happened,” Intisar said. Another woman standing nearby said: “For what sin were they killed?” “We are dying before the ears and eyes of the whole world. The whole world is watching the Gaza Strip. If people aren’t killed by the Israeli army, they die trying to get aid.” Project Hope’s president and CEO, Rabih Torbay, said the aid group’s clinics were “a place of refuge in Gaza where people bring their small children, women access pregnancy and postpartum care, people receive treatment for malnutrition, and more”. “Yet, this morning, innocent families were mercilessly attacked as they stood in line waiting for the doors to open,” he added. “Horrified and heartbroken cannot properly communicate how we feel anymore.” “This is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and a stark reminder that no-one and no place is safe in Gaza, even as ceasefire talks continue. This cannot continue.” Unicef boss Catherine Russell said: “The killing of families trying to access life-saving aid is unconscionable.” The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it struck a member of the elite Nukhba forces of Hamas’s military wing who had taken part in the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel. “The IDF is aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals in the area. The incident is under review,” it added. “The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals.”

Funeral prayers were held outside al-Aqsa hospital for those killed outside the clinic

Elsewhere, five people were killed when an Israeli drone struck tents in the coastal al-Mawasi area, in southern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency. It posted a video showing first responders recovering the bodies of three young children buried beneath sand and debris. The attacks happened as mediators attempted to build momentum towards a ceasefire deal at indirect proximity talks in Doha. However, significant gaps between Israel and Hamas appear to remain. On Wednesday night, a senior Israeli official told journalists in Washington that it could take one or two weeks to reach an agreement. The official, who was speaking during a visit to the US by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also said that if an agreement was reached on a 60-day ceasefire, Israel would use that time to offer a permanent end to the war that would require Hamas to disarm. On Thursday Netanyahu confirmed that “in the beginning of that ceasefire we will enter negotiations on a permanent end to the war, that is, a permanent ceasefire” and that Israel’s conditions were that Hamas must disarm and Gaza be demilitarised. “If this can be achieved in negotiations – so much the better. If this will not be achieved in negotiations after 60 days, we will achieve it in other ways; by applying the might of our heroic army,” he said. Netanyahu told the right-wing US media outlet Newsmax, Hamas still held 50 hostages, “20 definitely alive, and some 30 that are not alive”. “We now have a deal that supposedly we’ll get half of the living and half of the dead out” he added, telling Newsmax “it’s been hell” for them. Earlier, Hamas issued a statement saying that the talks had been difficult, blaming Israeli “intransigence”. The group said it had shown flexibility in agreeing to release 10 hostages, but it reiterated that it was seeking a “comprehensive” agreement that would end the Israeli offensive.

Gaza hospital says 24 people killed near aid site as witnesses blame IDF

5 hours ago Share Save Jaroslav Lukiv BBC News Share Save

Reuters A Palestinian woman and her daughter mourn after her son was killed while seeking aid

The Nasser hospital in southern Gaza has said 24 people have been killed near an aid distribution site. Palestinians who were present at the site said Israeli troops opened fire as people were trying to access food on Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said there were “no known injured individuals” from IDF fire near the site. Separately, an Israeli military official said warning shots were fired to disperse people who the IDF believed were a threat.

The claims by both sides have not been independently verified. Israel does not allow international news organisations, including the BBC, into Gaza. Footage seen by the BBC later on Saturday showed what appeared to be a number of body bags at Nasser hospital’s courtyard surrounded by nurses and people in blood-stained clothes. In another video, a man said people were waiting to get aid when they came under targeted fire for five minutes. A paramedic accused Israeli troops of killing in cold blood. The videos have not been verified by the BBC. Reuters said it had spoken to witnesses who described people being shot in the head and torso. The news agency also reported seeing bodies wrapped in white shrouds at Nasser hospital. There have been almost daily reports of people being killed by Israeli fire while seeking food in Gaza. Israel imposed a total blockade of aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip in March, and later resumed its military offensive against Hamas, collapsing a two-month ceasefire. It said it wanted to put pressure on the Palestinian armed group to release Israeli hostages. Although the blockade was partially eased in late May, amid warnings of a looming famine from global experts, there are still severe shortages of food, as well as medicine and fuel. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, says there are thousands of malnourished children across the territory, with more cases detected every day. In addition to allowing in some UN aid lorries, Israel and the US set up a new aid distribution system run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), saying they wanted to prevent Hamas from stealing aid.

Reuters Palestinians seeking food and other supplies near an aid distribution site in May

Gaza aid contractor tells BBC he saw colleagues fire on hungry Palestinians

3 July 2025 Share Save Lucy Williamson BBC Middle East correspondent Reporting from Jerusalem Share Save

Watch footage shared with BBC from inside Gaza aid operation

A former security contractor for Gaza’s controversial new Israel- and US-backed aid distribution sites has told the BBC that he witnessed colleagues opening fire several times on hungry Palestinians who had posed no threat, including with machine guns. On one occasion, he said, a guard had opened fire from a watchtower with a machine gun because a group of women, children and elderly people were moving too slowly away from the site. When asked to respond the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said the allegations were categorically false. They referred us to a statement saying that no civilians ever came under fire at the GHF distribution sites.

The GHF began its operations in Gaza at the end of May, distributing limited aid from several sites in southern and central Gaza. That followed an 11-week total blockade of Gaza by Israel during which no food entered the territory. The system has been widely criticised for forcing vast numbers of people to walk through active combat zones to a handful of sites. Since the GHF started up, Israeli forces have killed more than 400 Palestinians trying to retrieve food aid from its sites, the UN and local doctors say. Israel says the new distribution system stops aid going to Hamas.

Continuing his description of the incident at one of the GHF sites – in which he said guards fired on a group of Palestinians – the former contractor said: “As that happened, another contractor on location, standing on the berm overlooking the exit, opened up with 15 to 20 shots of repetitive weapons fire at the crowd. “A Palestinian man dropped to the ground motionless. And then the other contractor who was standing there was like, ‘damn, I think you got one’. And then they laughed about it.” The contractor, who spoke to us on condition of anonymity, said GHF managers had brushed off his report as a coincidence, suggesting that the Palestinian man could have “tripped” or been “tired and passed out”. The GHF claimed the man who made these allegations is a “disgruntled former contractor” who they had terminated for misconduct, which he denies. He showed us evidence that he left the post on good terms.

SUPPLIED Supplied footage showed long queues of aid seekers in a fenced corridor

The man we spoke to, who said he had worked at all four of the GHF distribution sites, described a culture of impunity with few rules or controls. He said contractors were given no clear rules of engagement or standard operating procedures, and were told by one team leader: “if you feel threatened, shoot – shoot to kill and ask questions later”. The culture in the company, he said, felt like “we’re going into Gaza so it’s no rules. Do what you want.” “If a Palestinian is walking away from the site and not demonstrating any hostile intent, and we’re shooting warning shots at them regardless, we are wrong, we are criminally negligent,” he told me. He told us that each site had CCTV monitoring the activity in the area, and GHF insistence that no one there had been hurt or shot at was “an absolute bare-faced lie”. GHF said that gunfire heard in footage shared with the BBC was coming from Israeli forces. Team leaders referred to Gazans as “zombie hordes”, the former contractor said, “insinuating that these people have no value.” The man also said Palestinians were coming to harm in other ways at GHF sites, for example by being hit by debris from stun grenades, being sprayed with mace or being pushed by the crowds into razor wire. He said he had witnessed several occasions in which Palestinians appeared to have been seriously hurt, including one man who had a full can of pepper spray in his face, and a woman who he said was hit with the metal part of a stun grenade, improperly fired into a crowd. “This metal piece hit her directly in the head and she dropped to the ground, not moving,” he said. “I don’t know if she was dead. I know for a fact she was unconscious and completely limp.”

Reuters The GHF operation has been criticised for forcing people to walk through active combat zones

The floor of Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza is streaked with fresh blood as 146 injured Palestinians lie there waiting to be treated after people were shot while trying to reach an aid distribution site for food.

The scene Tuesday was the latest in nearly daily violent incidents near aid centres one month after distribution was taken over by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The U.S.- and Israeli-backed GHF has drawn controversy since replacing UN-run relief operations in Gaza for using private American contractors and forcing people past Israel Defence Forces soldiers on the perimeter to reach these hubs.

As of Wednesday, 549 people have been killed and more than 4,000 have been injured while attempting to reach GHF sites or waiting for other aid trucks to arrive since the new system began operating on May 27, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

“We went to go get food for our children,” Mahmoud Abu Armana, 26, told CBC News Tuesday.

“They said the [road] opened so the vehicles went in and they started to fire upon the people walking. We were running … the [Israeli military] were spraying us down with their guns. People started to lay on top of one another.

“They were supposedly opening the distribution centre and told people to come and grab [the aid]. Why are they executing us?”

Blood is shown smeared on the floor of Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza on Tuesday after Palestinians were fired upon as they tried to reach an aid distribution site in the Netzarim area. (Mohamed El Saife/CBC)

Hospital officials say 19 deaths Tuesday resulted from gunfire.

Israel’s military said that a gathering overnight was identified adjacent to forces operating in Gaza’s central Netzarim Corridor, and it was reviewing reports of casualties.

The deaths come as humanitarian groups and UN agencies continue to slam the distribution system, saying it forces people to risk their lives by entering combat zones where they are repeatedly fired upon while trying to access food.

Children were killed or injured in more than half of the fatal attacks — 10 out of 19 deadly incidents reported — at food distribution sites, Save the Children said in a statement Thursday after analyzing reports from the Gaza Media Office and the United Nations.

“No child should be killed searching for food. This is not a humanitarian operation – it’s a death trap,” said the organization’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and eastern Europe, Ahmad Alhendawi.

“Forcing civilians into fenced-in zones only for them to be gunned down is the opposite of humanitarian – it’s inhumane.”

Civilians and health officials in Gaza have largely blamed the deaths on the Israeli military. Multiple people have told CBC News on the ground in Gaza that they have been fired upon by the Israeli forces just several kilometres away from the GHF sites.

WATCH | Palestinians describe deadly violence near aid sites: ‘It’s designed to fail’: Save the Children director criticizes Gaza aid delivery after fatal shootings Duration 2:09 Rachael Cummings, a humanitarian director with Save the Children in Gaza, says the lack of trust with locals and the unpredictable nature of the aid distribution since the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation launched in the territory, has contributed to the violence reported near the sites.

Israel’s military has said in connection with several incidents that it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces near aid sites.

Palestinian gangs have also been blamed by witnesses for some of the violence that erupts near the areas where aid is expected to arrive.

The Red Cross said the “vast majority” of patients who arrived at its Gaza field hospital during mass casualty incidents in the past month had reported that they were wounded while trying to access aid at or around distribution points.

Rachael Cummings, humanitarian director for Save the Children, says the further bloodshed as parents try to scavenge for food for their children is a result of a “dangerous” aid mechanism that is “designed to fail” — pointing at a range of causes including a lack of trust among locals, an inability to reach those most vulnerable and difficulty controlling the chaotic crowds.

Lack of trust on the ground

Cummings said the key to distributing aid in Gaza in a calm, safe and dignified way is the engagement and relationship with the community.

“If people know that there’s a predictable nature around the distribution, that they know today is not my day, but tomorrow will be my day, then [they] can react calmly and again we can facilitate safe and dignified distributions,” Cummings told CBC News on Monday.

The distribution system GHF uses “is not aid, it is not humanitarian, it is not based on need and it doesn’t follow humanitarian principles,” said Cummings. “It’s designed to fail. It’s designed to be dangerous — and that’s exactly what we’re seeing.”

WATCH | Save the Children humanitarian director says NGOs are unable to ‘do their jobs’: ‘We saw death’: Palestinians describe violence near GHF aid sites on Monday Duration 1:10 At least 20 people were killed and 200 others wounded in Israeli fire near an aid distribution site in Rafah on Monday, according to medics. The deaths are the latest in mass shootings that have killed at least 300 Palestinians in the past several weeks, Gaza’s Health Ministry says, as they try to access food through the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution system.

Cummings said civilians have complained of unpredictable opening times and amounts of food and no list of people who are eligible for food on that day — resulting in a “survival of the fittest” for people to get their hands on the life-saving assistance.

“People are being forced into making decisions. They’re not choices. They’re forced into making decisions for the survival of their family,” she said, adding that she has seen men carrying knives out of fear of being robbed while walking away with the aid.

In an email to CBC News, a GHF spokesperson denied that its three sites — two in southern Gaza and one in the north — were dangerous, saying it delivered aid in a “secure, controlled, accountable manner — eliminating the risk of diversion.” It added that the group “works daily to establish trust with people on the ground.”

In a report Tuesday, GHF said that it formally raised complaints with the Israeli Defence Forces of “possible harassment” by Israeli soldiers directed at its convoys that were en route to its northern distribution site.

Al-Awda has been treating dozens of wounded in similar incidents last week. The hospital treated more than 60 wounded and received 10 bodies of people who were killed after trying to get aid from the GHF distribution centre in the Netzarim area, Dr. Suleiman Shaheen said last week.

“That is not [a] humanitarian [method] in distributing aid.”

While witness reports and human rights groups say many of the shootings appeared unprovoked and occurred without warning, Israel has said its actions were necessary to control crowds that posed a threat to its troops or to prevent breaches of restricted zones.

WARNING: The following section includes an image of a dead body.

GHF working on ‘maintaining secure corridors’

Since late May, GHF said it has distributed nearly 35,000 boxes of aid across its three distribution sites “without incident.”

“This stands in stark contrast to the United Nations, which sees its sites overrun and its trucks looted by bad actors,” the group said in the email to CBC News Tuesday.

“We are working in partnership with international monitors to maintain secure corridors for civilian movement, minimizing any exposure to violence.”

Mourners wheel a body on a medical bed during the funeral on June 19 of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire while they sought aid in northern Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The funeral was held outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. (Mahmoud Issa/Reuters)

The group said that its sites were managed by civilian humanitarian teams, which include local Palestinian partners.

“Our aid workers are civilian contractors trained in humanitarian operations, not combatants,” it said in the statement.

The GHF aid system was launched after a complete blockade lasting nearly three months on medical, fuel and food supplies imposed by Israel was lifted in the territory.

On Friday, the U.S authorized giving $30 million US to the GHF, despite concern among some U.S. officials about the month-old operation and the killing of Palestinians near food distribution sites, according to four sources and a document seen by Reuters. The cash is the first known U.S. government financial contribution to the organization, which has been backed diplomatically by Washington.

The document showed an initial $7 million disbursement had been made.

The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct.7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s subsequent air and ground war in Gaza has killed around 56,077 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, while displacing almost the entire population of more than two million and spreading a hunger crisis.

WATCH | Aid sites shutter in the second week after opening: Gaza aid group closes distribution centres over safety concerns Duration 3:33 Ten Palestinians were killed by Israeli tank fire in Gaza on Friday, local health authorities said, as a U.S.- and Israeli-backed group handing out aid in the enclave said all its distribution sites were closed until further notice.

Last week, UNICEF said that the aid distribution system run by GHF was “making a desperate situation worse.”

Outside of the aid distributed by the GHF, Cummings said non-governmental organizations in Gaza are getting “very limited” aid on trucks through border crossings, most of which are stopped and looted after entering.

Despite the limited aid entering, Save the Children has been helping provide clean drinking water for around 20,000 people each day in Gaza, even though there is a largely destroyed water infrastructure.

UNICEF also sounded the alarm last week, saying Gaza is facing a human-caused drought as its water systems collapse, with just 40 per cent of drinking water production facilities remaining functional.

“Without immediate and massively scaled-up access to the basic means of survival, we risk a descent into famine, further chaos and the loss of more lives,” Tom Fletcher, emergency relief co-ordinator with the UN’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said in a statement earlier this month.

“Hunger must never be met with bullets. Humanitarians must be allowed to do their work.”