Israeli tank shelling kills 51 people awaiting aid trucks in Gaza, ministry says
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Explosion at fireworks factory in southern China kills 9, injures 26
The blast occurred at around 8:23 a.m. (0023 GMT) local time on Monday. It took firefighters more than 20 hours to contain the blaze, according to local media. The governor of Hunan province, Mao Weiming, visited the site on Tuesday. The blast comes just weeks after an explosion at a chemical plant in northeastern China that killed at least 5.
The blast occurred at around 8:23 a.m. (0023 GMT) local time on Monday at a factory owned by the Hunan Shanzhou Fireworks Company Ltd. in a mountainous area just over 60 km (37.28 miles) north of the city of Changde.
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Videos published by state media showed black and grey smoke rising into the sky as fireworks exploded out of a raging fire while emergency services surveyed the scene.
A team from the ministry of emergency management was also sent to the site, Xinhua said.
The blast comes just weeks after an explosion at a chemical plant in northeastern China that killed at least 5 people, and highlights the risk in storage of hazardous and flammable chemicals in the world’s top manufacturer despite years of crackdown on unsafe practices.
Two massive explosions at warehouses in the port city of Tianjin in 2015 killed over 170 people and injured 700, prompting the government to overhaul its chemical storage laws.
It took firefighters more than 20 hours to contain Monday’s blaze, according to local media.
The governor of Hunan province, Mao Weiming, visited the site on Tuesday and urged local authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the explosion and hold those responsible to account, local media reported.
Hunan Shanzhou Fireworks Company, headquartered in Changde, was established in 2017 and employs 95 people, according to company information tracker Qichacha. It produces the chemicals used for making explosives, detonators and fireworks.
Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Rachna Uppal
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Israeli tank shelling kills 51 waiting on Gaza aid trucks
Witnesses said Israeli tanks fired at least two shells at thousands of people awaiting aid trucks. Nasser Hospital wards were crowded with casualties, and medical staff had to place some on the ground and in corridors due to the lack of space. Incident was the latest in nearly daily mass deaths of Palestinians who were seeking aid in past weeks, including near sites operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Israel has put responsibility for distributing much of the aid it allows into Gaza into the hands of the GHF, which operates sites in areas guarded by Israeli troops. The United Nations has rejected the plan, saying GHF distribution is inadequate, dangerous and violates humanitarian impartiality principles. The escalation is taking place as people in Gaza watch the exchange of attacks between Israel and Iran, which began with Israel launching major strikes on Friday.
Medics said residents said Israeli tanks fired shells at crowds of desperate Palestinians awaiting aid trucks along the main eastern road in Khan Younis.
They said at least 51 people were killed and 200 wounded, with at least 20 of them in critical condition.
Witnesses said Israeli tanks fired at least two shells at thousands of people awaiting aid trucks. Nasser Hospital wards were crowded with casualties, and medical staff had to place some on the ground and in corridors due to the lack of space.
The incident was the latest in nearly daily mass deaths of Palestinians who were seeking aid in past weeks, including near sites operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Local health officials said at least 23 people were killed by Israeli gunfire yesterday as they approached a GHF aid distribution site in Rafah in southern Gaza.
The GHF stated in a press release last night that it had distributed more than three million meals at its four distribution sites without incident.
Israel has put responsibility for distributing much of the aid it allows into Gaza into the hands of the GHF, which operates sites in areas guarded by Israeli troops.
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The United Nations has rejected the plan, saying GHF distribution is inadequate, dangerous and violates humanitarian impartiality principles.
The World Health Organization said it had received reports of a mass casualty incident that affected people waiting for food supplies.
“This is again the result of another food distribution initiative,” said Thanos Gargavanis, WHO trauma surgeon and emergency officer, without giving further details.
“There’s a constant correlation with the positions of the four announced food distribution sites and the mass casualty incidents,” Mr Gargavanis added, saying the trauma injuries in recent days were mostly from gunshot wounds.
He also said that the WHO was running short of therapeutic supplies to treat malnutrition.
“We are running excessively low in therapeutic feeding formulas, and we’re trying to rationalize its use,” he said.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli allies.
US ally Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, while internally displacing nearly Gaza’s entire population and causing a hunger crisis.
Relatives mourn as the bodies of loved ones killed in Gaza are taken to Al-Shifa hospital
The escalation is taking place as people in Gaza watch the exchange of attacks between Israel and Iran, which began with Israel launching major strikes on Friday.
Gazans have circulated images of wrecked buildings and charred vehicles hit by Iranian missiles in Israeli cities, and some were hopeful the wider conflict could eventually bring peace to the territory.
With Israel saying its operation could last weeks, fears have grown of a regional war dragging in outside powers.
Despite efforts by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to restore a ceasefire in Gaza, neither Israel nor Hamas has shown willingness to back down on core demands, with each side blaming the other for the failure to reach a deal.
Hamas leaders have repeatedly thanked Iran for its military and financial support to the group in its fight against Israel, including during the current war.
Israeli tank fire kills 51 people in Gaza crowd trying to get food
Israeli tanks fired into a crowd trying to get aid from trucks in the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing at least 51 people, according to medics. The Israeli military acknowledged firing in the area and said it was looking into the incident. The incident was the latest in nearly daily mass killings of Palestinians seeking aid in the past three weeks. Israel says it is needed to prevent Hamas fighters from diverting aid, which Hamas denies. Israel has been channelling much of the aid into Gaza through a new U.S.- and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates a handful of distribution sites in areas guarded by Israeli forces. Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed 55 people according to Gaza’s health ministry, while displacing nearly 2.3 million residents of the territory. The U.N. has condemned Israel’s actions as a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules, calling for an end to the blockade. The UN has also called on Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza.
Item 1 of 7 A mourner reacts during the funeral of Palestinians killed in what the Gaza health ministry says was Israeli fire near a distribution center in Rafah, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
Summary Israeli military acknowledges firing, says it is investigating
Witnesses say tanks opened fire on crowd
Hundreds have been killed trying to get aid in past three weeks
CAIRO/GAZA June 17 (Reuters) – Israeli tanks fired into a crowd trying to get aid from trucks in the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing at least 51 people, according to medics, in one of the bloodiest incidents yet in mounting violence as desperate residents struggle for food.
Video shared on social media showed around a dozen mangled bodies lying in a street in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli military acknowledged firing in the area and said it was looking into the incident.
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Eyewitnesses interviewed by Reuters said Israeli tanks had fired at least two shells at a crowd of thousands, who had gathered on the main eastern road through Khan Younis in the hope of getting food from aid trucks that use the route.
“All of a sudden, they let us move forward and made everyone gather, and then shells started falling, tank shells,” said Alaa, an eyewitness, interviewed by Reuters at Nasser Hospital, where wounded victims lay sprawled on the floor and in corridors due to the lack of space.
“No one is looking at these people with mercy. The people are dying, they are being torn apart, to get food for their children. Look at these people, all these people are torn to get flour to feed their children.”
Medics said at least 51 people were killed and 200 wounded, at least 20 of them in critical condition. Casualties were being rushed into the hospital in civilian cars, rickshaws, and donkey carts.
In a statement, the Israeli Defence Forces said: “Earlier today, a gathering was identified adjacent to an aid distribution truck that got stuck in the area of Khan Yunis, and in proximity to IDF troops operating in the area.
“The IDF is aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals from IDF fire following the crowd’s approach. The details of the incident are under review. The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimise harm as much as possible to them while maintaining the safety of our troops.”
Medics said at least 14 other people were also killed in separate Israeli gunfire and airstrikes elsewhere in the enclave, taking Tuesday’s death toll to at least 65.
The incident was the latest in nearly daily mass killings of Palestinians seeking aid in the past three weeks, since Israel partially lifted a total blockade on the territory it had imposed for nearly three months.
Israel has been channelling much of the aid it is now allowing into Gaza through a new U.S.- and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates a handful of distribution sites in areas guarded by Israeli forces.
The United Nations rejects the system as inadequate, dangerous and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. Israel says it is needed to prevent Hamas fighters from diverting aid, which Hamas denies.
Gaza authorities say hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to reach the GHF’s sites, including 23 people killed by Israeli gunfire on Monday in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
The GHF said in a press release late on Monday that it had distributed more than three million meals at its four distribution sites without incident.
EYES ON IRAN WAR
The Gaza war was triggered in October 2023 , when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli allies. Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, while displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million and causing a hunger crisis.
Since last week, residents of Gaza have kept an eye on war between Israel and Iran, which began with Israel launching major strikes on Friday. Iran has long been a major supporter of Hamas.
Residents of the Gaza Strip have circulated images of wrecked buildings in Israel hit by Iranian missiles, some openly happy to see Israelis experiencing a measure of the fear of air strikes that Gazans have endured for 20 months.
“We live these scenes and pain daily. We are very happy that we saw the day when we saw rubble in Tel Aviv, and they are trying to get out from under the rubble and the houses that were destroyed on top of their residents,” said Saad Saad, a Gaza man.
Said another, Taysseir Mohaissan: “The time has come for Iran to teach the Israeli occupation state a lesson.”
Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi. Additional reporting by Hatem Khaled, Hussam al-Masri, and Dawoud Abu Alkas in Gaza; Editing by Alex Richardson, William Maclean, Peter Graff
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Israeli tanks kill 51 people waiting for aid in Gaza, Hamas-run health ministry says
Israeli tank shellfire has killed at least 51 Palestinians in Khan Younis. Hundreds of others have been injured, with “dozens of critical cases” arriving at a medical complex. Israel Defence Forces said it was “aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals from IDF fire following the crowd’s approach” Witnesses said Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before firing at least two shells toward the crowd. One likened the incident to “a massacre”, while another said it is a miracle he survived. On Monday, Gaza’s health ministry said at least 34 people were shot dead near food distribution centres in southern Gaza city. Donald Trump had joined other G7 leaders to call for a “de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza”
Hundreds of others have been injured, with “dozens of critical cases” arriving at a medical complex.
It is feared that the number of people killed will rise.
Image: Pic: Reuters
The Israel Defence Forces said it was “aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals from IDF fire following the crowd’s approach” – and said details of the incident were under review.
It added: “The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimise harm as much as possible to them while maintaining the safety of our troops.”
The statement claimed that a gathering had been identified near an aid distribution truck that was stuck in the area – near where IDF soldiers were operating.
Image: Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in the reported Israeli strikes on Tuesday. Pic: Reuters/Hatem Khaled
The incident took place as people waited for United Nations and commercial aid trucks in the southern Gaza city.
Witnesses said Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before firing at least two shells toward the crowd.
One likened the incident to “a massacre”, while another said it was a miracle he survived.
Thanos Gargavanis, a trauma surgeon and emergency officer at the World Health Organisation, said: “There’s a constant correlation with the positions of the four announced food distribution sites and the mass casualty incidents.”
Image: Pic: Reuters
Gaza’s health ministry says “emergency, intensive care and operating rooms are experiencing severe overcrowding”.
Some of those injured needed to be placed on the floors and corridors of Nasser Hospital because of a lack of space.
Officials say medical staff “are operating with limited supplies of life-saving medicines” – with the ministry renewing an “urgent appeal” to increase aid.
Samaher Meqdad – who was looking for her two brothers and nephew at the hospital – said: “We don’t want flour. We don’t want food. We don’t want anything.
“Why did they fire at the young people? Why? Aren’t we human beings?”
Hours earlier, Donald Trump had joined other G7 leaders to call for a “de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza”.
Read more from Sky News:
How the Israeli-backed aid plan in Gaza is unravelling
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Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 8:49 UN: 500,000 are food insecure in Gaza
On Monday, Gaza’s health ministry said at least 34 people were shot dead near food distribution centres.
This was the highest reported daily total since Israel and US-backed aid centres opened last month, with thousands of Palestinians moving through Israeli military-controlled areas to reach them.
The Israeli military previously acknowledged firing warning shots at people it said had suspiciously approached its forces near the aid sites.
According to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – which operates these aid centres – more than three million meals have been distributed without incident.
WHO receiving reports of another mass casualty event in Gaza near food site
Initial reports point to at least 20 fatalities, World Health Organization says. Half a million people in the Gaza Strip face starvation, a global hunger monitor said last month. Israel has lifted an 11-week-long total blockade on supplies but aid groups say it is not nearly enough to meet the needs. Earlier, the territory’s health ministry said that Israeli tank shellfire killed at least 51 Palestinians.
“This is again the result of another food distribution initiative,” said Thanos Gargavanis, WHO trauma surgeon and emergency officer, without giving further details.
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Earlier, the territory’s health ministry said that Israeli tank shellfire killed at least 51 Palestinians as they awaited aid trucks in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
The incident was the latest in nearly daily mass deaths of Palestinians who were seeking aid in past weeks, including near sites operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
“There’s a constant correlation with the positions of the four announced food distribution sites and the mass casualty incidents,” Gargavanis added, saying the trauma injuries in recent days were mostly from gunshot wounds.
Half a million people in the Gaza Strip face starvation , a global hunger monitor said last month. Since then Israel, which controls supplies into the enclave, has lifted an 11-week-long total blockade on supplies but aid groups say it is not nearly enough to meet the needs.
In the same briefing, Gargavanis said that the WHO was running short of therapeutic supplies to treat malnutrition. “We are running excessively low in therapeutic feeding formulas, and we’re trying to rationalize its use,” he said.
Reporting by Emma Farge, editing by Rachel More
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