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Reports indicate that over 50 Palestinians lost their lives and 400 sustained injuries near a crossing in northern Gaza on Wednesday while awaiting food distribution. The incident occurred as US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff visited Israel.
Footage from the scene near the Zikim crossing depicted casualties being transported to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run Civil Defence agency, Israeli forces opened fire on crowds gathered around aid trucks. In contrast, the Israeli military stated that troops fired “warning shots” but claimed to be “not aware of any casualties”.
During his visit, Witkoff engaged with Israeli officials in an effort to revive stalled ceasefire negotiations and address the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Israeli officials have cautioned that failure to achieve progress on a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the coming days may lead to new punitive measures against Hamas, potentially including the annexation of parts of Gaza, as reported by Israeli media.
Reports also suggest that Witkoff’s itinerary included visits to aid distribution sites managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli- and US-backed organization that has faced controversy.
Shortly after his envoy’s arrival in Israel, US President Donald Trump posted on social media, stating: “The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!”
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reported an additional seven malnutrition-related deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total number since the start of the war to 154.
This announcement followed a warning from UN-backed global food security experts a day prior, stating that a “worst-case scenario of famine” was “currently playing out” among the 2.1 million residents of Gaza.
UN agencies have characterized the situation in Gaza as a man-made mass starvation, attributing blame to Israel’s control over the entry of all supplies. However, Israel maintains that there are no restrictions on aid deliveries and that “no starvation” exists.
Despite this, Israel implemented measures four days ago, purportedly aimed at facilitating aid collection and distribution within Gaza by the UN and its partners. These measures include daily “tactical pauses” in military operations in specific areas and the establishment of “designated humanitarian corridors.”
The UN’s humanitarian office has asserted that the tactical pauses are insufficient to ensure the continuous flow of supplies needed to address the population’s immense needs, and that desperate crowds continue to offload supplies from lorries as they transit through Israeli crossings.
Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of al-Shifa hospital, reported to the BBC on Thursday morning that the hospital had received the bodies of 54 individuals killed in the incident in the Zikim area, in addition to 412 injured persons.
On Wednesday night, the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency informed AFP news agency that at least 30 people were killed when Israeli forces allegedly opened fire on a crowd awaiting aid.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported that its al-Saraya field hospital and al-Quds hospital in Gaza City received a total of six fatalities and 274 injuries resulting from the same incident.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that “dozens of Gazans were identified gathering around aid trucks in northern Gaza, and in close proximity to IDF troops operating in the area”.
“The troops fired warning shots in the area, not directed at the gathering, in response to the threat posed to them,” the IDF added.
“According to an initial inquiry, the IDF is not aware of any casualties as a result of IDF fire. The details of the incident are still being examined.”
Independent verification of the events is challenging due to Israel’s restrictions on international journalists entering Gaza.
However, one individual interviewed by a local freelance journalist working for the BBC reported the death of a teenage boy he knew.
“In the current situation, there is no food or water. People go to get food from the Zikim area, where they are targeted. He went to bring flour but came back carried in the flour bag,” he said.
“What was his fault? They sniped him in the middle of his head. He wasn’t carrying a rock, or a weapon, or doing anything wrong. His only fault was being Palestinian and living in Gaza.”
Abu Taha al-Kafarneh, an unemployed father of two who was the primary provider for his family, was also among those killed, another man told the BBC.
“He went to get a bag of flour to secure his food for the day… He didn’t want to trade it, sell it, or profit from it like many of the looting merchants,” he said.
He added: “They [Israel] claim they let food in, but instead increase the number of those killed and martyred as much as they can. The morgue is full.”
On Wednesday morning, hospital sources in southern Gaza informed the BBC that six individuals were killed near an aid distribution center operated by the GHF in the Rafah area.
The IDF told the BBC that a “gathering of suspects” deemed a threat to its troops were instructed to move away, and subsequently, the army fired “warning shots” at a distance of “hundreds of meters away” from the site.
The military further stated that “an initial review suggests that the number of casualties reported does not align with the information held by the IDF”.
The GHF asserted that no killings occurred at or near its sites on Wednesday.
According to the UN human rights office, over 1,050 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while attempting to access food aid since the GHF began operations in late May.
It reported last week that at least 766 of these deaths occurred in the vicinity of one of the GHF’s four distribution centers, which are managed by US private security contractors and located within Israeli military zones.
An additional 288 deaths were reported near UN and other aid convoys, the UN added.
Israel has accused Hamas of inciting chaos near aid sites, stating that its troops have only fired warning shots and do not intentionally target civilians.
The GHF has refuted the UN’s figures, claiming they are “false” and sourced from Gaza’s health ministry.
The organization asserts that it has distributed over 98 million meals in the past two months and remains prepared to collaborate with the UN in delivering aid.
However, the UN has declined to cooperate with the GHF’s system, citing safety concerns and violations of humanitarian principles, including neutrality, impartiality, and independence.
The Israeli military initiated a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 fatalities and 251 hostages.
At least 60,249 individuals have been killed in Gaza since then, including 111 in the past day, according to the territory’s health ministry.
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