Daijiworld Media Network – Gaza
Gaza, Jul 21: Gaza's civil defence agency has reported that at least 93 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured on Sunday when Israeli forces allegedly opened fire on crowds waiting for humanitarian aid. The victims were trying to access food and relief supplies in the war-battered territory.
The worst tragedy occurred in the north, where 80 people lost their lives as aid trucks arrived. Nine others were reportedly shot near Rafah in the south, while four more deaths were recorded near an aid distribution point in Khan Yunis, according to civil defence spokesman Mahmud Basal.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed its 25-truck convoy was caught in the chaos and came under gunfire near Gaza City. The agency condemned the violence as "completely unacceptable."
Israel’s military disputed the casualty figures and said its troops fired warning shots to address an “immediate threat.” They claimed the crowd had surged toward the convoy, posing a risk to soldiers.
Incidents of civilian deaths during aid distributions have become alarmingly frequent in Gaza, where shortages of food and essentials have pushed thousands into desperate conditions. The UN noted that nearly 800 civilians seeking aid have been killed since late May.
Eyewitness Qasem Abu Khater described the scene as one of “deadly overcrowding,” adding that Israeli tanks and snipers opened fire indiscriminately. “It felt like we were being hunted,” he told AFP.
Meanwhile, tensions flared further as Israel withdrew the residency permit of Jonathan Whittall, head of the UN OCHA office in Israel, accusing him of spreading misinformation about the war.
The ongoing conflict began after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which left 1,219 people dead. Since then, Israel’s retaliatory strikes have killed 58,895 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Pope Leo XIV denounced the “barbarity” of the war during Sunday’s Angelus prayer, following a deadly Israeli strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church. Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa also held a rare mass in the devastated area.
On Sunday, the Israeli military issued fresh evacuation orders in Deir el-Balah, forcing thousands to flee again. The UN OCHA warned that 87.8% of Gaza is now under displacement or militarized zones, squeezing 2.1 million people into just 12% of the Strip.
Talks on a proposed 60-day ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages continue. Of the 251 hostages taken on October 7, 49 are still believed to be in Gaza, including 27 presumed dead.