Gaza / Tel Aviv: At least 15 Palestinians were killed and hundreds injured on Tuesday after Israeli forces opened fire near an aid distribution point in the southern Gaza Strip, according to Gaza’s Civil Defence agency. The Palestinian news agency Wafa has reported a higher death toll of 24, and said around 200 others sustained injuries in the incident near the Al-Alam roundabout, west of Rafah.
According to Wafa, Israeli artillery and aircraft fired on a crowd of displaced civilians waiting for humanitarian assistance, in what has become yet another flashpoint in the spiraling humanitarian crisis gripping the war-torn enclave.
Israeli Military Response
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that its troops fired on "a few individual suspects who advanced toward the forces," claiming they did not adhere to pre-established routes to access the aid site. The military said the shots were intended as warnings, fired half a kilometre from the distribution site, and that the individuals posed a perceived threat to soldiers.
"IDF troops are not preventing the arrival of Gazan civilians to the humanitarian aid distribution sites," the statement read. "The IDF is aware of reports regarding casualties, and the details of the incident are being looked into."
The statement reiterated that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which oversees part of the aid operation, exists to deliver aid to civilians – "not to Hamas."
Resignation Over Operational Challenges
The humanitarian operation’s credibility has come under further strain after Jake Wood, a former U.S. Marine who led the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, resigned in recent days. In his resignation, Wood cited the inability of the foundation to meet humanitarian standards, describing the conditions on the ground as incompatible with international principles of aid delivery.
UN Criticism and International Reaction
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has condemned the current system of aid distribution under Israeli oversight. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini labeled the arrangement a “death trap,” highlighting the extreme physical and emotional toll on Palestinians forced to walk miles through rubble-strewn zones to access basic supplies.
“This humiliating system has forced thousands of hungry and desperate people to walk for tens of miles to an area that’s all but pulverized due to heavy bombardment,” Lazzarini said over the weekend.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to escalate, with displacement, food shortages, and civilian casualties mounting as military operations persist.
Broader Conflict Context
Tuesday’s tragedy adds to the rising death toll in Gaza amid continued Israeli ground operations. According to the Times of Israel, an initial IDF probe found that five Israeli soldiers were killed in Jabaliya when their vehicle was hit by an explosive device. Two more soldiers were wounded. As of now, 423 Israeli soldiers have died in combat in Gaza since ground operations commenced in response to the October 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel.
As international scrutiny intensifies, humanitarian agencies and rights groups are calling for immediate de-escalation, unfettered access for aid, and accountability for violations of humanitarian law.
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