Gaza — In the latest and most harrowing episode of Israel’s ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip, at least 93 Palestinians were killed on Sunday while attempting to access humanitarian aid, with most deaths reported near the Zikim checkpoint in northern Gaza. As aid trucks tried to distribute desperately needed food and essentials, chaos unfolded when Israeli forces attacked civilians, allegedly opened fire on civilians crowding the area. Hospitals described scenes of carnage as dozens of bodies were rushed in, while more than 150 people were left wounded.
The Gaza Health Ministry, operating under Hamas control, characterized the killings as a massacre. Medical personnel from Kamal Adwan and al-Awda hospitals confirmed the fatalities were overwhelmingly due to bullet wounds and trauma. Although Israel has claimed that its forces fired only warning shots after what they called “a stampede and threats from armed individuals,” eyewitness footage and statements from aid officials on the ground contradict that account, suggesting direct live fire was used to disperse hungry civilians.
This incident, now the deadliest for Palestinians seeking aid in this 21-month-long conflict, has sparked renewed international outrage. Humanitarian agencies described the killings as preventable and the result of a systemic breakdown in aid distribution coordination. The United Nations, which previously raised red flags about the inability to safely deliver aid through Israel-controlled routes, said that conditions around the Zikim crossing had been deteriorating for weeks, with Israeli restrictions tightening access and complicating logistics.
Worse still, Israel’s evacuation orders are expanding deeper into central Gaza, targeting areas like Deir al-Balah, previously one of the few operational hubs for international relief agencies. Nine UNRWA clinics in the area have shuttered, cutting off access to medical services for tens of thousands of displaced families. Residents have been told to relocate to Al-Muwasi, a desolate, overcrowded coastal zone with no functioning infrastructure, a move rights groups say amounts to forced transfer under siege conditions.
Inside Gaza, the human toll continues its upward spiral. The Ministry of Health reported Sunday that more than 58,895 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, over half of them women and children. Bodies are still being recovered from beneath rubble and out of mass grave sites hastily dug in public parks and schoolyards. The latest escalation, which also includes intensified airstrikes across central and southern Gaza, appears to undermine any remaining momentum in ceasefire negotiations mediated by Qatar.
Public pressure is also mounting within Israel. In Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, thousands of Israelis protested Sunday evening demanding an end to the war and the return of hostages still held in Gaza. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, already facing international isolation, is now contending with deepening domestic fatigue and accusations of strategic drift.
According to the Associated Press, the deadly events unfolded near the Zikim crossing as approximately 25 aid trucks attempted to deliver food under Israeli military escort. An unnamed UN official said that the Israeli forces opened fire into the crowd as it surged forward, although Israel insists that “terror operatives” among the civilians posed threats requiring live fire deterrence. The AP report further noted that medical sources in Gaza’s northern hospitals confirmed the vast majority of those killed were unarmed civilians.
