At least 59 people killed in Gaza as Israeli tanks fire on crowd waiting for aid trucks, medics say, amidst worsening violence and hunger.
Israeli tanks fired at least two shells at a group of thousands who had gathered on the main eastern road through Khan Younis in the hopes of getting food from aid trucks that use the route, according to witnesses Reuters spoke with.
Alaa, a witness who was interviewed at Nasser Hospital, where injured patients were strewn on the floor and in hallways because of a shortage of space, said, “All of a sudden, they let us move forward and made everyone gather, and then shells started falling, tank shells.”
Approximately a dozen mangled bodies were seen in a street in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, according to social media footage.
The Israeli military, which has been fighting Palestinian militants led by Hamas in Gaza since October 2023, admitted to firing in the area and stated that it was investigating the incident.
According to Palestinian medical personnel, the incident claimed the lives of at least 59 people and injured 221 others, at least 20 of whom were critically ill.
Donkey carts, rickshaws, and civilian cars were being used to transport the casualties to the hospital. Since aid began returning to Gaza in May, it was the highest number of fatalities in a single day.
The Israeli military said in a statement: “Earlier today, a group was spotted near IDF troops stationed in the vicinity of Khan Younis, and next to an aid distribution truck that became stuck in the area.
