GAZA – At least 67 Palestinians were shot dead Sunday in northern Gaza while waiting for humanitarian aid, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health. The mass shooting occurred in Beit Lahia, where crowds had gathered for food distribution coordinated by the United Nations.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed its 25-truck convoy came under gunfire shortly after crossing from Israel. The agency described the crowd as “massive” and said civilians were hit as they waited for aid.
“Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment,” the WFP stated. “Nearly one person in three is not eating for days.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged opening fire but claimed it was limited to warning shots aimed at dispersing what it called “an immediate threat.” The military disputed the reported death toll.
Gaza’s Civil Defense said 93 people were killed across the territory on Sunday, including 80 in the north, nine in Rafah, and four in Khan Younis. Most victims were seeking food or shelter near aid distribution centers.
Doctors at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City reported that emergency rooms were overwhelmed with casualties. “We are treating people in hallways. Many arrived dead or barely alive,” said Dr. Hassan al-Shaer, who heads the hospital.
One woman waiting outside the hospital told press , “Children are dying of hunger because they have nothing to eat. People are surviving on water and salt.”
In Gaza City, a man identified as Qasem Abu Khater said he had gone to find flour but encountered gunfire and chaos. “The tanks were firing randomly and snipers were shooting at people like it was a hunt,” he said.
The World Food Programme condemned the shooting, calling violence against people waiting for food “completely unacceptable.”
The latest incident follows a similar event Saturday, where at least 32 people were reportedly killed near aid distribution sites in southern Gaza.
According to Amnesty International and local rights groups, Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire at crowds attempting to collect food, especially in areas where aid is distributed near military-controlled zones. Some of the affected sites are linked to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an aid network supported by the United States and Israel that employs private security firms to deliver supplies.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has sharply worsened. On Sunday, Gaza’s health ministry reported 18 deaths from starvation in just 24 hours. The ministry warned that “hundreds of people whose bodies have wasted away are at risk of imminent death due to hunger.”
Meanwhile, Israel dropped new evacuation leaflets over Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, warning residents to relocate to al-Mawasi along the coast. The IDF has not launched a ground invasion in that area but has conducted airstrikes. Israeli officials say the evacuation may precede expanded operations.
Sources quoted by Reuters said the Israeli military suspects that Hamas may be holding hostages in that area, which has so far remained unentered by ground troops. Around 20 of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza are believed to be alive.
Most of Gaza’s population over 2 million people have been displaced multiple times during the 21-month conflict, triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages.
Since then, Israel’s military campaign has killed at least 58,895 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry. These figures have been cited by the United Nations as the best available, although they originate from the Hamas-controlled administration.
Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for “an immediate end to the barbarity of the war” and criticized “indiscriminate use of force.” His comments follow an Israeli airstrike that hit Gaza’s only Catholic church earlier this month, an incident that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel deeply regrets.
The war continues with no ceasefire in place, despite repeated calls from the international community for a halt to hostilities and greater humanitarian access.
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