Health authorities report that while the beleaguered enclave faces an unparalleled hunger crisis, over 100 Palestinians have been killed and almost 700 more injured after Israeli forces opened fire on hundreds of people queuing for food deliveries southwest of Gaza City. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced what it called a cold-blooded “massacre,” with the Gaza Ministry of Health reporting that at least 112 people had died and over 750 injured. According to the ministry, Israel is now engaged in a “genocidal war.” It stated that a ceasefire is “the only way to protect civilians” and urged the international community to “urgently intervene” to achieve it.

Aid delivery challenges

At al-Rashid Street, where assistance trucks with bread were rumored to be arriving, people had gathered. Verified footage by Al Jazeera showed the remains of several dead and injured Palestinians being loaded into trucks since paramedics were unable to get to the scene. “We made a flour run. We were fired at by the Israeli army. We are currently removing the several martyrs who are on the ground. One eyewitness stated, “There is no first aid.” Israeli tanks advanced and plowed over several of the injured and dead people, according to Ismail al-Ghoul, after they opened fire. “It is a massacre, in addition to Gaza’s citizens’ starvation,” he declared. Four medical facilities al-Shifa, Kamal Adwan, Ahli, and the Jordanian hospitals had been assigned to handle the dead and injured. Since the roads had been “totally destroyed,” ambulances were unable to get to the region, according to al-Ghoul. The quantity will increase. Lack of gasoline, much alone medicine, has made hospitals unable to handle the enormous number of patients. Blood has also run out in hospitals.

Israeli forces’ attack on Palestinian civilians

The Israeli military said that scores of people were injured when relief vehicles came and that they initially tried to pin the blame on the crowd. And then, following some prodding, the Israelis said that their soldiers were feeling intimidated and that hundreds of soldiers had approached them in a fashion that made them feel frightened, so they opened fire in retaliation. The US has requested responses from Israel and guarantees for the secure transportation of humanitarian supplies to Gaza. Since early this morning, we have been in communication with the Israeli authorities, and we are aware that an inquiry is being conducted. We’ll be keeping a careful eye on that probe and demanding answers, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. 

International reaction and condemnation

The most recent example of organized assaults on starving individuals awaiting food scraps was the mass shooting. Israeli troops have been firing at Palestinians who have been waiting for assistance vehicles in huge crowds on Salah al-Din Street near Gaza City for the past few days. Tragically, a vehicle meant to provide relief to Gaza residents recently ended up transporting the wounded and dead. Many people are making the arduous journey on foot southward as relief organizations have been unable to provide supplies to the northern part of Gaza since January 23. More than 500,000 people, or one in four individuals, were at risk of famine, according to Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), who spoke before the UN Security Council. Of these, one in six children under the age of two were deemed critically malnourished.

Humanitarian implications and immediate needs

The inability to transport essential food supplies into Gaza in adequate numbers and the nearly unworkable operational circumstances our staff members endure on the ground are contributing to the possibility of famine. According to aid organizations, deliveries from Israel have been delayed. Israel refutes the accusation. It sent a report on the steps taken to prevent suffering in the besieged enclave to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). According to rights groups, Israel violated the January ICJ ruling. In light of the continuous hostilities between Israel and Hamas, the chairman of UNRWA, the UN organization for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, stated on social media on Sunday that requests to permit food delivery in Gaza have either been refused or “have fallen on deaf ears.” The UN representative warned that there was a “looming famine” and that the situation was turning into a “man-made disaster.”

In conclusion, On October 7, Israel began a bloody incursion in the Gaza Strip in response to an attack orchestrated by Hamas. It is estimated that over 30,000 individuals have died to date, the most of them were women and children.