At least 18 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in Gaza, civil defence agency says
ISRAELI FORCES HAVE killed at least 18 Palestinians, including 15 who had gathered near an aid distribution site in central Gaza, according to the territory's civil defence agency.
It is the latest attack in what has become almost daily killings of Palestinians waiting for aid at distribution centres in Gaza.
Civil defence official Mohammad al-Mugghayyir told AFP that '18 people have been killed due to ongoing Israeli shelling on the Gaza Strip since dawn today, 15 of whom were waiting for aid', adding that the remaining three were killed by shelling near Gaza City.
Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency.
In early March, Israel imposed a total aid blockade on Gaza amid after breaking a ceasefire amid a deadlock in negotiations, only partially easing restrictions in late May.
Since then, dozens of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach distribution points operated by the US and Israel-backed
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)
since it began operating last month.
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UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
The first deadly incident happened on the morning of 25 May, when
31 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire
, according to the Gaza Civil Defence agency.
Palestinians bury the bodies of their relatives killed yesterday evening at an aid distribution area in the Sudanese area, northwest of Gaza City.
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
The following morning, Israeli forces shot dead three people, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
In a statement on Tuesday, the organisation said that 'to date, not a single incident has occurred at or in the surrounding vicinity of GHF sites nor has an incident occurred during our operating hours'.
Yesterday
, Gaza's civil defence agency said 30 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, including 11 who were seeking aid.
On
Tuesday
, the agency said at least 51 people were killed and more than 200 were wounded while waiting for desperately needed humanitarian aid.
The Gaza Strip has been ravaged by more than 20 months of Israeli siege, bombardment and widespread destruction caused by fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups.
Related Reads
Israeli troops kill 11 Palestinians waiting for food, with 19 killed in strikes, Gaza's civil defence says
Israeli forces kill more than 50 and wound over 200 in latest massacre at aid site in Gaza
Israeli troops kill 20 Palestinians waiting to collect food, says Gaza's civil defence agency
The health ministry said yesterday that 5,194 people have been killed since Israel violated the ceasefire on 18 March.
The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out in October 2023 has reached 55,493 people, according to the health ministry.
With reporting from
© AFP 2025
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