CAIRO – 16 July 2025: Israeli forces fired tear gas on starving Palestinians at a US-Israeli backed aid distribution center in southern Gaza on Wednesday, killing 21 people, mostly due to suffocation and stampede, according to the enclave’s health ministry.
The fatalities at the aid center belonging to the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in Khan Younis include 15 who died from suffocation due to tear gas fired at crowds and the ensuing stampede, said the ministry.
The ministry said today’s incident marks the first time that casualties have been recorded due to asphyxiation and severe crowding at aid distribution centers.
The ministry accused the Israeli occupation and the GHF of “deliberately committing massacres against the starving in a systematic manner using various methods.”
The GHF today acknowledged 20 deaths at one of its distribution sites for the first time since it started distributing aid in Gaza since the end of May, despite objection by the UN agencies.
The UN has described the foundation establishment as "an attempt to circumvent the UN and its agencies on the ground, foremost UNRWA," failing to adhere to the principle of independence.
Hamas has called the organization’s distribution centers “death traps” with hundreds of aid seekers killed near them.
Israeli forces continue to kill dozens of Palestinians in Gaza every day despite ongoing talks aimed at securing a ceasefire deal and facilitating the release of captives still held by Hamas.
Since the start of the Gaza war, Israel has killed 58,573 Palestinians, including 7,750 since Israeli forces in March shattered a ceasefire brokered by mediators that led to the release of dozens of Israeli captives and allowed thousands of aid trucks to access the famine-stricken enclave.
Be Social
Comments
Leave a Comment