Casualties reported as Israel targets Palestinians waiting for aid in Gaza

By Hosni Nadim

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Several Palestinians were killed and many others injured Saturday as the Israeli army again targeted hundreds of people who were waiting for aid trucks east and west of Gaza City.

“A number of dead and wounded arrived at the Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City after being targeted by Israeli drones while they were waiting for aid trucks to arrive in the areas of the Kuwait and Nabulsi Roundabouts,” medical sources told Anadolu.

They added that many of the wounded are in serious condition, while there are no capabilities to provide them with the necessary treatment.

This is not the first time that the Israeli army has targeted Palestinians while they were waiting for aid in Gaza City.

On Feb. 29, Israeli forces opened fire on hundreds of Palestinians as they gathered south of Gaza City waiting to receive humanitarian aid on Al-Rashid Street, killing at least 118 and injuring 760 others, according to the Health Ministry in the enclave.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack led by Hamas, in which nearly 1,200 people were killed.

At least 30,960 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and 72,524 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza, leaving its population, particularly residents in the north where the Thursday shootings took place, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi