New massacre in Gaza's hunger queues
As 1 million Palestinians face starvation, Israel kills nearly 100 people trying to access trucks loaded with flour.
BarcelonaAnother tragic day in Gaza's food lines. At least 93 Palestinians died this Sunday and more than 150 were injured while waiting at humanitarian aid distribution points in the Strip. The majority (80) died while trying to access trucks loaded with UN flour that were scheduled to enter through the Zikim crossing in the north, on the border with Israel, according to the enclave's Health Ministry. Several witnesses report that the Israeli army fired on a crowd gathered to obtain food at the Beit Lahia checkpoint, after learning that vehicles carrying humanitarian aid would arrive there. At least five were looted, according to the Efe news agency, and afterward, Israeli forces fired on civilians.
Although the Israeli army did not acknowledge the incident, it did admit that its troops had "fired warning shots" at "a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip" in an attempt to "eliminate an immediate threat to them." However, in a statement, they asserted that the death toll among Palestinian authorities was higher than the actual figure.
More than 900 people have died in Gaza at humanitarian aid distribution points, since May the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – the controversial organization which receives support from the United States and Israel – replaced the approximately 400 centers organized by the United Nations and other NGOs with the support of the international community.
The lack of food in Gaza is so extreme that this Saturday the American NGO Rahma Worldwide warned that more than one million Gazans are at risk of dying of hunger. The Palestinian authorities consider that hunger acts as a "silent massacre" and assure that there are 17,000 children suffering from severe malnutrition in the Strip. In fact, this same Sunday at least two people died of malnutrition in Al Shifa Hospital, according to the director of the facility, one of whom was a 35-week-old baby.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has also urged Israel to lift the blockade of supplies that has been in place for four and a half months. "The Israeli authorities are starving civilians in Gaza. Among them are one million children. Lift the siege: allow UNRWA to bring in food and medicine," he told X on Sunday. The agency claims it has enough food on the other side of the border to feed the 2.1 million people.
More evacuation orders
In parallel, the Israeli army has issued a new evacuation order in central Gaza, in several locations in the city of Deir al-Balah, and has demanded that civilians leave "immediately." Curiously, this is one of the few areas where most buildings are still standing and several facilities are functioning. There is a significant presence of international organizations trying to distribute aid.
The army spokesman has ordered the residents of Deir al-Balah to move south to Al-Mawasi, which is supposedly a safe zone. However, several organizations report that this area is completely overwhelmed. This is not surprising considering that 90% of Gaza's population has been forcibly displaced and that 86% of the enclave's territory is currently under Israeli evacuation orders or designated as a military zone.