GAZA STRIP – Israeli airstrikes and ground assaults killed at least 92 Palestinians on Thursday, including 16 people waiting for food aid near the Netzarim Corridor, according to health authorities and local witnesses.
The heaviest toll was reported in Gaza City and northern Gaza, where 64 people were killed. Another 13 people died in an Israeli drone strike on a makeshift tent in the Al-Shati Refugee Camp, where civilians were charging electronic devices amid a complete electricity blackout that has lasted more than 18 months.
Witnesses described chaos and carnage at the Netzarim aid distribution point, where thousands of starving Palestinians had gathered overnight in hopes of receiving humanitarian aid parcels.
“Around 1am, they started shooting at us. The gunfire intensified from tanks, aircraft and quadcopter bombs,” Bassam Abu Shaar, an eyewitness, told AFP. “We couldn’t help them or even escape ourselves,” he added, describing a frantic crowd trapped under fire near Shuhada Junction.
The victims were reportedly awaiting supplies distributed through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) — a program backed by the United States and Israel that has come under fire from humanitarian agencies, including the United Nations, which accused it of “weaponizing aid.”
‘Daily Routine’ of Death at Aid Points
Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah, described attacks on civilians at aid sites as part of a “daily routine” as Israel continues to enforce a near-total blockade on Gaza’s borders.
“More than three months of full blockade on border crossings has turned Gaza into a hunger point,” Azzoum said. “People are forced to risk their lives just to get flour, water, or food boxes with minimal nutritional value.”
In a separate attack, Israeli warplanes bombed multiple homes in Jabalia, while Israeli drones targeted a public charging station in Al-Shati, killing 13. According to journalist Hind Khoudary, the attack struck an area that had become a rare lifeline for thousands of residents who have been without electricity for more than a year and a half.
“The deteriorating situation has forced Palestinians to put their lives at risk for food,” she said.
Israeli Army Offers No Evidence
The Israeli military claimed its forces fired warning shots in the Netzarim area after alleged “suspects” approached in a way that “endangered” troops, but offered no evidence and said it was unaware of any injuries — despite the death toll confirmed by health officials.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that 69 bodies and 221 wounded were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours alone.
Since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, at least 55,706 people have been killed and 130,101 injured in Gaza, the ministry said.