ADVEReadNOWISEMENT
Israeli airstrikes and gunshots killed at least 25 people overnight in Northern Gaza as thousands of Palestinians made their way to the Zikim crossing with Israel in a frantic search for food, local health officials and the ambulance service said on Saturday.
According to staff at the Shifa hospital, most of the victims were killed by gunfire as they waited for aid trucks close to the Zikim crossing with Israel.
Israel’s army didn’t respond to a request for comments about the latest shootings.
Those killed in strikes include four people in an apartment building in Gaza City, among others, hospital staff, and the ambulance service said.
The strikes come as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have hit a standstill after the US and Israel recalled their negotiating teams on Thursday, throwing the future of the negotiations into further uncertainty.
Thousands of desperate Palestinians risk their lives
On Saturday, thousands of desperate Palestinians made their way to the Zikim crossing in the Gaza Strip, risking their lives in search of food.
Hospital officials reported that some Palestinians were killed in recent weeks in the area near the crossing, in the north of the Palestinian territory.
Some reports claim that when aid is given, criminal gangs and sizable groups of desperate people frequently overrun trucks as they enter and remove the supplies.
Earlier this week, Israel’s military reported that it was aware of some casualties when soldiers opened fire on a group of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who were posing a threat.
Displaced mother Smoud Wahdan, cradling her infant son, made the journey to the crossing from a school in Gaza City where they are sheltering.
She acknowledged the journey carried a lot of risk, but said that she had to face this danger in order to feed her children.
“I have come all this way, risking my life for my children. My children have not eaten for a week,” she explained.
Experts have warned that Gaza is being pushed closer to famine, after months of Israel entirely blocking food or letting in only limited amounts.
The number of people dying from causes related to malnutrition has accelerated this month.
International outrage grows
Over 100 human rights and charitable organisations, as well as more than two dozen Western-aligned nations, have demanded that the war be brought to an end.
Their severe criticism has been directed at Israel’s new aid delivery mechanism and blockade.
Israel says it has allowed in around 4,500 aid trucks since it lifted a total blockade in May and that it allows in around 70 truckloads a day, one of the lowest rates of the war and far less than the several hundred the United Nations says are needed each day.
Despite the growing international outrage, Israel maintains it lets in enough aid and faults UN agencies for not doing enough to retrieve and get it to those in need.
The UN says its delivery of aid is being hampered by Israeli military restrictions on its movements and incidents of criminal looting.