For the hungry, the journey to a promised meal in Gaza has become a gauntlet of death. On Wednesday morning, as the first rays of dawn touched the shattered landscape, a desperate scramble for survival turned into another bloody chapter in the ongoing siege.
Thousands of Palestinians, pushed to the brink of starvation, converged on aid distribution points, only to be met by a hail of Israeli fire.
The Israeli occupation army intensified its bombardment overnight and into Wednesday, targeting residential blocks in northern and southern Gaza with artillery and explosives. But it was the scenes at the aid distribution points that painted a stark picture of the depths of the humanitarian crisis.
Near the Netzarim axis, a strategic Israeli-controlled corridor bisecting Gaza, thousands had gathered along Salah Al-Din Street, hoping for a meager food parcel. An eyewitness, who spoke to Al Manassa on condition of anonymity, described a horrifying scene: “Israeli tanks opened fire with intense artillery shelling and a continuous barrage of bullets, without stopping.” The result, he stated, was dozens killed and wounded.
“There are people killed and wounded, but because of the continuous shelling and firing, the place is dangerous, and we can’t pull them out,” the witness recounted, his voice laced with terror. “We fled under fire due to the danger of the place. We don’t want bread soaked in blood.”
Another witness, also unnamed for his safety, recounted his decision to arrive early with neighbors at the American-funded aid distribution point. “Every day we come in the morning, the aid is already gone,” he explained, highlighting the scarcity. “Today we decided to leave early, thinking maybe we could get a carton as soon as the gates opened.”
What they found was a crush of thousands, all with the same desperate hope. “We tried to reach the front areas, but suddenly the tanks approached and opened continuous fire directly on the people,” he continued. “Some people were injured, and some were martyred on the spot. We managed to escape through the crowds and get away from the area.” A few of the wounded were pulled to safety and taken to Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp, but dozens more remained trapped under fire.
A medical source at Al-Awda Hospital confirmed the toll to Al Manassa: 10 dead and over 70 injured, most with bullet wounds across their bodies. The source emphasized the impossible situation faced by paramedics, who were unable to enter the militarily dangerous zone to retrieve more victims.
Further south, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, seven more dead and several wounded arrived after being shot while waiting for aid trucks on Rashid Street, along the southwestern coast.
An eyewitness there described Israeli warships firing from the sea, inflicting more casualties on hundreds of desperate civilians. “We have children who need to eat,” he pleaded, his voice cracking. “We don’t work, and we don’t have money left, how can we feed them? We are forced to risk our lives, like thousands of others, just to get our share and walk kilometers under shelling and gunfire.”
These incidents are not isolated. On Tuesday, June 17, Israeli tanks fired into a crowd attempting to receive aid from trucks in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, killing at least 70 people, according to medics.
A video circulating on social media and showed a dozen mangled bodies lying in a street, a stark testament to the ongoing violence as desperate residents struggle for sustenance. The Israeli military acknowledged firing in the area and stated it was investigating the incident.
A medical source from the Gaza Health Ministry told Al Manassa that over 110 victims had arrived at various hospitals across the Strip between Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. Of these, more than 75 people were killed while trying to obtain humanitarian aid in northern, central, and southern Gaza, directly targeted by the Israeli occupation army.
For weeks, aid distribution points across Gaza have been targets of Israeli attacks, resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties. The Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF), a new American-funded initiative that began distributing aid in late May after a three-month Israeli blockade, has been plagued by chaos and deadly incidents.
While the GHF claims to bring much-needed relief, critics argue it has further complicated an already dire situation, with several reports of Israeli forces firing on crowds during its distributions.
This militarization of aid has led major international aid organizations, including the UN, to refuse cooperation with the GHF, citing concerns that it prioritizes Israeli military objectives over humanitarian needs and bypasses established aid networks.
Beyond the bread line: A city under siege
The humanitarian catastrophe is compounded by intensified Israeli ground operations. On Wednesday morning, the Israeli army resumed blowing up homes with explosive devices and deploying robots in the eastern neighborhoods of Shujaiya and Tuffah in Gaza City, and in the Jabaliya area to the north.
A journalist source reported to Al Manassa that more than seven robots were detonated consecutively, their explosions reverberating across the city and sending plumes of smoke billowing into the sky from the eastern and northern areas.
In the southern city of Khan Younis, entire residential blocks in Al-Qarara and the Hamad residential city were systematically demolished by Israeli forces following evacuation orders issued to residents on Tuesday evening.
A journalist described Israeli tanks and military vehicles suddenly pushing through Al-Qarara to Hamad city, coinciding with the evacuation orders. This surprise maneuver trapped several civilian vehicles, their occupants’ fates unknown due to the danger of the area, and severed communications.
The continuous explosions and demolitions in eastern Khan Younis have severely damaged primary communication and internet network infrastructure, plunging the southern half of Gaza into its third communication blackout in less than a week.
A source from the Palestinian telecommunications company told Al Manassa that the Israeli army is deliberately and systematically targeting the company’s facilities and routes, severely degrading communication efficiency and threatening irreparable damage.
“Repeated attacks on communication network infrastructure have become almost daily,” the source said, highlighting the immense strain on maintenance crews and the dangers they face.
Just last Monday, a technician from the Palestinian telecommunications company lost his leg in central Gaza while working to repair technical faults. Despite the immense challenges, crews continue to work to restore services, but a severe shortage of equipment and materials, due to depleted stock and Israeli closures of crossings, is hindering their efforts.
The latest escalation comes as the Israeli occupation army resumed its assault on Gaza on Mar. 18, ending a brief ceasefire that began on Jan. 19. That agreement, intended to lead to an exchange of all captives held by Hamas and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, ultimately collapsed, leaving the people of Gaza trapped in a cycle of violence and deprivation.
