Deadly Israeli Attack: 51 Starving Aid Seekers Killed While Waiting for Food in Gaza
Gaza (Quds News Network)- 51 aid seekers have been killed and hundreds more injured, dozens critically, after an Israeli attack targeted a starving crowd waiting for food in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, amid a weeks-long Israeli blockade that has left the population in urgent need of basic necessities.
A starving crowd was waiting for aid in the eastern part of Khan Younis city on Tuesday morning as they gathered at points leading to a recently established point for aid distribution by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) when an Israeli strike targeted them, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, killing 51 people, and the death toll is expected to rise, with over 200 injured, dozens of them in serious condition.
Witnesses said they had gone to collect food aid but were met with live ammunition and drone attacks without any kind of warning.
This attack was not the only assault on aid seekers this morning.
There was also one near the Netzarim Corridor, where another GHF site turned into a death trap. At least one person was killed there, while 60 others were wounded.
Medical sources at Nasser Hospital confirm that over 50 people were killed and 200 injured in a horrific massacre carried out by Israeli occupation forces targeting civilians waiting for aid in eastern Khan Younis, southern Gaza, earlier this morning. pic.twitter.com/YNIRD4ycYU
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) June 17, 2025
The Ministry said the Nasser Hospital is overwhelmed by the influx of casualties.
Another heinous massacre was perpetrated this morning by the Israeli army against aid seekers east of Khan Younis, where dozens of innocent civilians were shot dead while waiting for desperately needed aid amid the ongoing Israeli war of hunger on the region. pic.twitter.com/IhqG8v5nmR
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) June 17, 2025
Israel has regularly attacked starving aid seekers, particularly those waiting for food near aid distribution sites operated by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the US and Israel, killing over 397 and injuring more than 3,000, the Health Ministry reported on Tuesday.
On March 2, Israel announced the closure of Gaza’s main crossings, cutting off food, medical and humanitarian supplies, worsening a humanitarian crisis for 2.3 million Palestinians, according to reports by human rights organisations who have accused it of using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinains.
An Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report last month warned that almost a quarter of the civilian population would face catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase Five) in the coming months.
After more than 80 days of total blockade, starvation, and growing international outrage, limited aid has allegedly been distributed by the GHF, a scandal-plagued organization backed by the US and Israel, created to bypass the UN’s established aid delivery infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
Most humanitarian organisations, including the UN, have distanced themselves from GHF, arguing that the group violates humanitarian principles by restricting aid to south and central Gaza, requiring Palestinians to walk long distances to collect aid, and only providing limited aid, among other critiques.
The UN confirmed that Israel is still blocking food from reaching starving Palestinians with only a few trucks of aid having reached Gaza.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned that “weaponizing aid in this manner may constitute crimes against humanity.”
