Key Points
- Violence near aid distribution sites
- MSF condemns aid effort as “slaughter”
- Humanitarian crisis worsens
- Gaza death toll surges to 56,331
GAZA CITY, Palestine: At least 72 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday, according to the health ministry, as Israel continues to block humanitarian aid supplies to the besieged Palestinian territory.
The health ministry said that at least 56,331 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its bombardment campaign on October 7, 2023.
A ministry statement said that 72 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, with 174 people injured, taking the number of injuries to 132,632 in the Israeli onslaught.
Since Israel broke a truce agreed with Hamas in March, at least 6,008 Palestinians have been killed and more than 20,591 have been wounded.
The United Nations says Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza is illegal under international law.
Israeli soldiers deliberately shoot civilians
According to a detailed investigation published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Friday, Israeli soldiers deployed in Gaza have been ordered to open fire on unarmed Palestinian civilians waiting for humanitarian aid, even when no threat was present.
According to the Israeli daily, conversations with soldiers indicate that “commanders ordered troops to shoot at crowds to drive them away or disperse them, even though it was clear they posed no threat.”
“It’s a killing field,” one soldier told Haaretz. He said that in his position, “between one and five people were killed every day” by live fire instead of taking non-lethal measures for crowd control.
The food distribution sites are reportedly run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an aid initiative coordinated by Israeli authorities, American evangelical organisations, and private security contractors, according to various reports.
Hamas condemnation
The Palestinian group Hamas responded to the recent report by condemning what it described as a “criminal mechanism,” accusing it of facilitating genocide and the deliberate killing of defenseless civilians under the guise of humanitarian aid.
In a statement, Hamas said, “The systematic killing of starving civilians in Gaza is a flagrant crime that underscores the brutality of the occupation and its fascist leadership—headed by war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court.”
The group urged the United Nations to launch an investigation into the alleged crimes and to hold those responsible accountable under international law.
MSF slams Gaza aid scheme
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called on Friday for a controversial Israel- and US-backed relief effort in Gaza to be halted, branding it “slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid.”
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which started operating last month, “is degrading Palestinians by design, forcing them to choose between starvation or risking their lives for minimal supplies,” MSF said in a statement.
It said more than 500 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip while seeking food in recent weeks.
UNRWA warns
Meanwhile, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned that families across Gaza are at risk of dying of thirst amid the collapse of water supply systems.
UNRWA noted that only 40 percent of drinking water production facilities are still operating, and that “Gaza is on the edge of a man-made drought.
“Extracting water from wells stopped due to fuel shortages, others located in dangerous areas that are difficult to access, pipelines are broken and leaking, and water tankers that often do not arrive,” the agency said.
