At least 51 Palestinians were killed and dozens more injured on Monday when Israeli tanks opened fire on the starving crowds who were waiting for humanitarian aid trucks in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis, EPTV reported.
The victims were attempting to reach aid distribution points, including an aid center operating in coordination with international humanitarian organizations. What was supposed to be a lifeline has turned into a deadly trap for many civilians.
Dozens of the injured were transported to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which is already overwhelmed and severely lacking medical supplies and equipment, the EPTV report said.
The hospital is struggling to cope, but due to the critical shortages, the number of deaths resulting from the attack is only expected to rise further.
Survivors at the hospital expressed anger and dismay, not only at the massacre, but at the unbearable humanitarian situation that has arisen from Israel's blockade on the enclave.
"Enough! They closed the crossing until the flour rotted, we are killed over rotting flour!" a woman said.
"This happened because of hunger. We took the flour, then they told us there was another batch. People queued up, and after eight minutes of waiting, the tank came and shelled us. I hid and saw hands, heads, and limbs. Then I took a woman, a man, and a child and transported them in a cart to the hospital," a man said.
"They were seeking food, the Israelis killed them all. What have we done? What should we do? We only have God," another woman cried.
"After the trucks emptied the load, people were queuing. Suddenly, the tank started firing at us, the majority were killed," a man in a hospital bed said.
"I nearly got killed for this can of humus priced at 50 shekels," said a man holding his can of food.
One woman, holding the hand of a man killed in the attack, told an EPVT that he was at the site to feed his family.
"He had three young children who kept pleading, 'Dad we are hungry, we need food.' We tried to stop him, but their desperation was too much. In the end, he had no choice but to meet his fate," she said.
The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 55,493, with 129,320 others injured, since the current round of conflict between Hamas and Israel began on October 7, 2023, Gaza-based health authorities said on Tuesday.
Survivors decry Israeli attacks after tank fire kills 51 Palestinians at Khan Younis food point
