At least one person was killed when Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of hungry Palestinians waiting for aid vehicles in northern Gaza.
Israeli forces opened fire on desperate crowds waiting for food aid in northern Gaza, killing at least one Palestinian man and wounding many others, witnesses and video showed.
Footage seen by Al Jazeera shows Palestinians fleeing along a desolate coastal road in northern Gaza on Monday as heavy gunfire rings out. Aid to the Gaza Strip has been almost completely cut off as the war with Israel continues.
Video also showed gray smoke billowing from smoke bombs as thousands of Palestinians gathered in an area west of Gaza City.
At least one person died in the incident, according to witnesses who shared images of a man lying on the ground with a head wound.
At least 10 people were injured in the attack, Wafa news agency reported.
Victims and witnesses told Al Jazeera that the Israeli attack was unfounded.
“I just collapsed,” one man said when he was rushed to the hospital for treatment. “Then I heard gunshots, but I don't know what happened.”
Another man said he went to the area just to get flour.
“We also want to feed our children…We went to buy flour, like everyone else. But then we were shot at, shells were fired at, tanks were advancing towards us. ” he said.
The attack is the second of its kind in recent days and comes amid a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the United Nations has warned that around 2.3 million people are living in starvation-like conditions. .
Footage from Monday also showed Palestinian children rushing to scoop flour from the ground after one bag was broken.
Despite the desperate situation, Israel, which controls the entry points into Gaza, is refusing to accept further aid.
Multiple United Nations agencies warned on Monday that child deaths could rise “explosively” in the Gaza Strip due to “alarming” shortages of food and water and the spread of disease.
“We have been warning for weeks that Gaza is on the brink of a nutritional crisis,” said Ted Cheyne, UNICEF's deputy executive director for humanitarian operations.
“If the conflict does not end now, children's nutrition will continue to be depleted, leading to preventable deaths and health problems, with lifelong consequences for children in Gaza and potentially intergenerational consequences.”
At least 29,092 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and another 69,028 have been injured.