As death toll mounts, Gazans make life-risking journeys to seek food, aid

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Jun 19, 2025 11:16 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Like thousands of different Palestinians in Gaza, Hind Al-Nawajha takes a dangerous, kilometres-long travel each time to effort to get immoderate nutrient for her family, hoping she makes it backmost alive.

Accompanied by her sister, Mazouza, the mother-of-four had to duck down and fell down a heap of rubble connected the broadside of the roadworthy arsenic gunshots echoed nearby.

"You either travel backmost carrying [food] for your children and they volition beryllium happy, oregon you travel backmost successful a shroud. Or you spell backmost upset [without food] and your children volition cry," said Nawajha, 38, a nonmigratory of Beit Lahiya, successful northern Gaza.

"This is life; we are being slaughtered, we can't bash it anymore."

In the past 2 days, dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occurrence arsenic they tried to get nutrient from assistance trucks brought into the enclave by the United Nations and planetary alleviation agencies, Gaza medics said.

On Thursday, medics said astatine slightest 51 radical were killed by Israeli gunfire and subject strikes, including 12 radical who tried to attack a tract operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) successful the central Gaza Strip, the latest successful near-daily reports of killings of radical seeking food.

The Israeli subject said determination were respective attempts by "suspects" to attack forces successful the country of Netzarim in a mode that endangered them. It said forces fired informing shots to forestall suspects from approaching them, and it was presently unaware of injuries successful the incident.

In an email, GHF criticized Gazan wellness officials, accusing them of regularly releasing inaccurate information.

GHF said that Palestinians bash not entree the adjacent GHF tract via the Netzarim corridor. It did not code questions astir whether GHF was alert that specified an incidental had occurred.

Women, children killed successful abstracted Israeli strikes

Thirty-nine radical were killed, meanwhile, successful abstracted Israeli airstrikes successful the northern Gaza Strip, medics said. One of those strikes killed astatine slightest 19 radical successful a structure successful the Al-Shati exile campy in Gaza City, they added.

Heba Ziada, 32, said her sister was killed successful the onslaught connected Al-Shati, which struck the entranceway of a marketplace successful the exile camp.

"My sister was 14 years old. What did she bash wrong?" Ziada told CBC News freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife on Thursday.

Another onslaught killed astatine slightest 14 radical and damaged respective houses successful Jabaliya, successful the northbound of the enclave, medics said.

There was nary contiguous remark from the Israeli service connected those attacks.

In caller days, the Israeli subject said its forces had opened occurrence and fired informing shots to disperse radical who approached areas wherever troops were operating, posing a threat. It said it was reviewing reports of casualties among civilians.

Returning empty-handed aft trying to find food

Israel has been channelling overmuch of the assistance it is present allowing into Gaza through the new U.S.- and Israeli-backed GHF, which operates a fistful of organisation sites successful areas guarded by Israeli forces.

Gaza's Health Ministry said hundreds of Palestinians person been killed trying to scope GHF sites since precocious May.

The United Nations rejects the GHF transportation strategy arsenic inadequate, unsafe and a usurpation of humanitarian impartiality rules. Israel says it is needed to forestall Hamas fighters from diverting aid, which Hamas denies.

On Wednesday, the GHF said successful a connection it had distributed 3 cardinal meals crossed 3 of its assistance sites without an incident.

WATCH | A fig of Palestinians trying to scope Rafah assistance tract killed connected Monday: 

The Gaza war was triggered erstwhile Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel connected Oct.7, 2023, sidesplitting 1,200 radical and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's consequent subject battle on Gaza has killed astir 55,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, portion displacing astir the full colonisation of much than two million and causing a hunger crisis.

The Norwegian Refugee Council warned Thursday that much than one million radical were without capable structure successful Gaza, saying instrumentality specified arsenic tents and tarpaulins had been blocked by Israel from entering since March 1.

Nawajha returned empty-handed connected Wednesday from her travel to find food, flopping down exhausted connected the dusty crushed extracurricular the structure in Gaza City, wherever she has been displaced and sheltering with her family.

She and her sister person been camping by the roadworthy for the past 20 days. They accidental they effort to unit their mode into the organisation tract wherever trucks carrying assistance arrive, but are often outmuscled by men, who sometimes combat implicit sacks of flour coming disconnected UN trucks.

"[When] there is nary food, arsenic you tin see, children commencement crying and getting angry," said Nawajha. "When we are for three, 4 kilometres oregon much connected our legs... Oh my … our feet are bruised and our shoes are torn off."