Israeli tank fire kills at least 59 in Gaza crowd trying to get food, medics say

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Jun 17, 2025 9:19 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Israeli tanks fired into a assemblage trying to get assistance from trucks successful the Gaza Strip connected Monday, killing at slightest 59 people, according to medics, in 1 of the bloodiest incidents yet successful mounting unit arsenic hopeless residents conflict for food.

Video shared connected societal media showed astir a twelve mangled bodies lying successful a thoroughfare successful Khan Younis successful the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli subject acknowledged firing successful the country and said it was looking into the incident.

Eyewitnesses interviewed by Reuters said Israeli tanks had fired astatine slightest 2 shells astatine a assemblage of thousands, who had gathered connected the main eastbound roadworthy done Khan Younis successful the anticipation of getting nutrient from assistance trucks that usage the route.

"All of a sudden, they fto america determination guardant and made everyone gather, and past shells started falling, vessel shells," said Alaa, an eyewitness, interviewed by Reuters astatine Nasser Hospital, wherever wounded victims laic sprawled connected the level and successful corridors owed to a deficiency of space.

"No 1 is looking astatine these radical with mercy. The radical are dying, they are being torn apart, to get nutrient for their children. Look astatine these people, each these radical are torn to get flour to provender their children."

Palestinian medics said astatine slightest 59 radical were killed and 221 wounded successful the incident, astatine slightest 20 of them critically. Casualties were being rushed to the infirmary successful civilian cars, rickshaws and donkey carts.

It was the worst decease toll successful a azygous time since assistance resumed in Gaza in May.

In a statement, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said: "Earlier today, a gathering was identified adjacent to an assistance organisation motortruck that got stuck successful the country of Khan Younis, and successful proximity to IDF troops operating successful the area.

"The IDF is alert of reports regarding a fig of injured individuals from IDF occurrence pursuing the crowd's approach. The details of the incidental are nether review. The IDF regrets immoderate harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable to them portion maintaining the information of our troops."

Hundreds killed adjacent assistance sites successful caller weeks

Medics said astatine slightest 14 different radical were besides killed successful abstracted Israeli gunfire and airstrikes elsewhere successful the enclave, taking Tuesday's decease toll to astatine slightest 65.

The incidental was the latest successful near-daily killings of Palestinians seeking aid in the past 3 weeks, since Israel partially lifted a full blockade connected the territory it had imposed for astir 3 months.

Israel has been channeling overmuch of the assistance it is present allowing into Gaza through a caller U.S.- and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which operates a fistful of organisation sites successful areas guarded by Israeli forces.

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

The United Nations rejects the 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.

Gaza authorities accidental hundreds of Palestinians person been killed trying to scope the GHF's sites, including 23 radical killed by Israeli gunfire connected Monday successful Rafah successful the southern Gaza Strip.

The GHF said in a quality merchandise late Monday that it had distributed much than 3 cardinal meals astatine its 4 organisation sites without incident.

Eyes connected Iran war

The Gaza war was triggered in October 2023, erstwhile Hamas militants attacked Israel, sidesplitting 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel's consequent subject battle on Gaza has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, portion displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million and causing a hunger crisis.

Since past week, residents of Gaza have kept an oculus connected the war between Israel and Iran, which began with Israel launching large strikes connected Friday. Iran has agelong been a large protagonist of Hamas.

Residents of the Gaza Strip person circulated images of wrecked buildings in Israel hit by Iranian missiles, immoderate openly blessed to spot Israelis experiencing a measurement of the fearfulness of airstrikes that Gazans person endured for 20 months.

"We unrecorded these scenes and symptom daily. We are precise blessed that we saw the time erstwhile we saw rubble successful Tel Aviv, and they are trying to get retired from nether the rubble and the houses that were destroyed connected apical of their residents," said Saad Saad, a Gazan man.

"The clip has travel for Iran to thatch the Israeli concern authorities a lesson," said another, Taysseir Mohaissan.