RAFAH, Gaza Strip (BN24) — At least 45 Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Saturday in a series of Israeli airstrikes and gunfire, including at a key aid distribution site operated by the U.S.-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to local medical personnel and health authorities.
Doctors at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals, which received the bulk of the casualties, said at least 15 of the dead were fatally shot while approaching the GHF’s distribution point near the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza. The Israeli military acknowledged opening fire during the incident, claiming that aircraft had “neutralized a threat” after a person advanced toward Israeli forces and ignored warning shots.
The GHF, which began limited aid operations at the end of May after Israel eased a months-long blockade, denied it was conducting any distribution on Saturday. “None of our distribution sites were open today, and there were no incidents at our sites because they were closed,” the group said in a written response to Reuters.
The latest deaths add to a mounting toll surrounding humanitarian operations in Gaza. According to the Gaza health ministry, at least 274 people have been killed and more than 2,000 injured near food distribution sites since the GHF began operations.
The United Nations has condemned the Israeli-backed aid corridor system, calling it inadequate, dangerous, and inconsistent with principles of humanitarian neutrality. Aid workers and rights groups have accused Israel of turning food relief points into high-risk areas for civilians.
Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip and is locked in a prolonged conflict with Israel, accused Israeli forces of “using hunger as a weapon of war and transforming aid sites into mass-death traps for innocent civilians.” The group denies Israeli claims that it steals humanitarian aid.
Separately, health officials at Shifa Hospital reported that 12 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire while waiting along Gaza’s coastal road for the arrival of aid trucks.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has ordered mass evacuations in southern Gaza. Residents in Khan Younis, Abassan, and Bani Suhaila were told to move west toward what Israel calls a “humanitarian zone.” The Israeli army warned of imminent operations against “terror organizations” in the area.
The Saturday casualties come nearly 20 months after the Gaza war erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages—marking the deadliest single day in Israel’s history.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has since claimed the lives of nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Most of the dead are believed to be civilians. The offensive has also reduced large parts of the densely populated strip to rubble, displacing the majority of its over two million residents and fueling a hunger crisis.
Despite ongoing mediation efforts led by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, attempts to broker a ceasefire remain deadlocked. Both Israel and Hamas continue to blame each other for the breakdown in negotiations, and neither side appears prepared to compromise on core demands.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to deepen amid the breakdown in talks, as international aid groups struggle to operate in what they describe as increasingly perilous conditions.
