Hospitals in Gaza reported the deaths of at least 18 Palestinians, including eight seeking food aid, due to Israeli gunfire and airstrikes on Saturday, intensifying the dire humanitarian crisis in the war-torn enclave. The violence occurred near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution site, where Yahia Youssef, an aid seeker, described a harrowing scene of panic as he helped evacuate three gunshot victims while others lay bleeding. “It’s the same daily episode,” Youssef told the Associated Press, highlighting the recurring danger faced by starving Palestinians amid Israel’s 22-month military offensive against Hamas.
The GHF, a US- and Israeli-backed contractor, denied any incidents occurred at or near its sites, despite multiple eyewitness accounts of violence near its northernmost distribution point in the Netzarim corridor. Abed Salah, another aid seeker, insisted, “We weren’t close to the troops and there was no threat,” claiming he narrowly escaped death. The Israeli military stated it fired only warning shots to deter crowds approaching its forces, though it acknowledged efforts to improve safety along aid routes following a UN report documenting 859 deaths near GHF sites from May 27 to July 31, 2025.
Saturday’s casualties included five killed in two separate strikes on tents housing displaced families in Khan Younis, including two brothers and a relative, and a mother and daughter near a closed prison. Another strike in the Zawaida-Deir al-Balah area killed a family of five, while five others died near the Morag corridor in Rafah, according to Gaza’s health ministry and emergency services. The ministry, operated under Hamas but considered reliable by the UN, reports over 60,000 Palestinian deaths since the war began on October 7, 2023, following a Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and abducted 251 hostages.
Also Read: Chaos in Gaza: Dozens Killed in Aid Rush
International hunger experts have labeled Gaza’s situation a “worst-case scenario of famine,” exacerbated by Israel’s restrictions on overland aid, forcing reliance on inefficient airdrops. A Jordan-led coalition, now joined by European nations, has expanded airdrop efforts, but Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, criticized their inadequacy on X, urging the reopening of road crossings. The UN reported 1,383 aid seekers killed since late May, underscoring the lethal risks of accessing food in Gaza’s chaotic environment.
Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, families of Israeli hostages protested at Hostages Square, demanding immediate action to secure the release of approximately 20 living hostages still held in Gaza. The demonstrations followed the release of distressing videos by Hamas and Islamic Jihad showing emaciated captives, including 21-year-old Rom Braslavski. His mother, Tami Braslavski, publicly condemned Israeli officials, stating, “They broke my child, I want him home now.” US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who visited a GHF site in Rafah on Friday with US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, joined the protesters, reaffirming commitments to negotiate despite stalled ceasefire talks in Qatar. Witkoff’s visit came amid global outrage over Gaza’s starvation crisis and accusations of Hamas’s intransigence in negotiations.
The Hostages Family Forum, led by Chief Strategy Officer Lior Chorev, called for a comprehensive deal to end the war and free all captives, urging, “Stop this nightmare and bring them out of the tunnels.” With ceasefire talks faltering and Gaza’s humanitarian conditions deteriorating, international pressure mounts on Israel to address both the hostage crisis and the escalating famine threatening over two million Palestinians.
Also Read: Trump’s Gaza Food Centers Plan Ignites Controversy