Officials say 73 Palestinians seeking aid are killed in Gaza as Israel widens its evacuation orders

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) – At least 73 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid at locations across Gaza on Sunday, the territory’s Health Ministry said, in one of the deadliest days yet for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war.

There was new alarm as Israel’s military issued evacuation orders for areas of central Gaza, one of the few areas where it has rarely operated with ground troops and where many international organizations attempting to distribute aid are located.

The largest toll was in northern Gaza, where at least 67 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel, according to the Health Ministry and local hospitals. The U.N. World Food Program said 25 trucks with aid had entered for “starving communities” when it encountered massive crowds that came under gunfire. It called violence against aid-seekers “completely unacceptable.”

Some witnesses said Israel’s military shot at the crowd.

“Suddenly, tanks surrounded us and trapped us as gunshots and strikes rained down. We were trapped for around two hours,” said Ehab Al-Zei, who had been waiting for flour. “I will never go back again. Let us die of hunger, it’s better.”

Nafiz Al-Najjar, who was injured, said tanks and drones targeted people “randomly” and he saw his cousin and others shot dead.

Israel’s military said soldiers had shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat, and it was aware of some casualties. But it said the numbers reported by officials in Gaza were far higher than its initial investigation found.

The military said it was attempting to facilitate the entry of aid, and accused Hamas militants of creating chaos and endangering civilians.

More than 150 people were wounded overall, with some in critical condition, hospitals said. Separately, seven Palestinians were killed while sheltering in tents in Khan Younis in the south, including a 5-year-old boy, according to the Kuwait Specialized Field Hospital, which received the casualties.

The killings in northern Gaza didn’t take place near aid distribution points associated with the recently created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.- and Israel-backed group. Witnesses and health workers say hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli fire while trying to access the group’s aid distribution sites.

The new evacuation orders cut access between the central city of Deir al-Balah and the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis in the narrow territory. The military also reiterated evacuation orders for northern Gaza.

The United Nations has been in contact with Israeli authorities to clarify whether U.N. facilities in the southwestern part of Deir al-Balah are included in the evacuation order, according to a U.N. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media. The official said that in previous instances, U.N. facilities were spared from evacuation orders.

The latest order covers an area stretching from a previously evacuated area all the way to the Mediterranean coast and will severely hamper movement for aid groups and civilians in Gaza.

Military spokesman Avichay Adraee called for people to head to the Muwasi area, a desolate tent camp on Gaza’s southern coast that Israel’s military has designated a humanitarian zone.

The announcement came as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that expanding Israel’s military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas in negotiations.

Earlier this month, Israel’s military said it controlled more than 65% of Gaza.

Gaza’s population of more than 2 million Palestinians are in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, now relying largely on the limited aid allowed into the territory. Many people have been displaced multiple times.

Hamas triggered the war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty remain in Gaza, but fewer than half are thought to be alive.

Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 58,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many militants have been killed but says more than half of the dead have been women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

The Hostages Family Forum, a grassroots organization that represents many families of hostages, condemned the new evacuation announcement and demanded that Netanyahu and Israel’s military explain what they hope to accomplish in central Gaza, accusing Israel of operating without a clear plan.

“Enough! The Israeli people overwhelmingly want an end to the fighting and a comprehensive agreement that will return all of the hostages,” the forum said. On Saturday night, during a weekly protest, tens of thousands marched in Tel Aviv to the branch of the U.S. Embassy, demanding an end to the war.

Ambulances in front of three major hospitals in Gaza sounded their alarms simultaneously Sunday morning in an urgent appeal as the hunger crisis grows. The Health Ministry posted pictures on social media of doctors holding signs about malnourished children and the lack of medication.

A ministry spokesperson, Zaher al-Wahidi, said at least nine children under 5 years old have died of malnutrition since Israel imposed a blockade on the entry of aid in March. The blockade was partially eased in May.

He said tracking malnutrition deaths is difficult because some people might be suffering from other medical conditions that could be compounded with severe hunger.

In northern Gaza, Shifa Hospital director Abu Selmiyah said the hospital recorded 79 people who died of malnutrition in the past month.