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Gaza’s civil defence authority has stated that Israeli troops shot and killed at least 30 people and injured around 300 others as they waited for humanitarian aid in the northern part of the besieged territory on Wednesday.
According to spokesperson Mahmud Bassal, the incident occurred near Gaza City, where large crowds had gathered to collect aid. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, said his facility had received 35 bodies from the site of the shooting, which reportedly happened roughly three kilometres southwest of the Zikim aid crossing.
The Israeli military, however, denied knowledge of any casualties resulting from their actions in the area. The army acknowledged that people had surrounded aid trucks in the vicinity of Israeli forces and that troops fired warning shots in response to perceived threats, but insisted that the gunfire was not aimed at the crowd. An Israeli investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Earlier in the day, Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that 14 more people were killed in four separate incidents, three of which occurred near aid distribution points. In at least two of those, Israeli troops reportedly fired ‘warning shots’.
Due to restricted media access and the ongoing conflict, independent verification of casualty numbers and events remains challenging.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that despite a four-day implementation of daytime “tactical pauses” by Israeli forces to facilitate aid delivery, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. OCHA reported continuing deaths from hunger and malnutrition, alongside casualties near aid locations.
Israel began observing daily pauses in military activity in specific routes and urban areas to improve the flow of aid, following international pressure. Despite this, UN officials say the conditions remain inadequate to deliver the vast amount of assistance required.
The delivery of aid still depends on multiple Israeli approvals, safe routes, coordinated pauses in bombing, and access to critical border crossings such as Kerem Shalom. OCHA described how “desperate, hungry people” often unload the limited supplies themselves once the trucks make it through.
During the worsening food crisis, Jordan, the UAE, and the UK have conducted airdrops of food aid into Gaza. France has announced it will deliver 40 tonnes of humanitarian supplies starting Friday.
Despite these efforts, aid agencies stress that airlifts and limited daytime pauses are not sufficient substitutes for unrestricted humanitarian access and sustained relief operations.
The prospects for a ceasefire remain bleak after last week’s collapse of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel in Doha. Both Israeli and US delegations withdrew from the talks, stalling discussions on a potential truce and hostage deal.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected in Israel on Thursday to discuss potential next steps. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that both countries were weighing “alternative options” to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza.
In a rare move, Arab nations including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have publicly urged Hamas to lay down its arms and relinquish its control of Gaza in an effort to bring the long-running Israeli destruction to an end. According to the Gaza health ministry, Israeli military bombardments have since killed over 60,000 people, most of them women and children.
