Israeli Tank Shelling Slaughters Dozens Awaiting Aid in Gaza
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – At least 51 Palestinians were killed and over 200 wounded on Tuesday after Israeli tanks opened fire on crowds awaiting humanitarian aid in Khan Younis, Gaza’s health ministry said, marking yet another massacre of civilians amid a mounting humanitarian catastrophe.
Israeli tank shells struck groups of Palestinians gathered along a main road in eastern Khan Younis, where they were waiting for desperately needed aid, medics reported.
At least 51 people were confirmed dead, with more than 200 injured, including at least 20 in critical condition.
There was no immediate response from the Israeli military.
Eyewitnesses said Israeli tanks fired at least two shells into a crowd of thousands.
At Nasser Hospital, overwhelmed medical staff were forced to treat patients on the floor and in hallways due to the flood of casualties.
The assault is the latest in a string of daily attacks on starving Palestinians seeking food, including near sites managed by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
On Monday, at least 23 people were killed by Israeli gunfire as they approached a GHF food distribution site in Rafah, according to local health officials.
While the GHF claimed in a Monday statement that it had distributed over three million meals without incident, the deaths continue to mount.
Israel did not comment on the Monday shooting, as in past attacks where it blamed militants for sparking violence, despite its own troops being present.
Israel has outsourced much of the aid distribution inside Gaza to the GHF, whose operations are carried out under Israeli military oversight.
The United Nations has rejected this approach, calling it inadequate, unsafe, and in violation of humanitarian neutrality.
Since Israel launched its brutal war on Gaza, over 55,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The offensive has displaced nearly the entire population of Gaza and pushed the region into a severe hunger crisis.
Accusations of genocide have been brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice, alongside war crimes allegations at the International Criminal Court.
The Israeli campaign continues as Gaza’s residents watch Israel's escalating confrontation with Iran.
On Friday, Israel launched major strikes, prompting missile retaliation from Iran.
Images of devastation in Israeli cities circulated widely among Palestinians in Gaza, who expressed a grim satisfaction in witnessing Tel Aviv experience the kind of destruction they endure daily.
“We live these scenes and pain daily. We are very happy that we saw the day when we saw rubble in Tel Aviv,” said Saad Saad, a Gaza resident.
“They are trying to get out from under the rubble and the houses that were destroyed on top of their residents,” he added.
