Officials say 85 Palestinians seeking aid are killed in Gaza

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — At least 85 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach food at locations across Gaza on Sunday, the territory's Health Ministry said, on the deadliest day yet for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war. There was new alarm as Israel's military issued evacuation orders for parts of central Gaza, one of the few areas where it has rarely operated with ground troops and where many international organizations trying to distribute aid are located. One group said several offices were told to evacuate immediately. There was no immediate Israeli comment. The largest death toll was in devastated northern Gaza, where living conditions are especially dire. At least 79 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel, Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Health Ministry's records department, told The Associated Press. The U.N. World Food Program said 25 trucks with aid had entered for "starving communities" when it encountered massive crowds. A U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to comment on the incident to the media, said Israeli forces opened fire toward crowds who tried to take food from the convoy. Footage taken by the U.N. and shared with the AP showed Palestinian men running as automatic gunfire was heard. "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 and said he hadn't eaten bread in 15 days. He spoke over the din of people carrying the dead and wounded. "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 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. It accused Hamas militants of creating chaos. More than 150 people were wounded, some in critical condition, hospitals said. Al-Waheidi said another six Palestinians were killed in the Shakoush area, hundreds of meters (yards) north of a hub of the recently created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.- and Israel-backed group, in the southern city of Rafah. Witnesses and health workers say several hundred people have been killed by Israeli fire while trying to access the group's aid distribution sites. 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. Evacuation orders cut road across Gaza The new evacuation orders cut access between the central city of Deir al-Balah and Rafah and Khan Younis in the narrow territory. The military also reiterated evacuation orders for northern Gaza. Palestinians were startled to see the orders for parts of Deir al-Balah, a relative haven. "All of Rafah is under evacuation, and now you have decided that half of Deir al-Balah is under evacuation. Where will we move to?" asked resident Hassan Abu Azab, as others piled everything from bedding to live ducks onto carts and other vehicles. Smoke rose in the distance, with blasts and the sound of a siren. The United Nations was in contact with Israeli authorities to clarify whether U.N. facilities in the southwestern part of Deir al-Balah are included in the order, according to a different 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 such orders. The Medical Aid for Palestinians group said several humanitarian organizations' offices and guesthouses had been "ordered to evacuate immediately" and nine clinics, including the MAP one, had been forced to shut down. It was not immediately clear what other groups were affected. Military spokesman Avichay Adraee called for people to head to Muwasi, a desolate tent camp with little infrastructure 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. 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. Palestinian death toll nears 59,000 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. Ambulances in front of three major hospitals in Gaza sounded their alarms simultaneously Sunday in an urgent appeal as hunger grows. The Health Ministry posted pictures on social media of doctors holding signs about malnourished children and the lack of medication. 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 over 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 order and demanded that Netanyahu and Israel's military explain what they hope to accomplish in central Gaza. "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.