"They Just Wanted to Eat" – The Deadliest Day for the Starving in Gaza Since the Beginning of the War - This Crosses Every Boundary of Human Ethics

It was a Sunday like so many others: marked by hardship, by hope, by the instinctive drive to survive. In the streets of northern Gaza, amid ruins, dust, and burnt-out vehicles, a crowd had gathered. Dozens, hundreds of Palestinians pressed toward a United Nations convoy – 25 trucks carrying the most valuable goods left in this besieged world: bread, rice, lentils, water. The people had nothing. And they wanted nothing more than a few kilos of life. Then the shooting began. On Monday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) issued serious accusations: Israeli tanks, snipers, and other armed units allegedly opened fire on the waiting crowd. Reports speak of "numerous deaths," of "merciless violence against the starving," of a breach of all assurances meant to protect humanitarian corridors. At least 80 people were reported dead by the Gaza Health Ministry. According to several sources, it was one of the deadliest days for civilians in search of food since the war began over 21 months ago.

A photographer we are personally acquainted with, who also works for Gulf News among others, counted 31 bodies at Shifa Hospital alone. Another 20 lay in the courtyard of Sheikh Radwan Clinic. Among them were children. Among them were men who had stood in line. Among them were women with empty bags. "These people were simply trying to get some food to save themselves and their families from starving," the World Food Programme stated. The convoys were reportedly traveling under express assurances from Israel – it had been promised that no armed forces would be present or interfere along the route. But Sunday painted a different picture. The WFP spoke of a "massive breach of trust" and demanded: "Shootings near humanitarian missions, convoys, and food distributions must stop immediately." Israel, by contrast, responded vaguely. Army spokesperson Nadav Shoshani wrote on X that soldiers had been ordered: "Do not shoot." An attached video shows soldiers standing next to a truck, one of them shouting repeatedly: "Do not shoot!" Whether the video is authentic and connected to the incident remains unclear. International media still have no access to the Gaza Strip – independent verification is nearly impossible.

But the pattern repeats. In recent days, multiple Palestinians have been killed while approaching new distribution centers run by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – a system supported by the US and Israel that is increasingly replacing traditional UN agencies. The violence is escalating, coordination is collapsing. Those seeking food are risking their lives. The war, which began on October 7, 2023, with the terrorist attack by Hamas, has long since turned into an open campaign. Over 59,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than half of them women and children. The figures come from authorities under Hamas, but due to the lack of alternative structures, they are considered reliable even by the UN. Israel does not publicly distinguish between militants and civilians, but regularly points to Hamas’s use of civilian infrastructure. This was also the case on Monday, after an airstrike in the Muwasi area near Khan Younis again killed civilians – a tent camp was hit, including a family with two children. At the same time, the Israeli military is expanding its evacuation orders – even in regions that had previously been relatively spared. A new battleground appears to be forming, Palestinians are being squeezed into ever smaller areas, while aid deliveries fail to meet demand – and have now become a deadly risk themselves.

Again on Monday morning, shots were fired at people waiting in line – this time in the area of the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza. According to Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of Shifa Hospital, at least two people were shot dead. Once again, they were civilians, once again, they were waiting for food. The Israeli army did not comment on the incidents. In parallel, Israel is continuing its attacks outside of Gaza. On Monday morning, the port of Hodeidah in western Yemen was bombed – according to Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, this was a retaliatory strike against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who continue to fire rockets at Israel. It was not the first strike on the port – according to Israel, it serves the Houthis as a supply point for weapons from Iran. While diplomacy stalls – delegations for ceasefire negotiations were again in Qatar recently – the cycle of violence continues unchecked. President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu are expected to meet in person soon. What will come of it remains to be seen. The desperation of the people in Gaza, however, is tangible. Eleven-year-old Abdullah al-Rantisi, whose lifeless body was identified by relatives on Monday, had worn no uniform, fired no rocket, issued no threat. He was a child. He died in Deir al-Balah in a bombing. His family carried him silently, wrapped in a white cloth, through the wreckage of their world. What remains is a sentence spoken by a mother at the edge of the hospital, quiet, disbelieving, furious: "They shot at us because we wanted to eat."

The violence did not subside. At least 27 more people were killed on Monday in Israeli attacks on Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities. Among the dead were once again civilians, who had been waiting near GHF distribution sites. As the frontlines harden, resistance is growing across the world against what many now describe as the systematic extermination of the Palestinian civilian population. In numerous countries across the Muslim world – including Tunisia, Iraq, Turkey, Morocco, Lebanon, and the occupied West Bank – thousands once again took to the streets. Israeli flags were burned in Ramallah, while demonstrators in Tunis called for a total boycott of all Israeli products. The central demand everywhere: an end to the siege of Gaza. According to current reports, Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip has claimed the lives of at least 59,029 people since October 2023, with another 142,135 injured. The numbers continue to rise with each passing day. These are the figures of a war that has long since lost all proportion – and whose victims are increasingly denied even a name. And so, after a second deadly day in a row, a devastating conclusion remains: in Gaza, those who want to survive must overcome not only hunger. But also those who guard the food with bullets.

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