CITIZENS NEWS

Israeli tanks massacre 59 starving Palestinians seeking food aid in Gaza, medics report

By isabelle // 2025-06-18

• Israeli forces killed at least 59 Palestinians and wounded over 200 in Khan Younis as they sought food aid, marking the deadliest single-day toll since aid resumed in May.
• Witnesses described Israeli tanks shelling crowds near aid trucks, turning a humanitarian effort into a massacre, with victims including children and families desperate for food.
• Gaza’s overwhelmed hospitals struggled to treat the wounded, many transported in makeshift vehicles, as social media footage showed bodies strewn across streets.
• Israel’s military issued a hollow statement of regret while justifying the attack, continuing a pattern of targeting civilians seeking aid, a clear war crime under international law.
• The UN condemns Israel’s blockade and aid restrictions, accusing it of weaponizing starvation, while global inaction enables ongoing atrocities against Palestinians.

In yet another horrific display of unchecked brutality, Israeli occupation forces opened fire on a starving crowd of Palestinians in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Tuesday, slaughtering at least 59 innocent civilians and wounding over 200 as they desperately sought food aid. Witnesses described Israeli tanks firing shells directly into a throng of thousands gathered near aid trucks along the main eastern road, turning what should have been a lifeline into a killing field. The Israeli military, notorious for its disregard for Palestinian lives, issued a hollow statement acknowledging the massacre while feigning regret—a tactic long used to whitewash war crimes. This latest atrocity marks the deadliest single-day toll since aid distribution resumed in May, exposing the genocidal cruelty of a regime that starves civilians before gunning them down.

A scene of carnage and suffering

Eyewitness accounts paint a gruesome picture of deliberate slaughter. "All of a sudden, they let us move forward and made everyone gather, and then shells started falling, tank shells," said Alaa, a survivor interviewed at Nasser Hospital, where the wounded lay strewn across floors and corridors due to severe overcrowding. "No one is looking at these people with mercy. The people are dying, they are being torn apart, to get food for their children. Look at these people, all these people are torn to get flour to feed their children." The sheer scale of the massacre overwhelmed Gaza’s decimated healthcare system, with victims transported in civilian cars, rickshaws, and even donkey carts. Medics confirmed there were at least 221 wounded and 20 in critical condition, while the overall death toll climbed to 73 as Israeli gunfire and airstrikes continued across the besieged enclave. Social media footage showed mangled bodies littering the streets, a grotesque testament to Israel’s relentless campaign of collective punishment.

Israel’s empty "regret" and blatant war crimes

The Israeli military’s statement—dripping with disingenuous remorse—claimed it was "reviewing" the incident while regurgitating the same tired excuse of "troop safety." "The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals," the statement read, as if mass slaughter could ever be an accident. But this was far from an isolated tragedy. Since late May, at least 397 Palestinians have been killed and over 3,000 wounded while attempting to access food aid, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. This systematic targeting of civilians violates international law, constituting a clear war crime under the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit attacks on unarmed populations and the obstruction of humanitarian aid. The United Nations has repeatedly condemned Israel’s blockade and its deadly aid distribution scheme, which funnels supplies through the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)—a U.S.- and Israeli-backed entity that operates under military supervision. The UN rejects the GHF as a violation of humanitarian impartiality, arguing it prioritizes Israeli security over Palestinian survival. Unsurprisingly, the GHF denied responsibility for Tuesday’s massacre, claiming it occurred near a World Food Programme site instead. But the distinction is meaningless when Israel controls all access points and enforces a policy of starvation by design. The Khan Younis massacre is a reminder of Israel’s barbarity and the West’s complicity. While the U.S. bankrolls this genocide, Palestinians are left to die in the streets for a bag of flour. If this were any other nation, the world would demand justice. But for Palestinians, such atrocities are met with empty condemnations and shrugged shoulders. Sources for this article include: FreeWestMedia.com AlJazeera.com ABC.net.au

Israel violence genocide twisted aid chaos WWIII demonic humanitarian aid outrage Gaza