DEIR EL-BALAH – The U.N. food agency accused Israel of using tanks, snipers and other weapons to fire on a crowd of Palestinians seeking food aid, in what the territory’s Health Ministry said was one of the deadliest days for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war.

The World Food Program in a statement Sunday condemned the violence that erupted in northern Gaza as Palestinians tried to reach a convoy of trucks carrying food. The Health Ministry in Gaza said at least 80 people were killed in the incident. The Israeli military has said it fired warning shots “to remove an immediate threat,” but has questioned the death toll reported by the Palestinians.

The accusation by a major aid agency that has had generally good working relations with Israel builds on descriptions by witnesses and others, who also said Israel opened fire on the crowd.

The bloodshed surrounding aid access highlights the increasingly precarious situation for people in Gaza who have been desperately seeking out food and other assistance, as the war that has roiled the region shows no signs of ending. Israel and Hamas are still engaged in ceasefire talks, but there appears to be no breakthrough and it’s not clear whether any truce would bring the war to a lasting halt.

As the talks proceed, the death toll in the war-ravaged territory has climbed to more than 58,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians but the ministry says more than half of the dead are 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.

Israel has meanwhile widened its evacuation orders for the territory to include an area that has been somewhat less hard-hit than others, indicating a new battleground may be opening up and squeezing Palestinians into ever tinier stretches of Gaza.

WFP condemns violence at food distribution points

In northern Gaza on Sunday, the Health Ministry, witnesses and a U.N. official said Israeli forces opened fire toward crowds who tried to get food from a 25-truck convoy that had entered the hard-hit area.

The WFP statement, which said the crowd surrounding its convoy “came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire,” backs up those claims. The statement did not specify a death toll, saying only the incident resulted in the loss of “countless lives.”

“These people were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation,” it said, adding that the incident occurred despite assurances from Israeli authorities that aid delivery would improve. “Shootings near humanitarian missions, convoys and food distributions must stop immediately.”

Sunday’s incident comes as Palestinian access to aid in the territory has been greatly diminished, and seeking that aid has become perilous. A U.S.- and Israeli-backed aid system that has wrested some aid delivery from traditional providers like the U.N. has been wracked by violence and chaos as Palestinians heading toward its aid distribution sides have come under fire. The group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, had said that the majority of the reported violence has not occurred at its sites.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the WFP’s claims. Israel has not allowed international media to enter Gaza throughout the war, and the competing claims could not be independently verified.

Violence rages on in Gaza

Gaza health officials said Monday at least 13 people, including two women and five children, were killed in Israeli strikes since the previous night.

At least two people were killed Monday morning when crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks were shot at in the area of Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, according to Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza city where the dead were taken. He said Israeli forces had opened fire.

An Israeli strike overnight hit a tent in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis, killing at least five people, according to the Health Ministry. The dead include two parents, two of their children and a relative, it said.

Other strikes hit tents in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis and a residential building in Gaza City, according to health officials.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the various strikes. It blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the group operates from populated areas.

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 again struck rebels in Yemen

The fighting in Gaza has triggered conflicts elsewhere in region, including between Israel and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have fired missiles and drones at Israel in what they say is in solidarity with Palestinians.

The Israeli military said it struck the Hodeidah port in Yemen on Monday morning, saying that the Houthis were rebuilding the port infrastructure. Israel said the Houthis used the port to receive weapons from Iran and launch missiles towards Israel. The Israeli military said it targeted the parts of the port used by the Houthis and accused the Houthis of using civilian infrastructure for militant purposes.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the targets included areas of the port that Israel had destroyed in previous strikes. “The Houthis will pay heavy prices for launching missiles towards the state of Israel,” Katz said. Israel last struck Hodeidah port two weeks ago.

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Magdy reported from Cairo and Lidman from Jerusalem.

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