Middle East tensions: 25 Palestinians killed waiting for aid after Israeli forces open fired on crowd; dozens injured

At least 25 people were killed in central Gaza early Tuesday after Israeli forces launched drones and open fired on crowds waiting for aid trucks, according to Palestinian witnesses and hospitals.

The attack happened on Salah al-Din Road near the Nuseirat refugee camp. Many others were injured, with dozens in critical condition. They were admitted to the Awda hospital.

Witnesses described the scene as chaotic and said the shooting continued even as people tried to run away, as reported by the news agency AP.


Recalling the incident, one of the eyewitnesses, Ahmed Halawa, said, “It was a massacre." He noted that tanks and drones fired at people even as they were trying to escape. Many were either killed or wounded.

Hossam Abu Shahada, another eyewitness, said drones were flying over the area, monitoring the crowds before gunfire erupted from tanks and drones as people moved eastward. He described the scene as “chaotic and bloody” as people tried to flee. He saw at least three people lying motionless on the ground and many others wounded as he escaped.

The Awda Hospital reported that around 146 Palestinians were wounded in the incident. Among them, 62 were in critical condition and were transferred to other hospitals in central Gaza.

In the central town of Deir al-Balah, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said it received the bodies of six people killed in the same incident.

These deaths are the latest in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which has claimed about 56,000 Palestinian lives, according to the Gaza's health ministry.

The ministry has not distinguished between civilians and combatants but says more than half of the dead were women and children.

Most of the hostages were released by ceasefire agreements.