Again, Israeli forces kill 14 in Gaza amid regional turnmoil

As Gaza reels from hunger and war, the search for food has become deadly.

Dozens of Palestinians have been shot and killed in recent weeks while attempting to access aid at food distribution points, according to humanitarian groups and eyewitnesses.

Hamas accused Israel on Thursday, June 19, 2025, of deliberately targeting hungry civilians, calling it part of a broader strategy to use starvation as a weapon in the ongoing conflict.

Israel strongly denies the accusation, maintaining that Hamas is the one obstructing aid, often looting supplies for its own purposes — a claim the militant group also rejects.

The violence has centered around the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) system, a food aid network launched on May 27 that has been the focal point of both relief and tragedy.

Humanitarian officials say that Palestinians are being forced to risk their lives by entering active combat zones just to receive a meal.

In a statement, UNICEF criticized the system, saying GHF was “making a desperate situation worse.”

The Red Cross added that the “vast majority” of patients brought to its Gaza field hospital during recent mass casualty events reported being injured while trying to access food near GHF sites.

Despite this, GHF claimed it has successfully distributed nearly three million meals across its three aid sites without incident — a figure contradicted by other accounts.

Witnesses and international rights observers say Israeli forces have fired on unarmed civilians without warning at multiple aid locations.

Israel, for its part, says troops only open fire to control dangerous crowds or prevent breaches into restricted military zones.

But growing evidence and testimonies suggest many of the shootings were unjustified.

The war, now in its ninth month, was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli government tallies.

Israel’s response — a prolonged and intense military campaign — has killed nearly 55,700 Palestinians, displaced more than 2 million residents, and brought Gaza to the brink of famine, according to Gaza’s health ministry and international aid groups.

As desperation deepens, so too does the risk: for many Gazans, seeking food is now a life-threatening act.

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook