ISRAELI attacks have killed at least 83 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip amid a deepening Israel-induced hunger crisis, medical sources have told Al Jazeera, as hospitals in the besieged territory have recorded eight more deaths from starvation and malnutrition.
Among those killed on Tuesday were 58 aid seekers, who were shot by Israeli forces as they approached aid distribution sites operated by the United States- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said the “same exact scenario plays out in Gaza every single day” since GHF distribution sites began operating in May.
“Palestinians are approaching these distribution sites, waiting for food, but the Israeli forces are opening fire,” Khoudary said.
She quoted sources at al-Shifa Hospital as saying that the number of injured people transferred from the distribution point near northern Gaza’s Zikim crossing “is very large”.
“Injuries are coming with bullets in parts of their bodies that are very hard to treat, including their heads, necks and also their chests,” Khoudary said. “The cycle of violence is the same in all three distribution locations.”
The United Nations and other humanitarian organisations have heavily criticised the GHF for failing to provide enough aid and the dire security situation at and around its aid distribution sites.
So far, more than 1,560 Palestinians seeking aid have been killed by Israeli forces while trying to receive food amid the Israeli-induced starvation crisis.
The attacks come as aid agencies and health officials warn of a sharp rise in starvation, particularly among children and the elderly.
Salim Asfour, 75, told Al Jazeera he had been living off nothing but bread and water for months and had dropped from 80kg (176 pounds) to 40kg (88 pounds) since the start of the war.
“My son needs to help me walk to the bathroom,” he said. “How will I go get the food aid from Rafah. How will I walk 20km (12 miles)?”
