Israel Kills 73 Aid Seekers in Gaza, Issues Evacuation Order

Palestinians gather as they carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, amid a hunger crisis, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip July 20, 2025.

At least 88 people, including 73 Palestinians seeking food aid, were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Sunday, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Israel also issued fresh evacuation orders for parts of central Gaza, prompting many displaced residents to flee again.

Health officials said 67 people were killed while waiting for UN aid trucks in northern Gaza, while six others died near another aid distribution site in the south. Dozens more were injured in the northern incident, one of the deadliest among repeated attacks on aid-seekers. Over 900 people seeking aid have reportedly been killed since May.

The latest deaths include a 35-day-old baby and another person who died from malnutrition at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital.

Israel’s military said its troops fired warning shots at large crowds in northern Gaza to remove what it claimed was “an immediate threat”. It argued that casualty numbers appeared inflated and insisted it does not deliberately target humanitarian aid trucks. The military offered no immediate comment on the southern attack.

In central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, residents reported airstrikes after Israel dropped evacuation leaflets. Israeli forces claimed they had avoided entering the area due to concerns that Hamas might be holding hostages there. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages are believed to still be alive.

Families of the hostages criticised the military’s actions, demanding reassurances that their loved ones would not be harmed.

Meanwhile, starvation is spreading across Gaza. Health officials warned that hundreds could soon die as hospitals fill with patients suffering from malnutrition and dehydration due to dwindling food supplies.

“We warn that hundreds of people whose bodies have wasted away are at risk of imminent death due to hunger,” Gaza’s health ministry said.

The UN also reported worsening starvation, calling for urgent humanitarian aid. Residents said essential food items like flour were impossible to find. At least 71 children have died from malnutrition since the war began, with 18 deaths from hunger reported in just the past 24 hours.

With food prices soaring beyond the reach of most people, many Gazans said they were surviving on one meal a day, or none. “People who didn’t die of bombs will die of hunger,” said one father, who called for an immediate ceasefire.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, urged Israel to allow more aid trucks into Gaza, saying it has supplies for the population but cannot deliver them.

Israel’s military said it was working to facilitate aid entry with international partners, calling it “a matter of utmost importance”.

Some analysts suggested the evacuation order for Deir al-Balah could be intended to pressure Hamas during indirect truce talks underway in Doha. However, no progress in ceasefire negotiations has been reported.

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages. Israel’s military offensive has since killed over 58,000 Palestinians, displaced nearly the entire population, and created a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza.