Israeli army kills 44 more Palestinians, mostly aid seekers, in fresh Gaza attacks

At least 44 more Palestinians were killed, many of them people seeking to get humanitarian aid, in fresh Israeli attacks in the war-torn Gaza Strip on Monday, the Health Ministry said.

A ministry statement said 20 people lost their lives and over 200 others were injured when Israeli forces opened fire on hundreds of people waiting near aid distribution points in central and southern Gaza.

The ministry said that 50 of the injured are in critical condition.

Two fishermen were also killed, and three others went missing after Israeli forces shelled fishing boats off the shore of Gaza City, a medical source told Anadolu.

Two more Palestinians were killed, and three others were wounded in two separate Israeli attacks in the same city, the source added.

An Israeli strike killed three more people in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, according to the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital.

Israeli forces shot and killed five Palestinians and wounded dozens more northwest of Gaza City as civilians gathered in anticipation of aid deliveries, medical sources told Anadolu.

Witnesses said crowds had gathered near Gaza City's northern entrance, expecting aid trucks to arrive via the Israeli-controlled Zikim border crossing.

An Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian woman in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City, while another person was killed in an artillery strike on the eastern outskirts of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to medical sources and witnesses.

Ten more Palestinians were reported killed in scattered Israeli strikes on eastern Khan Younis, the sources added.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 55,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.