Israeli forces and drones killed scores of Palestinians on Tuesday, June 24, in the latest wave of attacks on people seeking food and humanitarian aid at distribution sites across the Gaza Strip. Health workers and local witnesses said the death toll may have reached 50 in one day, with more than 140 others wounded — 62 critically.

Targeted While Seeking Food

The attacks focused on distribution centers managed by the Israeli and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has drawn sharp criticism from UN agencies. One of the deadliest incidents occurred on Salah al-Din Street, where at least 25 people were reportedly killed and dozens injured. Hospitals across Gaza, including al-Awda, al-Shifa, and Nasser Medical Complex, were overwhelmed by casualties.

“It was a massacre,” said Gaza resident Ahmed Halawa, who witnessed tanks and drones firing “even as we were fleeing.”

UN: Aid Distribution a "Death Trap"

Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, condemned the GHF operation as “an abomination” that degrades desperate people and functions as “a death trap costing more lives than it saves.” The United Nations has refused to participate in GHF-led aid distributions due to what it calls the “weaponisation” of aid and the prioritization of military control over humanitarian need.

Humanitarian groups estimate more than 400 civilians have been killed and over 1,000 wounded at or near GHF sites since late May, when the foundation began distributing food after Israel's two-month-long aid blockade.

Legal Experts Warn of War Crimes

The International Commission of Jurists and 14 other human rights organizations have called for an end to “private militarized humanitarian aid operations.” TRIAL International Executive Director Philip Grant warned that those profiting from the GHF’s operations face a “real risk of prosecution for complicity in war crimes,” including forcible civilian transfer and starvation as a method of warfare.