At least 73 people were killed in Gaza on Sunday, most while attempting to access humanitarian aid near Gaza City, according to Hamas’s health ministry. Israel has challenged the reported death toll.
The deadliest incident occurred in northern Gaza, where 67 Palestinians were allegedly shot while approaching aid trucks entering via the Zikim Crossing. Six others were reportedly killed in the south.
It remained unclear whether the fatalities were caused by Israeli forces, armed groups, or both. Some eyewitnesses, however, reported that Israeli troops fired on the crowd.
In response, the IDF stated it had fired “warning shots to remove an immediate threat posed to the troops” in northern Gaza but rejected claims of a high death toll, saying the “reported number of casualties does not align with the existing information.”
The Israeli military has been linked to frequent shooting incidents near aid distribution zones in recent months.
According to hospitals cited by the Associated Press, over 150 individuals were injured on Sunday, some critically.
The deadly incident in northern Gaza did not occur near food distribution sites managed by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Following the reports, the GHF stressed that the shooting took place near a UN aid convoy, rather than near any of their distribution hubs, which have seen hundreds of people killed in recent months by Israeli fire while trying to access the sites, according to witnesses and health workers.
“Like most violent incidents, this incident is not linked to GHF, despite what was falsely implied by Al Jazeera,” the group insisted, adding that it hoped “reporters will cover these incidents with the same scrutiny GHF receives.”
IDF strikes commanders of Hamas-linked terror group
On Sunday, the Mujahideen Brigades announced that two of its senior members were killed in an Israeli airstrike a day earlier in Khan Younis, located in southern Gaza.
The Mujahideen Brigades is a relatively small militant faction allied with Hamas. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the group was behind the abduction and killing of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Ariel and Kfir; Gadi Haggai and Judih Weinstein; and Thai national Nattapong Pinta.
The group said the airstrike killed Azmi Mohammed Qdeih, its Gaza City commander, and Raed al-Saqa, who oversaw operations in southern Gaza. Several of their family members were also reportedly killed in the strike.
The IDF has not issued an official statement on the airstrike.
In June, the group’s leader and another senior member were killed in a separate Israeli airstrike. Another operative linked to the burial of hostages’ bodies was also killed in a separate strike that month.
Meanwhile, the IDF has renewed evacuation orders for all of northern Gaza and parts of Gaza City, as it continues its military campaign against Hamas in the region.
In a statement, IDF Arabic-language spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee warned that several areas in northern Gaza — including Beit Lahia, Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, Shejaiya, Daraj, the Old City, Tuffah, and Zeitoun — are “dangerous combat zones.” He cautioned residents and returnees, saying, “The Israel Defense Forces are operating in these areas with very great force.”
Currently, three IDF divisions are active in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, with a focus on Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and eastern neighborhoods of Gaza City.
Earlier on Sunday, the IDF announced it would launch ground operations in Deir al-Balah for the first time since the conflict began, and issued evacuation orders for Palestinians in the southwestern section of the central Gaza city.
Deir al-Balah had previously remained free of IDF ground operations, as the military believed Hamas was holding hostages in the area. Although the city has been targeted by airstrikes, ground forces had not entered until now. Hamas has threatened to execute hostages if IDF forces advance into the area.
