The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem confirmed that Israeli forces have killed more than 2.500 Palestinians in recent months while they were trying to access food aid in northern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people are trapped amid acute famine.
The group released a video from the Zikim crossing, the only entry point through which aid could reach northern Gaza until its closure on September 12th. According to B’Tselem, civilians walked for hours in a desperate search for food and encountered Israeli attacks.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes of people running toward aid trucks while under attack.
Many were killed and injured, and rescue teams could not reach them.
Among the victims was Ahmad Abu Rukbah. His brother Talal told B’Tselem that after hours of waiting near Zikim, they finally managed to get a sack of flour. On the way back, heavy gunfire broke out again, hitting Ahmad in the chest. Talal said he tried to stop the bleeding with a shirt, but Ahmad died immediately.
B’Tselem said that since May, more than 2.500 Palestinians have been killed and more than 18.500 injured while trying to reach aid convoys. The human rights group accused Israel of using hunger as a weapon as part of ongoing attacks in Gaza.
In July, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, citing the systematic destruction of Palestinian society and the deliberate dismantling of the enclave’s health system.
Since October 2023, the Israeli military has killed more than 65.500 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children. The relentless bombardment has made the enclave uninhabitable and led to famine and the spread of disease.
