War on Gaza: Israel has killed over 400 people waiting for aid in Gaza
Israeli forces have killed more than 400 Palestinians as they wait for aid deliveries, with 11 aid seekers killed on Tuesday in Gaza City, said the government media office in Gaza.
Residents of Gaza City, north of the besieged enclave, were waiting for aid around the Kuwait roundabout when they were targeted by tanks positioned in the area.
At least 25 people were also wounded in the attack, paramedics from al-Shifa Hospital told Al Jazeera.
The killings are the latest in a spate of attacks on civilians during attempted aid deliveries, even as the US pushes for more humanitarian assistance for the enclave. Over 100 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more wounded last week when Israeli forces fired at an aid convoy in Gaza City's al-Rasheed Street.
The incident has since been dubbed the "Flour Massacre", as residents of Gaza City were seeking flour and other food in an area that has been completely cut off from aid by Israeli forces.
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The Gaza government media office said in a statement on Tuesday that more than 400 people had died in such incidents.
"What the occupation army is doing in targeting citizens waiting for aid proves the falsity of all talk about attempts to alleviate the reality of suffering in the northern Gaza Strip, and confirms that the starvation policy is the title of the occupation’s current plan, in addition to the crimes of genocide and ethnic cleansing it is carrying out," said the statement.
More than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war on 7 October, while 70,000 have been wounded. The UN announced on Saturday that 80 percent of Gaza is now uninhabitable, while the hunger rate stands at 100 percent.
The UN and several aid agencies have repeatedly warned that Gaza is on the brink of famine, calling for Israel to allow in aid immediately.
At least 25 people have died from malnutrition and dehydration since the start of the war, including a 10-year-old child with cerebral palsy.
So far, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and France have coordinated with Israel to air-drop aid in different areas of the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The US last week carried out its first humanitarian aid airdrop in Gaza, with more than 30,000 meals parachuted in by three military planes. The operation was reportedly carried out jointly with Jordan's air force.
However several hungry people have been killed by aid packages falling on them.
Palestinians have said that air-dropped aid quantities are too small to deal with the needs of a starving population in Gaza.
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