Desperate Palestinians rushing to aid trucks to collect food in central Gaza were forced to flee after Israeli troops opened fire on them, amid a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the enclave.
Footage verified by Tel Aviv Tribune shows hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza City, in the central part of the besieged enclave, running to get food items delivered by the United Nations in crates on the back of trucks while bullets are fired.
“Desperate and hungry Palestinians are running out of options. Under fire from Israeli gunmen, they risk their lives to reach one of the few aid trucks entering Gaza City,” said Tel Aviv Tribune’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, speaking from Rafah in southern Gaza.
A Palestinian speaking to Tel Aviv Tribune said people did not have basic living conditions.
“They came here to find something, at least flour. People put their lives and themselves in danger over small things regarding their family. We are below zero, there is nothing, I assure you people will die of hunger,” the Palestinian said.
“Now people go to the trash to find something to eat.”
Israeli gunboats fire on Palestinian fishing boats
Footage also showed how Israeli gunboats opened fire on small Palestinian boats attempting to fish off the coast of Gaza, as dozens of people watched from land.
“Under the Israeli blockade (before the war), Palestinians could fish up to 37 km (23 miles) from the sea, but not anymore,” Abu Azzoum said.
This threatens a vital source of food in the enclave where only a limited number of aid trucks have been allowed to enter by Israel, which the United Nations says is far too small to meet urgent needs.
The UN has warned of a famine-like situation in the Gaza Strip, which is worsening by the day and affecting most of the 2.3 million Palestinians living there.
Desperation is also growing in the Jabalia refugee camp, north of Gaza, where flour mills are at a standstill.
“There is no wheat. The price of a bag of wheat today reaches more than 3,000 shekels, or more than $1,000,” said a Palestinian who operates a flour mill in the area.
Israel, which controls the entry points, has refused to allow more aid into Gaza despite international pressure, a United Nations Security Council resolution in December and interim rulings by the International Court of Justice.
His plan for a ground invasion of Rafah, which he describes as Hamas’s “last stronghold”, only promises to worsen the humanitarian situation.
Around 1.4 million Palestinians are in Rafah, where they have been displaced by previous Israeli attacks, some multiple times. Hundreds of people have begun fleeing Rafah in recent days as Israel remains adamant about its promise to attack despite international pressure.
Gantz warns of Rafah offensive
Talks between Israel and Hamas, mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, have so far failed to reach a ceasefire agreement that would also include an increase in aid flow to Gaza.
On Saturday, Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said progress toward a ceasefire was slowing as Israel prepared to invade Rafah.
“The trend of the last few days is not really very promising but… we will always remain optimistic and will always continue to press,” Al Thani, who is also Qatar’s foreign minister, said at the Conference. Munich on security.
Israeli War Minister Benny Gantz warned Sunday evening that if captives held in Gaza are not released in the coming weeks, Israel will expand its offensive in southern Gaza and move into the town of Rafah. More than 100 captives remain in Gaza and negotiations for their release have so far failed.
Israel also rejected a three-phase ceasefire proposal from the Hamas group that would allow the release of captives.
“The world must know it, and Hamas leaders must know it: if by Ramadan our hostages are not at home, the fighting will continue everywhere, including in the Rafah region,” declared Gantz, head of retired military staff, during a conference of American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem on Sunday.
“Hamas has a choice. They can surrender, free the hostages and civilians in Gaza can celebrate the Ramadan holiday,” added Gantz, a member of the three-person war cabinet.
