At least 73 people seeking aid in Gaza killed by Israeli gunfire on Sunday, health ministry says

CNN At least people were killed and around people injured by Israeli gunfire in Gaza while seeking aid on Sunday according to the Palestinian wellness ministry Particular people were killed in northern Gaza the ministry disclosed while six others were killed in Khan Younis in the south of the Strip It is unclear whether the people announced killed in northern Gaza were all killed in the same place or in multiple incidents It marks one of the highest announced death tolls among modern repeated cases in which aid seekers have been killed The Israel Defense Forces reported that troops had fired warning shots in order to remove an immediate threat posed to them after a gathering of thousands of Gazans was identified in the northern Gaza Strip The IDF is aware of the claim regarding casualties in the area and the details of the situation are still being examined the Israeli military mentioned without disclosing any casualty figures The Israeli military also issued a warning to residents in a number of areas in northern Gaza including the cities of Beit Lahia Jabalya and Beit Hanoun These areas are functioning combat zones and extremely dangerous the IDF s Arabic language spokesman Avichay Adraee disclosed Sunday The Israel Defense Forces are operating in these areas with very intense force For your safety movement to these areas is strictly prohibited Those who heard have been warned According to Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya director of the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza people were shot at by the Israeli army on Sunday morning while attempting to get aid northwest of Gaza City which is in the north of the enclave Al-Shifa Clinical Complex is in a catastrophic state due to the overwhelming number of martyrs injuries and starving civilians Abu Salmiya narrated CNN in a declaration There have been a large number of deaths and injuries among those seeking aid and ambulances and civilian vehicles have not stopped arriving transporting the wounded and the dead from the northwestern areas of Gaza he continued A considerable number of civilians and even anatomical staff are arriving in a state of fainting or collapse due to severe malnutrition he disclosed The Palestinian Red Crescent announced that its Al-Saraya Field Hospital in Gaza City received injured people specific of them in critical condition on Sunday It announced it also received two dead bodies Israeli forces targeted civilians waiting for aid arriving from the Zikim area north of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip Due to the large number of casualties received by the hospital new beds were urgently opened to ensure adequate therapy for the injured as the hospital s threshold is estimated at only beds the Palestinian Red Crescent declared Meanwhile residents in the central Gaza city of Deir Al Balah mentioned they were forced to evacuate on Sunday after the IDF dropped flyers warning them to leave the area The planes came and dropped various leaflets on us the entire sky was covered with leaflets on the houses the streets and everywhere stating that we had to evacuate from certain areas one resident Thurayya Abu Qunneis reported CNN We are living on edge We can t sleep eat or drink There is no flour no anything and we are hungry she stated We are dying and our children are dying of hunger Another resident Mohammad Al Najiri stated CNN We were sitting here in the morning when suddenly they sent us messages and warnings telling us to leave Where should we go There is no place to evacuate to we don t know where to go Diagnostic Aid for Palestinians MAP commented in a declaration Sunday that Israel s evacuation orders endanger vital humanitarian and primary healthcare sites and are accelerating the systematic dismantling of Gaza s already-decimated healthcare system adding that several humanitarian organizations offices were ordered to evacuate right away and nine clinics five shelters and a society kitchen were forced to shut down amid the orders In another episode on Saturday at least people were killed while seeking aid near a distribution point run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation according to the Palestinian robustness ministry and eyewitnesses The Israeli military disclosed troops had identified subjects who approached them during operational activity in the Rafah area about one kilometer from the aid site at night-time when it s not advancing The IDF noted troops had called on the accused to distance themselves and after they did not comply the troops fired warning shots It disclosed it was aware of reports regarding casualties and the situation was under review According to Gaza s Hamas-run Regime Media Office chosen people have been killed while attempting to obtain food near aid distribution sites between May and Sunday The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights commented earlier this month that nearly Gazans had been killed trying to access aid between late May and July CNN s Eugenia Yosef and Abeer Salman contributed to this record