Seven Palestinians trying to find food in Gaza reportedly died on Wednesday, while others came under renewed fire, as ITV News Senior International Correspondent John Irvine reports
Hundreds of Palestinians stormed a United Nations food warehouse in central Gaza on Wednesday, in a desperate attempt to get something to eat, shouting and shoving each other and even ripping off pieces of the building to get inside.
Seven people died in the chaos, according to hospital officials.
It comes as one Palestinian boy told ITV News: “We need food. We have nothing….no rice…nothing at all. We are ready to die for food.”
He was filmed by our Palestinian journalist colleague Mohamed Abu Safia near a different distribution hub, set up in Rafah by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been slated by Israel to take over aid operations.
A crowd was fired on while overrunning that facility on Tuesday, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding 48 others, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.
On Wednesday, Mohamed heard more gunfire as he walked with those trying to reach the GHF hub, in the hope of finding food, despite the events of the previous day.
Once again many turned back for the long walk home empty-handed.
The UN and other humanitarian organisations have rejected the new system operated by GHF, saying it will not be able to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and that it allows Israel to use food to control the population.
The organisations have also warned of the risk of friction between Israeli troops and people seeking supplies.
Palestinians have become desperate for food after nearly three months of Israeli border closures pushed Gaza to the brink of famine.
A United Nations envoy compared the limited aid being allowed into Gaza to “a lifeboat after the ship has sunk”.
Sigrid Kaag, acting UN special coordinator for the Mideast, told the UN Security Council that people facing famine in Gaza “have lost hope.”
“Instead of saying ‘goodbye,’ Palestinians in Gaza now say, ‘See you in heaven,'” Kaag said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country killed senior Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, the brother of Yahya Sinwar, one of the masterminds of the militant group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, who was killed by Israeli forces last year.
Speaking before parliament, Netanyahu included Sinwar in a list of Hamas leaders killed by Israeli forces, apparently confirming his death in a recent airstrike in Gaza.
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