Gaza Civil Defence Says Israeli Forces Kill 18 Amid Ongoing Aid Crisis

Gaza – July 11, 2025: Gaza’s civil defence agency has reported that Israeli forces killed at least 18 people on Friday, including 10 civilians waiting for aid in the southern region of the besieged Palestinian territory.

The killings come as the United Nations revealed that nearly 800 Palestinians have died while trying to access food since late May, when Israel began to ease its full blockade on humanitarian aid.

Aid Distribution Turns Deadly
According to Mohammed al-Mughayyir, a civil defence official, 10 people were shot in the Al-Shakoush area northwest of Rafah while waiting for supplies. This area has repeatedly seen deadly attacks on aid seekers, raising serious concerns among international rights groups.

Six more people were killed in four Israeli airstrikes around Khan Yunis, and two additional casualties were reported from drone strikes in Gaza City, bringing Friday’s death toll to 18.

UN: Nearly 800 Killed While Seeking Aid
Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN human rights office, stated that 798 Palestinians have been killed while trying to obtain food since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) started its operations in late May.

“Most of these deaths — at least 615 — occurred near GHF distribution sites,” she said.

The GHF, a US- and Israeli-backed private entity, has been criticized by the UN and other major aid groups, who refuse to cooperate with it, alleging that the initiative undermines humanitarian neutrality and violates core relief principles.

Israeli Military Response
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it has made efforts to minimize civilian casualties near aid distribution points.

“Thorough examinations were conducted after incidents involving civilian harm, and new operational instructions were issued to ground forces,” the IDF stated.

However, media restrictions in Gaza and limited access for journalists have made it difficult to independently verify casualty figures or the circumstances surrounding each incident.

Intensified Operations and Civilian Impact
Residents report that the security situation has worsened, particularly around Khan Yunis, where Israeli tanks, drone strikes, and shelling have destroyed large parts of displacement camps and farmland.

“The situation remains extremely difficult — intense gunfire, intermittent air strikes, bulldozing of camps and land,” a local resident said anonymously from southern Gaza.

The IDF confirmed operations in the area, stating they were targeting “terrorist infrastructure above and below ground” and seizing weapons and military equipment.

School Shelter Bombed
On Thursday night, an Israeli strike hit a school in Jabalia al-Nazla (northern Gaza) that was sheltering displaced families, killing at least five people, according to the civil defence.

Nearly all of Gaza’s two million residents have been displaced at least once during the 21-month-long war, with many taking refuge in schools — buildings that have repeatedly come under Israeli attack, often justified by the alleged presence of Hamas fighters.