Medical officials, humanitarian workers and doctors in Gaza have been overwhelmed by almost daily “mass casualty incidents” as they struggle to deal with those wounded by Israeli fire on Palestinians seeking aid.

Doctors said that many of the casualties they are treating describe being shot as they try to reach distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a secretive US- and Israel-backed organisation that began handing out food in late May.

Others have been injured as huge crowds form around convoys sent into Gaza by the UN, many of which are stopped and looted.

Dr Mohammed Saqr, Director of nursing at Gaza’s Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, said that he had personally witnessed countless mass casualty incidents in recent weeks.

“The scenes are truly shocking – they resemble the horrors of judgment day. Sometimes within just half an hour we receive over 100 to 150 cases, ranging from severe injuries to deaths … About 95% of these injuries and deaths come from food distribution centres – what are referred to as the ‘American food distribution centres’.”
Dr Mohammed Saqr

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that its Doctors in Gaza had seen a sharp surge over the past month in mass casualty incidents linked to aid distribution sites.

Since the launch of the new aid distribution system, which Israel insists is necessary to prevent Hamas diverting humanitarian assistance, the ICRC’s 60-bed field hospital in Rafah, in the south of Gaza, has treated more than 2,200 weapon-wounded patients and has registered more than 200 deaths.

“The scale and frequency of these incidents are without precedent. In just over a month, the number of patients treated has surpassed the total seen in all mass casualty events during the entire previous year.

“Among the wounded are toddlers, teenagers, elderly, mothers – and overwhelmingly, young men and boys. Most say they were simply trying to get food or aid for their families.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

An 86-bed field hospital run by UK-Med in al-Mawasi, on the coast of southern Gaza, has also received many casualties who were seeking aid when they were hurt.

Dr Clare Jeffreys, a British emergency medicine specialist who is working at the hospital, said, “Since I arrived there have been a lot of gunshot injuries. They tell me how they were injured, and say it was at or near food distribution sites.”

The casualties among those seeking aid – which totalled 640 killed and more than 4,500 injured between 27 May and 2 July, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza – have strained a system that is already close to collapse.

The health care system in Gaza has been decimated during the 21-month conflict, which was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas militants launched a surprise attack into Israel, killing 1,200, mostly civilians, and taking 250 hostages

Nearly half of the territory’s 36 hospitals have been put out of service and the remaining facilities are operating at a fraction of their usual capacity.

All struggle with acute shortages of essential medical supplies and basic equipment such as respirators, X-ray machines, scanners or even lamps for operating theatres.

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Denies Reports

Meanwhile, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has strenuously denied that any injuries were inflicted at any of its sites, blaming Israeli troops firing on Palestinians who are trying to reach the four hubs they have established in southern and central Gaza.

“To date, there have been no incidents or fatalities at or in the immediate vicinity of any of our distribution sites during our operating hours.”
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

The organisation said this week that it has distributed 62m meals in the territory and was “working tirelessly to distribute free food aid directly to the people of Gaza safely and without interference.”

The Israeli military has repeatedly said it does not target civilians, takes all feasible precautions to avoid harm to non-combatants and abides by international law.