Israeli tanks and drones opened fire early Wednesday on thousands of Palestinians gathered near a U.S.-backed aid distribution center in Gaza City, killing 31 and injuring about 200, according to local officials – the latest in a deadly string of assaults on starving civilians amid deepening humanitarian collapse.
The Gaza Civil Defense said crowds had begun forming as early as 2 a.m., hoping to receive food at the newly opened American aid center. By sunrise, the line had become a massacre zone.
“Israeli tanks fired several times, then intensified their shelling around 5:30 a.m. as drones targeted civilians,” civil defense spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said. “We transported at least 31 martyrs and about 200 wounded.”
At Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, medical staff received 24 bodies and 96 wounded.
Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, according to the Gaza health ministry, near an aid distribution center in central Gaza, at Al-Shifa hospital, Gaza City, Palestine, June 10, 2025. (Reuters Photo)
