A simple street corner in central Gaza, where sacks of flour were being handed to desperate civilians, turned into a killing field Friday after an Israeli airstrike slammed into the crowd, killing 18 people, including seven members of a Palestinian police unit working to curb looted aid distribution.
The blast, which tore through Deir al-Balah’s aid distribution point, ripped bodies apart and spattered blood across alley walls.
Hospital officials said a child was among the dead. Dozens more were wounded. The victims had gathered not for battle or protest, but for food.
The Sahm unit, affiliated with Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Ministry, had been distributing flour and other essentials seized from black market dealers and looters.
Witnesses said the unit was trying to restore order to a volatile aid scene where lawlessness, starvation, and profiteering have collided.
