Tragedy in Gaza: UN denounces Israeli attack on aid convoy that left 81 dead

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported late on Sunday, July 20, that tanks, snipers, and other Israeli army personnel opened fire on crowds seeking to collect the contents of their humanitarian aid trucks in northern Gaza, resulting in the massacre of 81 people, according to health sources in the enclave.

"Shortly after crossing the final checkpoint beyond the Zikim crossing into Gaza, the convoy (of 25 trucks) encountered huge crowds of civilians eagerly awaiting access to desperately needed food supplies. As the convoy approached, the surrounding crowd came under fire from Israeli tanks, sniper fire, and other gunfire," a WFP statement said.

The organization deeply regretted the "tragic incident" that resulted in the loss of "countless lives."

Gazan health authorities raise the death toll from the shooting to 81.

The Israeli army, for its part, admitted to firing "warning shots" and being aware of casualties, but stated on Sunday that the reported death toll did not match the information available to the forces.

Asked by EFE what the estimated death toll was caused by their gunfire, the Army did not comment.

"Today's violent incident comes despite assurances from the Israeli authorities that conditions for humanitarian operations would improve, including that armed forces would not be present or engage in any confrontation along humanitarian convoy routes," the WFP denounced.

The organization reiterated that armed groups should "never" be present near or on its aid convoys.

Some 90,000 women and children need urgent treatment for malnutrition in Gaza , while one in three people has not eaten for days, according to the WFP.

For nearly three months (between March 2 and May 18), Israel completely blocked access to any goods, including food, medicine, and fuel, into Gaza, significantly worsening the humanitarian crisis plaguing the Strip.

Although truck access was allowed again on May 19, it has been severely limited and subject to a dangerous delivery system based on distribution points run by the US-based (Israeli-backed) Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), around which nearly 1,000 people have died in gunfire.

The north has also been excluded from this distribution system, so the population obtains aid by attacking UN trucks as they pass through the northern roads, a context in which Sunday's massacre occurred.