At least 20 people were killed in Gaza in airstrikes and shelling by the Israeli army on Saturday, according to Gaza health officials. It is said that 8 people came in search of food. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 36 people injured in the attack were taken from the aid distribution center to a hospital in central Gaza.

10 people were killed in two separate attacks in central and southern Gaza on Saturday, AP reported, citing health workers in Gaza. Nasser Hospital has mentioned that 5 people were killed in the attack on the tent where the displaced people were staying. In another attack, two brothers and a relative were reportedly killed in an attack on a camp of displaced people near the main road in Khan Younis. A mother and daughter were reportedly killed in another attack targeting displaced persons sheltering near the gate of a closed prison in Khan Yunis.

Similarly, in a house between Zawaida and Deir al-Balah, two parents  including their three children died when the Israeli army attacked, according to the ambulance and emergency services of the Ministry of Health. Five other Palestinians were also killed when Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd waiting for aid between the newly constructed Morag Corridor and Khan Younis in Rafah, the hospital said.

Israel's military did not immediately respond to the attack near the aid site. However, his top military general warned on Saturday that "fighting will continue" if his hostages are not released. Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir argued that Israel's military had to attack to maintain pressure on Hamas for a ceasefire.

Local Palestinians are facing a severe food crisis due to Israel's ban on air and land aid distribution in the region. Also on Saturday, the situation turned dire when Palestinians who came to receive food aid were fired at near the distribution site of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to international media AP, citing eyewitnesses. "I helped to get the 3 people who were wounded by bullets out of there, but I was also seeing many other wounded people lying on the ground in a bloody state," local Yahya Youssef, who was an eyewitness to the incident, told AP. The Ministry of Health in Gaza stated on Saturday. According to the ministry, one of the dead was also a child.

In response to eyewitnesses' statement that four US aid distribution centers supported by Israel in the northern region of the country are continuously being fired upon, the GHF has denied any attacks or casualties in or near its distribution centers. Also, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee commented on the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza as an "incredible achievement" only on Friday. But one day later, 18 people were killed in the attack. The United Nations has repeatedly mentioned that the Palestinians in the region are facing starvation after Israel has been restricting the entry of vehicles carrying food and humanitarian aid provided by the international community. The international community is furious with the Israeli Rabaiah after the group's efforts to deliver aid have been repeatedly hampered by violent incidents. 

International experts on hunger have warned that aid seekers in Gaza are facing the worst-case scenario this week. In the last 22 months since Israel started military operations against Hamas, the security situation in the Gaza Strip, where nearly two million Palestinians live, has become miserable and the civilians in the area are facing extreme hunger due to the interruption of essential food supplies, according to AP.

Since the start of the fighting between Israel and Hamas, at least 93 children have reportedly died in Gaza due to various causes of starvation and malnutrition. In addition, 76 adults have died due to malnutrition since the end of June, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Similarly, the report published by the United Nations on Thursday states that 859 people were killed from last May 27 to July 31 due to firing on the crowd going to seek relief at the aid distribution center of the GHF. In addition, hundreds of people have been killed by bullets targeting those trying to loot food on the roads of vehicles going to Gaza with food.

GHF claims that only tear gas is used as a warning at aid distribution centers and that warning shots are fired to prevent the risk of the crowd becoming violent. The Israeli army said it only fired warning shots at approaching soldiers, and on Friday it also fired warning shots to secure routes under its control. But Israel and the GHF have claimed that the figures of deaths in Gaza are "exaggerated".

Expansion in air aid

This week, several European countries, including Israel, announced plans to join a Jordan-led coalition to drop parcels by air. However, they say the plan is still insufficient and too costly for Gazans. "If there is the political will to allow air aid, there must be the same political will to open road routes," Philip Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, wrote on Saturday X. "We must be allowed to do our job." 

In the fighting that started after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, about 1,200 Israelis have been killed so far, and more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in retaliatory attacks by Israel, according to the Ministry of Health of Gaza.

6 countries provided humanitarian aid 

Britain - Relief workers have given cash assistance to nearly 10,000 starving families in Gaza to buy food. However, they are finding it difficult to buy food due to lack of food in the market. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid said that the prices of food in the market fluctuate rapidly and it is beyond the reach of most people. 

Although Israel has given partial permission to send relief materials, it is said that the assistance is not enough for the Gazans. Vehicles carrying aid materials are blocked on the road and the security risk is high. Life in Gaza has become more difficult due to months of food shortages, while the majority of people are injured or killed in shelling while searching for food. In the past two days alone, more than 100 people have been killed near food delivery routes or Israeli military distribution centers, according to various international media.

The Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund said, "We need to bring about 500 truckloads of relief materials a day so that the situation improves and the suffering of the people is reduced." All necessary goods should be delivered to Gaza using all the crossings and routes. There is also a problem with the supply of fuel. Although some fuel has reached Gaza, it is still very low. Millions of liters of fuel are required here daily for health services, drinking water, sanitation and emergency communication. 

Jordan, Egypt, Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France and Spain have also jointly dropped humanitarian relief materials into the Gaza Strip on August 1. About 57 tons of essential materials have been sent to Gaza as part of this campaign, which was launched from the military air base in Zarak, Jordan. 

According to a statement issued by the Jordanian army, the relief items include food, milk for babies and other essential items. These materials were dropped into Gaza by airplanes from Jordan, Germany, UAE, France and Spain. According to the army, more than 148 tons of materials have been delivered to Gaza as part of the relief work that was restarted last week. The Israeli army has also coordinated this operation. According to the military, Germany, France and Spain have joined the aid operation in Gaza for the first time. Previously, only Israel, Jordan, Egypt and UAE cooperated. The Israeli army, rejecting the accusation that starvation was deliberately inflicted on Gaza, said it would continue to work with the international community to provide relief. Although the dropping of relief supplies has brought some relief to the people of Gaza, the ongoing violence and civilian casualties seem to have deepened the crisis.