As Famine Looms Over Resource-Deprived Gaza, Palestinians Killed While Seeking Aid

Raafat Al-Rubaie was killed as he tried to reach aid trucks entering northern Gaza. He was not alone in being attacked while attempting to reach aid trucks which entered through the Zikim crossing with Israel. On the contrary, Israeli soldiers attacking aid-seekers has become a routine. In Gaza, some 995 people have been killed between May 27 and July 20 in their bid to get food, as fears of famine approach amid rising humanitarian crimes. Pope Leo XIV also condemned the “barbarity” of the war in Gaza and the “indiscriminate use of force” amid Palestinians being shot while queueing up for food and Israel issuing fresh evacuation orders for areas packed with displaced people.

Photo Webdesk

Updated on: 22 July 2025 11:16 am

Gaza war: Israeli forces kill aid seekers in Gaza_1

Israeli–Palestinian conflict | Photo: AP/Jehad Alshrafi

The mother of Raafat Al-Rubaie mourns over his body at a clinic in Gaza City, after he was killed while attempting to reach aid trucks entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing from Israel.

2/9

Gaza war: Israeli forces kill aid seekers in Gaza_2

Israeli–Palestinian conflict | Photo: AP/Jehad Alshrafi

Mourners gather around the bodies of Palestinians killed while trying to reach aid trucks entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

3/9

Gaza war: Israeli forces kill aid seekers in Gaza_3

Israeli–Palestinian conflict | Photo: AP/Jehad Alshrafi

Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed while trying to reach aid trucks entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

4/9

Gaza war: Israeli forces kill aid seekers in Gaza_4

Israeli–Palestinian conflict | Photo: AP/Jehad Alshrafi

Mourners react next to the bodies of Palestinians killed while trying to reach aid trucks entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

5/9

Gaza war: Israeli forces kill aid seekers in Gaza_5

Israeli–Palestinian conflict | Photo: AP/Jehad Alshrafi

Palestinians react after carrying the bodies of those killed while trying to reach aid trucks entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

6/9

Gaza war: Israeli forces kill aid seekers in Gaza_6

Israeli–Palestinian conflict | Photo: AP/Jehad Alshrafi

The bodies of Palestinians who were killed while attempting to access aid trucks entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel are brought to a clinic in Gaza City.

7/9

Gaza war: Israeli forces kill aid seekers in Gaza_7

Israeli–Palestinian conflict | Photo: AP/Jehad Alshrafi

The bodies of Palestinians killed while trying to reach aid trucks entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel, are brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

8/9

Gaza war: Israeli forces kill aid seekers in Gaza_8

Israeli–Palestinian conflict | Photo: AP/Jehad Alshrafi

Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed while trying to reach aid trucks entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

9/9