An Israeli airstrike in central Gaza on Thursday killed at least 18 people, including a child and several members of a Palestinian security unit, in the latest episode of escalating violence tied to the chaotic distribution of humanitarian aid in the besieged territory.
According to witnesses, the strike hit a street in Deir al-Balah where a crowd had gathered to receive flour and other supplies from the Sahm unit, a security force tasked with retrieving looted aid and returning it to the public. The Sahm unit, operating under Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Ministry, had reportedly confiscated the supplies from gangs and corrupt merchants.
Video footage from the scene showed graphic images of casualties, including young men and children, their bodies lying bloodied in the street. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital confirmed that at least seven of the dead were Sahm personnel.
There was no immediate response from the Israeli military. However, Israel has long maintained that Gaza’s police and security forces are extensions of Hamas and has frequently targeted them in strikes throughout the conflict. The military has also accused Hamas of diverting humanitarian aid to support its operations — a claim denied by the group and by international relief agencies.
Thursday’s airstrike adds to a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the distribution of food has become increasingly dangerous and disorganized. After more than two months of near-total aid blockage, Israel has allowed limited shipments into Gaza since mid-May. But delivery efforts by the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations have been undermined by criminal looting, violent crowds, and security vacuum.
Efforts to restore order have led to new local initiatives. A coalition of Gaza’s tribes and clans — calling itself the National Gathering of Palestinian Clans and Tribes — announced on Wednesday that it had begun providing independent security escorts for aid convoys.
The group claimed responsibility for safely delivering a rare flour shipment to northern Gaza, though it remains unclear whether the operation was coordinated with either the United Nations or Israeli authorities.
“We will no longer allow thieves to steal from the convoys for the merchants and force us to buy them at high prices,” said Abu Ahmad al-Gharbawi, a tribal figure involved in the effort.
Despite this development, the situation remains volatile. Aid distribution has fragmented across the territory, with multiple actors involved — including Hamas-linked units, tribal militias, and a newly introduced private American contractor, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has begun limited food box distributions in southern Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement on Wednesday reiterating their stance that Hamas is diverting humanitarian aid, particularly in northern Gaza. They instructed the Israeli military to develop plans to prevent such alleged diversions.
In response, the National Gathering condemned the Israeli position, calling the allegations “a justification for aggressive military practices.” The group insisted that aid under their protection was being delivered securely to civilians.
The United Nations has maintained that aid delivery operations, when conducted under secure conditions and at scale, reduce instances of looting and black-market sales. However, Israel is reportedly seeking to phase out the U.N.-led distribution system in favor of alternative arrangements, such as the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
For Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, the breakdown in aid systems has meant enduring hunger, inflated prices, and a dangerous scramble for supplies.
At a distribution point in Gaza City on Thursday, large crowds lined up to receive flour delivered the previous evening. For many, it was the first time in months they had received such basic food staples.
“We’ve waited for months without having flour or eating much, and our children would always cry,” said Hiba Khalil, a mother of seven. “It’s a relief to finally get something.”
Another woman, Umm Alaa Mekdad, said she had been forced to confront gangs in order to feed her children.
“The gangs used to take our shares and the shares of our children who slept hungry and thirsty,” she said. “We pray more convoys can make it through.”
Meanwhile, overnight Israeli strikes continued across the Gaza Strip. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 28 people were killed in separate incidents. More than 20 bodies were brought to Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, while another eight were taken to Nasser Hospital in the south.
In a rare development, the World Health Organization reported Thursday that it had managed to deliver its first medical shipment into Gaza since March 2. Nine trucks carrying blood supplies, plasma, and other essential materials were successfully transported to Nasser Hospital, which remains one of the few partially functional medical facilities in southern Gaza.
As the war drags into its 21st month, humanitarian agencies warn that without stable and consistent access to aid, the crisis will continue to deepen — with ordinary civilians caught in the crossfire between political agendas, military operations, and criminal opportunism.
