Israeli tank fire kills 51 people in Gaza crowd trying to get food

June 17, 2025 , 07:22 PM

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dawoud Abu Alkas

(June 17, 2025, REUTERS) – Israeli tanks fired into a crowd trying to get aid from trucks in the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing at least 51 people, according to medics, in one of the bloodiest incidents yet in mounting violence as desperate residents struggle for food.

Video shared on social media showed around a dozen mangled bodies lying in a street in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli military acknowledged firing in the area and said it was looking into the incident.

Eyewitnesses interviewed by Reuters said Israeli tanks had fired at least two shells at a crowd of thousands, who had gathered on the main eastern road through Khan Younis in the hope of getting food from aid trucks that use the route.

“All of a sudden, they let us move forward and made everyone gather, and then shells started falling, tank shells,” said Alaa, an eyewitness, interviewed by Reuters at Nasser Hospital, where wounded victims lay sprawled on the floor and in corridors due to the lack of space.

“No one is looking at these people with mercy. The people are dying, they are being torn apart, to get food for their children. Look at these people, all these people are torn to get flour to feed their children.”

Medics said at least 51 people were killed and 200 wounded, at least 20 of them in critical condition. Casualties were being rushed into the hospital in civilian cars, rickshaws, and donkey carts.

In a statement, the Israeli Defence Forces said: “Earlier today, a gathering was identified adjacent to an aid distribution truck that got stuck in the area of Khan Yunis, and in proximity to IDF troops operating in the area.

“The IDF is aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals from IDF fire following the crowd’s approach. The details of the incident are under review. The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimise harm as much as possible to them while maintaining the safety of our troops.”

Medics said at least 14 other people were also killed in separate Israeli gunfire and airstrikes elsewhere in the enclave, taking Tuesday’s death toll to at least 65.

The incident was the latest in nearly daily mass killings of Palestinians seeking aid in the past three weeks, since Israel partially lifted a total blockade on the territory it had imposed for nearly three months.

Israel has been channelling much of the aid it is now allowing into Gaza through a new U.S.- and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates a handful of distribution sites in areas guarded by Israeli forces.

The United Nations rejects the system as inadequate, dangerous and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. Israel says it is needed to prevent Hamas fighters from diverting aid, which Hamas denies.

Gaza authorities say hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to reach the GHF’s sites, including 23 people killed by Israeli gunfire on Monday in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

The GHF said in a press release late on Monday that it had distributed more than three million meals at its four distribution sites without incident.

EYES ON IRAN WAR

The Gaza war was triggered in October 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli allies. Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, while displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million and causing a hunger crisis.

Since last week, residents of Gaza have kept an eye on war between Israel and Iran, which began with Israel launching major strikes on Friday. Iran has long been a major supporter of Hamas.

Residents of the Gaza Strip have circulated images of wrecked buildings in Israel hit by Iranian missiles, some openly happy to see Israelis experiencing a measure of the fear of air strikes that Gazans have endured for 20 months.

“We live these scenes and pain daily. We are very happy that we saw the day when we saw rubble in Tel Aviv, and they are trying to get out from under the rubble and the houses that were destroyed on top of their residents,” said Saad Saad, a Gaza man.

Said another, Taysseir Mohaissan: “The time has come for Iran to teach the Israeli occupation state a lesson.”

(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi. Additional reporting by Hatem Khaled, Hussam al-Masri, and Dawoud Abu Alkas in Gaza; Editing by Alex Richardson, William Maclean, Peter Graff)

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.