{"id":1808,"date":"2025-07-18T06:41:26","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T06:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/07\/18\/suffocation-stampede-death-tragedy-at-gazas-aid-centre\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T06:41:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T06:41:26","slug":"suffocation-stampede-death-tragedy-at-gazas-aid-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/07\/18\/suffocation-stampede-death-tragedy-at-gazas-aid-centre\/","title":{"rendered":"Suffocation, stampede, death: Tragedy at Gaza\u2019s aid centre"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Khan Younis, Gaza Strip \u2013<\/strong> Eighteen-year-old Hani Hammad never imagined that his daily search for flour would end with him suffocating and being trampled.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday morning, he left his tent in the al-Mawasi area of southern Gaza\u2019s Khan Younis, where he\u2019s been displaced from Rafah along with his seven siblings, heading to a food distribution point run by the much-criticised, United States-backed GHF.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe left at dawn and stood among the thousands gathered. About 5am [02:00 GMT], they [US staff and Israeli army] signalled to open the gate, and people rushed forward,\u201d Hani told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gate was open, but people were packed into a very narrow corridor leading to it \u2013 only about seven metres wide,\u201d he said, struggling to catch his breath after arriving at Nasser Hospital gasping and barely conscious.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got in with the crowd with difficulty. Suddenly, American guards started spraying pepper spray and firing gas bombs, and people began stampeding through the corridor,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\"Gaza\"
Hani Hamad was rushed unconscious to Nasser Hospital after the stampede near an aid site run by the controversial GHF [Abdullah Attar\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018I collapsed. They trampled my face.\u2019<\/h2>\n

\u201cI felt like I was dying. I couldn\u2019t move forward or backwards. I collapsed. My face and side were trampled. No one could pull me out. But God gave me a second chance,\u201d Hani said.<\/p>\n

He was rushed unconscious to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on a tuk-tuk and initially placed beside the bodies of others who had died, some from suffocation, others from bullet wounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was unconscious, couldn\u2019t see or hear. I drifted in and out. They put me beside the dead. I thought I was one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early Wednesday, 21 Palestinians were killed<\/a>, including 15 by suffocation, while trying to collect food aid.<\/p>\n

The incident occurred near a gate managed by the GHF in western Khan Younis. Dozens more were reportedly injured, with some still in intensive care.<\/p>\n

Hani is the oldest of eight siblings who live next to their uncle\u2019s tent \u2013 their parents remain in Jordan, where they travelled for medical treatment just a month before the war began.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I carry a huge burden. We\u2019ve endured the pressures of displacement and war without our parents and without any help from them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Though he acknowledges that lining up for aid from the GHF is a major daily risk, he adds: \u201cOur intense hunger pushes me to go every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no other choice. I have no money to buy the overpriced goods available in the markets. My only option is to try my luck with aid distributions,\u201d says the young man.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach time is a near-death experience. There\u2019s gunfire, tanks, drones and attacks. What kind of aid distribution is this? We are exhausted, truly exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re shot at like animals\u201d<\/h2>\n
\"Gaza\"
Mohammed Abedin was left with a wounded leg after the stampede [Abdullah Attar\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mohammed Abedin, 24, now lies in a hospital bed with a leg wound after heading to the same aid centre in Khan Younis early Wednesday.<\/p>\n

For the first time, he says, he chose to turn back after sensing the danger of the crowd surge.<\/p>\n

The young man, a first-year accounting student, arrived about 3am (00:00 GMT) at the distribution site, but he noticed that things looked different. The same site had been closed for two days before reopening.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore, we used to enter from several access points, and the entryway was wide. But this time, we were funnelled through one long, narrow corridor, fenced in with metal,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the gates opened, everyone rushed forward, and people began falling underfoot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mohammed described a terrifying scene of people crushed against the metal barriers, screaming and gasping for help, as pepper spray and gas bombs were fired by American guards and quadcopters above.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was standing close to my cousin, watching. We decided not to go in because of the overwhelming numbers. I saw kids screaming, choking, men and youth trapped. No one could move forward or back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fenced corridor, with gas bombs raining down and people being pushed through, became a death trap,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Mohammed and his cousin tried to leave, but just as he thought he had made a wise choice, a quadcoptor shot him in the leg. His cousin was also injured.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always random gunfire from quadcaptors, tanks, or soldiers in the area. This time, I was the unlucky one,\u201d he said. \u201cBut thank God, I survived.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mohammed reflects on the tragic situation faced by Palestinians, caught between starvation and death, forced to risk their lives for food. He supports his displaced family of nine, originally from Rafah and now sheltering in al-Mawasi.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe dream daily of eating bread. I go for aid almost every day and usually return empty-handed. But the days I brought home just a few kilos of flour felt like \u2018an eid\u2019 [a celebration] for my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flour is the top priority for Mohammed, especially with Gaza being under siege for four months, the borders sealed, and humanitarian and commercial goods blocked by Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cBread is what drives me to risk death. There\u2019s no alternative,\u201d he said, awaiting surgery at Nasser Hospital to remove a bullet from his leg. \u201cHas the world failed to provide a safe channel for aid delivery?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no system, no organised relief, no police or UN intervention. We\u2019re shot at like animals. If we don\u2019t die of hunger, we die in the chaos and stampedes.\u201d<\/p>\n

In late May 2025, the GHF launched its aid distribution efforts in Gaza following an Israeli-imposed near-total blockade, which is still in effect and has prevented the entry of humanitarian supplies.<\/p>\n

According to United Nations figures, at least 798 Palestinians<\/a> have been killed since then while trying to reach or receive aid from the organisation\u2019s distribution points.<\/p>\n

Widespread criticism has emerged from UN agencies and rights organisations that argue the operation is politicised and endangers civilians. The UN has stated that the GHF\u2019s operations violate humanitarian neutrality and are inherently unsafe, highlighted by the hundreds of deaths at their sites.<\/p>\n

\u201cEither we return with flour, or we don\u2019t return at all\u201d<\/h2>\n
\"GAZA\"
\u2018More than 20 people died for a bag of flour,\u2019 says Ziad Masad Mansour [Abdullah Attar\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ziad Masad Mansour, 43, displaced with his wife and six children from central Gaza to al-Mawasi in Khan Younis after their home was destroyed in the war, is another frequent visitor to the aid lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cI head there at 10 at night and sleep on the sand like thousands of others. We endure the dust and humiliation,\u201d said Mansour, who was wounded in the head on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I manage to get flour, sometimes a few cans. Other times, I return empty-handed. I even help others carry their bags in exchange for some food.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday, there was horrific crowding: gas bombs, bullets, and we were packed tightly in the narrow corridor. I was trying to escape the crush when I got shot in the head and lost consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mansour is now recovering at Nasser Hospital. \u201cMore than 20 people died today \u2013 for a bag of flour. What more is there to say?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Khan Younis, Gaza Strip \u2013 Eighteen-year-old Hani Hammad never imagined that his daily search for flour would end with him suffocating and being trampled. On Wednesday morning, he left his tent in the al-Mawasi area of southern Gaza\u2019s Khan Younis, where he\u2019s been displaced from Rafah along with his seven siblings, heading to a food … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}