GazaHerald- Nine displaced Palestinians, including four children, were hospitalized on Monday in the coastal al-Mawasi area after suffering symptoms consistent with food poisoning, according to Gaza’s Civil Defence.
The patients, who had been forcibly displaced to the area by Israeli military orders, reportedly fell ill after consuming donated canned food suspected to be expired, improperly stored, or even tampered with.
Civil Defence teams, who rushed the patients to nearby hospitals, cited concerns over the safety of aid supplies reaching the population.
“We are seeing repeated cases of people falling ill after consuming canned goods,” a spokesperson said, warning that many of the items handed out lack oversight or refrigeration and may pose a serious health risk to a population already under siege.
The incident is the latest consequence of the extreme humanitarian crisis engulfing Gaza, where food insecurity, malnutrition, and disease are spreading under Israel’s ongoing blockade and genocidal war.
Since dawn Tuesday, at least 25 Palestinians have been killed and dozens more wounded across the Gaza Strip in a wave of Israeli attacks. Among the dead were 14 civilians reportedly shot while attempting to reach humanitarian aid.
Al-Awda Hospital confirmed that eight people were killed and nine others injured after Israeli forces opened fire on crowds near an aid distribution site on Salah al-Din Street, south of Wadi Gaza.
The site, located in an area suffering from acute hunger and overcrowding, has become one of the few remaining lifelines for desperate families. Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic and chaos as people scrambled for food amid gunfire.
Humanitarian officials say Gaza’s aid system is collapsing under Israel’s restrictions. UN spokesperson Farhan Haq stated this week that “the aid entering the Gaza Strip is less than half of what is needed,” blaming Israel’s tight control of border crossings and lengthy inspection procedures.
“Everything entering Gaza is insufficient,” Haq said, adding that hunger is now widespread.
Local civil society groups have accused Israel of deliberately manufacturing a state of collapse. The head of the Palestinian Network of Non-Governmental Organizations in Gaza said the occupation is using starvation as a weapon, citing severe restrictions on food, medicine, and relief work.
“This is a systematic and deliberate policy to push the Strip into chaos,” he said. “The occupation wants to turn hunger into a tool of control, forcing families to loot the little aid that enters just to survive.”
