The day after the massacre on Al-Rashid Street that claimed Hatem Shaldan’s life, even larger crowds gathered in the same spot, including 17-year-old Muhammad Abu Sharia, who arrived with four relatives. The few aid trucks that arrived that week gave a sliver of hope to starving families.

Abu Sharia lives with his family of nine in their partially destroyed home in southern Gaza City, the only son among six sisters. “My family didn’t want me to go at first,” he said. “But we’ve been starving for two months.”

At 10 p.m., he made his way to Al-Rashid Street, where crowds had gathered on the sand near the shore, waiting for aid trucks. People shared warnings in hushed voices: “Stay behind the trucks. Don’t run in front — you might get crushed.”

Abu Sharia was shocked by what he saw. “Elderly people, women, children, all just waiting for a chance at flour.” Then, without warning, artillery shells began falling around them.

Panic broke out. Some fled. Others, like Abu Sharia, sprinted toward the trucks. “People were being killed and wounded, but no one stopped. Everyone just kept running for the flour.”

He managed to grab a bag lying beside a dead body, but only made it a few meters before a gang of four men with knives surrounded him and threatened to kill him if he didn’t hand it over. He let it go.

Still hoping to reach another truck, he waited hours longer. Then he saw people shouting, “More aid has arrived!” The trucks rolled in, barely slowing down as crowds swarmed them. “I saw a man fall under one [truck] and get his head crushed.” With ambulances too far away to approach for fear of Israeli airstrikes, the wounded and dead were dragged away by donkey carts and tuk-tuks.