Israeli fire kills Gazans near two aid centres
In response, the Israeli military said it "identified suspects who approached them during operational activity in the Rafah area, posing a threat to the troops". Soldiers called for them to turn back and "after they did not comply, the troops fired warning shots", it said, adding that it was aware of the reports about casualties. "The incident is under review. The shots were fired approximately one kilometre (more than half a mile) away from the aid distribution site at nighttime when it's not active," it said in a statement.
GHF said reports of deaths near its sites were "false". "We have repeatedly warned aid-seekers not to travel to our sites overnight and early morning hours," it wrote on X. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties.
The war in Gaza, sparked by the deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people who live in the coastal territory. Most people have been displaced at least once by the fighting, and doctors and aid agencies say they were seeing the physical and mental health effects of 21 months of war, including more acute malnutrition.
The World Food Programme said nearly one in three people in Gaza were not eating for days at a stretch and "thousands" were "on the verge of catastrophic hunger". The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, on Saturday said it had enough food for all of Gaza for more than three months but it was stockpiled in warehouses and blocked from being delivered. The free flow of aid into Gaza is a key demand of Hamas in indirect negotiations with Israel for a 60-day ceasefire in the war, alongside a full Israeli military withdrawal.
After a more than two-month Israeli aid blockade, GHF took over the running of aid distribution in late May, despite criticism from the United Nations, which previously coordinated handouts, that it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. GHF acknowledged for the first time that 20 people died at its Khan Yunis site on Wednesday but blamed "agitators in the crowd... armed and affiliated with Hamas" for creating "a chaotic and dangerous surge" and firing at aid-seekers.
The previous day, the UN said it had recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food, including 674 "in the vicinity of GHF sites", since it began operating. Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel led to the deaths of 1,219 people. Israel's retaliatory military action has killed 58,765 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the health ministry in Gaza. — AFP
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