Gaza: More than 30 people killed after Israeli troops 'open fire' on Palestinians waiting for aid

ITV News

a day ago

At least 32 people have been killed after Israeli troops opened fire towards a crowd of Palestinians waiting for aid at a distribution hub on Saturday, according to witnesses and hospital officials.
The deaths occurred in two incidents near hubs operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US and Israel-backed group.
Separately, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, health officials said.
The Israeli military (IDF) said it had struck some 90 targets throughout Gaza over the past day and that it had killed militants and targeted "terror infrastructure" in northern Gaza and Gaza City.
The IDF had no immediate comment on the violence near the aid sites, neither did the GHF.
Most of Saturday's deaths occurred in the Teina area, around three kilometres (2 miles) away from a GHF aid distribution centre east of the city of Khan Younis.
Mahmoud Mokeimar, an eyewitness, said he was walking with masses of people, mostly young men, toward the food hub when troops fired warning shots as the crowds advanced, before opening fire toward the marching people,
"It was a massacre," he said. He said he managed to flee but saw at least three motionless bodies lying on the ground, and many other wounded fleeing.
Akram Aker, another witness, said troops fired machine guns mounted on tanks and drones. He said the shooting happened between 5 and 6am.
"They encircled us and started firing directly at us," he said. He said he saw many casualties lying on the ground.
Sanaa al-Jaberi, a 55-year-old woman, said she saw many dead and wounded as she fled the area: "We shouted: 'food, food,' but they didn't talk to us. They just opened fire."
The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 25 bodies, along with dozens wounded.
Seven other people, including one woman, were killed in the Shakoush area, hundreds of metres north of another GHF hub in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, the hospital said. The toll was also confirmed by the health ministry.
Dr. Mohamed Saker, the head of Nasser's nursing department, said it received 70 wounded people. He told The Associated Press that most of the casualties were shot in their heads and chests, and that some were placed in the already overwhelmed intensive care unit.
"The situation is difficult and tragic," he said, adding that the facility lacks badly needed medical supplies to treat the daily flow of casualties.
What is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation?
The GHF launched operations in late May with backing from the US and Israel.
The two governments are seeking to replace the traditional UN-led aid distribution system in Gaza, claiming that Hamas militants siphon off supplies. The UN denies the allegation.
While the GHF says it has distributed millions of meals to hungry Palestinians, local health officials and witnesses say that hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli army fire as they try to reach the distribution hubs.
The army, which is not at the sites but secures them from a distance, says it only fires warning shots if crowds get too close to its forces.
The GHF, which employs private armed guards, says there have been no deadly shootings at its sites, though this week, 20 people were killed at one of its locations, most of them in a stampeded.
The group accused Hamas agitators of causing a panic, but gave no evidence to back the claim.