At least 31 Palestinians killed while heading to Gaza aid hub
At least 31 Palestinians have been shot and killed on their way to receive food from a distribution centre in Gaza, according to health officials.
Authorities at a Red Cross Hospital close to the aid site in Rafah said another 175 people were wounded.
Witnesses said Israeli forces fired at crowds around a kilometre from an aid site run by a US and Israeli-backed foundation.
Israel's military said in a statement that its forces did not fire at civilians near or within the site. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with procedure, said troops fired warning shots at several suspects advancing toward them a kilometre from the site.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's distribution of aid has been marred by chaos, and multiple witnesses have said Israeli troops fired on crowds near the delivery sites. Before Sunday, at least six people had been killed and more than 50 wounded, according to local health officials.
The foundation says the private security contractors guarding its sites have not fired on the crowds, while the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions.
The foundation said in a statement that it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early Sunday 'without incident.' It dismissed what it referred to as 'false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos.'
Thousands of people headed toward the distribution site hours before dawn, congregating at the Flag Roundabout, about a kilometre away, as they waited for the site to open, according to witnesses. They said Israeli forces ordered people to disperse and come back later, before opening fire.
'There was fire from all directions, from naval warships, from tanks and drones,' said Amr Abu Teiba, who was in the crowd.
He said he saw at least 10 bodies with gunshot wounds and several other wounded people, including women. People used carts to ferry the dead and wounded to the field hospital. 'The scene was horrible,' he said.
Ibrahim Abu Saoud, another eyewitness, provided a nearly identical account. He said the military fired around 300 metres away.
Abu Saoud said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who he said had died at the scene. 'We weren't able to help him,' he said.
Mohammed Abu Teaima, 33, said he saw Israeli forces open fire and kill his cousin and another woman as they were heading toward the distribution site. He said his cousin was shot in his chest and died at the scene. Many others were wounded, including his brother-in-law, he said.
'They opened heavy fire directly toward us,' he said as he was waiting outside the Red Cross field hospital for word on his wounded relative.
Israel and the United States say the new system is aimed at preventing Hamas from siphoning off assistance. Israel has not provided any evidence of systematic diversion, and the UN denies it has occurred.
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles because it allows Israel to control who receives aid and forces people to relocate to distribution sites, risking yet more mass displacement in the territory.
The UN system has struggled to bring in aid after Israel slightly eased its total blockade of the territory last month. Those groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza's roughly two million Palestinians.
Experts have warned that the territory is at risk of famine if more aid is not brought in.
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