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At least 22 killed in Gaza as Israeli forces ‘fire on crowds at food aid sites'

At least 22 killed in Gaza as Israeli forces ‘fire on crowds at food aid sites'

Leader Live4 days ago
Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received the bodies of 11 people who were shot while returning from an aid site associated with Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund in southern Gaza on Monday, part of a deadly pattern that has killed more than 500 Palestinians in the chaotic and controversial aid distribution programme over the past month.
Ten others were killed at a United Nations aid warehouse in northern Gaza, according to the Health Ministry.
The southern Gaza strike happened around three kilometres (1.8 miles) from the GHF site in the city of Khan Younis, as Palestinians returned from the site along one of the only accessible routes.
Palestinians are often forced to travel long distances to access the GHF hubs in hopes of obtaining aid.
– Witnesses recount firings by troops
Yousef Mahmoud Mokheimar said he was walking along with dozens others when he saw troops in vehicles and tanks racing towards them.
At the beginning they fired warning shots in air, before firing at the crowds, he said.
'They fired at us indiscriminately,' he said, adding that he was shot in his leg, and a man was also shot while attempting to rescue him.
He said he saw troops detaining six people, including three children, and it was not clear what happened to them.
'We don't know whether they are still alive,' he said.
Monzer Hisham Ismail, another witness, said troops attacked the crowds while returning from the GHF hub in eastern Khan Younis.
'We were returning from the American aid hub… we were targeted by (the Israeli) artillery,' he said.
Nasser Hospital said another person was killed near a GHF hub in the southern city of Rafah.
The Israeli military said it was reviewing information about the attacks.
In the past, the military has said it fires warning shots at people who move suspiciously or get too close to troops, including while collecting aid.
Israel wants the GHF to replace a system coordinated by the United Nations and international aid groups.
Along with the US, Israel has accused the militant Hamas group of stealing aid and using it to prop up its rule in the enclave.
The UN denies there is systematic diversion of aid.
The Israeli military said it had recently taken steps to improve organisation in the area, including the installation of new fencing, signage and the opening of additional routes to access aid.
Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing the militants of hiding among civilians because they operate in populated areas.
– Strikes in and around Gaza City intensify
In northern Gaza, at least 10 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on an aid warehouse in Gaza City, according to the Health Ministry's ambulance and emergency service.
It was not immediately clear whether there was aid at the warehouse.
The strike in Gaza City came as the military intensified its bombardment campaign across the city and the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp.
On Sunday and Monday, Israel issued widespread evacuation orders for large swathes of northern Gaza.
Palestinians reported massive bombing overnight into Monday morning, describing the fresh attacks as a 'scorched earth' campaign that targeted mostly empty buildings and civilian infrastructure above the ground.
'They destroy whatever (is) left standing… the sound of bombing hasn't stopped,' said Mohamed Mahdy, a Gaza City resident who fled his damaged house on Monday morning.
Fares Awad, head of the Health Ministry's emergency and ambulance services in northern Gaza, said that most of Gaza City and Jabaliya have become inaccessible and ambulances were unable to respond to distress calls from people trapped in the rubble.
The Israeli military said it had taken multiple steps to notify civilians of operations to target Hamas' military command and control centres in northern Gaza.
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It comes as Israeli airstrikes killed 15 Palestinians while a hospital said another 20 people died in shootings while waiting for aid on Friday. The UN human rights office says it has recorded 613 Palestinians killed within the span of a month in Gaza while trying to obtain aid. Most were killed while trying to reach food distribution points run by an Israeli-backed American organisation, while others were massed waiting for aid trucks connected to the UN or other humanitarian organisations. Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the rights office was not able to attribute responsibility for the killings. But she said 'it is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points' operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. In a message to The Associated Press, Ms Shamdasani said that of the total tallied, 509 killings were 'GHF-related' – meaning at or near its distribution sites. 'Information keeps coming in,' she added. 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Officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said at least three Palestinians were killed on Friday on their way to GHF sites in the area of Rafah in southern Gaza. The Israeli military has said previously it fires warning shots to control crowds or at Palestinians who approach its troops. On Friday, in reaction to the UN report, it said in a statement that it was investigating reports of people killed and wounded while seeking aid and that it had given instructions to troops in the field based on 'lessons learned' from reviewing the incidents. It said it was working at 'minimising possible friction between the population' and Israeli forces, including by installing fences and placing signs on the routes. Separately, witnesses have said Israeli troops open fire on crowds of Palestinians who gather in military-controlled zones to wait for aid trucks entering Gaza for the UN or other aid organisations not associated with GHF. 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It comes as Israeli airstrikes killed 15 Palestinians while a hospital said another 20 people died in shootings while waiting for aid on Friday. The UN human rights office says it has recorded 613 Palestinians killed within the span of a month in Gaza while trying to obtain aid. An Israeli army tank advances in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel (Leo Correa/AP) Most were killed while trying to reach food distribution points run by an Israeli-backed American organisation, while others were massed waiting for aid trucks connected to the UN or other humanitarian organisations. Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the rights office was not able to attribute responsibility for the killings. But she said 'it is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points' operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. 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The new evacuation zones pushed Palestinians into increasingly smaller spaces by the coast. – 20 killed Friday while seeking aid Since GHF began distributions in late May, witnesses have said almost daily that Israeli troops open fire on crowds of Palestinians on the roads leading through military-controlled zones to the food centres. Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip stand in an area at a makeshift tent camp at dusk in Khan Younis (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) Officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said at least three Palestinians were killed on Friday on their way to GHF sites in the area of Rafah in southern Gaza. The Israeli military has said previously it fires warning shots to control crowds or at Palestinians who approach its troops. On Friday, in reaction to the UN report, it said in a statement that it was investigating reports of people killed and wounded while seeking aid and that it had given instructions to troops in the field based on 'lessons learned' from reviewing the incidents. It said it was working at 'minimising possible friction between the population' and Israeli forces, including by installing fences and placing signs on the routes. Separately, witnesses have said Israeli troops open fire on crowds of Palestinians who gather in military-controlled zones to wait for aid trucks entering Gaza for the UN or other aid organisations not associated with GHF. The crowds are usually made up of people desperate for food who grab supplies off the passing trucks. On Friday, 17 people were killed waiting for trucks in eastern Khan Younis in the Tahliya area, officials at Nasser Hospital said. 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The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says more than half of the dead are women and children. The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages.

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