Israeli fire kills 60 in Gaza, many near aid site, medics say
CAIRO: Israeli gunfire and airstrikes killed at least 60 Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday (Jun 12), most of them near an aid site operated by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the centre of the enclave, local health officials said.
Medical officials at Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals said at least 25 people were killed and dozens wounded as they approached a food distribution centre near the former Jewish settlement of Netzarim before dawn.
Israel's military, which has been at war with Hamas militants since October 2023, said its forces fired warning shots overnight towards a group of suspects as they posed a threat to troops in the area of the Netzarim Corridor.
"This is despite warnings that the area is an active combat zone. The IDF is aware of reports regarding individuals injured; the details are under review," it said.
Later on Wednesday, health officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip said at least 14 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire as they approached another GHF site in Rafah.
The GHF late on Wednesday accused Hamas of killing at least five people in an attack on a bus carrying two dozen Palestinians working with the aid organisation to one of its distribution sites.
"We will continue our mission to provide critical aid to the people of Gaza," it said in a statement.
The foundation earlier said it was unaware of Wednesday's incidents involving civilians but added that it was working closely with Israeli authorities to ensure safe passage routes are maintained, and that it was essential for Palestinians to closely follow instructions.
"Ultimately, the solution is more aid, which will create more certainty and less urgency among the population," it said by email in response to Reuters questions.
"There is not yet enough food to feed everyone in need in Gaza. Our current focus is to feed as many people as is safely possible within the constraints of a highly volatile environment."
GHF said it distributed 2.5 million meals on Wednesday, the largest single-day delivery since it began operations, bringing to more than 16 million the number of meals provided since its operations started in late May.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says that since then, 163 Palestinians had been killed and over 1,000 wounded trying to obtain the food boxes.
The United Nations has condemned the killings and has refused to supply aid via the foundation, which uses private contractors with Israeli military backup in what they say is a breach of humanitarian standards.
Elsewhere in Gaza on Wednesday, its health ministry said at least 11 other people were killed by separate Israeli gunfire and strikes across the coastal enclave.
The war erupted 20 months ago after Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, on Oct 7, 2023, Israel's single deadliest day.
Israel's military campaign has since killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the densely populated strip, which is home to more than two million people. Most of the population is displaced and malnutrition is widespread.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday there had been "significant progress" in efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, but that it was "too soon" to raise hopes that a deal would be reached.
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AsiaOne
a day ago
- AsiaOne
Israeli attacks kill 44 Palestinians in Gaza, UN warns of water shortage, World News
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AsiaOne
2 days ago
- AsiaOne
As death toll rises, Gazans make life-risking journeys to seek food, World News
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Straits Times
3 days ago
- Straits Times
‘You either come back carrying food, or in a shroud': Gazans make life-risking journeys to seek food
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to reach Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid sites since late May. PHOTO: REUTERS 'You either come back carrying food, or in a shroud': Gazans make life-risking journeys to seek food GAZA/CAIRO - Like thousands of other Palestinians in Gaza, Hind Al-Nawajha takes a dangerous, miles-long journey every day to try to get some food for her family, hoping she makes it back alive. Accompanied by her sister, Mazouza, the mother-of-four has to duck down and hide behind a pile of rubble on the side of the road as gunshots echo nearby. 'You either come back carrying (food) for your children and they will be happy, or you come back in a shroud, or you go back upset (without food) and your children will cry,' said Ms Al-Nawajha, 38, a resident of Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza. 'This is life, we are being slaughtered, we can't do it anymore.' On June 17 and 18, dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire as they tried to get food from aid trucks brought into the enclave by the United Nations and international relief agencies, Gaza medics said. On June 19, medics said at least 51 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes, including 12 people who tried to approach a site operated by the United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the central Gaza Strip, the latest in near-daily reports of killings of people seeking food. The Israeli military said there were several attempts by 'suspects' to approach forces in the area of Netzarim in the central Gaza Strip, in a manner that endangered them. It said forces fired warning shots to prevent suspects from approaching them, and it was currently unaware of injuries in the incident. In an e-mail, GHF criticised Gazan health officials, accusing them of regularly releasing inaccurate information. GHF said that Palestinians do not access the nearby GHF site via the Netzarim corridor. It did not address questions about whether GHF was aware that such an incident had occurred. Thirty-nine people were killed, meanwhile, in separate Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip on June 19, medics said. One of those strikes killed at least 19 people, including women and children, in a tent in Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, they added. Another strike killed at least 14 people and damaged several houses in Jabalia, in the north of the enclave, medics said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on those attacks. In recent days, the Israeli military said its forces had opened fire and fired warning shots to disperse people who approached areas where troops were operating, posing a threat. It said it was reviewing reports of casualties among civilians. Sleeping by the road Israel has been channelling much of the aid it is now allowing into Gaza through GHF, a new US- and Israeli-backed group, which operates a handful of distribution sites in areas guarded by Israeli forces. The Gaza health ministry said hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to reach GHF sites since late May. The United Nations rejects the GHF delivery system as inadequate, dangerous and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. Israel says it is needed to prevent Hamas fighters from diverting aid, which Hamas denies. On June 18, the GHF said in a statement it had distributed 3 million meals across three of its aid sites without an incident. The Gaza war was triggered when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 55,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, while displacing almost the entire population of more than 2 million and causing a hunger crisis. The Norwegian Refugee Council warned on June 19 that more than 1 million people were without adequate shelter, saying equipment such as tents and tarpaulins had been blocked by Israel from entering since March 1. Ms Al-Nawajha returned empty-handed on June 18 from her journey to find food, flopping down exhausted on the dusty ground outside the tent in Gaza City, where she has been displaced and sheltering with her family. She and her sister have been camping by the road for the past 20 days. They say they try to force their way into the distribution site where trucks carrying aid arrive, but are often outmuscled by men, who sometimes fight over sacks of flour coming off UN trucks. '(When) there is no food, as you can see, children start crying and getting angry,' she said. 'When we are for three, four kilometres or more on our legs... Oh my... our feet are bruised and our shoes are torn off.' REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
