More than 35 Palestinians have been killed across Gaza in the past 24 hours, with the majority of them dying near the aid distribution site operated by Israel and the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, said the Gaza Health Ministry the UN considers credible. Eyewitnesses told the media on the ground that 15 people were killed as they were trying to approach the GHF aid distribution site near the Netzarim corridor. The injured and dead were brought to Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in central Gaza.
In response to enquiries, the Israel Defence Forces said that despite warnings that the area was an active combat zone, a crowd of Gazans was identified during the night near IDF troops operating along the Netzarim corridor “in a manner that endangered them”.
This is not the first time that aid seekers have been targeted in Gaza by the Israeli armed forces; on several instances, Israeli soldiers have opened fire on people trying to get aid for their families.
Besides those 15 killed near the aid distribution site, the rest of the people were killed in separate attacks across the enclave, medics said.
Also read: Iran to roll back nuclear cooperation with IAEA
The Gaza health ministry said on Saturday that at least 274 people have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded near aid distribution sites since the GHF began operations.
Meanwhile, Health officials at Shifa Hospital in Gaza said Israeli fire killed at least 12 Palestinians, who had gathered to wait for aid trucks along the coastal road in the north of the Strip, taking Saturday’s death toll to at least 35.
Israel's war on Gaza has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom happen to be civilians, including children and women.
The number, though, is contested as the Gazans report thousands more are missing and buried under the rubble in the largely devastated Gaza enclave.
Despite efforts by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar to restore a ceasefire in Gaza, neither Israel nor Hamas has shown willingness to back down on core demands, with each side blaming the other for the failure to reach a deal.
Follow us
