At least 27 Palestinians killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near food distribution point, say local health authorities
At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near a food distribution site in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, local health authorities said.
It is the third consecutive day of similar incidents as Israel attempts to impose a new aid distribution regime on the Gaza Strip, which it has been blockading for weeks.
The Israeli military said its forces had opened fire on a group of individuals who had left designated access routes near the distribution centre in Rafah.
Journalists have not been able to independently the casualty count, but Reuters reports a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross told the news agency its field hospital in Rafah received 184 casualties, adding that 19 of those were declared dead upon arrival, and eight died of their wounds shortly after.
The IDF said it “is aware of reports regarding casualties, and the details of the incident are being looked into”. It claimed “troops carried out warning fire, and after the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects who advanced toward the troops” when they were allegedly not following “the designated access routes” imposed on the population by Israeli authorities.
According to the Associated Press report, the shootings all occurred at a roundabout around a kilometre from the site. At least 27 people were killed according to Zaher al-Waheidi, the head of the Gaza health ministry’s records department.
Hisham Mhanna, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said its field hospital in Rafah received 184 wounded people, 19 of whom were declared dead on arrival and eight more who later died of their wounds. The 27 dead were transferred to Nasser hospital in the city of Khan Younis.