31 killed after Israel opens fire on Gaza aid centre - with 175 more wounded
At least 31 people have been killed as they attempted to access aid in the Gaza Strip after coming under Israeli tank fire, local medics have claimed.
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The Gazan citizens were gathering aid from an Israeli-backed foundation in Rafah, with officials saying that another 175 people were wounded.
Israel's Defence Forces said they were unaware of injuries caused by their own fire.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which distributes aid at these locations, has denied the reports.
The group added the claims are "fabricated".
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution of aid has been marred by chaos in recent days, 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 did not fire on the crowds, while the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots.
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In an earlier statement, it said it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early Sunday “without incident" and dismissed what it referred to as “false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos.”
The gunfire on Sunday erupted at a roundabout near the distribution site, in an area that is controlled by Israeli forces, witnesses claimed.
Gunshots are said to have rung out near the aid distribution hub, with the Israeli military providing no immediate comment following reports of the deaths.
Ibrahim Abu Saoud, an eyewitness, said Israeli forces opened fire at people moving toward the aid distribution centre.
“There were many martyrs, including women,” the 40-year-old man said. “We were about 300 meters (yards) away from the military.”
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.
The hub was part of a controversial new aid system, with Israel and the United States asserting that the new system would prevent Hamas from siphoning off assistance.
Israel has not provided any evidence of systematic diversion, and the U.N. denies it has occurred.
U.N. 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 U.N. 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 2 million Palestinians.
Experts have warned that the territory is at risk of full-blown famine if more aid is not brought in.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s military campaign has killed over 54,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed vast areas of the territory, displaced around 90% of its population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid.
