In the early hours of Friday, the health ministry administered by Hamas in Gaza reported that 20 Palestinians had died and 155 injured in Israeli fire as they were in the beleaguered enclave, waiting to receive much-needed relief. However, Israel dismissed the accusations as “erroneous”.
In the devastated Palestinian region, where fighting continues after negotiators failed to achieve a truce for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, efforts to send more aid into the area intensified on Thursday.
The health ministry revised up the initial death toll from 11 to 100, saying that people had congregated at a roundabout in northern Gaza City when they were fired upon by Israeli soldiers.
Mohammed Ghurab, director of emergency services at a hospital in northern Gaza, told AFP there were “direct shots by the occupation forces” on people who had gathered at the roundabout to wait for a food truck.
A journalist from AFP who was on the scene saw multiple bodies and wounded individuals.
The Israeli military denied firing on the throng of Gazans awaiting assistance.
“Press reports that Israeli forces attacked dozens of Gazans at an aid distribution point are erroneous,” it said in a brief statement, adding that it was “analyzing the incident seriously”.
