Gaza’s civil defence agency reported today that Israeli forces on Tuesday killed more than 50 Palestinians near an aid centre in the southern part of the territory. This incident marks the latest in a series of similar occurrences amidst severe shortages of essential supplies after over 20 months of war.
The conflict, which began in October 2023 between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, has devastated the Gaza Strip, leading to critical shortages of food, fuel, and clean water.
Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defence, told AFP that at least 53 people were killed and approximately 200 wounded when thousands of Palestinians converged to receive flour near an aid distribution point in the southern city of Khan Yunis. “Israeli drones fired at the citizens. Some minutes later, Israeli tanks fired several shells at the citizens, which led to a large number of martyrs and wounded,” he stated.
Mohammad Abu Amer, an eyewitness at the scene, informed AFP that “ordinary, unarmed people” were targeted. Speaking from Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, where the deceased and injured were transported, he recounted, “They went to buy bread and flour for their children, and (Israeli forces) killed them in cold blood.”
The Israeli army stated it was investigating “reports regarding a number of injured individuals” from its fire. It acknowledged that “a gathering was identified adjacent to an aid distribution truck that got stuck” near Israeli forces operating in the area.
Separately, in Rafah, also in southern Gaza, the civil defence agency reported that four people were killed by Israeli fire. Two more fatalities were reported from Israeli shelling near a hospital in Gaza City, located in the north.
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