On Sunday morning, according to Gaza health officials and witnesses, Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd gathering to receive food aid about 1000 yards away from an aid station operated by an Israeli-backed foundation, resulting in at least 31 Palestinians dead and 170 others injured.
The Israeli military issued a brief statement, stating that they are currently “unaware of any casualties caused by the Israeli military at the humanitarian aid distribution point, and the matter is still under investigation.”
The foundation stated in a press release that the aid distribution work was “smoothly” completed on Sunday morning, distributing aid supplies from 16 trucks, and denied the alleged “false reports about deaths, mass casualties, and confusion.”
These distribution points are located in Israeli military-controlled areas where independent media find it difficult to access.
An Associated Press reporter arrived at the field hospital around 6 a.m. and saw dozens of wounded, including women and children. The reporter also witnessed a large crowd returning from the distribution point, some carrying boxes of aid supplies.
Witnesses reported that when the crowd reached a flag roundabout about 1000 yards from the distribution point around 3 a.m., Israeli forces opened fire.
Amr Abu Teiba, who was in the crowd at the time, said, “Gunfire was coming from all directions, from naval ships, tanks, and drones.” He mentioned seeing at least 10 bodies with gunshot wounds and several injured individuals, including women. People were using carts to transport the deceased and wounded to the field hospital, describing the scene as “very horrific.”
Israel and the United States have stated that the new aid distribution system aims to prevent Hamas from diverting aid supplies. Israel has not provided any evidence of systematic diversion, and the United Nations has also denied any such occurrences.
UN agencies and major aid organizations have refused to comply with the new system, citing violations of humanitarian principles that allow Israel to control distribution of aid supplies and force people to relocate to distribution points, potentially leading to another large-scale displacement in the region.
The Hamas-Israel conflict began on October 7, 2023, when armed militants affiliated with Hamas breached into southern Israel, killing around 1200 people, most of them civilians, and kidnapping 251 individuals. Currently, Hamas still holds 58 hostages, with approximately one-third believed to be alive.
On Saturday, the Israeli military confirmed that in an earlier airstrike this month, they had killed three senior Hamas leaders, including Mohammed Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, who is the brother of the mastermind of the 2023 attack on Israel, Yahya Sinwar.
(This article referenced reporting from POLITICO)