Palestinians killed after Israeli military opens fire at aid distribution point
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Tuesday that at least 15 people were killed in the south of the Gaza Strip – with Palestinian news agency Wafa putting the number higher at 24 – when Israeli troops again opened fire near an aid distribution point.
A correspondent for Wafa reported that “Israeli artillery and aircraft fired shells and gunfire at displaced people as they waited for aid” in the vicinity of the Al-Alam roundabout, which is to the west of Rafah. It reported that 200 people were injured.
The IDF said in a statement Tuesday that it shot “a few individual suspects who advanced toward the troops”, claiming that people had not followed designated routes. It said “The IDF is aware of reports regarding casualties, and the details of the incident are being looked into”, adding that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation operates “to enable the distribution of aid to the Gazan residents – and not to Hamas.”
Jake Wood, the ex-Marine who previously headed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation resigned several days ago, saying the operation could not fulfil its mission in a way that adhered to “humanitarian principles”.
Key events
10 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza – reports
At least ten Palestinians have been reported killed by Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, according to news agency Wafa.
The dead, it reported, included two children killed in a strike on a house sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis.
Medical sources told Wafa that Nasser hospital had received 32 bodies, including 24 people killed when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid distribution point earlier in the day.
Reuters reports that the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which Israeli authorities are using to bypass the traditional aid groups operating inside the Palestinian territories, said it distributed 21 truckloads of food early Tuesday.
In its statement about troops opening fire on people near an aid distribution point in southern Gaza, Israel’s military has claimed “IDF troops are not preventing the arrival of Gazan civilians to the humanitarian aid distribution sites. The warning shots were fired approximately half a kilometer away from the humanitarian aid distribution site toward several suspects who advanced toward the troops in such a way that posed a threat to them.”
At the weekend Philippe Lazzarini, the Unrwa commissioner-general described the aid distribution system being enforced by Israeli authorities as a “death trap”, adding that “This humiliating system has forced thousands of hungry and desperate people to walk for tens of miles to an area that’s all but pulverized due to heavy bombardment.”
Israel’s military has announced overnight that three soldiers have been killed in combat in the north of the Gaza Strip.
The Times of Israel reports that according to an initial IDF probe, the five troops were in a vehicle in Jabaliya when it was struck by an explosive device. Two other troops were wounded in the incident. 423 Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat inside Gaza since Israel began its ground operation there following the surprise 7 October Hamas attack inside southern Israel.
Palestinians killed after Israeli military opens fire at aid distribution point
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Tuesday that at least 15 people were killed in the south of the Gaza Strip – with Palestinian news agency Wafa putting the number higher at 24 – when Israeli troops again opened fire near an aid distribution point.
A correspondent for Wafa reported that “Israeli artillery and aircraft fired shells and gunfire at displaced people as they waited for aid” in the vicinity of the Al-Alam roundabout, which is to the west of Rafah. It reported that 200 people were injured.
The IDF said in a statement Tuesday that it shot “a few individual suspects who advanced toward the troops”, claiming that people had not followed designated routes. It said “The IDF is aware of reports regarding casualties, and the details of the incident are being looked into”, adding that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation operates “to enable the distribution of aid to the Gazan residents – and not to Hamas.”
Jake Wood, the ex-Marine who previously headed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation resigned several days ago, saying the operation could not fulfil its mission in a way that adhered to “humanitarian principles”.
Welcome and opening summary …
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s rolling coverage of the conflict in Gaza and the wider Middle East. Here are the headlines …
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Gaza’s civil defence agency said Tuesday that Israeli troops killed at least 15 people in the south of the Gaza Strip. “At least 15 people were killed and dozens wounded … when Israeli forces opened fire with tanks and drones on thousands of civilians who had gathered since dawn near the Al-Alam roundabout in the Al-Mawasi area, northwest of Rafah,” civil defence spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal told news agency AFP. The Palestinian news agency wafa put the number of people killed at 24
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The IDF said in a statement Tuesday that it shot “a few individual suspects who advanced toward the troops” during the movement of Palestinians along the designated routes toward aid distribution sites in the southern Gaza Strip. It said the people deviated from the designated routes
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Israel’s military said three soldiers were killed during combat in northern Gaza on Monday, without providing details. Israeli media reported that they were killed in an explosion in the Jabaliya area. About 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the 7 October attack, including more than 400 during the fighting inside Gaza
