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At least 21 people died on Sunday after they went to receive assistance from the Israeli Assistance Foundation in the Gaza Strip, according to a hospital run by the Red Cross that received the bodies.
Officials at the local hospital said 175 more were injured, not to mention who fired them. An Associated Press reporter saw dozens of people being treated in hospitals.
Witnesses said Israeli forces were heading towards the aid distribution site and fired at people. There were no immediate comments from the Israeli military.
A new aid system damaged by chaos
The distribution of aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been undermined by chaos, with multiple witnesses saying Israeli forces fired fire at the crowds at the delivery site. Before Sunday, local health officials said at least six people were killed and more than 50 were injured.
The foundation says that the private security contractors guarding the site did not fire the crowds, but Israeli forces acknowledge that they fired warning shots on previous occasions.
The foundation did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a previous statement, it said it distributed 16-track aid “without any issues” early Sunday. It dismissed what was called “false reports of death, massive injuries and chaos.”
The shooting broke out near the distribution hub.
Sunday’s shooting exploded in an area controlled by Israeli forces at a roundabout one kilometre (1,000 yards) from the distribution site, an eyewitness said.
Witness Ibrahim Abu Saud said Israeli forces fired fire on people moving towards the aid distribution centre.
“There were many martyrs, including women,” said the 40-year-old resident. “We were about 300 meters (yards) away from the military.”
Abu Saud said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who said he had died at the scene. “We couldn’t help him,” he said.
Mohammed Abu Teema, 33, said he saw Israeli forces start a fire and kill his cousin and another woman while heading for the hub. He said his cousin was shot in the chest and died at the scene. Many other people, including his stepbrother, were injured, he said.
“They opened a violent fire directly towards us,” he said as they waited outside Red Crossfield Hospital for the words of their injured relatives.
The hub is part of a new controversial aid system
Israel and the US say the new system is aimed at preventing Hamas from sucking up support. Israel has not provided evidence of systematic diversion and the United Nations has denied that it happened.
United Nations agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the new system, stating that Israel is in violation of humanitarian principles, as it controls who receives assistance, forces people to move to distribution sites, and puts mass displacements on the territory at risk.
The UN system struggled to bring about aid after Israel slightly eased its total territorial blockade last month. These groups have been extremely difficult to deliver aid to the roughly 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, thanks to Israeli restrictions, breakdowns of law and order, and extensive looting.
Experts warn that if more aid is not provided, the territory is at risk of hunger.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants raided southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and acquiring 251 people. They still hold 58 hostages.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, Israel’s military campaign killed more than 54,000 people, mostly women and children. The attacks destroyed vast areas of the territory, expelled about 90% of the population, and made people almost completely rely on international aid.
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Magiddy reported from Cairo.
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