Gaza: Rescue Services Report 46 Killed in Israeli Strikes Near Aid Centers

Gaza: Rescue services reported that 46 people waiting for aid were killed and dozens more injured by Israeli fire near distribution centers in the Palestinian territory, which has been suffering from more than 20 months of war.

"Twenty-one dead and about 150 injured were transferred to the hospital (...) after Israeli occupation forces targeted gatherings of citizens waiting for aid" between 2:00 AM and 6:00 AM near the Netzarim junction in the central Gaza Strip, said Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for the rescue services, to AFP.

In an inquiry by AFP, an Israeli army spokesperson stated that they had "identified" a gathering close to Israeli soldier positions at the Netzarim junction. Reports of injuries from Israeli fire are "under review," he added.

Mr. Bassal later reported that 25 other individuals were killed by Israeli fire in southern Gaza while civilians "were attempting to reach a humanitarian center" near Rafah.

When questioned by AFP regarding these statements, the Israeli army did not respond or comment.

Images filmed by an AFP journalist showed injured individuals, visibly unconscious, being transported to a hospital.

"Sixty percent of the injured who were transferred to the Red Cross field hospital are in critical condition, and most of them will die," stated Ziad Farhat, a paramedic met at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza, advising people to "avoid going to aid centers."

• Mediation -

Given the restrictions placed on the media in the Gaza Strip and the difficulties accessing the ground, AFP is unable to independently verify the death tolls provided by the Civil Defense.

Qatar, Germany, and France emphasized the importance of a ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday, alongside the ceasefire announced by the United States between Israel and Iran.

The Prime Minister of Qatar, a mediator between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, stated that Doha is working to resume negotiations for a new ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

"We hope that the Israeli side does not take advantage of the ceasefire with Iran to (...) continue its bombings" in Gaza, added Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.

Israel partially relaxed a total blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip at the end of May, which had led to severe shortages of food, medicine, and other essential goods.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an opaque organization funded by Israel and the United States, operates four meal distribution centers in the besieged Palestinian territory, including in the two areas where the shootings occurred on Tuesday.

• "Abomination" -

Thousands of people flock there daily in hopes of receiving food, as noted by AFP correspondents, but the distributions lead to chaotic scenes.

According to the Health Ministry of the Hamas government for Gaza, 516 people have been killed and nearly 3,800 injured by Israeli fire since the end of May while attempting to reach food aid distribution centers in the Gaza Strip.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described the use of food as a weapon in Gaza as a "war crime," urging the Israeli army to "stop shooting at people trying to obtain it."

"The so-called newly created 'aid mechanism' is an abomination that humiliates and degrades desperate people. It is a deadly trap, costing more lives than it saves," condemned Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), from Berlin.

The UN and humanitarian NGOs refuse to work with the GHF due to concerns regarding its procedures and neutrality.

On Tuesday morning, five more individuals were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a home in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, Mr. Bassal reported.

The Gaza war was triggered on October 7, 2023, by an unprecedented attack from Hamas on Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.

Over 56,077 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the Gaza Strip during the Israeli military's retaliatory campaign, according to data from the Hamas Health Ministry for Gaza, deemed reliable by the UN.

© Agence France-Presse