At least 51 Palestinians were killed and more than 200 injured in the Gaza Strip while waiting for UN trucks and commercial vehicles carrying vital food supplies, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and a local hospital.
Palestinian witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli forces launched an airstrike on a nearby building and then opened fire on a crowd in the southern city of Khan Younis.
Israeli military officials said soldiers spotted people gathered around a truck carrying humanitarian aid that was stuck in Khan Yunis, near the Israeli military's area of operations.
“There were reports of several casualties from IDF fire as the crowd began to approach. An investigation is underway,” the statement said.
The shooting was likely unrelated to a new Israeli- and US-backed humanitarian aid delivery system that was introduced last month and has already been plagued by controversy and violence.
Yusef Nofal, a witness to the events, said he saw scores of people lying motionless and bleeding on the ground after Israeli forces opened fire. “It was a massacre,” he said, adding that soldiers continued to shoot at people as they tried to flee the area.
Mohammed Abu Keshfa said he heard a loud explosion, followed by intense gunfire and tank fire. “I miraculously survived,” he said.
The dead and wounded were taken to the city's Nasser Hospital, where the death toll was confirmed.
Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on crowds trying to reach food distribution sites run by a separate US- and Israeli-backed aid agency since the centers opened last month. Local health workers say dozens have been killed and hundreds wounded.
In these cases, the Israeli military admitted firing warning shots at people they said were approaching their positions in a suspicious manner.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
