At least 27 dead, 90 injured in Gaza shooting

At least 27 people were killed and over 90 injured by Israeli forces near a humanitarian aid distribution center in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza.

This marks the second fatal incident in three days near an aid site. The ministry said victims were waiting to collect food when the shooting began. 

Of those killed, 24 bodies and 37 injured individuals were brought to the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis. The hospital’s director-general, Atef Al-Hout, stated that most casualties were the result of gunfire.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged a shooting took place roughly 500 meters from an aid site run by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

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“Earlier today, during the movement of the crowd on the regulated routes on the way to the distribution complex, about half a kilometer from the complex, IDF forces identified a number of suspects moving towards them while deviating from the access routes,” the IDF said in a statement.

“The forces fired evasive shots, and after they did not move away, additional shots were fired near the individual suspects who were advancing towards the forces,” the statement continued.

The IDF noted that it is aware of reports of casualties and confirmed that “details of the incident are under investigation.” It also emphasized that it does not obstruct civilians from reaching aid centers.

“IDF forces do not prevent Gaza residents from reaching the aid distribution complexes,” the military said. “The shooting was carried out about half a kilometer from the distribution complex at individual suspects who approached the forces in a manner that endangered them.”

GHF also issued a statement, asserting that its aid distribution operations on Tuesday were completed “safely and without incident at our site today.”

However, GHF acknowledged the IDF’s ongoing investigation into whether civilians were harmed after “moving beyond the designated safe corridor and into a closed military zone.”

“This was an area well beyond our secure distribution site and operations area,” the organization said. “We recognize the difficult nature of the situation and advise all civilians to remain in the safe corridor when traveling to our distribution sites.”

GHF’s efforts have faced scrutiny from humanitarian agencies, including the United Nations, which has refused to participate over concerns that GHF lacks independence from Israeli military operations.

Just two days earlier, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that dozens were killed and more than 200 injured by Israeli fire near another aid distribution site outside Rafah. The IDF and GHF have challenged that version of events.

In response, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has called for an independent investigation into the incident.

A GHF spokesperson told ABC News on Monday, “There hasn’t been what we would consider a major incident at our distribution sites or the surrounding facility and so far it is going relatively well.”

“However, we are looking for ways to improve it so we can get more meals delivered,” the spokesperson added. “We are encouraged by our operations in the first week and the fact that we were able to provide nearly six million meals in first full week.”

(ABC News)

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