Israeli soldiers have killed dozens of Palestinians and wounded hundreds as they sought aid in Gaza, according to Palestinian officials.
The soldiers fired at the crowds on Tuesday morning as they gathered along the main eastern road in the southern city of Khan Younis. It was the latest in a string of killings since the Israel- and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) launched operations to distribute food in the enclave three weeks ago.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that at least 51 civilians were killed. However, the death toll is expected to rise as many of the injured are in a critical condition, according to medics at Nasser Hospital, where the casualties were being treated.
Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal added that more than 200 people were injured although reports concerning the number of casualties varied.
“Israeli drones fired at the citizens. Some minutes later, Israeli tanks fired several shells at the citizens, which led to a large number of martyrs and wounded,” the spokesman said, noting that the crowd had assembled in the hope of receiving flour.
Israel did not immediately comment on the incident.
‘Shredded to pieces’
Survivors described horrific scenes.
“Dozens of civilians, including children, were killed, and no one could help or save lives,” survivor Saeed Abu Liba, 38, told Al Jazeera.
Yousef Nofal, who called the event a “massacre”, said he saw many people lying motionless and bleeding on the ground. The soldiers continued to fire on people as they fled, he said.
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“I survived by a miracle,” said Mohammed Abu Qeshfa, who mentioned both heavy gunfire and tank shelling.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balal in central Gaza, quoted medical sources at Nasser Hospital as saying many victims were “unidentifiable” because they had been “shredded to pieces” in the attack.
The incident on Tuesday is the latest in a string of killings around GHF food distribution centres.
The private organisation began distributing aid at the end of May after Israel partially lifted an almost three-month blockade of food and other essential items that has put Gaza’s 2.3 million people at risk of famine.
The United Nations and other major humanitarian groups have refused to work with the GHF, saying it cannot meet the level of need in Gaza and it breaks humanitarian principles by giving Israel control over aid access.
After previous shootings, which have been a near-daily occurrence since the aid centres opened, the military has said its soldiers had fired warning shots at what it called suspects approaching their positions although it did not say whether those shots struck anyone.
The death toll of more than 50 people made Tuesday the deadliest day around the GHF sites so far. Previously, that record was set on Monday, when 38 people were killed, mostly in the Rafah area south of Khan Younis.
Reports indicated more than 300 people have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded while trying to collect aid from the GHF.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has hit out at Israel over the killings of Palestinians near the aid delivery points.
“I urge immediate, impartial investigations into deadly attacks on desperate civilians to reach food distribution centres,” he said on Monday.