Gaza ministry says Israel killed more than 30 aid seekers, Israel denies

More than 30 Palestinians were killed and nearly 170 injured on Sunday near a food distribution site in south Gaza, the health ministry said, as witnesses reported Israeli soldiers fired on people trying to collect aid and Israel denied it.

The US-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said food was distributed without incident on Sunday at the distribution point in Rafah and there were no deaths or injuries.

GHF released an undated video to support its statement that showed dozens of people gathering around piles of boxes. Reuters could not independently verify the video or what took place.

Witnesses said the Israeli military opened fire as thousands of Palestinians gathered to receive food aid. Israel's military said an initial inquiry found soldiers had not fired on civilians while they were near or within the distribution site.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry said 31 people were killed with a single gunshot wound to the head or chest from Israeli fire as they were gathered in the Al-Alam district aid distribution area in Rafah. It said 169 were injured.

In addition to Israeli gunshots, residents and medics said an Israeli tank had opened fire at thousands of people en route to the Rafah site.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its field hospital in Rafah received 179 casualties, most with gunshot or shrapnel wounds.

"All patients said they had been trying to reach an aid distribution site. This is the highest number of weapon-wounded in a single incident since the establishment of the field hospital more than a year ago," the ICRC said.

The UN has said most of Gaza's 2-million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade on aid entering the strip.

The GHF launched its first distribution sites last week and said it would launch more. The Israeli military said GHF has established four sites so far.

The organisation's aid plan, which bypasses traditional aid groups, has come under fierce criticism from the UN and humanitarian organisations which said GHF does not follow humanitarian principles.

There were chaotic scenes when hungry Gazans rushed its sites last last week. Hamas reported deaths and injuries in the tumult, and Israel said its troops fired warning shots.

Because the GHF distribution points are few and all in south Gaza, UN officials have said its plans force Palestinians, specially in the north, to relocate and face unsafe conditions.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN's Palestinian relief agency, condemned Sunday's deaths and said on X that "aid distribution has become a death trap".

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office accused Israel of using aid as a weapon  "employed to exploit starving civilians and forcibly gather them at exposed killing zones, which are managed and monitored by the Israeli military".

At Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis city, where some casualties were taken, Gaza paramedic Abu Tareq said there was "a tragic situation in this place. I advise them nobody goes to aid delivery points".

Israel has denied people in Gaza are starving because of its actions, saying it is facilitating aid deliveries and pointing to its endorsement of the new GHF distribution centres and its consent for other aid trucks to enter Gaza.

US President Donald Trump said last month  a lot of people in Gaza were "starving".

Israel accused Hamas of stealing supplies intended for civilians and using them to entrench its hold on Gaza. Hamas denied looting supplies and has executed a number of suspected looters.

Reda Abu Jazar said her brother was killed while he waited to collect food near the Rafah aid distribution centre.

"Let them stop the massacres, stop this genocide. They are killing us," she said while  Palestinian men gathered for funeral prayers.

The Red Crescent reported 14 Palestinians were injured on Sunday near a separate GHF aid site in central Gaza.

Israel and Hamas meanwhile traded blame for the faltering of a new Arab and US mediation bid to secure a temporary ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli jails.

Hamas said on Saturday it was seeking amendments to a S-backed ceasefire proposal, but Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff rejected the group's response as "totally unacceptable".

Egypt and Qatar said in a joint statement they are continuing with efforts to overcome disagreements and reach a ceasefire.

Hamas on Sunday welcomed the efforts and expressed its readiness to start a round of indirect negotiations immediately to reach an agreement.

Israel began its offensive in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7  2023 which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken as hostages into Gaza.

Israel's campaign has devastated much of Gaza, killing more than 54,000 Palestinians and destroying most buildings. Much of the population lives in shelters in makeshift camps.

Reuters