ReutersAccording to rescuers and medical staff, at least 12 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces while awaiting aid in central Gaza.
The group was killed by gunfire near a distribution location run by the U.S. and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Thursday.
GHF denied any incidents near its site. The Israeli military told Reuters that the “suspect” had tried to approach troops in the Nezarim area and soldiers fired warning guns. It says that there is no harm.
The incident is the latest in nearly daily shootings near such aid sites in Gaza.
Hundreds of Palestinians were killed since late May when the GHF took over the aid allocation in Gaza, Israel attempted to bypass the United Nations as the main supplier of aid.
Almost all casualties in Gaza have been linked to the incident of aid delivery in recent days, rather than an Israeli strike against Hamas targets.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health said on Thursday that 12 people have been killed since midnight while seeking assistance without providing more details.
Gaza’s main emergency services department, operated by Hamas, told AFP that an organization was shot and killed by Israel near the Netzarim corridor, and thousands of people are seeking assistance every day.
Civil Defense official Mohammad al-Mughayyir said 15 people were killed and 60 were injured in the incident. Israel does not allow international news organizations, including the BBC, to enter Gaza, so it is difficult to verify the figures.
AFP said it was witnessed by Bassam Abu Shaar saying he said thousands of people gathered at GHF-backed distribution sites overnight, and Israeli troops opened fire at 01:00 (GMT 22:00).
The size of the crowd kept people from escaping gunfire, he said, adding: “We can’t help but they even escaped ourselves.”
GHF However, the BBC told the BBC: “There are no events anywhere near our website today.”
“This is again another example of false and misleading reports from GHM (Gaza Ministry of Health).”
The BBC has contacted the IDF to respond.
According to Reuters, the Israeli military said people have approached the troops in a threatening manner.
In a telegraph statement Wednesday, Hamas called on the United Nations and its humanitarian agencies to be the only distributor of Gaza’s aid.
The United Nations and other aid organizations refuse to work with the new GHF-led aid system. The United Nations said the system violates humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence.
They also warned that Gaza’s population faced catastrophic hunger levels, partly eased after the total number of Israeli lockdowns a month ago at 11 weeks.
The U.S. and Israel say the GHF system will block the aid stolen by Hamas, which the group denied doing.
The Civil Defense Forces recovered dozens of bodies from various parts of the Gaza Strip after reports of Israeli shelling on Thursday.
Seven people were reportedly killed when an asylum displaced civilian was attacked in the Jabbaria refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Witnesses and relatives of the victim told the BBC that the person killed was a couple whose five children were from the Asaliya family.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza on October 7, 2023 in response to Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and another 251 were taken hostage.
At least 55,637 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health in the region.
