The UN human rights chief condemned such attacks as a “breach of international law and a war crime”, after a similar shooting in the same area of southern Gaza on Sunday killed and wounded scores of Palestinians seeking aid, according to the civil defence agency.
“Twenty-seven people were killed and more than 90 injured in the massacre targeting civilians who were waiting for American aid in the Al-Alam area of Rafah,“ said civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal, who earlier told AFP the deaths occurred “when Israeli forces opened fire with tanks and drones”.
The United Nations and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the group, saying it contravenes humanitarian principles and appears designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
“The troops carried out warning fire, and after the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects who advanced toward the troops,“ it said, adding it was “aware of reports regarding casualties” and was looking into the details.
“The shooting began intermittently around 5:00 am. Every time people approached Al-Alam roundabout, they were fired upon,“ she told AFP.
- ‘Unacceptable’ -
“A helicopter and quadcopters (drones) started firing at the crowd to prevent them from approaching the tank barrier. There were injuries and deaths,“ he told AFP.
The army maintained it was “not preventing the arrival of Gazan civilians to the humanitarian aid distribution sites”.
“This was an area well beyond our secure distribution site and operations area,“ it added, advising “all civilians to remain in the safe corridor when travelling to our distribution sites”.
Afterwards, the army denied firing at people “while they were near or within” the aid centre. But a military source acknowledged “warning shots were fired towards several suspects” about a kilometre from the site.
“Deadly attacks on distraught civilians trying to access the paltry amounts of food aid in Gaza are unconscionable,“ UN human rights chief Volker Turk said after Tuesday’s deaths.
- Soldiers killed -
The blockade was recently eased, but the aid community has urged Israel to allow in more food, faster.
Israel has recently stepped up its offensive in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 4,201 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 54,470, mostly civilians.
Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
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