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Israel and Hamas continue to trade accusations. Yesterday morning, at least 26 people were killed and more than 100 others were injured in shootings near two humanitarian aid distribution centers run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an organization supported by the Jewish state and the United States. The report came from the Hamas-run Gaza Civil Defense, which accused the Israeli army of opening fire on Gazans trying to get food. The IDF immediately clarified that it had only fired warning shots and added that it was investigating the exact number of casualties.
Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal, whom Israel has accused of being a Hamas agent, said 22 people were killed near a site southwest of Khan Yunis and four near another site northwest of Rafah, attributing responsibility for both incidents to "Israeli fire."
However, the Israeli army clarified that "troops acted to prevent the suspects from approaching, ordering them to leave, and when they did not obey the order, they fired warning shots." It also noted that Palestinians advanced towards Israeli forces in the Rafah area "in a threatening manner."
Moreover, according to the Israeli military, the incident occurred several kilometers from the nearest humanitarian site and at night, when it was not open for the withdrawal of aid. The Israeli state stated that the incident is being investigated. Al Jazeera reports that at least 104 Palestinians, including 37 people near the food aid sites in Rafah, were killed yesterday in Israeli attacks on Gaza. And according to Save the Children, five children, aged between 6 and 11, "supported through our programs", were killed and two others injured after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
Most of yesterday's deaths occurred in the Teina area, about three kilometers from a distribution point east of Khan Yunis. Mahmoud Mokeimar, an eyewitness, said he was walking with a crowd of people, mostly young, towards the center. Soldiers first fired warning shots as the crowd advanced, then "it was a massacre, the occupier opened fire on us indiscriminately," he said.
Akram Aker, another witness, said troops fired machine guns and drones mounted on tanks, and that the shooting took place between 5 and 6 a.m. Sanaa al-Jaberi, a 55-year-old woman, said: “We shouted ‘food, food,’ but they just opened fire.” Mohamed Saker, head of the nursing department at Nasser Hospital, explained that most of the victims were shot in the head and chest, and that some were admitted to the already overcrowded intensive care unit. The reported deaths are the latest in a series of incidents in recent months in which hundreds of people have been killed.
However, the GHF, which employs private armed guards, claims that no fatal shootings have occurred near its facilities and instead accuses Hamas of causing panic. The IDF is not present at the sites, but monitors them from afar. The IDF has repeatedly said that it fires warning shots only if crowds get too close to its forces. Israel also accuses Hamas of hoarding food, attacking those seeking it, and falsifying the death toll.
The free flow of aid to Gaza is a key demand of the Islamist group in ongoing indirect talks with Tel Aviv for a 60-day ceasefire in the Strip, along with a full military withdrawal by the IDF.
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