Gaza Health Ministry: Israeli Forces Kill 20 Palestinians Waiting For Aid

(CTN News) – Gaza’s health ministry reported that Israeli fire killed 20 Palestinians in the besieged territory while they waited for desperately needed aid, but the Israeli military disputed the reports.

Officials in Gaza reported that the attack occurred as a crowd gathered to receive aid from a truck at the Kuwait roundabout, a major interchange used by humanitarian convoys carrying food into the northern Gaza Strip. They reported that more than 150 people had been injured.

According to health officials, an airstrike on an aid distribution center at al-Nuseirat camp in central Gaza killed eight people hours earlier.

It was not immediately clear which incident the Israeli military was referring to when it denied attacking aid distribution points.

“While the IDF assesses the incident with the thoroughness that it deserves, we invite the media to follow suit and only rely on credible information,” the statement read.

Gaza’s conflict has displaced most of the territory’s 2.3 million residents, and aid distributions have been marred by chaotic scenes and deadly incidents.

Muhammad Ghurab, director of emergency services at a hospital in northern Gaza, reported that occupation forces fired directly at people waiting for food trucks at the Kuwait roundabout.

As reported by an Agence France-Presse journalist on site, several bodies and injured individuals were seen.

A number of aid agencies have tried to vary the routes for convoys in recent days in order to prevent large crowds from forming and preventing the movement of the vehicles.

An NGO official in Gaza, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated, “There are very few routes and they are all extremely difficult to travel on. Tanks have driven up and down these roads for months, and they are basically just strips of rubble now, so people can predict where the trucks will be.”

UN officials have warned of famine in Gaza, which Israel has besieged since Hamas launched its unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October.

Since Gaza can only be reached via Jordan, Israel and Egypt,

Several countries have diversified their aid supply routes, including by air and sea. A Spanish aid ship sailed near the Gaza coast on Friday, the first voyage to test the feasibility of a maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza.

The Hamas group has presented a renewed ceasefire proposal to mediators and the US, which includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners. Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that the new Hamas position was based on unrealistic demands.

Several mediators, including Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, had hoped to conclude a deal before Ramadan began on Monday. A large number of police officers have been deployed around the Old City in Jerusalem in preparation for Friday’s prayer service.

About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in a surprise attack launched by Hamas on southern Israel in October. During the week-long truce in November, the militant Islamist organization released dozens of captive Israelis and foreigners. There are believed to be 130 captives in Gaza, of which 32 have died.

As a result of Israel’s retaliatory bombardment and ground operations in Gaza to destroy Hamas, at least 31,341 people have been killed, most of whom are women and children.

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