At least 31 Palestinians shot dead heading to aid centre

Witnesses say the Israeli military opened fire from tanks on the crowd at a roundabout about 1km from distribution point

- ALISHA RAHAMAN SARKAR

At least 31 people have been killed and more than 170 wounded yesterday while on their way to receive food in the Gaza Strip after Israeli forces opened fire, according to health officials.

Eyewitnesses said the IDF fired on crowds around 1km from a new aid site run by an Israeli-backed foundation in the alMawasi area of western Rafah, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Wafa news agency. Witnesses said Israeli forces fired directly “from tanks and drones”.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said its medical teams had recovered the bodies of 23 people and treated another 23 injured at the aid site set up by the US-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Most people were shot "in the upper part of their bodies, including the head, neck and chest," said Dr Marwan al-Hams, a health ministry official at Nasser Hospital, where many wounded were transferred from the Red Cross-run field hospital.

He said 24 people were being treated in Nasser Hospital's intensive care unit. A colleague, surgeon Khaled al-Ser, later said 150 wounded people had arrived, along with 28 bodies.

The Israeli military claimed it was “currently unaware of injuries caused by [Israeli military] fire within the humanitarian aid distribution site”. The matter is still under review, the military added.