Israeli troops fire at Palestinians as aid plan becomes mired in disorder

27 Palestinians were killed and 90 injured at the Al Alam roundabout in Rafah, as per Palestinian rescue services

- Anat Peled, Suha Ma'ayeh & Abeer Ayyoub

Israeli troops shot at Palestinians making their way to an aid distribution site in southern Gaza, another chaotic confrontation under a new assistance program implemented in recent weeks.

Twenty-seven Palestinians were killed and 90 injured at the Al Alam roundabout in Rafah, according to Palestinian rescue services and the Gaza health ministry, marking the second deadly shooting in the same area in a week as thousands have flocked to aid-distribution sites as part of an American-Israeli plan.

The Israeli military said some people left the route designated, ignored warning shots and approached its troops roughly 500 yards from one of the distribution sites on Tuesday.

"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," the military said. It said it was reviewing reports of casualties.

On Sunday, over 20 Palestinians were killed near the same site, according to rescue services and witnesses at the scene. An Israeli military official said that troops had fired warning shots at crowds close to the same site.

The latest shooting incident underscored a flaw in the new Israeli-backed aid distribution system—masses of people are traveling through potential active fighting areas to access aid. More than 20 countries and the United Nations have criticized the Israeli-American plan as putting civilians in unnecessary danger and aid groups have refused to cooperate with it. Previously, the U.N. had been responsible for distributing aid at hundreds of sites across Gaza.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the nongovernmental organization that distributes the aid, has suffered a series of setbacks, including the resignation of its chief executive the day before it launched. The foundation said distribution sites would be closed Wednesday for reorganization and improvements and reopen on Thursday.