At least 12 Palestinians killed waiting for aid in Gaza, say medics

At least 12 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces pending help in the center of Gaza, according to rescuers and doctors.

The reports indicate that the group was killed by shots near a help distribution site managed Thursday by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The GHF denied that there were incidents near its site. The Israeli army told Reuters that the “suspects” had tried to approach the forces in the field of Netzarim and that the soldiers had drawn warning plans. He said he was not aware of injuries.

The incident is the last of the almost daily shots near these Gaza aid sites.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since the end of May, when the GHF has resumed the distribution of assistance to Gaza in an Israel attempt to bypass the UN as a main aid provider.

Almost all Gaza victims in recent days have been linked to incidents around the delivery of aid, rather than Israeli strikes on Hamas targets.

The Gaza Ministry of Health said on Thursday that since midnight, 12 people had been killed during the request for help, without giving more details.

The Civil Defense Agency led by Hamas – the main emergency service of Gaza – told the AFP news agency that a group had been killed by Israeli shots near the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of people gathered aid daily.

Civil Defense Manager Mohammad al-Mughayyir said 15 people had been killed and 60 injured in the incident. Israel does not allow international press organizations, including BBC, in Gaza, which makes it difficult to verify figures.

AFP said that he had spoken to Bassam Abu Shaar, who said thousands of people had gathered overnight on the GHF distribution site, and that Israeli forces opened fire around 1:00 am (22:00 GMT).

He said that the size of the crowd had prevented people from escaping gunshots, adding: “We couldn’t help them or even escape.”

The GHF, however, told the BBC: “There was no incident to our site today.”

“It is once again another example of a false and deceptive report by the GHM [Gaza health ministry]. “”

The BBC contacted Israeli Defense Forces (FDI) for an answer.

According to Reuters, the Israeli army said people had approached its forces threatening.

In a telegram statement on Wednesday, Hamas called on the UN and its humanitarian agencies to be the only distributors of aid to Gaza.

The UN and other aid groups refuse to cooperate with the new Help system led by the GHF. The UN says that the system contravenes the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence.

They also warn that the Gaza population faces catastrophic levels of hunger after a total Israeli blockage of 11 weeks which was partially attenuated a month ago.

The United States and Israel say that the GHF system will prevent aid from being stolen by Hamas, which the group denies.

Thursday, separately, the civil defense teams recovered dozens of bodies from various parts of the Gaza Strip following Israeli bombing reports.

Seven people were killed when a tent sheltering inappropriate civilians was affected in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

Eye witnesses and relatives of the victims told the BBC that people killed were a couple and their five children from the Asaliya family.

The Israeli army launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the attack by Hamas against southern Israel on October 7, 2023, during which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 55,637 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas Ministry of Hamas in the territory.