GAZA STRIP: At least 25 people were killed and scores were wounded on Sunday as they were on their way to receive food in the Gaza Strip, according to health officials and multiple witnesses. The witnesses said Israeli forces fired on crowds around a kilometer (1,000 yards) away from an aid site run by an Israeli-backed foundation.
The army released a brief statement saying it was “currently unaware of injuries caused by (Israeli military) fire within the Humanitarian Aid distribution site. The matter is still under review.”
The foundation said in a statement that it delivered aid “without incident” early on Sunday and has denied previous accounts of chaos and gunfire around its sites, which are in Israeli military zones where independent access is limited.
Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Gaza Health Ministry’s records department, said at least 25 people were killed, including two women.
Hours earlier, officials at a nearby field hospital run by the Red Cross said that at least 21 people were killed and another 175 were wounded, without saying who opened fire on them. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.
An Associated Press reporter saw dozens of wounded people being treated at the hospital.
New aid system marred by chaos
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation ‘s distribution of aid has been marred by chaos, and multiple witnesses have said Israeli troops fired on crowds near the delivery sites. Before Sunday, at least six people had been killed and more than 50 wounded according to local health officials.
The foundation says the private security contractors guarding its sites have not fired on the crowds, while the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions.
The foundation said in a statement that it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early Sunday “without incident,” and dismissed what it referred to as “false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos.”
Agencies
At least 21 Palestinians killed while heading to Gaza aid hub
