Civil Defense announces 46 killed by Israeli gunfire near aid center

The Gaza Civil Defense announced Tuesday that 46 people waiting for humanitarian aid were killed and dozens more injured by Israeli gunfire near distribution centers in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

"Twenty-one dead and around 150 wounded were taken to hospital [...] after Israeli occupation forces targeted groups of civilians waiting for aid" between 2:00 and 6:00 a.m. local time (11:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. GMT) near the Netzarim crossing in central Gaza, Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for the emergency services, told AFP.

When asked by AFP, an Israeli army spokesperson confirmed the military had "identified" a gathering near positions of Israeli soldiers stationed at the Netzarim crossing. Reports of injuries due to Israeli fire are "under review," the spokesperson added.

Bassal later reported another 25 people killed by Israeli gunfire in southern Gaza, as civilians "tried to reach a humanitarian center" near Rafah in the early morning hours.

AFP requested comment from the Israeli army on this second incident but received no response.

Footage captured by an AFP journalist shows wounded and seemingly unconscious individuals being rushed to hospital.

"Sixty percent of the injured brought to the Red Cross field hospital are in critical condition, and most of them will die," said Ziad Farhat, a paramedic at Nasser Hospital in Gaza, who urged people not to go to aid centers due to the danger.

Media restrictions and international condemnation

Due to restrictions on media access and conditions on the ground in Gaza, AFP cannot independently verify the casualty figures provided by Civil Defense officials.

France condemned "the Israeli gunfire that hit civilians gathered around an aid distribution center in Gaza" and called on Israel to "allow immediate, large-scale, and unhindered access to humanitarian aid."

Qatar, Germany, and France reiterated Tuesday the urgent need for a truce in Gaza, in parallel with the U.S.-announced ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

Qatar’s Prime Minister, whose country is mediating between Israel and Hamas, said Doha is working to resume negotiations for a new cease-fire in Gaza.

Israel had slightly eased a total blockade on Gaza in late May. The siege, imposed in early March, has caused extreme shortages of food, medicine, and other essential goods.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S.- and Israeli-backed group with opaque funding, operates four meal distribution centers in the besieged enclave, including in the areas where Tuesday’s shootings occurred.

'Abomination'

Thousands of people flock to these sites daily hoping for food aid, AFP correspondents reported, though the scenes are often chaotic and dangerous.

According to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, 516 people have been killed and nearly 3,800 injured by Israeli fire since the end of May while trying to reach food distribution points.

The U.N. Human Rights Office on Tuesday called the use of hunger as a weapon in Gaza a "war crime," urging the Israeli military to "stop shooting at people trying to obtain food."

"The so-called 'aid mechanism' recently created is an abomination that humiliates and degrades desperate people. It is a deadly trap, costing more lives than it saves," said Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees.

The U.N. and many humanitarian NGOs have refused to work with the GHF, citing concerns over its practices and lack of neutrality.

The war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, with an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

In retaliation, Israel launched a military campaign that has killed more than 56,077 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the territory’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, whose figures are considered credible by the U.N.