Israeli attack on Palestinians near Gaza aid distribution centre kills at least 31, officials say

At least 31 people have been killed and more than 170 wounded on Sunday 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 al-Mawasi 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.

Backed by the US and Israel but not endorsed by the UN, the GHF’s distribution of aid has been marred by chaos, and multiple witnesses have reported incidents of Israeli troops firing 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.

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The foundation says the private security contractors guarding its sites did not fire on the crowds. The GHF claimed it delivered aid "without incident" early on Sunday.

Chaos ensued when Israeli forces began firing at a roundabout around 1km from the distribution site, according to multiple eyewitnesses.

Amr Abu Teiba, who was in the crowd, told the Associated Press that “there was fire from all directions, from naval warships, from tanks and drones”.

Ibrahim Abu Saoud said troops opened fire at people moving toward the aid distribution centre, killing dozens, including women. He said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who he said had died at the scene. “We weren't able to help him,” he said.

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Mohammed Abu Teaima, 33, said he saw Israeli forces open fire and kill his cousin and another woman as they were heading to the hub. He said his cousin was shot in the chest and died at the scene.

"They opened heavy fire directly toward us," he said as he was waiting outside the Red Cross field hospital for word on his wounded brother-in-law.

Journalist Mohammed Ghareeb told the BBC that rescue crews could not access the area, which is under Israeli control. “This forced residents to use donkey carts to transport victims to the field hospital.”

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The foundation began aid deliveries last Monday after Israel lifted its aid blockade. But Palestinians appeared to have heeded warnings, including from Hamas, about biometric screening procedures employed at the foundation's aid distribution sites. Israeli officials said the process allowed screening of recipients to exclude anyone found to be connected with Hamas.

The UN and other aid agencies have refused to work with the new system, citing a violation of humanitarian principles as it allows Israel to control who receives aid.

Israel and the GHF last week accused Hamas of trying to block civilians from reaching the aid distribution centre. Hamas denied the accusation.

In an earlier statement, the GHF said it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early on Sunday “without incident”. It dismissed what it referred to as “false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos”.

The UN has described Gaza as the “hungriest place on Earth” while Israel allowed only a “trickle” of food into the enclave, with 300 aid trucks unable to offload due to operational bottlenecks.

As a small flow of aid has resumed, Israeli forces – now in control of large parts of Gaza – have kept up attacks on various targets around the enclave, killing 3,901 Palestinians since a two-month ceasefire collapsed in mid-March, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

More than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's air and ground war, Gaza health authorities say. The offensive was launched following a cross-border Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023, during which 1,200 people died and 251 hostages were captured.