UN chief Antonio Guterres called Monday for an independent investigation into the killing and wounding of scores of Palestinians near a US-backed aid centre in Gaza the day before.
The Gaza Civil Defense Authority reported that Israeli gunshots resulted in at least 31 fatalities and injured 176 individuals close to an aid distribution center in Rafah City, located in the south, on Sunday. Medical personnel at local hospitals confirmed they received numerous patients suffering from gunshot wounds.
The Israeli military denied firing at people “while they were near or within” the site.
However, a military official admitted that "warning shots were directed at multiple suspects" during the night, roughly a kilometer away.
“I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday. It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,” Guterres said in a statement, without assigning blame for the deaths.
“I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable.”
The Israeli authorities have collaborated with the organization managing the website of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to implement a novel method for delivering assistance in Gaza, effectively circumventing the long-standing UN-administered distribution framework.
The United Nations has chosen not to collaborate with the organization due to worries regarding its impartiality.
– ‘Bullets were chasing people’ –
One 33-year-old who was present on Sunday told AFP it was “around 5 or 5:30 am, before sunrise” when the gunfire broke out at a spot known as the Al-Alam roundabout, where a crowd had gathered from the wee hours of the morning to wait before heading to the GHF centre about a kilometre away.
“Of course it was the Israeli army who shot live bullets,” said the witness, who declined to be named for fear of Israeli reprisals.
“Thousands of people were waiting at Al-Alam roundabout… but the army fired and everyone ran away. There was fear and chaos. I saw with my own eyes martyrs and wounded in the area.”
A different eyewitness within the gathering, 35-year-old Mohammed Abu Deqqa, stated, "Initially, we believed them to be merely cautionary gunshots."
But soon the gunfire escalated dramatically. I started noticing individuals sprawled on the ground, drenched in blood. This occurred around 5:30 AM. , ” he said.
Individuals began fleeing, yet numerous could not evade. Even as folks attempted to run away, the gunfire pursued them.
Photos captured by AFP approximately at 5:40 am depicted civilians transporting corpses on donkey-drawn carts soon after dawn broke.
Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said teams of rescuers arrived around 6:00 am and began assisting with the dead and wounded, though civilians and other paramedics had already taken some to Nasser hospital and a Red Cross field hospital.
– ‘Warning shots were fired’ –
The military on Sunday said an initial inquiry indicated its troops “did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site”, and urged “media to be cautious with information published” by Hamas.
But according to an Israeli military source, “warning shots were fired towards several suspects who advanced towards the troops” overnight.
The event occurred "roughly one kilometer away" from the GHF distribution center, outside of business hours, according to the source.
An army spokesperson named Effie Defrin stated on Sunday that "Hamas is making every effort to prevent us from" delivering assistance, and pledged to "look into all these accusations" regarding Israeli forces.
A representative from GHF likewise charged Hamas with spreading "false reports," stating, "Every bit of assistance was handed out today without any issues."
In a video statement released from Nasser Hospital on Sunday morning, British surgeon Victoria Rose recounted a situation she termed as "complete chaos," noting that "every bay is occupied, and each patient has suffered gunshots."
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stated that their field hospital in Rafah treated 179 individuals, with 21 of them being declared deceased upon arrival.
The ICRC stated that all the injured "mentioned they were attempting to get to an assistance distribution center," noting further that "most of them sustained injuries from gunshots or shrapnel."
– ‘Intense force’ –
As of Monday, GHF reported that it has handed out over 5.8 million meals' worth of provisions from its facilities.
Israel has faced growing global scrutiny to enhance the humanitarian conditions in Gaza after a more than two-month restriction on assistance was finally relaxed.
The United Nations has cautioned that the whole population faces the threat of starvation, and has additionally documented instances of aid being stolen recently, some involving armed persons.
Negotiations intended to achieve a truce have thus far been unsuccessful in generating significant progress.
The civil defense spokesperson Bassal stated that on Monday, 14 individuals lost their lives due to an Israeli attack on a residence in Jabalia, located in the northern area.
The Israeli military additionally ordered the evacuation of multiple western sections of Khan Yunis in the southern area, informing inhabitants that they would "act with significant force" in those regions.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 4,201 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 54,470, mostly civilians.
Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
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