Gaza rescuers say Israeli fire kills 31 in latest deadly shooting near aid centre
The Gaza civil defence agency said 31 people were killed and "about 200" wounded Wednesday when Israeli troops fired on people waiting to enter a food distribution centre.
"We transported at least 31 martyrs and about 200 wounded as a result of Israeli tank and drone fire on thousands of citizens... on their way to receive food from the American aid centre," civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Bassal said thousands of Palestinians had been gathering since 2am in the hope of reaching the US and Israeli-backed food distribution centre.
"Israeli tanks fired several times, then at around 5:30 am intensified their fire, coinciding with heavy fire from drones targeting civilians," he said.
Medical officials at Shifa and Al-Quds Hospitals said at least 25 people were killed as they approached the aid site near the former settlement of Netzarim, southwest of Gaza City.
Ten other people were killed in other Israeli military strikes in Khan Younis in the south of the enclave, they added.
Restrictions imposed on media in the Gaza Strip and the difficulties of access on the ground mean the death tolls could not be independently verified.
There have been a series of deadly shootings since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) first opened aid distribution points in the Palestinian territory on May 27, as Israel faced mounting international condemnation over the humanitarian conditions.
After similar incidents in recent days, the Israeli army said it fired warning shots to distance "suspects" who were approaching the troops and posed a threat.
The war erupted after Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in an October 7, 2023, attack, Israel's single deadliest day.
Israel's military campaign has since killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened most of the coastal enclave.
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