Gaza aid sites closed as Israel declares ‘combat zones'
Gaza aid distribution centres will be closed for the day on Wednesday, and the Israeli military warned that roads leading to them have been designated as 'combat zones'.
The move comes after Palestinian health officials and witnesses said Israeli forces fired on people heading towards an aid distribution site on Tuesday, killing at least 27 people, in the third such incident in three days.
The Israeli army said it fired 'near a few individual suspects' who left the designated route, approached its forces and ignored warning shots, and said it was looking into reports of casualties. It has previously denied firing on civilians or blocking them from reaching the aid sites.
The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said its distribution centres would be closed for a day for 'update, organisation, and efficiency improvement work'.
'Please do not go to the site and follow general instructions. Operations will resume on Thursday', the group said in a post on Facebook.
The GHF has also announced its new executive chairman as an American evangelical Christian leader who previously backed US President Donald Trump's proposal for the US to take over Gaza.
Reverend Dr Johnnie Moore, an evangelical adviser to Trump during his first term, replaces former GHF chief Jake Wood, who resigned last week saying the organisation could not fulfil the principles of 'humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence'.
In a statement posted on X, Moore said the group 'believes that serving the people of Gaza with dignity and compassion must be the top priority'.
'The old way of doing things just won't get it done,' he said.
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