Israel opens fire again near Gaza aid point killing at least 15 Palestinians - War on Gaza

Al-Ahram Weekly

3 days ago

The Israeli occupation army killed at least 15 people on Tuesday in southern Gaza near a US-backed aid centre, rescuers said.
The shooting was similar to one Sunday morning in which scores of people were killed and wounded at the same location, with witnesses saying they had been on their way to collect aid.
"At least 15 people were killed and dozens wounded... when Israeli forces opened fire with tanks and drones on thousands of civilians who had gathered since dawn near the Al-Alam roundabout in the Al-Mawasi area, northwest of Rafah," said civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal.
The roundabout is about a kilometre from an aid centre run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a recently formed group that Israel has cooperated with to implement a new aid distribution mechanism in the territory, aimed at bypassing UN agencies that have long coordinated humanitarian relief in Gaza.
Rania al-Astal, 30, said she had gone with her husband to try to get food.
"The shooting began intermittently around 5:00 am. Every time people approached Al-Alam roundabout, they were fired upon," she told AFP.
"But people didn't care and rushed forward all at once -- that's when the army began firing heavily."
'Unacceptable'
Mohammed al-Shaer, 44, who was also at the scene, said the crowd had just set off towards the aid centre when "suddenly, the Israeli army fired shots into the air, then began shooting directly at the people".
"A helicopter and quadcopters (drones) started firing at the crowd to prevent them from approaching the tank barrier. There were injuries and deaths," he told AFP.
"I didn't reach the centre, and we didn't get any food."
Sunday's shooting also took place at the Al-Alam roundabout as people gathered before heading to the aid centre, rescuers and witnesses said, with the civil defence reporting 31 people killed and 176 wounded.
Afterwards, the army denied firing at people "while they were near or within" the aid site. But a military source acknowledged "warning shots were fired towards several suspects" about a kilometre away.
UN chief Antonio Guterres called for an independent investigation into that shooting, calling it "unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food".
Soldiers killed
Israel has come under mounting pressure to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where people are facing severe shortages of food and other essentials after Israel imposed a more than two-month blockade on all supplies.
The blockade was recently eased, but the aid community has urged Israeli to allow in more food, faster.
The US-backed GHF has recently opened four aid distribution centres in southern and central Gaza, and says it has distributed more than seven million meals' worth of food.
However, the United Nations and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it, saying it contravenes humanitarian principles and appears designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
Israel has, in March, stepped up its genocidal war on Gaza, breaking the short truce.
The Israeli occupation army said Tuesday that three of its soldiers had been killed in the territory's north, bringing the number of Israeli troops killed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war to 424.
Israeli soldiers have killed at least 4,201 people in Gaza since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,470, mostly women and children.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online
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