Israeli forces open fire on Gazans seeking aid, kill 30, Hamas says
At least 30 people were killed and dozens more injured when Israeli forces opened fire on people collecting aid at a distribution point in Gaza on Sunday, Hamas reported, as independent medical workers declared a "mass casualty influx."
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said 179 people, including women and children, were taken to the Red Cross field hospital in Rafah in southern Gaza early on Sunday morning, mostly with gunshot and shrapnel wounds.
All those still alive said they had been injured while trying to reach a distribution point for aid supplies, according to the ICRC, who counted 21 dead upon arrival.
The ICRC reported that never since the field hospital was set up more than a year ago had so many people with gunshot wounds arrived at once.
The reports cannot be independently verified.
The Israeli military later denied the reports and said a preliminary inquiry had found that its forces "did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site and that reports to this effect are false."
The Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) running the new humanitarian distribution centres also denied the allegations.
"Our aid was again distributed today without incident," the foundation said in a statement, adding it was "aware of rumours being actively fomented by Hamas suggesting deaths and injuries today. They are untrue and fabricated."
After a blockade of aid deliveries lasting several months, Israel has been allowing a small amount of goods into the sealed-off coastal strip for a few days.
According to the Israeli government, the GHF is to be responsible for distributing aid supplies to the population of Gaza in order to bypass UN aid organizations and other initiatives.
The UN has criticized the initiative, fearing it is aimed at luring the population to the few distribution centres in Gaza's south and accelerating their expulsion from other residential areas.
There have been reports of looting and a storming of the new distribution centres in recent days. The GHF has repeatedly denied reports of deaths, large numbers of injuries and chaotic scenes at its aid centres.
Since the start of the operation six days ago, a total of more than 4.7 million meals have been distributed to Gazans, according to the foundation. However, amid ongoing warnings of famine due to food scarcity, the ICRC says the small amount of aid reaching Gazans is "nowhere near enough."
Expansion of Israel's Gaza offensive
Later on Sunday, Israeli Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir ordered the expansion of the ground offensive to additional areas of the Gaza Strip, according to a military statement following a troop visit by the military chief in the south of the war-torn coastal area.
"We are in the midst of a powerful and relentless operation," Zamir said to soldiers.
The offensive is to continue until "the return of all our hostages and the elimination of Hamas' governing capabilities and military wing," the statement further noted.
Zamir said that the Palestinian Islamist organization is now losing control over the Gaza Strip. He did not provide details.
Previously, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that he had instructed the army to continue advancing in the Gaza Strip and to achieve all declared war objectives, "regardless of any negotiations."
Hopes for a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas have been dashed for the time being. Although Hamas agreed in its response to a proposal by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of some hostages still held there, it set further conditions.
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