U.N. calls for probe into reports dozens killed at Gaza aid site
June 3 (UPI) -- United Nations head Antonio Guterres has called for "an immediate and independent investigation" into reports that Israeli forces shot and killed dozens of Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza over the weekend.
"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, the United Nations' secretary-general, said Monday in a statement.
"I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable."
On Sunday, at least 31 Palestinians were killed and 200 injured when Israel Defense Forces soldiers opened fire on those at an aid station in Rafah, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement.
The ministry accused Israel of using the aid centers as "a new mechanism" to conduct mass killings in Gaza amid an acute shortage of medical supplies.
Dr. Ahmed Abu Sweid, an Australian doctor who recently arrived in Gaza, said in a recorded statement that they had received civilian casualties at the Nasser Medical Complex, just north of Rafah, on Sunday who were wounded after being told to go to an aid center to collect food.
He said the civilians showed up at the medical center with gunshot wounds and shrapnel wounds, most of whom arrived in critical condition, some were dead on arrival due to "target gunshot wounds to the head and thorax.
"I've never seen anything like this," he said.
Israel has denied responsibility, saying findings from a preliminary investigation show that "the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site."
"The reports are false," Israel said in a statement, while accusing Hamas of doing "everything in its power to undermine food distribution efforts in the Gaza Strip."
Israel's foreign ministry rejected Guterres' statement, deriding it for not mentioning Hamas, the militant group it has been at war with in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.
"What a disgrace," the ministry said.
"Does the U.N. really care about providing aid to the people in Gaza, or is it more focused on feeding Hamas and its war machine?"
Since the war began with Hamas' surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw another 251 kidnapped, Israel has devastated Gaza, killing nearly 54,500 people, mostly women and children.
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