Gaza's Civil Defence Agency Reports to AFP: Israeli Strikes and Gunfire Kill 65 Palestinians on Friday, Including 10 Desperately Seeking Aid
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| Photo credit _The Seattle news |
The Israeli military and the US- and Israeli-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) have rejected claims of attacking individuals seeking aid or any fatal incidents connected to their sites.
However, after weeks of reports, UN officials and other aid organizations on Friday condemned what they described as a series of killings targeting hungry people attempting to access aid.
The new aid distribution system has turned into a death trap, with individuals fired upon while trying to obtain food for themselves and their families, said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian affairs (UNRWA).
This horrific situation must stop, and we need a return to humanitarian deliveries led by the UN, including @UNRWA, he posted on X.
According to the health ministry in the Hamas-governed territory, over 500 people have been killed near aid distribution points since late May while seeking limited supplies.
The territory's civil defense agency has also consistently reported deaths of individuals searching for aid.
People are losing their lives simply for trying to feed themselves and their families, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The pursuit of food should never result in a death sentence.
The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) labeled the GHF relief effort a massacre disguised as humanitarian aid.
Israel denies targeting civilians
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed a report by a left-leaning newspaper claiming that military commanders instructed soldiers to fire on Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza.
The daily Haaretz, citing anonymous soldiers, reported that commanders directed troops to shoot at crowds near aid distribution points to scatter them, even when they posed no danger.
According to Haaretz, the military advocate general, the army’s highest legal authority, ordered an investigation into suspected war crimes at aid sites.
The Israeli military did not respond to AFP’s request for comment on the allegation.
In a joint statement with Defence Minister Israel Katz, Netanyahu declared that Israel firmly rejects the outrageous blood libels and vicious falsehoods in the Haaretz report.
In a separate statement, the military clarified that it did not order forces to intentionally fire on civilians, including those approaching aid distribution centers.
It emphasized that Israeli military policies strictly prohibit deliberate attacks on civilians.
Israel halted deliveries of food and other essential supplies to Gaza starting in March for over two months.
It began permitting limited supplies to enter at the end of May, with GHF centers guarded by armed US contractors and Israeli troops stationed at the perimeter.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted that only a small number of medical deliveries had entered Gaza this week, according to the UN.
Militants attack Israeli forces claim
On Friday, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas, reported shelling an Israeli vehicle east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally, stated they targeted Israeli soldiers in at least two other areas near Khan Yunis, coordinating with the Al-Qassam Brigades.
The October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, which ignited the Gaza war, led to 1,219 deaths, predominantly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data.
Israel’s subsequent military offensive has resulted in at least 56,331 deaths, mostly civilians, per Gaza’s health ministry, with the United Nations deeming these figures credible.
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