UN chief Antonio Guterres yesterday called for an independent investigation into the killing of dozens of Palestinians near a US-backed aid centre in Gaza after rescuers blamed the deaths on Israeli fire and the military denied any involvement.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli gunfire killed at least 31 people and wounded 176 near the aid distribution site in the southern city of Rafah, with AFP photos showing civilians at the scene carting away bodies and medics at nearby hospitals reporting a deluge of gunshot wound victims. The Israeli military, however, denied its troops had fired on civilians in or around the centre and both it and the aid site’s administrator accused Hamas of sowing false rumours.
“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 said in a statement, without assigning blame for the deaths. “I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for the perpetrators to be held accountable.”
The Israeli government has co-operated with the group running the site, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), to introduce a new mechanism for distributing aid in Gaza that has bypassed the longstanding UN-led system. The UN has declined to work with the group out of concerns about its neutrality, with some aid agencies saying it appears designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
Israel has come under increasing international pressure to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza following a more than two-month blockade on aid that was only recently eased. The UN has warned the entire population of the territory is facing the risk of famine.
Israeli fire killed at least three Palestinians and wounded dozens of others near an aid distribution site operated by the US-based GHF, local health authorities said yesterday.
The Israeli military said it was aware of reports of casualties and the incident was being thoroughly looked into.
It said in a statement that troops operating overnight in Rafah, which is under full Israeli military control, in the southern Gaza Strip, had fired warning shots “to prevent several suspects approaching them”, adding the incident took place about 1km away from the aid distribution site.
The reported incident was the latest in a series underscoring the volatile security situation that has complicated aid delivery to Gaza, following the easing last month of an almost three-month Israeli blockade.
On Sunday, Palestinian and international officials said at least 31 people were killed and dozens wounded near the same site, one of four operated by the GHF in Rafah.
Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry said Israeli strikes across the enclave had killed 51 people and wounded 500 others in the past 24 hours. Local health authorities said at least 16 of those were killed at a house in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, yesterday.
Israel and Hamas, meanwhile, traded blame for the faltering of a new Arab and US mediation bid to secure a temporary ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas, in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli jails.
A Palestinian official close to the mediation effort yesterday said Hamas leaders were in constant contact with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo and Doha.
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