Dozens of Palestinians killed seeking aid, Gaza civil defence ministry says

Israeli gunfire killed at least 30 Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid in northern Gaza on Wednesday, according to the Hamas-run civil defence agency.

A Gaza civil defence spokesperson told the AFP news agency that Israeli fire wounded around 300 more people. Israel said details of the incident “are still being examined”.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said they fired “warning shots” after Gazans gathered around aid trucks 3km southwest of the Zikim crossing, but they were “not aware of any casualties” from IDF gunfire.

Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said his facility had received 35 bodies following the incident, according to AFP.

Later, the hospital said at least 48 Palestinians were killed, according to the Associated Press.

Separately, Gaza hospital sources told the BBC that six Palestinians were killed near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution centre in the Rafah area of Gaza on Wednesday morning.

The GHF told the BBC no killings took place at or near its sites on Wednesday.

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) told the BBC a “gathering of suspects” it said posed a threat to its troops were told to move away, and subsequently the army fired “warning shots” at a distance of “hundreds of metres away” from the distribution centre.

The military also said “an initial review suggests that the number of casualties reported does not align with the information held by the IDF”.

According to the UN human rights office, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to access food aid since late May.

More than 150 people have died of malnutrition since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, including 89 children, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says.

It comes as a group of UN-backed global food security experts warned that the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” in Gaza, despite Israel this week announcing a series of “tactical pauses” in military operations to allow aid into the territory.

Israel says it is not imposing restrictions on aid entering Gaza, claims rejected by some European nations and the UN.

This week, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the “trickle of aid” into Gaza “must become an ocean”.

“Food, water, medicine and fuel must flow in waves and without obstruction. This nightmare must end,” he added.

On Thursday, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Israel to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Witkoff’s visit comes as Canada followed France and the UK in announcing plans to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September – the third G7 nation to do so.

More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli’s military campaign in Gaza since October 2023, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, including 18,592 children and 9,782 women.

Israel launched its offensive in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage.