UPDATE - 30 killed, over 150 injured as Israeli forces open fire on aid seekers in southern Gaza

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, ADDS STATEMENT FROM GOVERNMENT OFFICE, REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE

By Ikram Kouachi

At least 30 Palestinians were killed and more than 150 others wounded on Sunday after Israeli forces opened fire on civilians seeking aid in Al-Mawasi, west of Rafah in southern Gaza, medical sources told Anadolu.

According to eyewitnesses, large crowds had assembled early in the morning at the aid distribution center of the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” an American organization backed by Israel.

As people approached the site, Israeli military vehicles opened fire, and drones dropped explosives resulting in mass casualties, they added.

Medical sources confirmed that the bodies of at least 30 people and dozens of injured were transported to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis and to the International Committee of the Red Cross field hospital in the city.

In a preliminary report, the Gaza Health Ministry stated that a total of 179 people were brought to local hospitals, including 21 confirmed dead, five in a state of clinical death, and 30 in critical condition, after Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd gathered at an aid distribution point in the Al-Alam area of Rafah.

A medical official described the situation around the distribution center as “extremely dangerous,” noting that ambulances had difficulty reaching the wounded due to ongoing gunfire. Some victims were evacuated using carts.

Simultaneously, Israeli forces also opened fire on civilians approaching another American aid center near the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza.

According to medical sources at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat camp, at least one Palestinian was killed and 20 others were injured when Israeli forces fired on crowds near the entrance to Al-Bureij camp.

The Government Media Office in Gaza said on Sunday that Israel is “using humanitarian aid systematically and maliciously as a weapon of war to blackmail starving civilians and forcibly gather them in exposed killing zones.”

Sunday’s deaths bring the number of Palestinians killed near aid distribution sites to 39 in less than a week, with over 220 injured during the same period, according to an Anadolu tally based on Palestinian sources.

The American aid initiative, launched under the name “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” about a week ago, has faced widespread criticism and rejection from Palestinian communities and international humanitarian organizations.

Many have questioned the motives behind the project, which operates outside the UN aid framework and fails to meet international humanitarian standards.

Since March 2, Israel has kept all border crossings shut, cutting off the entry of food, medicine, fuel, and other essential supplies for Gaza’s 2.4 million residents.

Israel has pursued a devastating offensive in Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 54,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's more than 2 million population.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.