GAZA CITY — Gaza’s Hamas-controlled civil defense agency said that Israeli forces on Tuesday killed at least 50 people gathered near an aid distribution site in Khan Younis in the territory’s south.
There had previously been almost daily reports of shootings resulting in the deaths of dozens of Palestinians trying to reach the sites of the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Israel has disputed the claims its forces caused mass deaths.
Hamas-run civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal — identified by Israel as a Hamas operative — told AFP that at least 50 people were killed and more than 200 wounded as thousands of Palestinians gathered to receive flour at a charity aid center in the morning.
The figures could not be verified, and Hamas does not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants.
“Israeli drones fired at the citizens. Some minutes later, Israeli tanks fired several shells at the citizens, which led to a large number of martyrs and wounded,” he said.
The Israeli army told AFP it was looking into the incident.
“Earlier today, Gazans were identified gathering next to an aid truck that got stuck in Khan Younis, next to Israeli forces operating in the area,” the army said in a statement.
“We are aware of reports of a number of casualties from IDF fire after the mass neared [troops.] The details under being checked,” it added. The statement did not mention if a tank was involved.
The army said it regrets any injury to the innocent and acts to minimize harm to civilians while keeping troops protected.
Videos shared on social media purporting to be of the aftermath of the incident showed dozens of bodies, some badly mutilated, scattered over a wide area, along with damaged vehicles.
Gaza’s Hamas health ministry later reported that as a result of the incident, “51 martyrs and more than 200 injuries have arrived at Nasser Medical Complex, including 20 in critical condition.”
The World Health Organization said initial reports pointed to at least 20 fatalities.
“This is again the result of another food distribution initiative,” said Thanos Gargavanis, WHO trauma surgeon and emergency officer, without giving further details.
The Gaza Strip has been ravaged by more than 20 months of war between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas, which started the war on October 7, 2023, when it led a devastating invasion of southern Israel that killed 1,200 people.
Tuesday’s incident was the latest in nearly daily reports of mass deaths of Palestinians seeking aid in recent weeks, including near sites operated by the GHF.
Local health officials asserted that at least 23 people were killed by Israeli gunfire on Monday as they approached a GHF aid distribution site in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. In previous incidents, it has occasionally acknowledged troops opening fire near aid sites at suspects who approached their positions while ignoring warnings to stay away. It has suggested the figures provided by Hamas are inflated. Israel blames terrorists for provoking the violence.
The GHF stated in a press release late on Monday that it had distributed more than three million meals at its four distribution sites without incident.
Israel has put responsibility for distributing much of the aid it allows into Gaza into the hands of the GHF, which operates sites in areas guarded by Israeli troops. Soldiers are not at the centers themselves, though they secure approach routes.
The United Nations has rejected the plan, saying GHF distribution is inadequate, dangerous, and violates humanitarian impartiality principles.
Also Tuesday, the military said a Hamas tunnel that ran underneath the European Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, where the terror group’s leader Muhammed Sinwar was killed in a strike, had been sealed with concrete.
The IDF said that after scanning the tunnel and recovering the bodies of Sinwar and other senior Hamas military wing commanders, it pumped 250 cubic meters of concrete into the underground passages, sealing them shut.
The IDF said it did not blow up the tunnel as it does with many others in Gaza, because that would have damaged the medical center above it.
The military said its actions in the area, including the strike on May 13 that killed Sinwar and the Hamas commanders, were “carried out in a pinpoint and precise manner, while avoiding damage to the hospital building.”
A Times of Israel reporter saw broken windows and other minor damage at the hospital during an army-escorted tour earlier this month.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Monday that 5,139 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on the territory on March 18 following a truce.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
Mediated negotiations between the sides for a new ceasefire and hostage release deal are ongoing.