Egypt Daily News – Health officials in Gaza said that Israel killed at least 27 Palestinians and injured dozens more near a food aid distribution site in the southern part of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, marking the latest episode of chaos and bloodshed surrounding aid deliveries.
The Israeli military stated that its troops opened fire on individuals who strayed from designated paths near a distribution center in Rafah, adding that an investigation into the incident is underway.
The deaths came just hours after Israel announced that three of its soldiers had been killed in fighting in northern Gaza, as its months-long military offensive against the Palestinian group Hamas continues to devastate the territory.
A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross said that its field hospital in Rafah received 184 injured people. Of those, 19 were declared dead upon arrival, and eight more succumbed to their wounds shortly after.
Video footage showed wounded individuals including at least one woman being transported to a medical center on donkey carts, before being moved on stretchers or into ambulances.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva said on Tuesday that blocking access to food aid for civilians in Gaza could amount to a war crime. It called attacks on people seeking food aid “unconscionable.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged a prompt and impartial investigation into the killings. “Deliberate attacks on civilians are a serious violation of international law and a war crime,” he said in a statement.
The U.S.-backed aid group Gaza Relief Foundation launched its first distribution sites last week in an effort to curb the growing hunger crisis among war-weary Gazans, most of whom have been displaced from their homes.
However, the foundation’s aid plan has drawn sharp criticism from the UN and well-established humanitarian organizations, which claim that Gaza Relief does not follow humanitarian principles.
The privately operated organization, which has Israeli support, said it delivered 21 truckloads of food early Tuesday and stressed that the reported violence did not occur within its controlled distribution site.
“This was an area outside our secure distribution zone,” the organization said. “We understand the difficult nature of the situation and advise all civilians to remain within the safe corridor when approaching our sites.”
Palestinians who received food boxes described chaotic scenes with no supervision or identity verification as crowds surged to get aid.
“It was complete chaos and humiliating, but people have no choice—they keep coming because there’s no food in Gaza,” said one recipient, who asked not to be named. He said he was lucky to have survived gunfire outside the aid center.
Mass Evacuation Orders
Reports of repeated killings near Rafah over the past three days have emerged, with crowds gathering before dawn each day. On Sunday, Palestinians and international officials reported at least 31 people killed and dozens injured. Three more deaths were reported on Monday due to Israeli fire.
Late Monday, the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for several areas in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, warning that it would use force against militants in those zones.
Residents were instructed to move west toward the so-called humanitarian zone of Al-Mawasi. However, Palestinian and UN officials continue to stress that no part of Gaza is truly safe, with most of its 2.3 million residents already displaced.
Gaza’s health ministry warned on Tuesday that the new evacuation orders may force the closure of Nasser Hospital, the largest still-functioning medical facility in the south, putting patients’ lives at risk.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza began after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which killed around 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages being taken, according to Israeli figures.
Since then, health authorities in Gaza say more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Meanwhile, efforts to reach a ceasefire appear stalled. Israel has signaled its willingness to accept a U.S.-backed temporary truce tied to hostage releases, while Hamas demands a full end to the war and a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
