Six Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded as Israeli forces opened fire on crowds waiting for aid trucks in Gaza, the Palestinian health ministry said Thursday.
Palestinians were rushing to get relief supplies at a roundabout in the Kuwait neighborhood south of Gaza City on Wednesday night when Israeli forces opened fire, residents and health officials said. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident, Hina news agency writes.
Because of the war in Gaza, most of the enclave’s 2.3 million inhabitants have been displaced. During the distribution of humanitarian aid, there have been chaotic scenes and deadly incidents as desperately hungry people struggle to get food.
Palestinian health authorities said on February 29 that Israeli forces killed more than 100 Palestinians as they waited for food trucks near Gaza City. Israel said the men died amid a crowd surrounding the aid trucks, saying the victims were run over.
In the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinian health officials said eight people were killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit a food distribution center on Thursday.
In Deir Al-Balah, also in central Gaza, an Israeli missile hit a house, killing nine people, Palestinian doctors said. Residents said Israeli air and ground bombardment continued overnight on areas throughout the enclave, including
Rafah in the south, where more than a million displaced people have taken refuge.
As the war enters its sixth month, the UN has warned that at least 576,000 people in Gaza – a quarter of the population – are on the brink of starvation, and global pressure is mounting on Israel to allow greater access to the enclave.
Israel denies obstructing the delivery of aid to Gaza. He blames the delays on the failures of aid agencies and accuses Hamas of diverting aid. Hamas denies this and says Israel is using hunger as a weapon in its military offensive.
Hamas on Thursday called for escalating protests and attacks on Israel in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem on Friday, the first of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“We call on our revolutionary youth, the resistance brigades throughout the West Bank, in the neighborhoods of Jerusalem to rise up in mass rallies,” Hamas said in a statement.
