36 killed as Israeli troops fire at aid-seekers in Gaza

GAZA — At least 36 people were killed by Israeli fire while they were on their way to an aid distribution site in Gaza at dawn on Saturday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots at suspects who approached its troops after they did not heed calls to stop, about 1 kilometer away from an aid distribution site that was not active at the time.

Gaza resident Mohammed al-Khalidi said he was in the group approaching the site and heard no warnings before the firing began.

"We thought they came out to organize us so we can get aid, suddenly (I) saw the jeeps coming from one side, and the tanks from the other, and started shooting at us," he said.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a United States-backed group that runs the aid site, said there were no incidents or fatalities there on Saturday and that it has repeatedly warned people not to travel to its distribution points in the dark.

"The reported IDF (Israel Defense Forces) activity resulting in fatalities occurred hours before our sites opened and our understanding is most of the casualties occurred several kilometers away from the nearest GHF site," it said.

The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident.

The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a United Nations-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the accusation.

The UN has called the GHF's model unsafe and a breach of humanitarian impartiality standards, which the foundation denies.

At least 50 more people were killed in other Israeli attacks across Gaza on Saturday, health officials said, including one strike that killed the head of the police force in Nuseirat in central Gaza and 11 of his family members.

The military said it had struck militants' weapon depots and sniping posts at a few locations in the enclave.

On Sunday, at least 73 people were killed while attempting to access aid at locations across the Gaza Strip, the territory's Health Ministry said.

The largest toll was in northern Gaza, where at least 67 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach the aid site through the Zikim crossing with Israel, according to the Health Ministry and hospitals.

It was not immediately clear whether they were killed by the Israeli army or armed gangs or both. But some witnesses said the Israeli military shot at the crowd.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military on Sunday issued an evacuation order for Palestinians in central Gaza, warning of imminent action against Hamas militants in an area "where it has not operated before".

Agencies via Xinhua