Israel troops kill dozens of Gazans waiting for aid

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Israeli forces had on Thursday killed 20 people waiting for humanitarian aid to be distributed on the outskirts of Gaza City.

“The Israeli occupation committed a new massacre against thousands of hungry mouths who were waiting for humanitarian aid at the Kuwait roundabout in Gaza, claiming 20 martyrs and 150 wounded,” said ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra.

In a separate statement, Hamas claimed the incident amounted to a “horrific war crime”.

“Zionist forces deliberately and directly bombarded a gathering of citizens who were waiting to receive aid,” it said.

Palestinian group Islamic Jihad said they were killed by “artillery shells and missiles”, a claim AFP was unable to verify independently.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

The casualties were brought to Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, where bodies were seen lying on the floor, an AFP journalist said.

Crowds of people gathered around the injured with pools of blood collecting on the floor.

The war in Gaza erupted when Hamas and other fighters launched the unprecedented October 7 attacks on Israel which resulted in about 1,140 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

American fighters also seized 250 hostages, and Israel says around 132 remain in Gaza. That number includes the bodies of at least 28 dead hostages, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Israel in response vowed to crush Hamas and launched a relentless military offensive that the Palestinian territory’s health ministry says has killed at least 25,700 people, about 70 percent of them women and children.