Israel kills 38 Palestinians in Gaza near food distribution centres, says health ministry
The military has designated certain routes to access food centres and residents have been told leaving roads is dangerous, but many do so, to try to get to food first
At least 38 Palestinians were killed on Monday in new shootings in areas of food distribution centres in the south of the Gaza Strip, the local Health Ministry said.
The toll was the deadliest yet in the near-daily shootings that have taken place as thousands of Palestinians move through Israeli military-controlled areas to reach food centres run by the private contractor Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed aid group bypassing the longstanding UN-led system in the tiny enclave.
Two witnesses said Israeli troops opened fire early on Monday in an attempt to control the crowds.
There was no immediate comment by the Israeli military. It has said in previous instances that troops fired warning shots at what it calls “suspects” approaching their positions.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said most of the dead were trying to reach the GHF centre near the southern city of Rafah, although a few were on the roads to a newly opened hub on the outskirts of the nearby city of Khan Younis.
Two Palestinians trying to get food at the Rafah site, Heba Jouda and Mohammed Abed, told the Associated Press that Israeli forces fired on the crowds at around 4am at the Flag Roundabout. The roundabout, hundreds of metres from the GHF centre, has repeatedly been the scene of shootings.
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