(LONDON) — At least 36 Palestinians were killed while attempting to get aid in southern Gaza on Tuesday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
This is the highest death toll from a shooting near an aid distribution center in Gaza since the opening of the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution sites last month, according to numbers from the health ministry.
The shooting happened when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid distribution site in central Gaza on Tuesday morning, according to two local hospitals in Gaza. Over 100 people were injured in the shooting, according to the two hospitals.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement it fired “warning shots to distance suspects,” who were advancing in the area and “posed a threat to troops.”
The IDF said the warning shots were fired “hundreds of meters form the aid distribution site,” before it opened in the statement.
“The IDF is aware of reports regarding several individuals injured in the area,” it said. “An initial inquiry suggests that the number of reported individuals injured does not align with the information held by the IDF.”
“The details are under review,” the IDF said.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — which has been running aid distribution in Gaza since Israel lifted its 11-week blockade last month — resumed aid distribution on Monday after previous shootings near aid sites, saying it gave out 1,386,000 meals at two sites. The GHF has not specified what it considers a meal.
The GHF has closed its aid distribution sites several times since it began distributing meals after several shooting incidents. As of Tuesday, at least 163 people had been killed while trying to get aid from GHF aid distribution sites, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The blockade was instituted to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages taken during Hamas’ surprise terror attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people and led to the capture of hundreds, Israel said.
The GHF was first announced on May 19 — three days after the Israeli government began its increased military operation in Gaza. After the end of an 11-week Israeli blockade on aid entering Gaza, the GHF — a private contractor backed by the U.S. and Israel — took over distributing aid in Gaza.
Humanitarian groups and the United Nations have said the GHF politicizes aid and criticized the role of IDF forces in the operation.
Palestinians in Gaza remain at risk of extreme starvation and famine even after Israel lifted the blockade on all humanitarian aid entering the Strip, according to aid groups like the U.N., the International Committee of the Red Cross and others.
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