Israeli forces open fire a kilometre away from Gaza aid site, killing 3

Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip opened fire early Monday as people headed toward an aid distribution site a kilometre away killing at least three and wounding dozens health officials and a witness said The military said it fired warning shots at suspects who approached its forcesThe shooting occurred at the same location where witnesses say Israeli forces fired a day earlier on crowds heading toward the aid hub in southern Gaza run by the Israeli and USbacked Gaza Humanitarian FoundationThe Israeli military said it fired warning shots on Monday toward several suspects who advanced toward the troops and posed a threat to them around a kilometre 1000 yards away from the aid distribution site at a time when it was closed The army denied it was preventing people from reaching the siteThe United Nations and major aid groups have rejected the foundations new system for aid distribution They say it violates humanitarian principles and cannot meet mounting needs in the territory of roughly 2 million people where experts have warned of famine because of an Israeli blockade that was only slightly eased last monthIn a separate incident Monday an Israeli strike on a residential building in northern Gaza killed 14 people according to health officials The Shifa and alAhli hospitals confirmed the toll from the strike in the builtup Jabaliya refugee camp saying five women and seven children were among those killedThe military said it had struck terror targets across northern Gaza without elaborating Israel says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militant group is entrenched in populated areasAlso Monday the Palestinian Authority said a 14yearold boy was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank in the Palestinian village of Sinjil In a statement the Israeli military said troops in the Sinjil area had opened fire and neutralised someone who threw two bottles containing a dangerous substance at themShooting in southern GazaA Red Cross field hospital received 50 wounded people including two declared dead on arrival after the shooting in southern Gaza according to Hisham Mhanna a Red Cross spokesperson He said most had gunfire and shrapnel wounds Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis said it received a third bodyMoataz alFeirani 21 who was being treated at Nasser Hospital said he was shot in his leg as he walked with a crowd of thousands toward the aid distribution site He said Israeli forces opened fire as they neared the Flag Roundabout at around 530 am We had nothing and they military were watching us he said adding that drones were filming themOn Sunday at least 31 people were killed and over 170 wounded at the Flag Roundabout as large crowds headed toward the aid site according to local health officials aid groups and several eyewitnesses The witnesses said Israeli forces opened fire on the crowds at around 3 am after ordering them to disperse and come back when the distribution site opensIsraels military on Sunday denied its forces fired at civilians near the aid site in the now mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah a military zone off limits to independent media An Israeli military official speaking on condition of anonymity in line with procedure said troops fired warning shots at several suspects advancing toward them overnightThe Gaza Humanitarian Foundation which has denied previous accounts of chaos and gunfire around its sites said it had delivered aid on both days without incident On Sunday night the foundation issued a statement saying aid recipients must stay on the designated route to reach the hub Monday and that Israeli troops are positioned along the way to ensure their security Leaving the road is extremely dangerous the statement saidRisking their lives for foodSecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres said he was appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza on Sunday It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food He called for an independent investigation into what happened Israel and the United States say they helped establish the new aid system to circumvent Hamas which they accuse of siphoning off assistanceUN agencies deny there is any systemic diversion of aid and say the new system violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to control who receives aid and by forcing Palestinians to travel long distances to receive it Palestinians must pass close to Israeli forces and cross military lines to reach the GHF hubs in contrast to the UN aid network which delivers aid to where Palestinians are locatedNo end in sight to IsraelHamas warThe IsraelHamas war began when Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on October 7 2023 killing some 1200 people mostly civilians and abducting 251 Hamas is still holding 58 hostages around a third of them believed to be aliveIsraels military campaign has killed over 54000 Palestinians mostly women and children according to Gazas Health Ministry which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants The ministry is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamasrun government Its toll is seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts though Israel has challenged its numbersIsrael says it has killed around 20000 militants without providing evidence Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli pulloutIsrael has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile It has said it will maintain control of Gaza indefinitely and facilitate what it refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population Palestinians and most of the international community have rejected the resettlement plans viewing them as forcible expulsionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies 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