The Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip said today that Israeli forces killed at least 50 people who had gathered near an aid distribution center in the southern Palestinian territory, revising up the previous death toll.
The organization's spokesman, Mahmoud Basal, told AFP that at least 50 people were killed and more than 200 injured as thousands of Palestinians gathered this morning to receive aid in Khan Yunis.
"Israeli drones fired at people. A few minutes later, Israeli tanks fired multiple missiles, resulting in a large number of martyrs (dead) and wounded," Basal said.
Agence France-Presse says it cannot independently confirm the information released by the Civil Defense, given media restrictions in the Gaza Strip and difficult access to the ground.
The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas, announced that 51 dead and 200 wounded had arrived at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, with 20 of the wounded in critical condition.
Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on people trying to reach food distribution centers run by a separate aid group, backed by the US and Israel, since the centers opened last month.
The Israeli army admitted that it fired warning shots at people who "approached Israeli forces in a suspicious manner," the AP reported.
The previous day, the Civil Defense reported that 20 people were killed by Israeli army fire while they were going to collect humanitarian aid in Rafah in southern Gaza.
The Palestinian territory has been devastated after more than 20 months of war between Israel and Hamas, and the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate.
The war was launched after a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1.219 people were killed on the Israeli side, according to an Agence France-Presse calculation based on official figures, including hostages who died or were killed in captivity after their abduction that day.
The Gaza Health Ministry said 5.139 people have been killed in the territory since Israeli attacks resumed on March 18 after a two-month ceasefire. The total death toll in Gaza since the start of the war is 55.432, according to the ministry.
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