At least 27 Palestinians killed near Gaza aid site; U.N. demands investigation

By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Crispian Balmer

CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near a food distribution site in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, health officials said, in a third day running of chaos and bloodshed to blight the aid operation.

The Israeli military said its forces had opened fire on a group of people who had left designated access routes near the distribution centre in Rafah and approached their positions. 

It added it was still investigating what had happened.

The deaths came hours after Israel said three of its soldiers had been killed in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, as its forces pushed ahead with a months-long offensive against Hamas militants that has laid waste to much of the enclave.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports in northern and southern Gaza.

A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross told Reuters that its field hospital in Rafah had received 184 casualties, adding that 19 of those were declared dead upon arrival, and eight died of their wounds shortly after.

Video showed injured people, including at least one woman, being rushed to a medical centre on carts drawn by donkeys, before being transferred onto stretchers or into ambulances.

The United Nations human rights office in Geneva said on Tuesday the impediment of access to food relief for civilians in Gaza might constitute a war crime and described attacks on people trying to access food aid as "unconscionable".

The head of the U.N. agency, Volker Turk, urged a prompt and impartial investigation into the killings. "Attacks directed against civilians constitute a grave breach of international law, and a war crime," he said in a statement.

The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation launched its first distribution sites last week in an effort to alleviate widespread hunger amongst Gaza's war-battered population, most of whom have been forced to abandon their homes to flee fighting. 

The Foundation's operation, which bypasses traditional aid groups, has come under fierce criticism from the United Nations and established charities which say it does not follow humanitarian principles.

The private group, which is endorsed by Israel, said it had distributed 21 truckloads of food early on Tuesday and stressed that the reported violence had not happened within its site.

"This was an area well beyond our secure distribution site and control. We recognize the difficult nature of the situation and advise all civilians to remain in the safe corridor when traveling to our distribution sites."

Palestinians who collected food boxes on Tuesday described scenes of pandemonium, with no-one overseeing the handover of supplies or checking IDs, as the crowds jostled for provisions.

"It is complete chaos and humiliation, and people have no choice but to keep coming because there is no food in Gaza," said one Palestinian, who declined to be named, adding that he was lucky to have survived the shootings outside the aid centre.

MASS EVACUATIONS

There have been reports of repeated killings over the past three days near Rafah as crowds gather before dawn.

On Sunday, Palestinian and international officials said at least 31 people were killed and dozens more injured. On Monday, three Palestinians were reportedly killed by Israeli fire.

The Israeli military has denied targeting civilians and called reports of deaths during Sunday's distribution "fabrications" by Hamas.

On Tuesday, it said IDF forces had identified "a number of suspects" moving towards them while deviating from the access routes. "The forces fired evasive shots, and after they did not move away, additional shots were fired near the individual suspects who were advancing towards the forces," it said.

The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders to residents of several districts in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip late on Monday, warning that the army would act forcefully against militants operating in those areas. 

The military told residents to head west towards the Mawasi humanitarian area. Palestinian and United Nations officials say there are no safe areas in the enclave, and that most of its 2.3 million population has become internally displaced.

The territory's health ministry said on Tuesday that the new evacuation orders could halt work at the Nasser Hospital, the largest, still-functioning medical facility in the south, endangering the lives of those being treated there.

Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 assault in which Hamas-led gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies. 

In the subsequent fighting, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed, local health authorities say.

Meanwhile, recent efforts to secure a ceasefire appear to have stalled. Israel has said it accepts a U.S.-backed temporary truce to release hostages, while Hamas wants a permanent end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

(Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi in Cairo, Crispian Balmer in Jerusalem, Jana Choukeir, Olivia de Poidevin and Emma Farge; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Sharon Singleton)