Gaza's health ministry says at least 20 people were killed and 155 wounded by Israeli shelling as they waited for desperately needed food on Thursday, a claim that Israel vehemently denied, as Palestinians increasingly face deadly violence in their search for aid.
Graphic footage from the immediate aftermath of the scene filed by an eyewitness showed multiple bodies with traumatic injuries as well as pools of blood on a street strewn with rubble and dust. The health ministry said the incident was "a result of the Israeli occupation forces targeting a gathering of citizens waiting for humanitarian aid to satisfy their thirst at the Kuwaiti roundabout in Gaza."
The Kuwaiti Roundabout in Gaza City has become known as an area where aid trucks distribute food, attracting crowds of people desperate for supplies.In a statement, the IDF said: "A review of our operational systems and IDF forces on the ground found that no tank fire, air-strike or gunfire was carried out toward the Gazan civilians at the aid convoy.
The IDF claimed that "Hamas terrorists continue to harm Gazan civilians who are seeking food – and Hamas is blaming Israel for it." At least seven people were killed and 86 others injured after Israeli troops opened fire, according to health official and eyewitness. The Gaza-based Government Media Office said on Tuesday at least 400 people have been killed in several similar incident since the beginning of the war.
Last month, more than 100 people were killed in one of the worst single tragedies to occur during Israel's war with Hamas. Israeli troops opened fire near civilians gathering around food aid trucks in northern Gaza, and many of the victims were fatally run over by trucks in the ensuing panic, in what has become known locally as the "Flour Massacre.