At least 12 Palestinians killed in anticipation of help in Gaza, say medics

At least 12 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli forces while waiting for help in central gas, according to rescuers and medics.

According to the reports that the group was killed by firing near a place of distribution of assistance run by the US and Israeli humanitarian foundation Gaza (GHF) on Thursday.

GHF has denied having incidents near its site. The Israeli military told Reuters that the “suspects” had tried to approach the forces in the Netsar area and that the soldiers had fired warning shots. It says he is not aware of injuries.

The incident is the last for almost daily firing near such places of assistance in Gaza.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since the end of May, when GHF took the distribution of aid in Gaza in Israel’s attempt to bypass the UN as a major aid provider.

Almost all the casualties in Gaza in recent days have been associated with incidents surrounding assistance rather than Israeli strikes along Hamas’ goals.

The Gaza Health Ministry said on Thursday that after midnight, 12 people had been killed while seeking help without giving further details.

The Hamas Civil Defense Agency, the main Gaza Emergency Service, has told AFP that a group had been killed by Israeli shooting near the corridor in the disabled, where thousands of people collect a daily search for help.

Civil Defense official Mohammed al -Mahayir said 15 people were killed and 60 were injured in the incident. Israel does not allow international news organizations, including the BBC, in Gaza, which makes it difficult to check the numbers.

AFP said he had talked to witness Basam Abu Shaar, who said thousands of people had gathered overnight in place of distribution, supported by GHF, and that the Israeli forces were opening fire around 1:00 (22:00 gmt).

He said that the size of the crowd made it impossible for people to escape from the shooting, adding, “We could not help them or even escape.”

GHF, however, told the BBC: “There were no incidents near our site today.”

“This is again another example of a false and misleading GHM reporting (the Ministry of Health in Gaza).”

The BBC has contacted Israel’s defense forces (IDF) to respond.

According to Reuters, the Israeli military said people were approaching his forces in a threatening way.

In a Telegram statement on Wednesday, Hamas called on the UN and his humanitarian agencies to be the only distributors of assistance in Gaza.

The UN and other help groups refuse to cooperate with the new GHF -led help system. The UN says that the system contradicts the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence.

They also warn that Gaza’s population faces catastrophic starvation levels after a total of 11-week Israeli blockade, which was partially relieved a month ago.

The US and Israel say that the GHF system will prevent the help of being stolen by Hamas, which the group denies.

Separately on Thursday, the Civil Protection teams restored dozens of bodies from different parts of the Gaza Strip after reports of Israeli firing.

Seven people are reported to have been killed when a tent, sheltering, displaced civilians, was hit at Jabalia’s refugee camp in North Gaza.

Eyewitnesses and relatives of the victims told the BBC that the killed were a couple and their five children from the Asalia family.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to an attack led by Hamas against southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and 251 others were hostage.

Since then, at least 55 637 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry in Hamas.