 "Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip. AP")
United Nations General Secretary Antonio Guterres has called for an independent investigation into the deaths of Palestinians near an aid centre in Gaza, as reports claim that Israel opened fire on people waiting in line for food.
Several people have died as they stood in line at an aid centre in Rafah run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). While the Red Cross has reported 21 deaths, the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency put the death toll at 31.
“I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday. It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,” Guterres said in a statement, without assigning blame for the deaths.
“I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable.”
Last week, at least four people had died as “hordes of hungry” people stormed into a food supply warehouse in central Gaza. AFP released video footage showing crowds storming the Al-Ghafari warehouse in Deir Al-Balah, seizing bags of flour and boxes of food while gunfire echoed in the background.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US and Israeli-backed outfit that runs the distribution centres, denied that any such incident had taken place. The military instead said that troops fired “warning shots” at people who approached them one kilometre away from the Rafah distribution site before dawn.
Impact Shorts
View AllIDF releases video
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has released a video that shows armed men shooting at civilians who were on their way to collect aid.
No ceasefire in sight
As Israel and Hamas fail to reach a ceasefire yet, Qatar and Egypt have said that they will step up efforts for Gaza truce negotiations after the Palestinian terrorist organisation expressed willingness to hold “fresh” rounds of talks.
Doha, Cairo and Washington have been engaged in months of back-and-forth mediation with Israel and Hamas. Still, another round of negotiations aimed at ending 20 months of war in Gaza this week appeared to conclude once more without a breakthrough.
At the same time, a report by CNN last week said that Israel had agreed to a US proposal for a ceasefire from President Donald Trump’s Middle East Envoy, Steve Witkoff. The temporary truce proposal calls for the release of 10 living and 18 dead hostages and a 60-day ceasefire of fighting in Gaza.
With inputs from agencies