CNN
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Israeli forces fired fire on Gazas in search of food aid on the territory, killing at least 32 people, the Palestinian Ministry of Health and witnesses said.
The ministry said the bodies were brought to the Nasser Medical Complex, along with dozens of injured people.
CNN videos from the hospital showed the body lines. One man holding his dead son said, “He just wanted to eat, what can I do?”
It is not clear exactly where the filming took place. Witness Hisham Dalgam said about four kilometers (2.5 miles) have emerged from the aid distribution point run by the controversial Israeli-US aid organization, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
“The gunshots erupted from the soldiers and tanks, as if they were in a fight with us,” he said.
The Israeli military said the forces “identified suspects who approached them during operational activities in the Rafa area.”
The Israeli Defense Force said the troops fired warning shots and were investigating reports of the victims.
The GHF denied that there was an incident on Saturday that was “or near” the distribution site.
“The reported IDF activity died several hours before the site opened, resulting in casualties a few kilometers away from the GHF site, which is most of our understanding.” The GHF added that people seeking assistance have repeatedly warned people not to travel to the site overnight or early in the morning.
However, many Gazans tell CNN that they must move to distribution points a few hours before opening to get the chance to receive assistance. According to multiple UN assessments, food in the strip is scarce and people are hungry.
Most Gazans do not have the means of transport to travel to the GHF centre, so you will need to walk long distances to reach the site.
Travis Mellin, a doctor at Nasser Hospital, said Saturday that many of the victims suffered “serious” gunshot wounds to the torso and head.
Hundreds of people have been killed while trying to access aid in Gaza, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said since the GHF (private group) began operating on the strip in May. He said nearly 800 people died this way between late May and July 7th. Of these, 615 people were killed near the GHF site.
“The food here is a privileged luxury,” Dr. Mellin told CNN. “If you’re lucky enough to leave some money behind, you’re the only people who can afford real food. Everyone else will go to these massacre sites.
The communications director for UNRWA, a UN agency that provides relief to Palestinian refugees, told CNN that Gaza’s current aid distribution system is “a death trap to starve Palestinians,” and that the organization is asking for once again to lead aid efforts.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has put on an optimistic note about the ongoing ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas.
“In Gaza, we’ve regained most of the hostages,” he said Friday evening. “We will soon be reaching another 10, and we hope that it will end pretty quickly.
Despite Trump’s positive outlook, the two parties in the conflict once again denounced another round of ceasefire speech, releasing a statement on Friday, accusing others of limping in negotiations.
Hamas warned that if Israel does not agree to work fully towards war in its current lecture, it cannot “guaranteed” that it will agree to a suspension of future conflict.
In the past, Israel has not been keen to agree to a permanent ceasefire and has said it would like to continue fighting in the Gaza Strip until Hamas is eradicated.
Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida said if Israel fails to comply with its demands, the extremist groups can’t guarantee that 10 living hostages will be released as part of a ceasefire deal.
“It has become clear that (Israel Prime Minister Benjamin) the Netanyahu government is not really worried about prisoners just because they are soldiers,” he continued.
Israeli officials told reporters that one of the key obsessions in negotiations was that the negotiators called “release keys,” the criteria and ratios identified for release in swaps — the Israeli government refused to discuss until there was a final agreement on where Israel would place Israel.
Israel accused Hamas of “drinking his legs” and said it was willing to respond flexibly to consultations.
