Israeli forces killed and wounded dozens of Palestinians on Sunday in the northern Gaza Strip, after crowds gathered near a crossing from Israel into the territory where aid trucks often enter the enclave, according to the Gaza health ministry and hospital workers.
Palestinian health officials said the attack took place near the Zikim crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel. More than 60 people were killed, according to the health ministry and Mohammad Abu Selmiya, the director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
A field hospital operated by the Palestine Red Crescent Society in northern Gaza was flooded with gunshot victims, including two killed and more than 100 wounded, said Nebal Farsakh, a spokeswoman for the Red Crescent.
The Israeli military said it had fired “warning shots” after thousands of Gazans had gathered in the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli soldiers had opened fire to “remove an immediate threat posed to them,” it added. The also said that the number of reported casualties “does not align” with its initial review of the attack.
The deadly shooting followed an Israeli military order to Palestinians to evacuate parts of the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, one of the few areas in the territory that has not seen major Israeli ground operations during its military campaign against Hamas.
Chaos has gripped aid distribution sites in Gaza amid widespread hunger in the territory. Israeli soldiers have repeatedly opened fire near huge crowds of desperate Palestinians heading to sites run by American contractors for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private and controversial Israeli-backed group, according to witnesses and the Israeli military.
At least 32 people were killed on Saturday after Israeli soldiers began shooting near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation site in southern Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Myra Noveck contributed reporting.
Isabel Kershner, a Times correspondent in Jerusalem, has been reporting on Israeli and Palestinian affairs since 1990.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
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