Israeli military kills 27 near aid centre in south Gaza

The Israeli military killed at least 27 people near an aid centre on June 3rd in south Gaza, as the war continues to devastate the enclave, Al-Monitor via AFP reported.

The Israeli military said it had targeted “suspects who advanced toward the troops,” the BBC reported on June 3rd. The shooting attack was similar to one which took place on June 1st, which injured almost 200 and killed 31.

A foreign paramedic in the region told the BBC it had been “total carnage” since the early morning. They said they received a flood of injured people.

In a clip shared by a regional reporter, eyewitness Nadeem Zarab said he and his uncle headed to the relief centre at 02:00 (00:00 BST). He stated that when they arrived at the junction “the shooting started, from the helicopter, the tanks, and the sniper soldiers.” Zarab added: “Gunfire was coming from all directions. We started using the wall as cover, shielding ourselves close to it.”

According to Gaza’s civil defence agency, “27 people were killed and more than 90 injured in the massacre targeting civilians who were waiting for American aid in the Al-Alam area of Rafah,” in the south of the territory.

The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed the same death count but did not mention Israeli forces. The group stated Gazans confront an “unprecedented scale and frequency of recent mass casualty incidents.”

The Israeli army insists its troops allow Gazans to gather aid supplies. Army spokesman Effie Defrin said soldiers shot at suspects who “were approaching in a way that endangered” the troops. He added that the “incident is being investigated.”

Previously, a Red Cross hospital in south Gaza received many people who were injured by shrapnel or gunshots, following an incident near an aid centre in Rafah, the BBC reported on June 1st. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said 21 people were “dead upon arrival.”

Al-Monitor via AFP, BBC