At least 36 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire while approaching an aid distribution point in Gaza at dawn on Saturday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots at a group of individuals who came close to its forces, claiming they failed to respond to verbal warnings and were approximately a kilometre from an inactive aid site at the time.
However, Gaza resident Mohammed al-Khalidi, who was among those moving toward the site, contested the military’s account. “We thought they came out to organise us so we can get aid, suddenly (I) saw the jeeps coming from one side, and the tanks from the other and started shooting at us,” he said.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a -backed organisation responsible for the aid site, stated that there were no incidents or fatalities at its facility on Saturday. The group emphasised that it has consistently warned the public against travelling to distribution points in the dark.
“The reported IDF (Israel Defence Forces) activity resulting in fatalities occurred hours before our sites opened and our understanding is most of the casualties occurred several kilometres away from the nearest GHF site,” the foundation said.
The Israeli military has said it is reviewing the incident.
GHF uses private American security and logistics firms to transport supplies into Gaza, operating largely outside a United Nations-led distribution framework. Israel has accused the system of enabling Hamas-led militants to divert humanitarian aid. Hamas has denied the allegation.
The has criticised GHF’s approach, calling it unsafe and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards, though GHF rejects this assessment.
Earlier in the week, the rights office in Geneva reported that at least 875 people have been killed over the past six weeks in the vicinity of food convoys and aid sites in Gaza. The majority of these incidents reportedly occurred near GHF distribution points and were attributed by local witnesses to Israeli gunfire. The Israeli military acknowledged harm to civilians and said new operational instructions have been issued with “lessons learned.”
Elsewhere in Gaza, health officials said at least 50 more people were killed in other Israeli strikes on Saturday. Among the dead was the Hamas-run police chief in Nuseirat and 11 members of his family.
The Israeli military said its operations targeted militant weapon stockpiles and sniper positions at various sites in the enclave.
The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has, according to Gaza health authorities, killed around 58,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and displaced nearly the entire population.
Talks continue in Doha between Israel and Hamas to broker a -backed 60-day ceasefire and hostage exchange, mediated by Egypt and Qatar, though no agreement appears imminent.
Of the 50 remaining hostages in Gaza, at least 20 are believed to be alive. Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is among them, urged the Israeli government to act swiftly.
“An entire people wants to bring all 50 hostages home and end the war,” she said in a statement outside Israel’s defence headquarters in Tel Aviv. “My Matan is alone in the tunnels. He has no more time.”
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