By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Crispian Balmer
CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near a food distribution site in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, local health authorities said, in the latest bout of chaos and bloodshed to plague the aid operation.
The Israeli military said its forces had opened fire on a group of individuals who had left designated access routes near the distribution centre in Rafah.
It added it was still investigating what had happened.
The deaths came hours after Israel said three of its soldiers had been killed in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, as its forces pushed ahead with a months-long offensive against Hamas militants that has laid waste to much of the enclave.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports in northern and southern Gaza.
The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation launched its first distribution sites last week in an effort to alleviate widespread hunger amongst Gaza’s war-battered population, most of whom have had to abandon their homes to flee fighting.
The Foundation’s aid plan, which bypasses traditional aid groups, has come under fierce criticism from the United Nations and established charities which say it does not follow humanitarian principles.
The private group, which is endorsed by Israel, said it distributed 21 truckloads of food early on Tuesday and that the aid operation was “conducted safely and without incident within the site”.
However, there have been reports of repeated killings near Rafah as crowds gather to get desperately needed supplies.
On Sunday, Palestinian and international officials reported that at least 31 people were killed and dozens more injured. On Monday, three more Palestinians were reportedly killed by Israeli fire.
The Israeli military has denied targeting civilians gathering for aid and called reports of deaths during Sunday’s distribution “fabrications” by Hamas.
On Tuesday, it said IDF forces had identified “a number of suspects” moving towards them while deviating from the access routes. “The forces fired evasive shots, and after they did not move away, additional shots were fired near the individual suspects who were advancing towards the forces,” it said.
MASS EVACUATIONS ORDERED
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday he was “appalled” by reports of Palestinians killed and wounded while seeking aid and called for an independent investigation.
The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders to residents of several districts in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip late on Monday, warning that the army would act forcefully against militants operating in those areas.
The military told residents to head west towards the Mawasi humanitarian area. Palestinian and United Nations officials say there are no safe areas in the enclave, and that most of its 2.3 million population has become internally displaced.
The territory’s health ministry said on Tuesday that the new evacuation orders could halt work at the Nasser Hospital, the largest, still-functioning medical facility in the south, endangering the lives of those being treated there.
Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 assault in which Hamas-led gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies.
In the subsequent fighting, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed, local health authorities say.
(Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi in Cairo, Crispian Balmer in Jerusalem and Jana Choukeir; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Sharon Singleton)
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