Portugal Colonial - Rescuers say Israeli fire kills at least 15 near Gaza aid point

The shooting was similar to one Sunday morning in which rescuers said scores of people were killed and wounded at the same location, with witnesses saying they had been on their way to collect aid.

"At least 15 people were killed and dozens wounded... when Israeli forces opened fire with tanks and drones on thousands of civilians who had gathered since dawn near the Al-Alam roundabout in the Al-Mawasi area, northwest of Rafah," said civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal.

The roundabout is about a kilometre from an aid centre run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a recently formed group that Israel has cooperated with to implement a new aid distribution mechanism in the territory.

The military said a crowd was moving towards the aid centre when troops saw them "deviating from the designated access routes".

"The troops carried out warning fire, and after the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects who advanced toward the troops," it said, adding it was "aware of reports regarding casualties" and was looking into the details.

Rania al-Astal, 30, said she had gone with her husband to try to get food.

"The shooting began intermittently around 5:00 am. Every time people approached Al-Alam roundabout, they were fired upon," she told AFP.

"But people didn't care and rushed forward all at once -- that's when the army began firing heavily."

- 'Unacceptable' -

Mohammed al-Shaer, 44, who was also at the scene, said the crowd had just set off towards the aid centre when "suddenly, the Israeli army fired shots into the air, then began shooting directly at the people".

"A helicopter and quadcopters (drones) started firing at the crowd to prevent them from approaching the tank barrier. There were injuries and deaths," he told AFP.

"I didn't reach the centre, and we didn't get any food."

The army said it was "not preventing the arrival of Gazan civilians to the humanitarian aid distribution sites".

GHF said the operations at its site went ahead safely on Tuesday, but added it was aware the military "is investigating whether a number of civilians were injured after moving beyond the designated safe corridor and into a closed military zone".

"This was an area well beyond our secure distribution site and operations area," it added, advising "all civilians to remain in the safe corridor when travelling to our distribution sites".

Sunday's shooting also took place at the Al-Alam roundabout as people gathered before heading to the aid centre, rescuers and witnesses said, with the civil defence reporting 31 people killed and 176 wounded.

Afterwards, the army denied firing at people "while they were near or within" the aid site. But a military source acknowledged "warning shots were fired towards several suspects" about a kilometre away.

UN chief Antonio Guterres called for an independent investigation into that shooting, calling it "unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food".

- Soldiers killed -

Israel has come under mounting pressure to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where people are facing severe shortages of food and other essentials after Israel imposed a more than two-month blockade on supplies.

The blockade was recently eased, but the aid community has urged Israeli to allow in more food, faster.

However, the United Nations and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it, saying it contravenes humanitarian principles and appears designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

Israel has recently stepped up its campaign in Gaza in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war.

The Israeli army said Tuesday that three of its soldiers had been killed in the territory's north, bringing the number of Israeli troops killed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the conflict to 424.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 4,201 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,470, mostly civilians.

Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

A.Magalhes--PC