At least 16 killed in Gaza, aid group closes distribution centres over safety concerns

At least 16 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military in Gaza on Friday, according to local health authorities, as a U.S.- and Israeli-backed group said it had handed out aid in the enclave after earlier saying that its distribution sites were closed.

The military had no immediate comment on the reports of deaths in war-shattered Gaza. Health authorities said strikes had killed people in Gaza's Jabalia, Tuffah and Khan Younis areas.

The deaths came Friday, as Palestinians across the war-ravaged Gaza Strip marked the start of Eid al-Adha, one of Islam's most important holidays, with prayers held outside destroyed mosques and homes.

Witnesses and medics told Reuters that Israeli planes and tanks had intensified strikes on Jabalia and nearby Beit Hanoun since the early hours.

The Israeli military issued evacuation orders to residents of certain blocks in northern Gaza on Friday, spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on X.

The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) told Reuters by email it had delivered aid on Friday, despite earlier announcing on its official Facebook page that its distribution sites were closed until further notice and that people should stay away from the sites "for their safety" after a series of deadly shootings.

GHF, which last week started handing out meals to hungry Palestinians inside Gaza, said that a reopening date would be announced later.

The GHF opened two sites in southern Gaza on Thursday after closing all of its centres the previous day in the wake of shootings in the vicinity of its operations. It has so far operated four distribution centres.

The organization bypasses traditional relief agencies and has been criticized by humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations, for alleged lack of neutrality, which it denies.

Palestinians collecting aid from GHF sites told Reuters that there was no clear distribution system, describing the process as disorganized and chaotic. Footage released this week by the organization has shown similar scenes at one of its sites.

GHF halted distributions on Wednesday and said it was pressing Israeli forces to improve civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its operations after dozens of Palestinians were shot dead near the Rafah site over three consecutive days.

The Israeli military said on Sunday and Monday that its soldiers had fired warning shots. On Tuesday, it said, forces also fired warning shots before firing toward Palestinians that it said were advancing toward troops. GHF has said that aid was safely handed out from its sites without any incident.

Adraee, the military spokesperson, wrote on X on Friday that Palestinians would have "free movement" to aid distribution sites between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. local time, but warned that outside those hours the area would be a 'closed military zone' and movement would pose a significant risk to life.

After the two-month ceasefire broke down in March, Israel blockaded aid supplies into Gaza for 11 weeks, prompting a famine warning from a global hunger monitor. Israel, which has only partially lifted the blockade since, vets all aid into Gaza and accuses Hamas of stealing some of it, something the militant group denies.