Dozens shot dead and injured near Gaza aid hub, health ministry and doctors say

At least 31 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured near an aid distribution site run by a US-backed private foundation in southern Gaza on Sunday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

At least 31 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured near an aid distribution site run by a US-backed private foundation in southern Gaza on Sunday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that Israeli forces “did not fire at civilians while they were near or within” the aid distribution site and it was not aware of injuries from IDF fire “within the humanitarian aid distribution site.” The military did not rule out shooting nearby. Exactly how the carnage unfolded remains unclear. The health ministry blamed the Israeli military for the deaths. Some civilians who had gone to the site claimed that local security personnel had opened fire, but the foundation said there had been no gunfire at the site. The health ministry said that more than 200 casualties had reached hospitals, including dozens with serious injuries. It added that all those killed had been shot in the head or chest. The number of killed and injured quickly overwhelmed the field hospital in Rafah, the Red Cross said, and some patients had to be sent to other facilities for treatment. “This is the highest number of weapon-wounded in a single incident since the establishment of the field hospital over a year ago,” the Red Cross said in a statement. Crowds of people had converged on the site in the Rafah area in an effort to obtain aid when Israeli forces opened fire, a paramedic from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PCRS), the only medical professionals present in the area at the time, told CNN.