Gaza officials say Israeli fire strikes a crowd waiting for aid, killing at least 20
Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli fire has hit a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid at a roundabout in Gaza City on Thursday, killing at least 20.
Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra says another 150 people were wounded in the attack and that the death toll is likely to rise as dozens of seriously wounded people were brought to the city’s Shifa Hospital.
The ministry did not specify what type of weapons were involved. The Israeli military says it is looking into the reports.
Israeli troops and tanks pushed into Gaza City shortly after the ground invasion began and have been battling militants there for nearly two months. The military says it has largely defeated Hamas in northern Gaza but is still facing pockets of resistance.
The offensive has obliterated entire neighborhoods and caused widespread destruction across northern Gaza, raising concerns over whether the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who heeded Israeli orders to flee south will be able to return.
The north has also been largely cut off from humanitarian aid, even as tens of thousands of people have remained there.