Israel kills 11 aid seekers in Gaza, including 3 children

GAZA CITY, Palestine/ANKARA

At least 11 Palestinians, including three children, were killed Saturday morning in Israeli attacks involving shelling and gunfire targeting civilian gatherings waiting for humanitarian aid in southern and central Gaza, according to medical sources.

In the latest incident, three Palestinian children were killed and another critically injured in an Israeli strike on a group of children on Al-Mansoura Street in the Shejaiya neighborhood east of Gaza City, a medical source told Anadolu.

In another attack, Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza reported receiving five fatalities and 15 injuries, including four critical cases, resulting from Israeli strikes on civilians waiting for aid south of the Wadi Gaza area.

Early Saturday, medical sources told Anadolu that three Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces near an aid distribution point west of Rafah city in southern Gaza.

Eyewitnesses said the victims were killed while waiting to receive humanitarian aid at distribution sites controlled by the Israeli army.

Also, several Palestinians were shot near the Nitzarim area in central Gaza while attempting to access aid.

Since May 7, Israel has been bypassing UN and international relief organizations by distributing limited aid through the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is backed by Israel and the US but rejected by the UN.

Palestinians seeking aid through this mechanism have become daily targets of Israeli fire, resulting in many casualties.

Medical sources also reported multiple injuries in Gaza hospitals caused by recent Israeli airstrikes targeting various areas.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that northern parts of the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza were subjected to heavy Israeli artillery shelling.

Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes on the town of Jabalia in northern Gaza, while the army continued demolishing homes in eastern northern governorates.

In Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, eyewitnesses reported intensified fire from the Israeli navy targeting the remaining fishing boats.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 55,700 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.