At least five Palestinians were killed and several others wounded by Israeli fire near an aid site in Gaza run by an Israeli- and U.S.-backed group, according to health officials and witnesses, while Israel's military claimed it had only fired warning shots at those approaching its troops.
The bodies were brought to Nasser Hospital in Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis, which confirmed the toll. Palestinian witnesses said Israeli forces had fired on them at a roundabout in the nearby city of Rafah as they went to get food from a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
The Israeli military claimed it fired warning shots at people it said were suspects who had advanced toward its forces and ignored warnings to turn away. It said the shooting occurred in an area in southern Gaza that is considered an active combat zone at night.
The GHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It says there has been no violence at the sites themselves. But it closed them temporarily last week to discuss safety measures with the Israeli military and has warned people to stay on designated access routes.
In a separate development, the Israeli military accused a spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense of being an active Hamas member, according to documents it claimed were recovered during operations inside Gaza.
