Israeli forces and drones opened fire toward hundreds of people waiting for aid trucks in central Gaza early Tuesday, killing at least 25 people, Palestinian witnesses and hospitals said.
Responding to an Associated Press inquiry, the military said it was reviewing reports of casualties from Israeli fire after a group of people approached troops in an area adjacent to the east-west Netzarim corridor, which bisects Gaza.
The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, which received the victims, said the Palestinians were waiting for the trucks on the Salah al-Din Road south of Wadi Gaza. Witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli forces opened fire as people were advancing eastward to be close to the approaching trucks.
"It was a massacre," said Ahmed Halawa. He said tanks and drones fired at people, "even as we were fleeing. Many people were either martyred or wounded."
Hossam Abu Shahada, another eyewitness, said drones were flying over the area, watching the crowds first, then there was gunfire from tanks and drones as people were moving eastward. He described a "chaotic and bloody" scene as people were attempting to escape.
