At least 32 people were killed in shots from Israeli forces en route to a relief distribution point in Gaza on July 19, according to information from the Gaza Health Ministry and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. This is one of the incidents that has caused serious casualties near the aid areas since the conflict escalated again.
The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots at suspected subjects after they did not stop when asked, about a kilometre away from the relief area. The military also said that the site was not operating at the time of the incident and was reviewing the entire situation.
However, Mohammed al-Khalidi, a Gaza resident present at the scene, said he had not heard any warnings before the attack. "We think they came to reorganize the army to distribute relief. Suddenly, I saw a jeep from one side and a tank from the other fire, he told the press.
The Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) - a US-backed organization operating the relief distribution area - said there were no incidents or casualties at the distribution point that day. The organization has repeatedly warned people not to go to the relief site at night. According to GHF, the incident occurred many hours away from the relief points and before the opening time.
In recent weeks, at least 875 deaths have occurred near food and relief distribution points in Gaza, according to a report from the United Nations Human Rights Office in Geneva.
Most of the deaths occurred near GHF distribution points. Local people said that most of the victims died from shots from the Israeli army. Israel has admitted that there were civilian casualties and said it has adopted a new directive based on the lessons learned.
On the same day, at least 18 others were killed in other Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, according to health officials. Israel has said strikes target weapons depots and snacking locations of armed forces in many places in the territory.
Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect negotiations in Qatar to reach a 60-day ceasefire. However, there are still no signs that the deal is about to be approved.
