Israeli shelling?

Another large number of people killed while receiving aid supplies

Palestinians rush to aid supplies that have been dropped. There are repeated riots during the distribution of food and medicine.(Bild: APA/AFP)

Apparently there have once again been numerous deaths during the receipt of aid supplies in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health spoke of at least 20 dead and more than 150 injured. According to the Palestinian side, Israeli forces opened fire on waiting people. Israel denies the accusations.

"The press reports that Israeli forces attacked dozens of Gaza residents at an aid distribution point are false," it said in a brief statement on Friday night. However, the incident was being "seriously investigated".

Reporter saw bodies with gunshot wounds
The Hamas Ministry of Health had previously stated that Israeli soldiers had shot at people waiting for aid at a traffic circle in the city of Gaza on Thursday. The AFP news agency reported that an employee had seen corpses and injured people with gunshot wounds. 

Israeli soldiers guard aid supplies from Egypt(Bild: APA/AFP/Menahem Kahana)

The Reuters news agency - citing Palestinian health authorities - reported another Israeli attack during the distribution of aid supplies. According to the report, eight people were killed in an airstrike on an aid distribution center in the Al-Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Palestinians rush to dropped aid supplies. There are repeated riots during the distribution of food and medicine.(Bild: APA/AFP)

Shots fired: Israeli soldiers felt "threatened"
According to Hamas, more than a hundred Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip at the end of February when Israeli soldiers opened fire on the arrival of trucks carrying aid supplies. The Israeli army subsequently acknowledged a "limited" number of shots fired by Israeli soldiers who had felt "threatened". According to the report, thousands of residents had crowded around the trucks, dozens of people had been injured and killed in the crush and some had been run over by trucks.

Aerial photos of the aid convoy(Bild: APA/AFP/Israeli Army)

UN: 2.4 million Palestinians on the brink of famine
After more than five months of war between Israel and Hamas, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic. According to the UN World Food Program (WFP), the 2.4 million Palestinians living there are on the brink of famine. Several countries are now dropping aid from the air to help the people in the Gaza Strip. The ship Open Arms with around 200 tons of aid on board is also on its way to the Gaza Strip.

However, it is still unclear where the NGO ship will be allowed to dock. A temporary jetty is being built, the aid organization World Central Kitchen reported the day before, without naming the exact location. The non-governmental organization has been active in the Gaza Strip for months.