At Least 27 Palestinians Killed Near Gaza Aid Site Amid Ongoing Israeli Offensive

At Least 27 Palestinians Killed Near Gaza Aid Site Amid Ongoing Israeli Offensive

Last Updated Jun - 03 - 2025, 05:23 PM | Source : Fela News

At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured by Israeli fire near a food distribution center in southern Gaza, as violence escalates amid Israel’s mo

At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens more injured by Israeli gunfire near a food distribution site in southern Gaza’s Rafah area on Tuesday, according to local health officials. The Israeli military stated that its forces fired on a group who had strayed from designated access routes near the aid centre and said it was still investigating the incident. The fatalities occurred just hours after Israel reported the deaths of three soldiers in northern Gaza amid an ongoing offensive against Hamas militants that has devastated much of the region. Reuters was unable to independently verify these reports from northern and southern Gaza.

The U.S.-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation recently launched its own aid distribution sites to address the severe hunger faced by Gaza’s war-affected population, many of whom have fled their homes. However, the Foundation’s efforts—endorsed by Israel but bypassing established aid groups—have drawn harsh criticism from the United Nations and humanitarian organizations for not adhering to standard principles. The Foundation said it delivered 21 truckloads of food safely early Tuesday and claimed the operation was incident-free.

Despite this, repeated violence near Rafah has been reported as desperate crowds gather for aid. On Sunday, at least 31 people were killed and many injured in similar incidents, with three more Palestinians reportedly killed on Monday. The Israeli military denies targeting civilians during aid distributions and called Sunday’s death reports “fabrications” by Hamas. On Tuesday, the military said forces identified several suspects moving towards them off the access routes and fired warning shots; when they did not retreat, additional shots were fired near those individuals.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders late Monday for residents in several districts of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, warning of strong action against militants in the area and instructing civilians to move west to the Mawasi humanitarian zone. Palestinian and UN officials say there are no safe zones left in Gaza, where most of the 2.3 million residents are internally displaced.

Gaza’s health ministry warned that the new evacuations could disrupt operations at Nasser Hospital, the largest functioning medical facility in the south, putting patients’ lives at risk.

Israel’s military campaign began after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas gunmen that killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Since then, over 54,000 Palestinians have reportedly died amid the ongoing conflict, according to local health authorities.

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