ANKARA

Nearly 50 Palestinians were killed and more than 200 others wounded on Sunday when Israeli forces opened fire on civilians seeking humanitarian aid in al-Mawasi, west of Rafah in southern Gaza, the Health Ministry said.

A ministry statement said that the bodies of 28 people were transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis city and 21 others to the Red Cross Field Hospital, while over 200 people were injured by Israeli live fire.

According to eyewitnesses, large crowds had assembled early in the morning at an aid distribution center run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an American organization backed by Israel.

As people approached the site, Israeli military vehicles opened fire, and drones dropped explosives, resulting in mass casualties, they added.

A medical official described the situation around the distribution center as “extremely dangerous,” noting that ambulances had difficulty reaching the wounded due to ongoing gunfire. Some victims were evacuated using carts.

Simultaneously, Israeli forces also opened fire on civilians approaching another American aid center near the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, witnesses said.

According to medical sources at Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp, at least one Palestinian was killed and 20 others were injured when Israeli forces fired on crowds near the Bureij refugee camp.

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed that there was no information about injuries from army fire at the aid distribution center. He said that the issue is being investigated.

Gaza’s government media office accused Israel of “using humanitarian aid systematically and maliciously as a weapon of war to blackmail starving civilians and forcibly gather them in exposed killing zones.”

Israel has crafted a plan to establish four aid distribution points in southern and central Gaza, which Israeli media say aim to evacuate Palestinians from northern Gaza into the south.

According to Israel’s Army Radio, Israel’s aid distribution plan aims to turn the territory’s north into a “completely depopulated area.”

The US-backed aid plan has faced widespread criticism and rejection from Palestinians and international humanitarian organizations.

Since March 2, Israel has kept all border crossings shut, cutting off the entry of food, medicine, fuel, and other essential supplies for Gaza’s 2.4 million residents.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a devastating offensive in Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 54,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's more than 2 million population.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.