The China Mail - Gaza rescuers say 33 killed by Israel fire

The war sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel has ravaged the Gaza Strip and resulted in severe shortages of food, fuel and clean water.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 11 people were killed and more than 100 wounded "after the occupation forces opened fire and launched several shells... at thousands of citizens" who had gathered to queue for food in central Gaza.

The military told AFP that its forces operating in central Gaza identified "a group of suspicious individuals" approaching "in a manner that posed a potential threat to the forces."

It said its troops then fired "warning shots", but that it was "unaware of injuries".

In early March, Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza, amid a deadlock in truce negotiations, only partially easing restrictions in late May.

- Soldier killed -

Since then, chaotic scenes and a string of deadly shootings have occurred near areas where Palestinians have gathered in hopes of receiving aid.

The civil defence agency said another 19 people were killed in three Israeli strikes on Wednesday, which it said targeted houses and a tent for displaced people.

The Israeli military told AFP regarding one of those attacks that its troops were "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities".

Later Wednesday, the Israeli army said a soldier -- staff sergeant Stav Halfon -- had been killed during an operation in the southern Gaza Strip.

In another incident, three more people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a neighbourhood northeast of Gaza City on Wednesday, Bassal said.

Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency.

The agency reported that at least 53 people were killed on Tuesday, as they gathered near an aid centre in the southern city of Khan Yunis hoping to receive flour.

After Israel eased its blockade, the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began distributing aid in late May, but its operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and dozens of deaths.

- 'Acute food insecurity' -

UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

However, the UN humanitarian office OCHA pointed out Tuesday that incidents "are also increasingly occurring along routes used by the UN to deliver humanitarian supplies", not just GHF.

It added that its humanitarian partners, including the World Food Programme (WFP), have reported that fuel in Gaza was reaching "critically low levels".

"Without immediate resupply, essential services -- including the provision of clean water -- will grind to a halt very soon," the statement added.

OCHA said on Monday that its partners "continue to warn of the risk of famine in Gaza, amid catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity".

The Hamas attack which triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to Israeli official figures.

The Gaza health ministry said on Wednesday that 5,334 people have been killed since Israel resumed major operations in the territory on March 18, ending a two-month truce.

The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out has reached 55,637 people, according to the health ministry.

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